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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
How does participation in extracurricular activities affect those with special needs here VS the
Philippines?
Haley Carter
Global Studies and World Languages Academy
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Introduction
Extracurricular activities are not only sports; they are activities that involve people
working together and are great for everyone. Those who are involved in these activities are
more likely to succeed in life. You receive many different life-long tips when you are involved in
clubs and sports and youth groups. Participation in such activities is important to those of all ages
and status. Extracurricular activities help those with special needs both here and the Philippines. The
title/question of my project is, how extracurricular activities affect students with special needs
in the Philippines VS. in the US? I was introduced to this project idea when I volunteered in the
Special Olympics. Researching special needs would be too broad, so I narrowed it down to how
extracurricular activities affect students with special needs. I wanted to collect research on my
own, so I created a survey that I gave to students with special needs here and also in the
Philippines and compare the results. I also did extra research online, as well. My paper
explains the differences between how extracurricular activities affect those with special needs
here in the United States VS. the Philippines. Even though the Philippines education system is
very different compared to the United States education system, and the extracurricular
activities that those with special needs are involved in are also different in both countries,
involvement in extracurricular activities helps those with special needs.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Limitations of Study
My research project was a little far-fetched. When doing a project, comparing two
countries, there are some limitations. I only live in one country. I did not have full accessibility
to information from the Philippines. I visited there this past October and gathered research, but
I do not have a direct/ constant line to get information. Another limitation would be the fact
that their technology in the Philippines isn’t as great as ours. If I were to be in contact with
someone, it would be difficult to contact them regularly. The time difference between the
Philippines and the United States is 12 hours, when they are at school I am sleeping and vice
versa. Furthermore, the education there only goes up to 10th grade; therefore, my research
from there is from a younger age group.
Being a high school student, my accessibility to research is very limited. Our library at
school, as well as the public libraries, only have so much information. Time is another
limitation. Being a high school student sounds really easy, and for some it is stress-free. For
those, like me, who balance a job, sport, AP classes, honor societies, and trying to breathe, time
can be difficult to find. High school students have not met that many people in their lives yet.
Our circle of helpful advisors is also limited.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Methodology
My research paper/topic required a lot of digging in different places. My topic is the
effect of extracurricular activated on those with special needs in the United States vs. the
Philippines. I decided to create a survey to gather this information. I gave the survey to
students with special needs in the United States and also in the Philippines. I recently traveled
to the Philippines and gathered data while I was there. The results, the way they gave the
survey, and who answered the survey were all different.
When I arrived at the school in the Philippines, I talked to the person I thought was in
charge of the SPED program. I later found out that they do not have a person that overlooks
these children. We walked around to every class and asked the teacher for a slow learner.
When I encountered this, I thought it was very different and an invasion of confidentiality. In
the United States, I wasn’t allowed to know any names, faces or anything. I handed the survey
to Mrs.Harrell, and she gave it out to the students; it was very confidential.
In the Philippines, the grade levels only go up to 10th grade. By 2015 they hope to have
adopted the K-12 teaching scale. The results are different due to this age separation. As I
experienced first-hand, Filipinos have a lot of social time. Students all go to the mall after
school and spend time with friends. The surveys showed Filipinos spend significantly more time
with friends than Americans. This may be a result of the accepting atmosphere the Filipino
schools have; Filipino schools are judgment free zones.
After gathering the research from both surveys, it shows how extracurricular activities
affect those with special needs. Even though the surveys were different, they had some similar
results. In both cultures those who were involved in extracurricular activities also had 6 or
more friends. Those students who weren’t involved in activities had 0-2 friends. It is a pretty big
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
difference.
The students from both the Philippines and the US spend more time with friends from
school than those outside of school. With the extracurricular activities, it brings people together
to form relationships/bonds. Most students are involved in sports and some in different clubs.
My survey included the following items:
1. I am in the _________grade.
2. What do you like most about school?
3. What do you like least about school?
4. Are you involved in a school sport (or sports)?_________If so, which one(s)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Are you involved in a school club or other after-school organization? ________ If so, which
one(s)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. Are you involved in any organizations/activities/clubs/sports/church outside of school?
