CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Foreign Literature

Student Performance

Galiher (2006) and Darling (2005), used GPA to measure

student performance because the main focus in the student

performance for the particular semester. Some other researchers

used test results or previous year result since they are studying

performance for the specific subject or year (Hijazi and Naqvi,

2006 and Hake, 1998). Many researchers have discussed the

different factors that affect the student academic performance in

their research. There are two types of factors that affect the

students’ academic performance. These are internal and external

classroom factors and these factors strongly affect the students’

performance. Internal classroom factors includes students

competence in English, class schedules, class size, English text

books, class test results, learning facilities, homework,

environment of the class, complexity of the course material,

teachers role in the class, technology used in the class and

exams systems. External classroom factors include extracurricular

activities, family problems, work and financial, social and other

problems. Research studies shows that students’ performance

depends on many factors such as learning facilities, gender and

age differences, etc. that can affect student performance

(Hansen, Joe B., 2000). Harb and El-Shaarawi (2006) found that

the most important factor with positive effect on students'

performance is Parental Involvement.

(http://www.journalofbusiness.org/index.php/GJMBR/article/viewFil

e/721/651)

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

In his widely cited paper, Romer (1993) is one of the first few

authors to explore the relationship between student attendance

and exam performance. A number of factors have contributed to

declining class attendances around the world in the last 15

years. The major reasons given by students for non-attendance

include assessment pressures, poor delivery of lectures, timing

9

of lectures, and work commitments (Newman-Ford, Lloyd & Thomas,

2009). In recent times, students have found a need to seek

employment while studying on a part-time basis due to financial

constraints. The numbers of part-time and mature students has

also risen sharply. The use of information technology also means

that information that used to be obtained from sitting through

lectures can be obtained at the click of a mouse. Indeed, web-

based learning approaches have become the order of the day. Given

all these developments that either makes it impossible or

unnecessary for students to attend classes, the question that

needs to be asked is whether absenteeism affects students’

academic performance. Research on this subject seems to provide a

consensus that students who miss classes perform poorly compared

to those who attend classes (Devadoss& Foltz, 1996; Durden&

Ellis, 1995; Romer, 1993; Park & Kerr, 1990; Schmidt, 1983).

Based on these findings a number of stakeholders have called for

mandatory class attendance. Although the existing evidence points

to a strong correlation between attendance and academic

performance, none of the studies cited above demonstrate a causal

effect. The inability of these cross-sectional studies to isolate

10

attendance from a myriad of confounding student characteristics

(e.g. levels of motivation, intelligence, prior learning, and

time-management skills) is a major limiting factor to the utility

of these findings (Rodgers & Rodgers, 2003). Durden and Ellis,

(1995) controlled for student differences in background, ability

and motivation, and reported a nonlinear effect of attendance on

learning, that is, a few absences do not lead to poor grades but

excessive absenteeism does.

Educational services are often not tangible and are

difficult to measure because they result in the form of

transformation of knowledge, life skills and behavior

modifications of learners (Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, & Fitsilis,

2010). So there is no commonly agreed upon definition of quality

that is applied to education field. The definition of quality of

education varies from culture to culture (Michael, 1998). The

environment and the personal characteristics of learners play an

important role in their academic success. The school personnel,

members of the families and communities provide help and support

to students for the quality of their academic performance. This

social assistance has a crucial role for the accomplishment of11

performance goals of students at school (Goddard, 2003). Besides

the social structure, parents’ involvement in their child’s

education increases the rate of academic success of their child

(Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995).

MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY

Education encounters, in modern times, challenges in all

aspects of social, economic & cultural life; the most important

of which are over-population, over-knowledge, education

philosophy development & the change of teacher’s role, the spread

of illiteracy, lack of the staff & the technological development

& mass media (Aloraini, 2005, p. 30–32). This drove the teaching

staff to use the modern teaching technologies to face some of the

main problems, which education & its productivity encounter, by

increasing the learning level which may be achieved through

providing equivalent opportunities for all people whenever &

wherever they are, while taking into account the individual

differences between learners (Wilkinson, 1986, p. 13 & Abd

El-Halim Said, 1997, p. 19). To improve the educational

productivity, some of the teaching staff sought to mainstream

12

technology within education, developing traditional techniques &

using new educational methods (Al-A’ny, 2000). Mainstreaming the

technological media within what is called ‘‘Multimedia’’ is the

pattern which led to infinite applications of computer

technologies. The concept of this technology came into being with

the appearance of sound cards, then compact disks, then came the

use of digital camera, then the video which made computer an

essential educational tool. Nowadays, multimedia expanded to

become a field on its own. The concept of multimedia technology

is broad & it has infinite usage fields; it is a profound element

as an educational technology in addition to its use in medical &

statistical domains & in establishing databases. Moreover, the

entertainment sector is one of the sectors that had the lion’s

share in using this technology. Interaction is the main element

in multimedia technology as most of its applications are

characterized by interaction. Consequently, multimedia programs

may provide a more effective & more influential experiment than

using each technology separately.

