INSTITUTIONAL QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH FORMAT
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON ANXIETY AS EXPERIENCED BY

GRADE 11 STUDENTS DURING COVID19 LOCKDOWN

A Qualitative Research Presented to

The Senior High School Department

Malayan Colleges Mindanao

Flores, Vinz Daniel S.

Luis, Nicolo Alessandro Luis T.

Song, Jeong-bin

Valencia, Norma Ellen S.

April 2021
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON ANXIETY AS EXPERIENCED BY

GRADE 11 STUDENTS DURING COVID19 LOCKDOWN

A Qualitative Research Presented to

The Senior High School Department of
Malayan Colleges Mindanao

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the
Practical Research 1 Course

Flores, Vinz Daniel S.

Luis, Nicolo Alessandro Luis T.

Song, Jeong-bin

Valencia, Norma Ellen S

April 2021
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL SHEET ii
ACKNOWLEDMENT iii
ABSTRACT iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION (page no. 5)
Background of the Study (page no. 5)
Purpose of the Study (page no. 8)
Research Questions (page no. 8)
Theoretical Framework (page no. 9)
Importance of the Study (page no. 11)
Limitations of the Study (page no. 12)
Definition of Terms (page no. 13)
Organization of the Study (page no. 16)
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (page no. 18)
3 METHODOLOGY (page no. 35)
Research Design (page no. 35)
Research Participants (page no. 36)
Data Sources (page no. 36)
Data Collection Procedure (page no. 37)
Trustworthiness of the Study (page no. 38)
Ethical Considerations (page no. 40)

REFERENCES (page no. 42)

 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The study discusses about the feelings of the students, the absence from the

academic and instructive climate can influence the students' conduct and feelings,

towards training and school participation. This way, it very well may be expressed that

the students' feelings are affected by general wellbeing crises which requires sufficient

commitment and backing from specialists.

Background of the Study

As the world resumes and explores its way to the new standard, students are

caught trying to move systems and astounding learning conditions. "They need to see

that previous bosses, informative accomplices, teachers, and educators, these events

are all around more sincerely for students." said Christian Edmond Reyes, Philippines

Overseeing Chief. "Like never, this is a fundamental period where those in tutoring

need to take a gander at the voice of this get-together of individuals in transit.

Acknowledging how understudies think and perceiving what they need is the

concealed move towards making game plans that matter." Thus, they are attempting

to discover the examination currently having tension due to the new learning

strategies. What's more, most governments decided to momentarily close

informational associations attempting to diminish the spread of Coronavirus.

Beginning at 12 January 2021, around 825 million students are at present affected

due to class terminations considering the pandemic. According to UNICEF checking,

23 countries are by and by executing cross-country terminations and 40 are

completing close by terminations, influencing around 47 percent of the world's

student's general population. 112 countries' schools are open as of now. Thus, the

public position shuts the guidance of the students so there is an opportunity 1650% of

the complete people are having tension since they can't bear the expense web-based

tutoring. The pandemic and public general prosperity emergency allow them to make

guidance material in dealing with this essential issue today. Nevertheless, rather the

public authority gives off an impression of being set out to giving more issues for

students, instructors, and gatekeepers. There's no conversation that tutoring is too

basic to ever be in any capacity conceded or postponed.

In the Philippines, the school year is set to proceed in August, yet coordinating

traditional classes is far from happening soon, as shown by the Branch of Training so

they are attempting to get the sensation of the Student are they on edge of the new

day by day life routine in online classes. The World Prosperity Affiliation has reported

the pandemic of the novel SARS-CoV2 infection early this year and it has now become

a critical general prosperity challenge by and large. The infectious prevention and

physical isolating measures are important to keep the disease from extra spreading

and to help control the pandemic situation. The procedure of important physical

isolating has been executed in various countries recalling for Indonesia achieving

cross-country school and school terminations. According to this methodology, dental

academic associations are compelled to make fitting and lucky modification to

continue passing on guidance and to help the continuation of student insightful

headway. The educating and learning practices were quickly moved to a full E-
learning. Only 35.2% of understudies didn't experience issues during online learning.

Data from open requests of the challenges during online learning uncovered a large

portion of the issues were requested as external components like unstable web

affiliation and extra money related load for web share. Distinctive incites related to

internal components included understudy status to the new learning method, time the

load up and difficulties to focus while learning through the PC for a broad timespan.

These challenges might be added to the pressing factor experienced by 36.2%

understudies during online learning.

It is inescapable to feel on edge when they everyday life routine has been

disturbed, Filipino students past taking a gander at the instructive foundation, it is

moreover fundamental for mind students' mental and energetic thriving. An insightful

journal alluded to that the nonstop crisis has put a remarkable enthusiastic health

inconvenience on students, which critically requires further appraisal and snappy

mediation. Predictable energetic assistance from friends and family similarly as

students centered activities will accept a major part to crush apprehension and create

strength among the young adult taking everything into account. Davao City would also

constantly complain of the inconvenience the students experience during exams.

