Assessing the Significance of Social Values in Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers' Participation in Philippine Traditional Games

physical education teachers when engaging in Philippine traditional games at Batangas State University JPLPC-Malvar Campus during the academic year 2021-2022. Using a descriptive-correlation method, data were gathered from 50 respondents through a researcher-made questionnaire assessing their profile, social values, and perceived importance of these values. The theoretical framework is grounded in situated learning theory by Lave and Wenger and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, emphasizing the role of social interaction in cognitive development. Results reveal that majority of respondents are female, aged 18-19, residing in urban areas, and belong to lower-income brackets. Community, diversity, well-being, and sustainability were rated as highly important social values. Significant relationships were found between respondents' sex, type of residence, socio-economic status, and their perceived importance of social values. The study highlights the potential of traditional games to foster essential social values and recommends activities such as seminars, team-building exercises, open forums, and sports festivals to enhance these values. These findings emphasize the need for integrating traditional games in physical education curricula to preserve cultural heritage and promote social development, particularly in a post-pandemic educational landscape.