_____________ If so, what are they?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. Circle one. I have:
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
a. 1-2 close friends that I spend time with regularly
b. 3-5 friends
c. 6 or more
8. How much time do you spend with your friends each week?
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Lit Review
http://stoloff-law.com/blog/students-with-disabilities-and-extracurricular-activities/
The point of my paper was to prove that extracurricular activities help those with special
needs not only in the United States but also in the Philippines. This website gave me useful
information when supporting my thesis. This article stated that non-academic activities can be
some of the most important aspects in a child’s life. Students are given the opportunity to
enhance their talent, skill, and teamwork. These skills would not be focused on in only regular
school environment activities. The importance of extracurricular activities for those with special
needs could not be stressed enough. Extracurricular activities are so important to those with
special needs because they provide opportunities for new learning skills; they can boost selfesteem, and also give students a chance to meet and work with peers. As the website says,
those non-disabled students look past the disabilities and only see a person who is no different
than they are.
There are a few simple examples of children’s rights being protected that this website offers;
1. A student with diabetes who tries out for the cheerleading team may not be excluded
because she may need to give herself insulin.
2. A student with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome may not be excluded from participating in
Tae Kwon Do classes because he or she is non-verbal.
3. A deaf or hard-of-hearing student may be provided a sign language interpreter to help
facilitate communication at a student government club meeting.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
4. A student who is blind may be permitted to touch the chess pieces on the board or have
someone verbally explain where a piece has been moved to.
5. A school would be required to provide wheelchair accessible mode of transportation for a
disabled student who wishes to participate at an off-site, school-sponsored music training
program.
6. A student with mobility issues who wants to play golf but cannot walk long distances
may ride in a golf cart.
7. A student who is allergic to nuts may join a baseball team and ask the school to
implement a policy prohibiting all team players from bringing, eating, or spitting out
sunflower seed shells, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.
This website was very helpful when looking at the way students with disabilities are protected
and the way they should be treated like those without disabilities. Students learn lifelong skills
and they will follow them with the rest of their lives. These lifelong skills separate them from
succeeding in life versus failing in life. As stated on the website, Students who participate in
extracurricular activities, such as sports, chess, music, student government, yearbook clubs, and
other special interest clubs, develop talent, skill, and teamwork. If students are not offered
these activities, they will not develop these essential skills. These abilities may be taken for
granted by the normal eye, but can be seen as challenging with those with special needs. This
website talked about how important extracurricular activities are to those with disabilities.
http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHP-c195.pdf
This website includes the mention of IDEA, the (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
which covers the laws and acts for those with disabilities during academics and non-academics.
The IEP team provides insurance that students are protected to have extracurricular activities
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
in- school and out of school. The article was written to share awareness about special needs.
They talked about the different programs that are available for those with special needs.
http://www.districtadministration.com/article/boosting-inclusion-students-disabilities
Athletics and extracurricular activities are being heavily monitored by administrators now.
These administrators are taking aggressive steps to promote rules to protect those with special
needs. In Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, there is a need for equality. To provide equality to all,
schools may need to provide accommodations. These accommodations may include; sign language,
interpreters, or other modified drills. Every student that is under the IDEIA program is provided with free
public education. Generally extracurricular activities are not required, but under the IDEIA program,
they are required. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is another organization that
gave regulations about extracurricular activities and those with special needs.
http://philippineeducationalsystembyeduc100.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/a-glimpse-onspecial-education-challenges-within-philippine-educational-system/
This website gave us an overview regarding why the education system for special needs is not
as good as it could be. Teachers are not given enough credit, especially Special Needs teachers.
In the country of the Philippines, most special needs teachers are volunteers.
http://pcij.org/tag/special-children/
Although there are laws that recognize the rights of those with special needs, the laws are not
necessarily reinforced. Dr. Edilberto Dizon reported that nurturing those with special needs is
not a priority in the Philippine culture. If the needs for special needs were met, there would be
more special education programs. Quotes added in paper, from website.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50625361/Special-Education-in-the-Philippines
This website has a mandate stating, "State shall take into consideration the special
requirements of disabled persons in the formulation of educational policies and programs." This
shows how the country of the Philippines is trying to become more like America in the
educational system.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Body
The life of one with disabilities is difficult in some areas, but not impossible. Those with
disabilities are sometimes just as capable as those without. What are things that help them
survive? There are many. Over the past couple of decades, our world has changed dramatically.
