FINANCIAL CHALLENGES: ITS EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 12 HOME ECONOMICS STUDENTS AT IMMACULADA CONCEPCION COLLEGE

Abstract

Financial challenges play a significant role in students' pursuit of academic excellence, as they can affect access to quality education, tuition, textbooks, and technology. These difficulties often lead students to take on part-time jobs, reducing study time and negatively impacting mental health. Despite these challenges, many students find ways to succeed academically.

At Immaculada Concepcion College (ICC), senior high school students often struggle financially due to their families' low incomes. Mental health difficulties further contribute to financial stress, forcing students to make tough decisions about allocating money for basic needs. Financial issues frequently arise from missed scholarship opportunities, early application deadlines, and insufficient attention to budgeting.

To better manage their finances, students should create a budget by listing their expenses. This practice helps them meet their essential needs and alleviates financial anxiety. The researchers will use a descriptive research method to examine the effects of financial challenges on the academic performance of Grade 12 Home Economics students. These designs help researchers better understand a population's characteristics, the prevalence of certain behaviors, and the relationships between variables in a specific context. The study results said that the financial challenges have an effect on the academic performance of home grade 12 home economic students at Immaculada Concepcion College (ICC). Due to financial challenges, some students struggle to afford transportation to school, purchase nutritious meals at the school canteen, participate in class, and attend school regularly due to a lack of allowance. Based on the findings, other students struggle to afford nutritious meals at school canteen, transportation going to school, and struggle in other school expenses. Meanwhile, other students do not struggle to afford necessities and school expenses because they receive enough allowance. In table 1, the indicators show some of the students' problems in school expenses and almost all the questions got a low rating which shows that the financial challenges have an effect on the academic performance of the students.