Revisiting the External Factors Affecting the Holistic Performance of Academically Challenged Learners at Mayuro Elementary School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

For any educational institution, learners are most important asset. The pupils' academic performance plays a vital role in creating the finest quality alumnae who will become leader and manpower of a particular country, consequently responsible for the country's social and economic development. Hence, poor academic performances among children have been noted to be on the rise in our environment despite efforts to improve the school curriculum and quality of teaching. This has been a source of concern of the teacher-researchers to revisit the external factors that may strongly influence the performance of the pupils. The findings could help in formulating projects and policies that will be used in educational programs for those academically challenged learners.

METHODS

The sample of the present study consisted of sixty-seven pupils from grades one to six of Mayuro Elementary School. For selecting the sample, the simple random sampling technique was used. Primary data has been collected through questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale. Anecdotal and Guidance records were utilized to determine the number and names of pupils with behavioral problems. Grading sheets were also utilized to determine the academic performance of the pupils. The retrieved grades underwent analysis and interpretation with the use of statistical procedures.

RESULTS

Based from the study, majority of the respondents with behavioral problems had poor grades in five academic subjects. As gleaned from the anecdotal and guidance records, most of the respondents committed an action of unable to do the homework. Among the family variables, parental involvement in doing homework and projects had a lowest frequency which expressed that parents' assistance regarding their children's school works is not visible. Moreover, among the environment factors, peers' involvement had a highest frequency which means that most of the children are fond or more engaged themselves in playing with peer groups.

DISCUSSIONS

The result reveals that external factors found in school and at home have the potential to negatively impact student competence, confidence, comprehension, motivation, and efficiency of learning. Environmental factors associated with one's location, activities, and people in the surrounding area greatly affect the behavior of learners towards learning. Thus, nurturing, acceptance, and encouragement as well as teacher and parents' responsiveness to the child's needs correlates with positive academic performance.