Research: High School and Students

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the significance of the study, and scope and delimitation.
Background of the Study A student 's academic performance is simply defined as the student’s behavior or attitude towards school works. These school works include major subjects like Math, Science, English and Social Studies, minor subjects like CLE, TLE and MAPEH and extra curricular activities like organizations or clubs where a student belongs to. Teachers do their bests to produce successful students, though most students pass; still there are some who fail. These outcomes of student performances are brought about by various factors which a students encounter as they pursue their studies. Certain factors that may affect the students ' performance are their interests, abilities, or their environment.
The researcher would like to focus on the effect of the students ' environment-- specifically their family background and status which may be one of the major factors that contribute to their academic performances. For example, a student may encounter situations that involve quarrels between parents and siblings or parents who engage themselves in vices, like smoking and alcohol drinking. While some, experienced growing up in a broken family or living with a guardian for some reasons. These circumstances where students are being exposed to may highly affect their performance towards school works. Secondly, some studies which say that warm and responsive parenting for example, would most likely result to an achiever in school, while insensitive parenting results otherwise. And lastly, the socio- economic status or the lifestyle in which students grew up in may also affect their mentality and attitude towards school works. The researcher, being a student, chose to work on this kind of study to satisfy her curiosity regarding the things that might have caused the failures and success of students fellow students have been experiencing as they pursue their studies.
This study aims to let parents be aware that the two worlds of students, the home and the school should be integrated to bring out the best in each student. Also, this study may be of help to both parents and students so that they can work together to have an open communication and discuss important matters concerning both parties. Lastly, this may enlighten teachers on how to handle students depending on the strengths and weaknesses of a student based from his/ her needs.
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework This study rests on the following theoretical and conceptual framework, According to the Attachment Theory of John Bowlby, which is a psychological theory concerning the relationships between humans, "Relationships with peers have an influence on the child that is distinct from that of parent-child relationships, though the latter can influence the peer relationships children form. Although peers become important in middle childhood, the evidence suggests peers do not become attachment figures, though children may direct attachment behaviors at peers if parental figures are unavailable. Attachments to peers tend to emerge in adolescence, although parents continue to be attachment figures. With adolescents, the role of the parental figures is to be available when needed while the adolescent makes excursions into the outside world." As a child, she depend herself to another person. Sometimes, a child needs her peers in order for to be able to attend school. For example, if her peer doesn 't want to go to school, the child tends to do the same. But, as the child grows, she already needs more of her parents help because she 'll be encountering more people that would change her life. Her parents ' and peers ' lifestyle and behavior may somewhat be adapted by her. Figure 1 shows the research model of this study. The model shows the different family backgrounds from which a fourth year high school student from SSAM may come from. Likewise, it shows the factors that may possibly influence the academic performance of a year four student who came from a certain type of family.

Conceptual Model From the research gathered from similar studies, the conceptual framework is formulated. This is shown in figure 1.