The researcher thinks that multimedia is one of the best

educational techniques because it addresses more than one sense 13

simultaneously, as it addresses the senses of sight & hearing.

Multimedia programs provide different stimuli in their

presentations which include a number of elements some of which

are (Aloraini, 2005, p. 55–75): Texts, spoken words, sound &

music, graphics, animations and still pictures.

These elements were mainstreamed in a comprehensive presentation

so as to provide effective education, which in turn will support

the participation of the different senses of the learners in

diverse syllabi. (Hadmin,2000).

PHYSICAL

Mahar (2006), Habitual physical activity is vital for

enhancing overall health. Lifestyle behaviors adopted in

childhood tend to track into adulthood, and more active children

tend to be more active as adults than their sedentary peers, thus

aiding in the prevention of diseases such as obesity,

hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other health problems.

Unfortunately, physical activity among children and adolescents

14

has declined, and increasing numbers of children are spending

more time in sedentary activities. A review of the literature

reveals that few studies have been conducted to evaluate the

physical activity levels of elementary school children during a

typical school day. Likewise, few studies have been conducted to

evaluate the effects of physical activity on the classroom

behavior of elementary school children.

Additional research is also needed to evaluate the

effectiveness of classroom-based physical activity programs on

on-task behavior and academic performance. Because on-task

behavior can be directly linked to physical activity that is

performed immediately preceding the observation period, it may be

the most appropriate variable to evaluate relative to academic

performance. Test performance is influenced by factors other than

physical activity performed at school and usually can be linked

directly to physical activity behavior. Additional information on

the effectiveness of classroom-based physical activity programs

on academic performance (e.g., standardized tests and grades)

can, however, provide a stronger rationale for why school systems

should make policy changes to require more physical activity

15

during the school day. Finally, it is recommended that students

be tracked for several years to evaluate the chronic effects of a

classroom-based physical activity program on physical activity

levels, body composition, and academic performance.

SOCIAL

From Wikipedia (2009), the term psychosocial refers to one

in psychological development in and interaction with a social

environment. The individual is not necessarily fully aware of

this relationship with his or her environment.

In 2004, Barker and Garvin Doxas stress that a learning

environment includes physical surroundings, psychosocial or

emotional components, social and cultural influence that exist in

a learning situation. Ozay, et.al (2004) also pointed out that

classroom environment factors have been found to be particularly

influential on student results.

Learning Theories.com (2012, April 12), exemplifies

on Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory that social interaction

plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development.

16

Such occurs first between the child and other people

(interpsychological) and then inside the child (intra-

psychological). Other people can be conceptualized as the “The

More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)”. The MKO refers to anyone who has

a better understanding or a higher ability level than the

learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept.

The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, and could also

be peers.

The Developmental and Social Factors emphasize

that learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal

relationships, and communication with others. Learning is often

enhanced when children have an opportunity to interact with and

collaborate with others on instructional tasks. In these

situations, children have opportunities for perspective taking

and reflective thinking that can enhance their self-esteem and

development. Quality interpersonal relationships can provide

trust and caring that increase children’s sense of belonging,

self-respect, self-acceptance, and produce a positive learning

climate. Parents, teachers, and peers are very important people

17

in the child’s social world and their relationships with the

child can either enhance or undermine the child’s learning.

When Aronson (2003) first published The Social Animal

in 1972, he confirmed scientifically what people knew

experientially: Human beings are social in their very nature. In

fact, Dunbar (1998) hypothesized that the large human brain

evolved primarily to adapt to an increasingly complex social

environment. As Goleman (2006) puts it “We are wired to connect.”

The domain of social intelligence and development is a critical

component of descriptions of human ability and behavior

(Albrecht, 2006; Gardner, 1983/1993, 2006). Social skills are

important t for preparing young people to mature and succeed in

their adult roles within the family, workplace, and community

(Ten Dam & Volman, 2007). Elias et al. (1997) suggested those

involved in guiding children and youth should pay special

attention to this domain: social skills allow people to succeed

not only in their social lives, but also in their academic,

personal, and future professional activities. For educators, it

is increasingly obvious that learning is ultimately a social

process (Bandura, 1986; Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978). While

18

people may initially learn something independently, eventually

that learning will be modified in interaction with others.

EMOTIONAL

Emotion may be seen as a complex of feelings, sensations and

tendencies to action accompany by stirred-up bodily conditions

and directed toward a specific object or situation. It covers a

wide range of behavior that is agitated and without definite

orientation, as well as behavior that is highly motivated and

goal directed. It has been defined as “a strong feeling or

agitation involving internal and external bodily changes” or “a

condition of upset that drives the individual to move”. Emotional

states from the mildest effective states of pleasantness and

unpleasantness to the more intense states.

Gilmer (1996) stresses that the affective factors involving

emotions and feelings can significantly influence the outcome. It

will be helpful to think of emotions as accompanying motivated

behavior.