They are given careful, detailed instructions on how they should take a video of

themselves while taking the two-hour exam. On top of that, they must also submit a

360-video of their surroundings before the exam starts. some shared while taking the

exam, the student’s paranoia on whether or not the camera is rolling and recording

the entire duration of the exam is taking over the mind more than the actual questions.
As if school is not stressful enough. So, there are a lot of issues especially on the

anxiety that students are feeling while learning online.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this phenomenological research is for us to properly understand

what Grade 11 students go through and what are the necessary actions to do to

alleviate the anxiety that the students experience during a pandemic. This research

could educate people that no student is the same, thus, alerting people that students

may, in any time, experience episodes of anxiety. At this stage in the research, the

anxiety experienced by Grade 11 students amidst a pandemic will be generally

defined as the student’s experiences of anxiety during a pandemic.

Research Questions:

These questions are the basis of the research, where the researchers will be

answering these questions to find the root cause of why those said students

experience episodes of anxiety during a pandemic.

Research Questions:
1. What are the experiences of the grade 11 students before pandemic in:
a. School
b. Home
c. Leisure related spots?
2. What are the experiences of the grade 11 students during pandemic in:
a. School
b. Home
c. Leisure related spots?
3. What are the suggested activities the students must do lessen anxiety?
Theoretical Framework

Anxiety can be experienced by anyone in any given time and there are

enormous amounts of key factors in their environment or to themselves that causes

people to experience anxiety. The theories stated below are the most relevant theories

that narrows down the research to what are the key factors on why grade 11 students

experience anxiety. The theories found below will give necessary data to this research

for it to be accurate as possible.

Theory 1

Organismic Integration Theory (OIT), a sub theory from Edward L. Deci and

Richard M. Ryan’s Self-Determining Theory in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The theory

handles the subject of extrinsic motivation in its multiple forms. In extrinsic motivation,

this is a type of behavior that is leaning towards external factors that may affect itself.

The extrinsic motivation subtypes could be seen that it has similarities that falls in the

internalization continuum. In the Organismic Integration theory, extrinsic motivation

and its sub-types, internalization, and integration, shows what behavior people may

portray. It explains how these people may have adapted to regulate those external

factors to create their own behavior (integration) and if they choose to give value to

that external factor (internalization). In Organismic Integration Theory it focuses on the

extrinsic motivation of people, to see how they adapt to their environment and what

are the factors affecting the change.

The theory, Organismic Integration Theory, could explain why most students

experience anxiety during a pandemic since they could adapt to their surroundings
depending on what they experience around then or see around them. This theory will

strengthen this research since the two sub types of extrinsic motivation could be part

of the reasons why students experience anxiety. Extrinsic motivation’s sub types,

internalization and integration could explain if the student feels that way because the

anxiety they experience is self-acquired, or if it is mainly because of external factors.

The theory will be the basis on how the researchers will see how these said students

adapt their behavior with the environment that they are in.

Theory 2

Causality Orientations Theory (COT), A component of the Self-Determination

theory of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. Causality Orientation Theory is a

motivational orientation that either refers to the way people orient to an environment

and regulate their behavior because of this, or to the extent to which they are self-

determined in general across many settings. SDT created three orientations:

autonomous, controlled and impersonal.

This theory is significant to the study because the study will research on the

Anxiety Experienced by Grade 11 Students in MCM Amidst a Pandemic. COT deals

with the individual differences in terms of three causality orientations: autonomy,

control, and impersonal causality orientations (Ryan and Deci, 2017). This theory will

help better understand the research.

Theory 3

The third theory is the Self-determination Theory created by psychologists

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a broad theory of
human personality and motivation concerned with how the individual interacts with

and depends on the social environment (Legault, 2017). The theory is comprised of

three psychological needs a student or learner should have in order to be self-

determined in their own learning space. The three psychological needs are autonomy,

competence, and relatedness. Autonomy is the ability to feel in control of one’s

actions, emotions, and interests. Competence is the need to feel satisfied with what

one produces. Relatedness is the ability to feel connected with other people.

This theory is significant for the researchers to understand the potential lack of

determination the students can show, especially during this time. Understanding if the

three psychological needs above are met or not, the researchers will be able to see

whether the students of MCM can keep themselves determined for the school year.

Through this theory, it will show how self-determination can impact the levels of

anxiety that the learners experience.