Theoretical Model

Statement of the Problem This study indentified the effects of family background on the academic performance of the fourth year high school students since first year. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: 1. What is the respondents’ profile? • What is the respondent’s age? • What is the socio-economic status of the respondent’s family? • Whom is the respondent’s living with? • What are the conflicts that they encounter in their family? 2. What is the yearly average of the respondent from first year to third year? 3. Do family background and status affect a student in a positive/negative way? • How do the respondents manage to cope with the effects of their family background and status?
Significance of the study This study is beneficial to the following: The Fourth Year Students. This study will be beneficial to them because it will increase their awareness regarding the role of their family background in their academic performances. It will help in making necessary adjustments and encourage them to do better in their studies despite their valid backgrounds and status. The Teachers. This study will serve as their studies serve as their guide or checklist to identify the reasons why students have different levels of academic performances. At the same time, this study may help them know how to attend to students who have different weaknesses; it may help them identify the proper handling of each student The Guidance Counselors. This study will serves as their basis on how they can counsel and encourage students who have difficulties in their academic performance. The Parents. This study is beneficial to them because it will help them identify their responsibilities as parents to their children. This will serves as an eye-opener to provoke them to take action in opening their lines of communication to their children that may help in understanding the concern of their families.
Scope and Delimitation The study was limited to the fourth year students of school year 2010-2011, who have been studying in St. Scholastica’s Academy of Marikina since first year. The study was primarily concerned with the identification of the effects of the different family backgrounds to the fourth year students.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Chapter II deals with the research of the local and foreign literature and studies relevant to the proposed study.
RELATED LITERATURE This section of the research presents a review of related literature and studies in line with how the different family backgrounds of the fourth year students who have been in SSAM since first year affects their academic performance. Significant to the study are the articles and journals related to it.
Foreign
Family, in most books, is considered as the basic unit of a community. It molds someone to become a better person. Our family affects us in such way that they can be our inspiration, our mentor, and our teacher. There are many factors on how our family affects the academic performance of the students especially the fourth year high school students. One of which is the size of the family. It is stated in a scholarly journal that: “In a large family, a child may not be given maximum attention especially in her academics. The issue of home works, payment of school fees, attending Parent-Teacher Association and many more may not be convenient for the parents as they have to cater for many children while children are well catered for and perform better in a small family.” If a student has many siblings, her parents may not focus much on her but on the other problems of the family members. Another factor is the type of family where a student belongs. In third-world countries, families are classified as monogamy and polygamy. According to a research in Asia, 56% of respondents said that their fathers marry more than one wife. Due to this, children in the family are competing with each other over their father’s love and attention. Lastly, the parents’ socio-economic status can also be a factor. As stated in the same scholarly journal: “More often, children from the high socio-economic status perform academically better than their peers from the low socio-economic status. The low socio-economic situation is found in rural areas, ghettos and slums.” If the student came from low socio-economic status then whenever they will have a requirement that deals with money, it would be difficult for them to pay for that. In an article entitled “The Importance of Family Life”, it states that: “Children who belong to families who have attained a food tend learn more…it is the effect or your family life which guides you to decide what profession you want to do as adult.” Parents play an important role for their child. Many are familiar with the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” According to About.com (Concepts Every Single Parent Needs to Keep in Mind) students who have single parent has positive effects like developing strong bonds with her parent which means that spending quality one-on-one time with them allows a child to develop a unique bond that may actually be stronger than it would have been if her parent is married and so this would help her in performing well in her studies. On the other hand, children raised with married parents don’t just have chores to do in order to earn an allowance. Instead, their contribution to the entire family is necessary. Parents should recognize the efforts of their children. They should praise them for helping them around home and for doing well in school so that children will continue what they have done or may be improve their work as a student. Another thing is that children who have witnessed their parents having conflicts and disagreements and resolving them would help the children in doing the same thing. Whenever she will encounter such things at school, she will be able to deal with those things or if not her parents will support and encourage her. Parents cannot always prevent their children from feeling sad or disappointment but they can help them express and cope with their emotions. Parents should help their child in balancing her own needs and wants with the needs of the entire family. They should not buy everything that their child wants because their child might be spoiled and it may not help her in her studies. They should also teach their kids to express their needs while also considering the needs of others. RELATED STUDIES Following is the review made on some foreign and local studies that are related to the study.
Foreign
The study of Harvard School of Education (2007) entitled “Family Involvement Makes a Difference” states that: “Warm, responsive parenting in adolescence is related to school success and positive social or emotional outcomes. Adolescents with supportive parents exhibit higher rates of self-reliance, identity formation, school performance and positive career-planning aspirations, as well as lower rates of depression and delinquency.” It agrees upon the proposed study and suggested that a healthy relationship with our parents leads to appositive effect to the students’ performance in school. The Archived Information entitled, “Family Involvement in Children’s Education (1997)” affirms that: “Effective school-family partnerships benefit all involved school staff, parents, and students. Research demonstrates that parent involvement can be an important benefit for parents as well helping them to perceive their children’s school in a more positive light, enhancing their sense of efficacy as parents and changing the perceptions of their children as learners.” In M.R. Shittu’s (2004) thesis, it says that home background influences academic and educational success of students and schoolwork, while socio-economic status reinforces the activities and functioning of the teachers and students. The quality of parents and home background of a student goes a long way to predict the quality and regularity of the satisfaction and provision of a child’s functional survival and academic needs. Poor parental care with gross deprivation of social and economic needs of a child, usually yield poor academic performance of the child. On the other hand, where a child suffers parental and material deprivation and care due to divorce or death, or making off of one of the parents, the child’s schooling may be affected as the mother alone may not be financially buoyant to pay school fee, purchase books and uniforms, such child may play truant, thus her performances in school may be unfavorably affected. Danesy’s and Okediran’s (2002) research stated that good parenting, supported by strong economic home background, could enhance strong academic performance of the child. This further predicts academic performance where the child is properly counseled in the choice of her courses and vocation that matches her mental ability, interest and capability whereas the children to the care of the illiterate mothers will find themselves roaming about the street laboring to make ends meet. The United States Department of Education (2000) found out in a study that the relationship between poverty and students’ performance is not simple and direct. It concluded that poverty is an important factor accounting for differences and achievement across rural, sub-urban and urban districts. However, the study concluded that poverty along does not account for all the differences in the performance of the students. Rose’s (2001) article says that various family resources- financial, social and cultural – are important for students’ educational pursuits that could create conditions for students to succeed. Nevertheless, it is also important for parents to offer encouragement, set expectations and demonstrate interest in their children’s academic work and convey their concern for their children’s progress both in and out of school. Dr. Johann (2003) said that students, who report more frequent interaction with their parents on both social and cultural issues, tend to perform better on the combined reading literacy scale in every country. It is also said that communication and interaction between students and parents may help create the positive synergies between school and home environments that benefit children’s academic work. A useful policy tool is to encourage parents to get more involved with their children’s learning activities. This may be particularly important for students from families with limited financial resources.