John Dewey began with an eloquent plea for the education of

the whole child. Study shows that our emotional system is a

19

complex, widely distributed, and error-prone system that defines

our basic personality early in life, and is quite resistant to

change. Far more neural fibers project from our brain’s emotional

center into the logical/rational centers than the reverse, so

emotion is often a powerful determinant of our behavior than our

brain’s logical/rational processes.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains was created in 1956

under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin

Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in education,

such as analyzing and evaluating, rather than just remembering

facts (rote learning).In the affective domain of the learners

(Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) includes the manner in which we

deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,

appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The five

major categories are listed from the simplest behavior to the

most complex.

According to Dean Taylor, students between the ages 5 and 18

years of age are expected to learn in school. It is their primary

job in this society, and it’s possibly the one thing that will

prepare them to become productive members in their adult years.

20

What they learn will also determine the choices they make when

they enter the workforce or continue into higher education. In

order for students to learn there are several factors that must

be considered. Most of these factors are external; they deal with

social or cultural values. Also, it may be determined by the

school’s environment as well as the teachers and the

administrations that teach them. Still, another important factor

falls upon the student’s ability and willingness to learn.

Thorndike, like many of the early behavioral learning

theorists, linked behavior to physical reflexes. In his early

work he also viewed most behavior as a response to stimuli in the

environment. This view that stimuli can prompt responses was the

forerunner of what became known as stimulus-response (S-R) theory

(Elliot et al, 1996). Thorndike developed his Law of Effect which

states that if an act is followed by a satisfying change in the

environment, the likelihood that the act will be repeated in

similar situations increases. According to Thorndike, pupils

learn more effectively and easily, and retain that learning

longer, if it has pleasant consequences. Thus, rewards,

21

successes, or positive reinforcement further learning, while

punishments, failures or negative experiences hinder it.

B. F. Skinner proposed that reflexive behavior accounts for

only a small proportion of actions. He proposed another class of

behavior, which he labeled operant behaviors because they operate

on the environment in the apparent absence of any unconditioned

stimuli, such as food. Like Thorndike’s, Skinner’s work focused

on the relation between behavior and its consequences. For

example, if an individual’s behavior is immediately followed by

pleasurable consequences, the individual will engage in that

behavior more frequently. The use of pleasant and unpleasant

consequences to change behavior is often referred to as operant

conditioning (Microsoft Encarta Reference Library, 2004).

Bandura’s social learning theory is a major outgrowth of the

behavioral learning theory tradition. Developed by Albert

Bandura, the social learning theory accepts most of the

principles of behavioral theories but focuses to a much greater

degree on the effects of cues on behavior and on internal mental

processes, emphasizing the effects of thought on action and

action on thought.

22

Bandura noted that Skinnerian emphasis on the effects of

consequences of behavior largely ignored the phenomena of

modeling – the imitation of others’ successes or failures. He

felt that much of human learning is not shaped by its

consequences but more efficiently learned directly from a model.

Bandura’s analysis of observational learning involves four

phases: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and

motivational processes (Slavin et. al., 1995).

To produce a behavior that matches that of a model, a child

goes through four sets of processes. Her ability to attend to the

modeled behavior is influenced by factors in her own experience

as well as in the situation; her skill in retaining what she has

observed reflects a collection of cognitive skills; her

reproduction of the behavior depends on other cognitive skills

including the use of feedback from others; and she will be

motivated to produce the behavior by various incentives, her own

standards, and her tendency to compare herself with others

(Hetherington, p.25).

English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John

Locke disagreed. They argued that all human experiences—including

23

sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings—are physical processes

occurring within the brain and nervous system. Therefore, these

experiences are valid subjects of study. In this view, which

later became known as monism, the mind and body are one and the

same. Today, in light of years of research indicating that the

physical and mental aspects of the human experience are

intertwined, most psychologists reject a rigid dualist position.

(Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation).

Parent’s Involvement to the Academic of the Learner

Parents’ positive attitude towards child’s education is important

in determining school attendance and academic achievement of the

child. Favorable attitude towards schooling and education

enhances parental involvement in children’s present and future

studies .

Often, the affluent parent will have access to educational

resources for his/her child directly or indirectly. It is more

likely that these parents will have higher regards for education,

set educational goals for the child and/or be models. Also, it is

24

more likely a child with doctors as parents will end up pursuing

higher education- possibly medical school, than the child whose

parent’s education stopped at a high school diploma. This is not

to stay that the child’s education is predetermined by the

parent’s education; however it is merely one factor that can

affect the student’s desire to learn.

Krashen (2005) concluded that students whose parents

are educated score higher on standardized tests than those whose

parents were not educated. Educated parents can better

communicate with their children regarding the school work,

activities and the information being taught at school. They can

better assist their children in their work and participate at

school (Fantuzzo & Tighe, 2000; Trusty, 1999).

Theory of Educational Productivity by Walberg (1981)

determined three groups of nine factors based on affective,

cognitive and behavioral skills for optimization of learning that

affect the quality of academic performance: Aptitude (ability,

development and motivation); instruction (amount and quality);

environment (home, classroom, peers and television) (Roberts,

2007). The home environment also affects the academic performance

25

of students. Educated parents can provide such an environment

that suits best for academic success of their children. The

school authorities can provide counseling and guidance to parents

for creating positive home environment for improvement in

students’ quality of work (Marzano, 2003). The academic

performance of students heavily depends upon the parental

involvement in their academic activities to attain the higher

level of quality in academic success (Barnard, 2004; Henderson,

1988; Shumox & Lomax, 2001).

