intro

Chapter 1
The Problem

Introduction

“School attendance is a baseline factor in determining student success”.
Perhaps, the reason behind this is obvious. Learning is best achieved from actual experiences. And without presence in any school activity, a student will not gain any of these experiences. ”What is less obvious is that the consequences of low attendace are serious for all children and for the community, not just the students who miss school.” (www.greatschools.org/parenting/behavior-discipline/644-school-attendance-issues.gs).

According to the Commission on Higher Education, “student activities” includes leadership programs, student publication, student organizations, sports development, volunteerism, peer helper program, etc. (CHED Memorandum Order number 9, series of 2013). The term “school activities” encompasses a wide scope of activities which may include curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. And more often than not, these categories are not given clear distinctions by school administrations which could possibly lead to an overlapping of emphasis and priority.

Curricular or academic activities are those that are directly related to the school curriculum. This category includes classroom activities, activities in the library, activities in the workshop and activities in the laboratory. These are of prime importance because they help students achieve their objective of gaining sufficient and appropriate knowledge that will be useful in their future careers. Co-curricular activities are those that indirectly related to the school curriculum. They are not technically part of the academic program or syllabus. However, they complement academic learning in such a way that they serve as mirrors to academic curriculum (http://edglossary.org/co-curricular). In simpler language, co-curricular activities fill up the learning that students cannot practically experience within the four corners of the classroom. Extra-curricular activities are those that fall outside the realm of the school curriculum. These activities are not connected to the academic program or syllabus of the school but they may have an impact to the personal being and growth of a student. One philosophy is that extra-curricular activities “grow out of curricular activities and return to curricular activities to enrich them”. (Millard, 1930, p. 12)

Every school activity has its own purpose. However, its impact to the students may vary, depending on the student’s attitude towards the activity and the kind of activity that is being employed School activities have various degrees of importance and effects. Extra-curricular activities appeal to student interests. Participating in extra-curricular activity connects students more deeply to the school, its faculty, a peer group, and school values (Mahoney and Cairns, 1997). It is also important to note that two or more of these activities may be held at the same time, which then requires decision making to students as to what should be put first. Sometimes, the benefits that may be acquired through an activity may not be enough to warrant the attendance to such activity, instead of doing something more purposeful and time worthy.

Students have different goals, ambitions, beliefs, outlooks, and personalities. These differences create different motives and priorities to students. The lack of clear cut distinction of activities may also influence those priorities because they may create confusions to students as to what activities should be put first. Furthermore, school policies regarding school activities may also affect such priorities. A collective view of these factors may help in understanding the behavior of students when it comes to observance of school activities, especially the major ones. This may help students in setting up better priorities that may improve their chances of achieving their goals. This may also help schools in understanding student behavior towards school activities, and help them create better programs for the students.