Play, Culture, and Numbers: A Quasi-Experimental Study on the Use of Philippine Indigenous Games to Boost Mathematics Engagement

The study aimed to determine the effect of incorporating Philippine indigenous games on the mathematics engagement of first-year education students at Northern Iloilo State University – Barotac Viejo Campus (NISU-BVC), as measured by their pre-test and post-test scores. Utilizing a pretest-posttest experimental design, the researcher applied a paired t-test to assess any significant differences in students’ performance. A 30-item researcher-made test was administered to two groups of students—25 from the BEED program and 25 from the BSED program. The BEED group served as the control group, while the BSED group was designated as the experimental group. Both groups initially showed low performance in the pre-test, leading to the implementation of remediation activities. Following the intervention, the experimental group showed a substantial improvement in scores, while the control group exhibited only minimal gains. The increase in post-test scores, particularly among the experimental group, indicated enhanced mathematics engagement. The results demonstrated a significant difference in performance between students taught using traditional methods and those exposed to the intervention. This suggests that integrating indigenous games can effectively boost student engagement in Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW). As a result, the researcher recommends using Philippine indigenous games as a motivational tool in teaching MMW to help improve learning outcomes and mastery of the subject’s competencies. Keywords: education, mathematics engagement, experimental and paired t-test