Parental involvement in a child’s education along

with environmental and economic factors may affect child

development in areas such as cognition, language, and social

skills. Numerous studies in this area have demonstrated the

importance of family interaction and involvement in the years

prior to entering school (Bergsten, 1998; Hill, 2001; Wynn,

2002). Research findings have also shown that a continued effort

of parental involvement throughout the child’s education can

improve academic achievement (Driessen, Smit & Sleegers, 2005;

Fan, 2001; Hong & Ho, 2005). Academic failure has been linked

with risk behaviors and negative outcomes such as; substance

26

abuse, delinquency, and emotional and behavioral problems

(Annunziata, Houge, Faw, & Liddle, 2006).

Weiss et al. (2006) also provide an integrative

model of family involvement that is evidence-based or clearly

linked to positive child outcomes. Their model encompasses three

important categories: Parenting, Home-School Relationships, and

Responsibility for Learning Outcomes. Parenting includes the attitudes,

values, and practices that parents use in raising young children.

This category would include nurturing parent-child relationships

and child-centered practices. Home-School Relationships pertain to both

formal and informal connections between families and young

children’s early childhood education programs. It may include

regular communication with teachers and efforts by the early

childhood education programs to discussion groups. Responsibility for

Learning Outcomes speaks to how parents can support the language and

literacy development of their children through direct parent-

teaching activities such as reading aloud and engaging in

linguistically rich conversations with their children.

27

Teacher’s Involvement in the Academic of the Learner

Mary Chamberlain (2002) said that that great teacher

make a difference. They have passion that seeps through the skin-

a love of learning. Great progress (‘a revolution’) was made but

a working hum and engagement is now not enough. What are now

needed are quality learning conversations between teachers and

learners. It is about extending rather than supervising, about

linking to the child’s world, about creating lines of desires,

about not seeing the curriculum as a straightjacket. The

curriculum it seems is more a direction.

“Appreciate that learning isn’t always fun’ – a good

teacher knows when to push’ – some learning may be

uncomfortable’- really good teachers do this in skilled way.’ The

‘x’ factor is enthusiasms- an enthusiasm and zest for teaching is

critical”, John Langley (2002) emphasized.

“ A danger is that teachers are bogged down with curricula’. The

best teachers can assess the needs of their kids’- it is worrying

in recent years that curricula have become the dominant things’-

a conduit for shoveling information’- this is not what teaching

28

is all about”. “A good teacher for 9-year old in this

international sense is usually a female teacher. She has many

years of teaching experiences. Outside of the school, the good

teacher reads a lot, both professionally about education and also

literature. She has stayed in the class ever since the children

took their first step into school literacy, and has followed

their progress carefully by informal as well as more formal

assessment methods. The good teacher gives the students many

opportunities to do independent, silent reading in the library,

which is richly stocked, and she also often holds discussion with

the students about books they have read. The children of the good

teacher are encouraged to read outside school and to use the

library often. During reading lessons, the children are guided to

interact actively with the text by relating their own experiences

to what is read, by making predictions of upcoming events during

reading and by making generalizations and inferences. The good

reading teacher also takes the students’ interest into account

when selecting reading material. The student oriented approach

with a clear focus on strategies for understanding does not

prevent the good teacher from using phonics elements now and then

29

in her teaching to meet particular students’ needs or when

unknown long worlds, like names, are encountered.” (Lundberg and

Linnakyla, 1993)

Dowling (2003) believed that human teachers

characteristically perform a wide range of activities that we

subsume under the general heading of ‘teaching’. Those include

planning and designing, demonstrating, guiding, telling,

questioning, testing, recording, motivating, and criticizing even

learning. Many of these aspects of a teacher’s role require

significant expertise and the making of finely tuned and

sensitive judgments based on both breadth and depth of

experience. This is important, for instance, in relation to the

provision of appropriate scaffolding to learners. It can also be

argued that the human teacher is in a strong position, in

particular by virtue of overall life experience and

sophistication as a communicator, to both model and facilitate

co-operative learning behaviors.

According to the Ministerial Round Table Meeting

(2003), the image of the teacher as a specialist in a specific

subject who stands alone in front of the class is still a reality

30

today in many contexts, particularly at the elementary level.

However, this perception of the role of teachers no longer

matches the demands of teaching and the expectations that are

made with regard to the education of young people. Even if the

teaching profession has preserved an element have changed and are

continually changing knowledge and ways to access it, the

influence of the media, societal demands, the social environment,

the students themselves, etc. The teacher is moving away from

being a “transmitter of knowledge” and led more and more towards

becoming a “mediator in the construction of knowledge” a

facilitator and even at times, a social worker. He or She must

also foster the development of social skills and create a

learning environment that will encourage young people to learn to

live together and to become responsible citizens. Faced with

expanding access to secondary education, the growing

heterogeneity of students, the redefinition of objectives,

learning content, working methods and

Due to low performance of the pupils, it has always been blamed

on the low of efficiency of teachers. In response to this, in the

article written by Evasco (2007), he quote, “We have to look for

31

other factors to account for the deterioration of quality

instruction. It is a firm belief that the failure to address

quality instruction has something to do with student’s socio-

economic status and our culture towards education.”