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter explains the method of research used, sources of data, data gathering instruments, data gathering procedure, and the statistical treatment of data.
Method of Research Used The design employed by the researcher in order to carry out the purpose of the study was the descriptive and historical method. The descriptive method was used to produce more information about “what is/ are “or the current prevailing perceptions of students regarding the topic. On the other hand, the historical method was also used. The researchers gathered the average grade of the 40 respondents for school years 2007-2010.
Sources of Data The respondents of the study were the students of the high school department of St. Scholastica’s Academy- Marikina. The student respondents were from the Year IV who was enrolled for the past 3-4 years up to the present school year 2010-2011 but random sampling was used. Using the simple random technique, the researchers gathered 40 senior respondents from different sections. The simple random sampling was used for this allowed the researcher to have a known probability that each elementary unit to be chosen.
Data Gathering Instruments The study used the following research instruments in gathering the needed data. Questionnaire. A one-page questionnaire was designed for the study. It was composed of 17 questions that aimed to satisfy the statement of the problem. The required time to complete the questionnaire was estimated to be 10 minutes. Unstructured Interview. The interview refers to a face-to-face encounter between two persons, the interviewer who asks the questions and the interviewee who gives her opinion and answer relevant to satisfy the proposed study. The questions used in the questionnaire and unstructured interview were formulated by the researcher and have gone through the validation process of their English teacher, Mrs. Menere Nasiad.
Data Gathering Procedure The researcher sought the permission and approval of the English teacher, Mrs. Menere Nasiad to conduct the study. When the permission and approval were granted, the questionnaire was formulated. The first draft was presented to the person above and their classmates for comments and suggestions. After which the final questions were written in black and white, photocopied and distributed to the respondents.
Statistical Treatment of Data
The statistical techniques used in treating the data were the following: Weighted Mean. The weighted means of the responses to the questionnaire were taken. The weighted mean is used whenever the composite attitude of a group of respondents toward an issue is sought. The weighted mean is attained by multiplying the scale value of the responses indicating it and the dividing the total weighted points by the number of responses. Percentage. The percentage was used to interpret data from frequency distribution. Arithmetic Mean. The arithmetic mean was used in some items of the questionnaire. The formula is:
M = Ex N
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA This chapter presents, analyzes, and interprets the data gathered from the 40 copies of a one-page survey questionnaire distributed to fourth year students of SSAM batch 2010-2011 which includes 17 questions that would help the researchers answer the questions of the proposed study. The age of the 40 students who answered the questionnaire ranges from 15-16 years old. Eighteen students were studying in SSAM for 11 years, four students were at the said school for 10 years, two for nine years in this institution, one for six years, eight for four years, five for three years, one for two years and one student did not answer the question. The researchers asked the respondents if they experienced failing a subject during their stay in the said institution and out of the 40 respondents, a total of 20 students or 50% of them experienced failing a subject since first year high school and the other 20 students or 50% did not experience failing any subject. Table 1 presents the number of students who experienced failing a subject from first year high school to third year high school.
Table 1
Students who failed from first year to third year
|Year Level |Frequency |Percentage |
|First year |13 |37.14 |
|Second year |6 |17.14 |
|Third year |8 |22.86 |
|Fourth year |8 |22.86 |
|TOTAL |35 |100 |