We now have accommodations for whatever or whoever we need to accommodate for. But this
paper isn’t about accommodations it is about accomplishments, at least in my opinion. The big
question here is, “How do extracurricular activities affect those with special needs?”
Extracurricular activities help those with special needs to gain skills, talents, and learn
teamwork. The United States is not the only place where those with special needs benefit from
participation in extracurricular activities; those in the Philippines do too. The Philippines
education system strives to be like the one in the US. While I was in the Philippines the principal
of Olongapo National stated how, by 2015, they hope to have adopted the K-12 school system
like ours. Like the education for those without special needs, the education for those with
special needs is also less advanced than the United States. “Nurturing those with special needs
is not a priority in the Philippine culture” (Dr. Edilberto Dizon.)
After a great deal of research we see the differences in the two cultures and the way
they involved extracurricular activities with those with special needs. In America we have
programs such as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,) there is also the FERPA
( Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) which is an act not a program. IDEA protects
those with disabilities and makes sure they have fair treatment like everyone else. The FERPA is
an act that protects the privacy of those with special needs (www.districtadministration.)
I collected research by creating a 10 question survey to give to students with special
needs here and in the Philippines. I created the survey and gave it to Tallwood’s head of
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
the Special Education Department; she anonymously gave it to students with special needs.
There were a few who wrote their names on the survey and before I could see them, their
names were marked out with a black marker. These guidelines are protected through the
FERPA. On the other hand I physically gave the survey to the students in the Philippines. The
head of the SPED department in the Philippines took me around to every class and asked the
teacher in front of the students for a slow learner to take a survey. To me this experience was
very different than the one that I had experienced in America.
In the Philippines they don’t have laws that regulate the privacy of those with special
needs, like we do in America. Although they don’t have laws to protect their rights, they did
have requirements in the department education number 27 required all divisions have at least
one special education center per division. About 13% of all Filipinos have special needs, 95% of
these people are not served with proper care ( www.scribd.com.)
Participating in extracurricular activities can change someone’s whole life. This world
can be very cruel and those with special needs are more likely to get picked on because of their
differences . With extracurricular activities, everyone is treated equally, and people with special
needs are more accepted and included. For all people extracurricular activities can promote
people self-confidence and help with self-esteem.
Being a part of extracurricular activities can improve the outlook on life of a person with
a disability. Instead of sitting home sulking about their disability and feeling sorry for
themselves, they go out with peers and celebrate life .They learn to live with their disability, not
letting it define them; I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen extracurricular activities
help those with special needs here and in the Philippines.
Every year for the past 5 years I have volunteered with the Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization for those with special needs. Seeing people with disabilities get out there
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
and play a game with love and passion puts an automatic smile on my face. People do not let
their disability get in the way of what they love and are passionate about.
For the short while that I was in the Philippines, I saw extracurricular activities help
those with special needs. Tallwood adopted a school that is designed for those with special
needs. We visited this school and brought gifts for them. The students no matter what size,
hearing or deaf, seeing or blind, everyone was involved in every activity. They sang for us, they
danced for us, we also played games with them. Seeing these children with disabilities have
somewhere they could just simply be children, was very joyful and brought tears of joy to my
eyes.
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
Conclusion
These two countries may be thousands of miles apart, but their educational views are
somewhat similar. The Philippines is a developing country that looks up to the United States. I
have experienced the Philippines and it is an upcoming United States. Their educational system
hopes to be like the one in the United States by 2015. The laws and regulations are different in
both places.
Extracurricular activities are viewed as a foundation for good growth in those with
special needs in the United States and in the Philippines. The United States tries to include all of
those with special needs in one extracurricular activity, at least. The Philippines is developing
more ways to include extracurricular activities for those with special needs, in their daily lives.