A common hypothesis with respect to teacher’s

attitude and student achievement is that students taught using

the right approach or attitude achieve at a higher level because

their teachers have displayed the right attitude and acquired

classroom management skills to deal with different types of

classroom problems (Slavin, 1987, Evan, 1992, Gibbons et al.,

1997). Furthermore, more experienced teachers are considered to

be more able to concentrate on the most appropriate way to teach

particular topics to students who differ in their abilities,

prior knowledge and background (Rauden bush and Williams, 1991).

Stringfield and Teddlie 1991, Ejiogu, 1999 was of the view that

in order to improve on any aspect of education, it is therefore

imperative to involve a well articulated teacher education

programme that will prepare the teacher for the leadership role

they are expected to play. The importance of teacher in the

meaningful education at all level is reflected in the national

32

policy on education (2004) as it declares that no educational

system may rise above the quality of its teachers. This

declaration in the policy document underscores the need for

teacher effectiveness in our schools. conceptualize teacher’s

effectiveness as the managerial skills essential for enhanced

classroom control and discipline. It is the teacher’s competence,

ability, resourcefulness and ingenuity to efficiently utilize the

appropriate language, methodology and available instructional

materials to bring out the best from learners in terms of

academic achievement.

Students’ perceptions of teacher support have a

direct effect on their interest and motivation (Wentzel, 1998),

and teachers’ expectations of student achievement(which has an

affective component) influence the way they behave toward their

students and thus can affect students’ motivation, self-

perceptions, and academic performance (Jussim & Harber, 2005).

However, teacher support in the form of care for students’ well-

being and comfort may be necessary but insufficient to promote

mastery goal orientation: Care and concern for students’ learning

may also be required (Patrick, Anderman, Ryan, Edelin, & Midgley,33

2001). Teachers are role models who continuously induce and

respond to the emotional reactions of their students. Pianta et

al. (2003) applied components of attachment theory (Ainsworth,

Belehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1982) in understanding

teacher–student relationships and the teacher’s function as an

important role model.

According to attachment theory, relationships with supportive

caregivers, characterized by trust, responsiveness, and

involvement, promote social and emotional development through the

development of healthy internalized working models. Children with

supportive internal working models feel a sense of security that

allows them to explore novel situations (Bretherton & Munholland,

1999). Therefore, when teachers are warm and supportive, they

provide students with a sense of connectedness with the school

environment and the sense of security to explore new ideas and

take risks—both fundamental to learning (Mitchell-Copeland,

Denham, & DeMulder, 1997; Murray & Greenberg, 2000; Watson,

2003). However, it is not always easy to be warm and supportive,

especially when provocative student behaviors thwart the

teacher’s efficacy to perform his or her primary instructional

34

role and/or the school culture promotes punitive control measures

over more authoritative approaches (G. R. Mayer, 2001). Although

the quality of student–teacher relationship depends, in part, on

how teachers express and process negative emotions (George &

Solomon, 1996), as we reviewed above, for many teachers,

regulating negative emotions in the classroom can be challenging

and is a commonly reported stressor (Carson & Templin, 2007;

Sutton, 2004). Although they regularly face situations that

provoke anger, contempt, disgust, sadness, and frustration, to

develop and maintain healthy relationships with their students

teachers must find appropriate ways to express (or inhibit) their

feelings in a classroom setting (Hargreaves, 2000). Although

teachers recognize the importance of regulating their emotions

and think they are keeping their feelings hidden from students,

often they are less successful than they imagine (Carson &

Templin, 2007; Sutton, 2004; Sutton & Wheatley, 2003).

Teachers, who expect to be responsible for

educating students, soon find that their responsibilities go far

beyond the curriculum. Children bring their outside experiences

with them to school each day. These experiences have shaped who

35

they are and foreshadow their futures (Ladson- Billings, 2009).

Teachers are expected to overcome all of these obstacles, yet

have not been adequately educated to understand how these life

circumstances affect the families they serve. Working in low-

income, urban schools proves to be more challenging than many

teachers expected and is often far different from their own

experiences with schooling. The teachers are a part of this

system that they often do not fully understand. As a result,

educators are likely to engage in behaviors that contribute to

the achievement gap. This is particularly dangerous because

research shows that the teacher is one of the greatest factors in

student success (McNeal, 2005). When teachers are unprepared to

cope with the realities of their students’ lives and unaware of

how schooling contributes to this reality, success can be

difficult to achieve.