There were 20 students who answered that they experienced failing a subject from first year to fourth year. And according to the table, the total number of responses is greater than the total number of students who failed in a certain year level which means that some students fail in two or more year levels. The researchers also asked the respondents if their parents are living together or separated and 32 out of the 40 students answered that their parents are living together while 8 students answered that their parents are separated. After that there is a follow up question which asks the students with whom are they staying with and 27 students answered that they are at home with both of their parents, 5 students are living with their mother, 2 students with their father and 6 students with a guardian. Table 2 presents the percentage of students whose parents are living together.
Table 2
Students’ parents’ marital status
|Parents’ marital status |Frequency |Percentage |
|Living together |32 |80 |
|Separated |8 |20 |
|TOTAL |40 |100 |

This shows that many students are living with both of their parents but there are some that have separated parents. There is a wide gap between those with parents living together and with separated parents. Graph 1 presents the academic performance from first year to third year of two fourth year high school students from different section based on their parents’ marital status particularly the one with separated parents and the other one with parents living together.
Graph 1
Academic performance of two students with different parents’ marital status
[pic]
Graph 1 shows that the academic performance of the two students with different parent marital status is consistent specifically Student A who has separated parents and Student B with parents living together which ranges from 80-85 from first year to third year high school. The researchers asked the respondents what vices are prominent in their family. It came out that 13 students said that smoking is prominent in their family, 14 students answered that alcohol drinking is prominent in their family and 2 students said that their parents have another party. Table 3 presents the percentage of students with vices prominent in their family.

Table 3
Vices prominent in the Family
|Vices prominent in the family |Frequency |Percentage |
|Smoking |13 |45 |
|Alcohol Drinking |14 |48 |
|Third Party |2 |7 |
|TOTAL |29 |100 |

This shows that a lot of students belong to a family with vices. Alcohol drinking is the most prominent vice in a family with 48% of the students’ responses. Graph 2 presents the academic performance from first year to third year of two fourth year high school students from different sections, one with vices prominent in her family particularly smoking and alcoholic drinking and the other one without any vices prominent in her family.
Graph 2
Academic performance of two students based on the vices prominent in their family
[pic]
Graph 2 shows that student B who answered that there are no vices prominent in her family performs well in her academics with average that ranges from 85-89 from first year to third year. On the other hand, student A has an average that ranges from 80-84 from first year to third year. This shows that students who belong to family with different vices have an effect in their performance in school. The researchers asked the respondents’ monthly family income and it came out that 3 students belong to family with monthly income of P10 000 and below, 4 students with P11 000 to P20 000, 3 students with P21 000 to P30 000 and 30 students with P31 000 and above. Table 4 presents range of the monthly family income of the fourth year students.
Table 4
Monthly Family Income
|Monthly income |Frequency |Percentage |
|P10 000 and below |3 |7.5 |
|P11 000 – P20 000 |4 |10 |
|P21 000 – P30 000 |3 |7.5 |
|P31 000 and above |30 |75 |
|TOTAL |40 |100 |

