FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

ALEGRIA V. GARCIA

There are several factors affecting the student’academic performance. Some are home, school, teacher, and student factors. Most of the factors are home related: family size, financial burden, work at home, parental attitude towards education and parenting style. When it comes to school, the relationship between the teacher and the students and the distance of the school from home are some factors that affect. However, the student himself or herself contributes to the case particularly the peer group influence. It reflects the student’s values and priorities when it comes to the life’s choices. For example, the choice to study hard and give a focus on the study. The teacher qualities and capabilities also affect the performance of the students in their studies. Some of the attributes of the teacher like teaching experience, teacher attitude towards students, and teacher training can highly affect the student’s perception on the study.

Parents play a very important role in the process. They should effect their presence and availability in times that the learners need their presence. They should support and sustain the studies of their children through financial stability. But more than that is the affection, the love, and care that students must feel so that they will be inspired to go further in their studies. “A student educational success contingent heavily on social status of student’s parents/ guardians in the society” Graetz(1995). In the same perception, the parent’s income or social status can positively affect the student’s performance in the school.

The geographical location of the school is another factor that affects the student’s performance. The school setting must be accessible to the transportation and other public amenities that add comfort to the ways of life. Student’s effort and initiative is another factor being considered as well as the age of the student. Moreover, the learning preferences of the learners must also be put into the limelight. The aptitude or the learner’s skills must be honed and well directed because the student’s progress will depend on how their interest is tapped and developed. Multi-intelligences should be strengthened to give justice as to what the learners are inclined into.

The academic performance of the learners must therefore be viewed on the aforementioned factors and may this article provide some ideas for some corrective and tangible measures that would lead to the understanding of the issue.

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The author is Teacher III at Justino Sevilla High School