Socio-Economic Status Affecting Academic Performance of Grade 6 Pupils in Bagbag Elementary School, Quezon City

Abstract

Education is extremely essential to us. It is an important requirement to survive and succeed in this competitive world. It plays a vital role in shaping individuals to become successful and productive citizens to build a strong nation. Socio-economic status is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It encompasses not only income but also educational attainment of the parents, financial stability, family size, and social class. These are only the common factors that can affect the academic achievement of children. However, socio-economic status is more commonly used to depict an economic difference in society as a whole. Poverty is a huge factor that restricts students to school success. It is a barrier to learning. Poverty reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills. At some schools, especially in a public school, some students go to school with an empty stomach without money to buy food, which diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate during classes and remember information. The distance of the students’ houses from the school also affects their attendance. Some students who live far away from schools have difficulties to go in school because they have no money for the fare. A child’s attentiveness and motivation also decrease because of their physical appearance; for example, a child is only wearing a worn-out uniform and slippers because his/her family cannot afford to buy a new one. The purposive sampling method was applied to select 30 Grade 6students in Bagbag Elementary School as respondents. The study also utilized a descriptive method design in collecting information about the socio-economic status of the respondents. The results showed that several factors affect the academic performance of individuals. These factors include the educational attainment of the parents (most of them are high school graduates only), occupation of the parents (most are not working, especially the mother), and their average monthly income (they can only earn enough to buy their daily needs). Based on the result, most children suffer from insecurities because of their socio-economic status and can create a gap in the student’s achievement. Students who belong to low socio-economic status remain behind.