Academic Competition: Impact on Pupils' Performance of Tabangao Elementary School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Tabangao Elementary School participated in a variety of academic competitions in compliance with different Department of Education Memoranda. These competitions, open to students from private and public schools, were joined from different levels: school, district, area, division, regional and national. Principals and teacher-coaches supported the pupil-participants and contenders with constant practice, thorough trainings and important resources. The researcher explored the impact of conducting different academic competitions to the pupils’ performance.

METHODS

The descriptive method of research was used to determine the impact of academic competitions to pupils' performance in Tabangao Elementary School. To secure data, the researcher used the qualitative approach. For this purpose, a survey questionnaire was used as the main instrument of the study

RESULTS

The level of achievement of Grade VI pupils was satisfactory as reflected on the average grade of the class in Report Card. There is no significant connection between the pupils' participation in academic competition with the over-all performance of all learners. Activities related to academic competitions wherein coaches struggled to balance coaching with their regular teaching duties did not affect the performance of the whole class. Overall, both coach and student respondents were very positive about their overall competition experience. Across all competitions, coaches indicated they would coach again and they would recommend coaching to their colleagues. Pupils said they enjoyed participating in the competition and would encourage their peers to participate too.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate the need for school head, teachers and coaches to have improvement in some areas since students depend heavily on their coaches for guidance. Improving communication and training could improve both coach participation and student performance at the competition. Secondly, the evaluator recommends either advocating for an academic competition school course or helping coaches brainstorm for ways to prepare students outside of their regular school day. Many coaches expressed difficulty in getting their students together for practice because of after-school conflicts and the inability to practice during the school day