There is a wide gap between those families whose monthly income is P30, 000 and below with a total percentage of 28.9 and those whose monthly income is P31, 000 and above with a percentage of 71.0. The researchers also asked the fourth year students if they think that their monthly family income affect their academic performance; 10 students said yes while 30 students said no. Out of the 10 students who answered yes, three of them said that it affects them positively and seven said that it affects them negatively. For the seven students who said that their family monthly income affects them negatively, the researchers asked how do they cope with their school works and their answers are present in Table 5. Graph 3 presents of the academic performance from first year to third year of two fourth year high school students from different sections based on the socio-economic status of their family one with P10 000 and below monthly income and the other with P31 000 and above.
Graph 3
Academic Performance of Two Students Based on their Monthly Family Income [pic] Graph 3 shows that the academic performance of student B who answered that their monthly family income is P10 000 and below performs really well academically and is consistent of having 90 and above as her average from first year to third year. On the other hand, student A who answered that their monthly family income is P31 000 and above has an average of 85-89 when she was in first year to third year. Table 5 presents the coping skills of the fourth year students.

Table 5 Coping Skills of the Students
|Coping skills |Frequency |Percentage |
|Asks help from friends |7 |70 |
|Asks help from life mentors |0 |0 |
|Focuses more on ECA |1 |10 |
|Engages in social activities |2 |20 |
|TOTAL |10 |100 |

This shows that many students seek the help of their friend when it comes to their school works. It also shows that other students not only ask for their friends’ help but do other things like focusing more on extra-curricular activities and engaging themselves in social activities.

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The major purpose of this study is to determine the influence of different family backgrounds on the academic performance of the fourth year students of school year 2010-2011 since first year.
Scope, Purpose and Methodology of the Study The propose study identifies and analyzes the effects of the family background of the fourth year students on their academic performance and answers the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the student?

1. Age 2. Average grade from first year to first quarter of fourth year 3. Background of the family 1. Family having different vices 2. Family having financial problems 3. Family that is close-knit or separated 2. How do the students cope when they are having difficulties in their performance in school? The result of the study will be of benefit to the students because they will know whether their family backgrounds really affect their studies. The result will also be of help for the members of the family of the students and the life mentors of the institution.

This study involved 40 fourth year high school students from SSAM of batch 2011. The main source of the data is a one-page survey questionnaire which consists of 17 questions that can answer within 3-4 minutes. The survey forms were designed to answer the problems in the study. Other instruments used were personal interviews, articles from the internet and newspapers and others. Following is the summary of the findings: 1. The age of the students ranges from 15-16 years old. The students belong in family with different family backgrounds. 2. From the respondents, 50% experienced failing a subject and the other half did not experience failing. 3. Twenty-percent of the students have separated parents and 80% have parents that are living together. 4. The most prominent vice in a family is alcoholic drinking with 48%. Smoking has 45% of the total responses while having third-party in the family only has 7% of the total responses. 5. Many students belong in the family with P31 000 and above as monthly income which consists of 75% of the respondents. There were 10% of the students who belong to a family with P11 000- P20 000. And there were 7.5% each for those who belong to a family with P10 000 and below and P21 000- P30 000. 6. Many students really asked their friends help whenever they are having difficulty in their performance in school.
Conclusions
From the findings in Chapter 4, the researchers concluded that: 1. Many of the fourth year students still have a complete family- father, mother and children. 2. There were students who belong in a family with different vices. Others have one vice only but others have two or more vices based on their responses. 3. In the comparison of students with different monthly income, it came out that the socio-economic status of the family does not affect the performance of the students in school. 4. It was the vices prominent in the family which can also affect the academic performance of the students based on the comparison graph and table in Chapter 4.
Recommendations
Based on the outcome of the study, the researchers came out with the following suggestions and recommendations to encourage the family to help their students in their performances in school: 1. The parents should monitor the students’ performance in school by asking them if they will have a test the following day and if they reviewed already. 2. The parents can also give a simple token or reward for the effort that their children is giving by reviewing their lessons, studying in advance, etc. 3. The parents should also be aware of whether their children are studying. When there are occasions in their house, they should be sensitive of their noise. They should not really show their children that they are drinking alcohol or smoking because it causes curiosity which will lead the students to trying it and forget studying. 4. They should be strict when it comes to studies. For the students: 1. Students are the ones studying so they should do their responsibilities as a student and that is to study. 2. They should not be bothered whenever they see their parents drinking alcohol or smoking. They should focus more on studying. For the life mentors: 1. The life mentors should include in their discussion in class on how the fourth year students can deal with the problems that they are facing as graduating students.