According to Gallavan et al (2005) Teachers, especially at the

novice level, are not aware of the vastly different worlds their

students live in. Instead, they assume that their students are

just like them. This assumption allows for many teachers to

utilize educational approaches that they witnessed growing up. As

36

a result, when their own students struggle to succeed, they blame

the child because the methodology had been effective in their own

schooling. A teacher’s skill, expertise and willingness can help

student to learn. In the art of teaching, anything a teacher does

is going to be scrutinized by the students. If the teacher serves

as an ideal role model, demonstrates competence, as well as

confidence, in the subject he or she is teaching, the students

will respond positively. This rule applies to administrators as

well. In the contrary, the favoritism of the teacher can also

affect the learning process of the students. The way their

teachers deal with them is one thing. Though teachers have

different strategy on imparting knowledge,

students do not understand it easily. They will be confused on

things regarding on how and why the teacher has their favorite

students (Gaudencio V. Aquino 1975)

Local Literature

Written with Dr. Michael Aguirre Clores of the Department of

Mathematics and natural Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences,

Ateneo de Naga University, presents case studies in the

37

interaction between students’ understanding and belief in

learning the theory of evolution. Constructivist theory argues

that belief and understanding are separate but interrelated

aspects in the learning process. Results revealed that students’

position about the theory of evolution and patterns of

understanding varied: (a) misconceptions or lack of understanding

affecting the belief; (b) cascade of conceptual change that was

complicated by belief; (c) rejection of the theory due to

challenged religious belief and potential to understand

evolutionary theory despite resistance to believe in the theory;

(d) remaining skeptical about the theory due to ambivalence that

emanated from his conflicting theological and scientific beliefs

and misconception he held about human evolution, and (e) prior

beliefs and concepts that were commensurate to the accepted

scientific concepts and beliefs about the evolution made learning

evolution less complicated. We conclude that the Filipino

students’ belief affect their ability to understand the theory of

evolution and vice-versa.

The strategic nature of learning requires students to be

goal directed. To construct useful representations of knowledge

38

and to acquire the thinking and learning strategies necessary for

continued learning success across the life span, students must

generate and pursue personally relevant goals. Initially,

students' short-term goals and learning may be sketchy in an

area, but over time their understanding can be refined by filling

gaps, resolving inconsistencies, and deepening their

understanding of the subject matter so that they can reach

longer-term goals. Educators can assist learners in creating

meaningful learning goals that are consistent with both personal

and educational aspirations and interests.( Soledad Esplanada,

1996).

MEDIA

The Philippines could be the “texting capital of the world”, with

reportedly 50 million text messages sent out every day

(Breakthrough, DLSU). Even the crippled Philippine economy got a

boost from text messaging especially its influence to the teens.

Text messaging is most popular among teens and to the college

39

students. Because of its popularity in this age group, it has

sprawned a new term the “GenTxt” or text generation. Part of text

messaging appeal to Filipinos probably has to do with the fact

that it feeds a pre-existing cultural urge, namely to rumor

monger. Text messaging enables a close-knit and factional society

to share information immediately. The power of text messaging is

to disseminate effect. Thus, there is no reason to think that the

flow of disingenuous texts will become less rabid now in the most

volatile of seasons. (Garrido, 2004). As stated by Celeste

(2010), There is no doubt that modern technology has an effect on

the study habits of students today. The positive side of modern

technology is that it makes things easier for students to

research for their homework and projects. However, it is also

right to mention that technologies are also a major distraction

for students.

Ma. Shiela Escuro (2009) says that, “Usage of this gadget can be

controllable. It’s up to the parents to teach their child to be

responsible on their mobile phones, to ask them to pay-up when

their mobile runs out of money. Or to get some agreement from the

40

mobile companies that automatically cut- off usage when the child

overuses their allowance for the month.”

According to Fabian (2007), the world is changing fast.

Technology continues to advance at lightning speed and anyone who

doesn’t keep up is in danger of being left behind. As a result,

the way students study has changed significantly. While books

still remain a valuable tool, the need to spend hours and hours

sitting in the library has reduced dramatically. Students now

have numerous options available to them when it comes to learning

techniques.

Furthermore discussed by Fabian, We cannot deny the fact that

technology can be a major distraction when studying. Using the

internet itself can be distracting because of all the social

networking sites and the games that are available with just one

click. Of course there is the usual cellphone, iPod and iPad

which can really distract the students. This will all boil down

to the age and the self-discipline of the student.

RELATED STUDIES

41

FOREIGN

Physical

Breus (2006) More and more research studies demonstrate that

daytime sleepiness from chronic sleep deprivation and poor

quality sleep has significant impacts on daytime behavior and

academic performance, as well as concentration, attention, and

mood. Even 20 fewer minutes of needed sleep may significantly

affect behavior in many areas. One study showed that those

students with C’s, D’s and F’s got about 25 fewer minutes of

sleep and went to bed an average of 40 minutes later than A and B

students.

From elementary school through high school and beyond, a

great many of our children are chronically sleep-deprived. With

more than 2/3 of all children having some kind of sleep problem,

and most adolescents not getting enough sleep, many will struggle

to meet the barrage of new challenges, demands, and emotions of a

new school year. It is not widely recognized and appreciated just

how pervasive and critical quality sleep is for brain development

and how it directly influences daytime functioning, performance,

mood and behavior.