The skills that those with special needs receive as a result of their participation in
extracurricular activities are beneficial. If you were to ask me if extracurricular activities were
necessary to the growth in people with special needs, I would answer, “yes.” Without
extracurricular activities those with special needs would not grow as much emotionally or
mentally. Without the involvement with other people, those with special needs would not cope
as well with their disability. Extracurricular activities help those with special needs survive and
accomplish much more than they ever thought possible!
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
References
.. (n.d.). Extracurricular Activites And Students with Disabilities. Extracurricular Activities and
Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHPc195.pdf
The article was based to share awareness about special needs and how they affected
them. They talk about the different programs that are available for those with special
needs.
Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://stoloff-law.com/blog/students-with-disabilities-andextracurricular-activities/
As stated on the website, Students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as
sports, chess, music, student government, yearbook clubs, and other special interest
clubs, develop talent, skill, and teamwork. If students are not offered these activities,
they will not develop these essential skills. These skills may be taken for granted by
the normal eye, but can be seen as challenging with those with special needs.
Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://stoloff-law.com/blog/students-with-disabilities-andextracurricular-activities/
This website talks about how important extracurricular activities are to those with
disabilities. It shows how it grows their teamwork and they help them grow as a
person. Some believe that extracurricular activities are too much to handle for those
with special needs.
Boosting Inclusion for Students with Disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.districtadministration.com/article/boosting-inclusion-students-disabilities
http://www.districtadministration.com/article/boosting-inclusion-students-disabilities
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
This website includes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) This law talks
about how public places can not prohibit those with disabilities to participate in
extracurricular activities.
By Tom W. Cadwallader, Mary Wagner, And Nicolle Garza. (n.d.). 4. PARTICIPATION IN
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. Retrieved from
http://www.nlts2.org/reports/2003_04-2/nlts2_report_2003_04-2_ch4.pdf
76 % of people with disabilities are involved in extracurricular activities . This website
shows a chart of percentages of those involved in certain activities.
Feldman, A. F. (2005). The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent
Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions. Review of
Educational Research, 75(2), 159-210. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from
http://www.ccosa.org/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/529f6fb432f47/Nonacademic%20
and%20Extracurricular%20ActivitiesWhere%20Does%20FAPE%20End%20and%20Access%20Begin.pdf
http://www.ccosa.org/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/529f6fb432f47/Nonacademic%20
and%20Extracurricular%20ActivitiesWhere%20Does%20FAPE%20End%20and%20Access%20Begin.pdf this website is a
PDF file that talks about all of the different laws the United States congress has come
up with to fight against discrimination to those with special needs. There was a law
passed in section 504 that said it was illegal to discriminate against those with
disabilities during extracurricular activities
A Glimpse on Special Education: Challenges within Philippine Educational System. (n.d.).
Retrieved from
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
http://philippineeducationalsystembyeduc100.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/a-glimpseon-special-education-challenges-within-philippine-educational-system/
http://philippineeducationalsystembyeduc100.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/a-glimpseon-special-education-challenges-within-philippine-educational-system/ This website
gives us an overview on why the education system for special needs is not as good as
it could be. teachers are not given enough credit, especially Special Needs teachers. In
the country of the Philippines, most special needs teachers are volunteers or they are
taken from far places to help.
Llagan, K. A. (2014, January 11). Stories tagged ‘special children’. Retrieved from
http://pcij.org/tag/special-children/
Although there are laws that recognize the rights of those with special needs, the laws
are not necessarily reinforced. Dr. Edilberto Dizon nurturing those with special needs
is not a priority in the Philippine culture. If the needs for special needs were met, there
would be more SPED programs. Quotes added in paper, from website .
Special Education Division Philippines Memorandum. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21371406/Special-Education-Division-PhilippinesMemorandum
This website is more of a proposal. I can use this information to show how the
Philippines view on special needs is less matured than the United states. A lot of the
policies and goals are the same of what we have here in the United States.
Special Education in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50625361/Special-Education-in-the-Philippines
This website has a mandate stating, "State shall take into consideration the special
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Extracurricular Activities and Special Needs
requirements of disabled persons in the formulation of educational policies and
programs." This shows how the country of the Philippines is trying to become more
like America in the educational system.