Work Cited

Wolf, Jennifer. “Concepts Every Single Parent Needs to Keep in Mind.” Single Parents Guide. 19 Aug. 2010 .

Melchior, Deon. “The Importance of Family Life.” 15 Aug. 2010 .

Harvard Family Research Project. “Family Involvement Makes a Difference in School Success.” 19 Aug. 2010 .

Magar, Prashant. “Single Parenting Effects.” 19 Aug. 2010 .

“Family Involvement in Children 's Education.” Oct. 1997. 18 Aug. 2010 .

Basil, Akanle. “Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Students Academic Performance in Nigeria Some Explanation from a Local Survey.” Sociology and social work community. 21 Dec. 2007. 15 Aug. 2010 .

Rose, Carrie. “The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project.” Jan. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010 .

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Dec. 2010. 7 Dec. 2010 .

Wood, Patricia. “The U.S. Department of Education and Student Financial Aid for Distance Education: An Update. ERIC Digest.” 2001. 7 Dec. 2010. .

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The Fourth Year High School Students of SSAM from
Different Family Background

Academic Performance

Close-Knit
- Students living with both parents.

Broken Family
- Students who are not living with parent/s due to different circumstances.

Rich

Poor

Grades

Fail

Excel

2 Low self-reliance due to poor family foundation

2 High self-esteem acquired from responsive parenting

1 Determination inspiration gained from a good family foundation

1 Personal problem that demands attention

Social Outcomes

Warm, Responsive Parenting
(supportive)

Aloof, Insensitive Parenting
(down-hearted)

Negative

Positive

Emotional Outcomes

Social Outcomes

Emotional Outcome

POSITIVE career-planning aspirations

lower rates of
REBELLION

lower rates of
DELIQUENCY

higher rates of
SELF-RELIANCE

Adolescence

lower rates of DEPRESSION

EXCELLENT school performance

IDENTITY formation VAGUE
Career plans

POOR school performance

IDENTITY crisis More tendencies of TEEN REBELLION

Higher rate of DEPRESSION

low
SELF-ESTEEM

teenage drinking

teenage smoking

pre-marital sex

lower rates of
DELIQUENCY

Results

lower rates of DEPRESSION

higher rates of
SELF-RELIANCE

Higher rate of DEPRESSION

low
SELF-ESTEEM

POOR school performance

IDENTITY crisis EXCELLENT school performance

IDENTITY formation POOR school performance

IDENTITY
crisis

Cited: Wolf, Jennifer. “Concepts Every Single Parent Needs to Keep in Mind.” Single Parents Guide. 19 Aug. 2010 . Melchior, Deon. “The Importance of Family Life.” 15 Aug. 2010 . Harvard Family Research Project. “Family Involvement Makes a Difference in School Success.” 19 Aug. 2010 . Magar, Prashant. “Single Parenting Effects.” 19 Aug. 2010 . “Family Involvement in Children 's Education.” Oct. 1997. 18 Aug. 2010 . Basil, Akanle. “Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Students Academic Performance in Nigeria Some Explanation from a Local Survey.” Sociology and social work community. 21 Dec. 2007. 15 Aug. 2010 . Rose, Carrie. “The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project.” Jan. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010 . Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Dec. 2010. 7 Dec. 2010 . Wood, Patricia. “The U.S. Department of Education and Student Financial Aid for Distance Education: An Update. ERIC Digest.” 2001. 7 Dec. 2010. .