42

Emotional

Doran (2003) Childhood: A time of giggles, jumping

exuberance, best friends. The absence of stress is a safety net

where the children are protected, secure and happy and worry

free. Children under stress who experience loss or who have

attention, learning or conduct disorders are at higher risk for

depression.

The Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry lists some symptoms of

childhood depression: persistent depression; inability to enjoy

previously favorite activities; frequent absences from school or

poor performance; continuing low energy or motivation; poor

concentration; a major change in sleeping or eating patterns and

difficulty dealing with everyday activities and responsibilities.

What do we do, then, with the child who is clinging, morose,

acting out? We can start by realizing that every human being is a

study in complexity, that simple answers, such as “rebellious

behavior” or bad parenting will not bring us any closer to

seeking solutions. I suggest taking steps to address the context

that frames the depression. First, design programs that bulid on

43

children’s strengths. Second, Doctors, Psychiatrist and Educators

should discuss more about knowing and understanding of such

behavior of a child. Third, let the children know that we

understand and that we are there to help. Last, take time out to

listen, to connect our children to the people and places that

will affirm their efforts and help them to move forward.

Kuzma (2004) Children needs positive attention. Criticism,

complaining and negative comments are discouraging and often

result in more misbehavior. But encouragement, optimism and

positive strokes are to kids as fertilizer is to plants. It’s the

stuff that really makes them flourish- as Rudolf Dreikers

statement that “each child needs continuous encouragement just as

a plant needs water”.

The lack of positive attention can cause tremendous behavior

problems in children. And how surprising isn’t it, when one child

is so good and the next so “slow and having bad performance” even

though we treat both of them the same. You seem to get opposite

results. The reason for this is that children are born with

different characteristics that make them either easy or difficult

to learn with.

44

The involvement of parents as teachers to their children

play an important role to contribute to a good performance like

in reading development and formation of reading habits of the

children utilizing various stimulating techniques. It is

important that they’re most likely prepared with reading

experiences to fell enjoyment, satisfaction, confidence and

appreciation of the different school activities. Parents

misconstrue that it is teacher’s obligation to teach everything

to their children and not theirs. It is more significant if they

always find time for their children to read to make their

children become efficient and skilled readers and for them to

develop high reading performance (Dogelio, 2003)

“Remember, a positive stroke doesn’t always have to be given

in words. Smile, wink, and ruffle their hair and your children

will get the message that you tuned into them and you will be

filling their love cups.

PARENTAL

Parents who are more involved in their children’s

lives, as measured by the number of shared activities, are more

likely to hold higher expectations for their child’s education.

45

Visiting a library together, attending a concert or play,

visiting an art gallery, museum, or historical site, or going

together to a zoo or aquarium were listed as the kinds of

activities parents and children might have shared in the past

month. Among parents who counted three or four such activities,

79 percent expected their child to achieve a bachelor’s degree or

higher, compared with 62 percent among parents who did not share

any such activities with their child in the past month.

More striking, between six and seven percent of parents who

shared at least one activity with their child expected that they

would not attain more than a high school diploma, compared with

12 percent of parents who shared no activities in the past month.

(Child Trends’ original analysis of the 2003 and 2007 National

Household Education Surveys.)

School data on parent perceptions and various

characteristics of 41 elementary schools in a large suburban

school district located in a metropolitan area were analyzed in

this study. The responses of 11,317 diverse parents who responded

to a survey indicated that positive relationships of parental

involvement to student achievement were largely unaffected by

46

school characteristics or the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic

composition of the student population. Parental involvement was

consistently correlated with student performance when school

resources and the composition of the school’s student population

were controlled. Parental involvement (participating in volunteer

activities and attending parent-teacher and school activities)

and empowerment (parents' perception of schools’ efforts to

accommodate parent participation in school activities and to

communicate with parents) combined contributed most significantly

to student performance. (Griffith, J. (1996). Relation of

parental involvement, empowerment, and school traits to student

academic performance. Journal of Educational Research, 90, 33-41.)

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize

the quantitative literature concerning the relationship between

parental involvement and children’s academic achievement. Their

findings revealed a “moderate and practically meaningful”

relationship between parental involvement and academic

achievement. Parental aspiration/expectation for children’s

educational achievement was the strongest relationship, while

parental home supervision was the weakest. The relation of parent

47

involvement to achievement was also stronger as a “global

indicator” of academic achievement (e.g. grade point average)

than as a predictor of student achievement in specific subject

areas.( Fan, X.T., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental involvement and

students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational

Psychology Review, 13, 1-22.)

This article analyzes how specific parenting practices, both at

home and at school, relate to student achievement.

Studies cited by the author indicate that parent

involvement at home influences academic performance more strongly

than parent involvement at school. Three types of parent

involvement at home are consistently related to school

achievement:

• Organizing and monitoring children's time, especially related

to television viewing;

• Assisting with homework; and

• Talking about school issues with children.

These methods of involvement have also been linked with the

resilience of students who succeed despite challenges such as

poverty, minority status, or native language. Research analyzed

48

by the author also demonstrates a positive relationship between

literacy and reading at home and student achievement. Several

studies have shown a strong relationship between parents reading

to their children as well as children reading to their parents

and reading achievement. School programs that encourage literacy

activities at home have proven successful. Research has not found

a consistent relationship between parental involvement in school

(attending school programs, volunteering, visiting classrooms)

and student achievement. Research also shows that children of

“disengaged” parents (parents who are authoritarian, fail to

provide guidance and structure, and do not provide emotional

support) are the least successful in school settings. Finally,

studies reviewed by the author indicate that schools can

encourage parent involvement, both at home and at school, with

outreach efforts. (Finn, J. D. (1998). Parental engagement that

makes a difference. Educational Leadership, 55 (8), 20-24.)

Socio-economic factors like attendance in the class, family

income, and mother’s and father’s education, teacher-student

ratio, presence of trained teacher in school, sex of student and

distance of school are also affected the performance of the

49

students. (Raychauduri et al., 2010) Kernan, Bogart & Wheat

(2011), academic success of graduate student will be enhanced if

the optimal health related barriers are low. There is negative

relationship between college credit and stress but weak

relationship between GPA (Grade Point Average) and stress.

(Zajacova, Lynch and Espenshade, 2005) AmitavaRaychaudhuri, et.

al., (July 2010), found that numerous studies have been done to

identify those factors which are affecting student’s academic

performance. The students’ academic performance depends on a

number of socio-economic factors like students’ attendance in the

class, family income, mother’s and father’s education, teacher-

student ratio, presence of trained teacher in school, sex of the

student, and distance of schools. Hijaz and Naqvi (2006) observed

that there is a negative relationship between the family income

and students’ performance and they focus on the private colleges

in Pakistan. H4:

Noble (2006), students’ academic accomplishments and activities,

perceptions of their coping strategies and positive attributions,

and background characteristics (i.e., family income, parents’

level of education, guidance from parents and number of negative50

situations in the home) were indirectly related to their

composite scores, through academic achievement in high school.

The students face a lot of problems in developing positive study

attitudes and study habits. Guidance is of the factor through

which a student can improve his study attitudes and study habits

and is directly proportional to academic achievement. The

students who are properly guided by their parents have performed

well in the exams. The guidance from the Factors Affecting

Students’ Academic Performance Global Journal of Managementand

Business Research Volume XII Issue IX Version I18© Global

Journals Inc. © 2012 Global Journals Inc. ( US) US2012

Juneteacher also affects the student performance. The guidance

from the parents and the teachers indirectly affect the

performance of the students (Hussain, 2006).

SOCIAL

Researchers have been studying the connection

between social development and academic achievement for decades

and have come to a startling conclusion: the single best

51

predictor of adult adaptation is not academic achievement or

intelligence, but rather the ability of the child to get along

with other children (Hartup, 1992). Additionally, Wentzle (1993)

found that prosocial and antisocial behavior are significantly

related to grade point average and standardized test scores, as

well as teachers’ preferences for the student. These studies, and

others like them, indicate that a socially adjusted child is more

likely to be the academically successful child.

As an explanation for why social development is

important to the academic learning process, Caprara, Barbanelli,

Pastorelli, Bandura and Zimbardo (2000) noted that aggression and

other maladaptive behaviors detract from academic success by

‘undermining academic pursuits and creating socially alienating

conditions’ for the aggressive child. Studies show also that if

children are delayed in social development in early childhood

they are more likely to be at-risk for maladaptive behaviors such

as antisocial behavior, criminality, and drug use later in life

(Greer-Chase, Rhodes, & Kellam, 2002). In fact, Kazdin (1985)

noted that the correlations between preschool-aged aggression and

52

aggression at age 10 is higher than the correlation between IQ

and aggression.

Studies done with students at the ages of

middle childhood and adolescence support the notion that those

social skills acquired in early education are related to social

skills and academic performance throughout school-aged years. One

such longitudinal study done with third- and fourth-grade

students found that social skills were predictive of both current

and future academic performance (Malecki & Elliot, 2002).

Mitchell and Elias (as cited in Elias, Zins, Graczyk, &

Weissberg, 2003) found similar results; they showed that academic

achievement in the third grade was most strongly related to

social competence, rather than academic achievement, in the

second grade. Similarly, Capara, Barbanelli, Pastorelli, Bandura,

and Zimbardo (2000) found that changes in achievement in the

eighth grade could be predicted from gauging children’s social

competence in third grade. At the high school level, Scales et

al. (2005) measured students’ level of ‘developmental assets’,

(positive relationships, opportunities, skills, values and self-

perceptions) and its relationship to academic achievement. In

53

this study, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students with more

increased ‘developmental assets’ had higher GPAs in tenth through

twelfth grade than those with less assets. These findings support

the view that a broad focus on social and emotional development

promotes academic achievement throughout middle and high school

.

54