Importance of the Study

Considering the growing concerns related to the impact of COVID-19 on the

mental health of vulnerable groups, there is an urgent need for research to address

anxiety of the COVID-19 pandemic on senior high school students specifically the

grade 11 students of MCM. This is important because it will help determine the levels

of mental health distress among Grade 11 students of MCM during COVID-19.

Moreover, it will help us identify the factors such as knowledge, sources of information,

and academic and everyday difficulties which are associated with mental health

distress among Grade 11 students of MCM during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Guidance. To win wholehearted support from the people, guidance as of now

should have nationalist, legitimate, mass-arranged, and shared goals: Raise the

people’s awareness for their family during the COVID-19 pandemic, set up ones

insightful capacity to better plan and find sensible responses for the pandemic, and fill

and soothe the people's suffering since March.

The three psychological needs. The three psychological needs are autonomy,

competence, and relatedness. Autonomy is the ability to feel in control of ones actions,

emotions, and interests. Competence is the need to feel satisfied with what one

produces. Relatedness is the ability to feel connected with other people.

Limitations of the Study

This research has several limitations worth noting. The study design is cross-

sectional. Therefore, the causality cannot be established, as data represents a single

moment in time. Given the limited resources available and time-sensitivity of the

COVID-19 outbreak, the sample is comprised of Grade 11 students of MCM. While

the course is school-wide, the results of this research may not generalize other

students. Participation in the study may have been influenced by various difficulties

students found themselves in. The data are based on self-report and may be subject

to social desirability bias. The research questions capture only fundamental

knowledge, attitudes, and a limited set of behaviors. It is possible that the questions

tapped into personal beliefs and/or endorsement of health promotion guidelines by

the authorities. Future studies should also capture whether direct or indirect exposure

to COVID-19 virus added to anxiety. Additionally, self-reported levels of anxiety of

Grade 11 students in MCM are not confirmed by the mental health professionals’

assessments.

Honesty of students when they are interviewed. The Honesty of students will

limit the researchers from producing the perfect study since they could potentially lie

to the interviewee and lessen the accuracy of the study. The attitude of honesty of the

students is the main limitation of the research since their honesty when being

interviewed will be the basis on how accurate the study will be.

Number of students to be interviewed. The researchers cannot interview all

grade 11 students, so they are limited to interview the grade 11 students from Malayan

Colleges Mindanao. The researchers cannot interview all grade 11 students in

Malayan Colleges Mindanao because of the limited time that they are given, and not

all students want to be interviewed or share information.

Time of conducting the study. The researchers are limited on the time in

conducting the study since there are still 2 months till the end of the school year and

the researchers will have to make needed changes in the research for it to be

accurate. They also must interview several students and interviewing is a time-

consuming task.

Definition of Terms

The definition of terms seeks to present the operational definition of some key

terms one may find in the proceeding texts and provide clarity when reading this study.

Those key terms are:

 Intrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for

its inherent satisfaction rather than for some separable consequence (Ryan and Deci,

2000). When intrinsically motivated, a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge

entailed rather than because of external products, pressures, or rewards.

Intrinsic motivation is clearly visible in young infants, that consistently try to

grasp, throw, bite, squash or shout at new objects they encounter. Even if less

important as they grow, human adults are still often intrinsically motivated while they

play crosswords, make paintings, do gardening or just read novels or watch movies.

For example, a child could do thoroughly his homework because he is

persuaded that it will help him get the job he dreams of, later when he will be an adult.

In this case, the cause for action is internally generated, and the homework is again

not achieved for its own sake, but because the child thinks it will lead to the separate

outcome of getting a good job. It is also possible that a child does thoroughly its

homework for the fun of it, and because he experiences pleasure in the discovery of

new knowledge, or considers for example, its math problem just as fun as playing a

video game. In this case, its behavior is intrinsically (and internally) motivated.

Self-determined Behaviors. Self-determination, as a psychological construct,

refers to volitional actions taken by people based on their own will, and self-

determined behavior comes from intentional, conscious choice, and decision. The

conceptualization and definition of self-determination varies according to its

theoretical orientations. The self-determination theory (SDT) proposed by Deci and

Ryan, for example, focuses on the motivational aspect of self-determination and the

role of self-determined motivation and autonomy on students’ learning and education.

Self-determination is defined as the capacity to choose and to have those choices be

the determinations of one’s action.

Wehmeyer, for example, refers self-determined behavior as “volitional actions

that enable one to act as the primary causal agent in one’s life and to maintain or

improve one’s quality of life”. Self-determination is defined as skills, knowledge, and

beliefs, which facilitate goal-directed, self-regulated, and autonomous behavior.

In the context of positive youth development, self-determination is defined as

the ability to think for oneself and to take action consistent with that thought. Self-

determination of young people is fostered through positive youth development

programs, which target at promoting autonomy, independent thinking, self-advocacy,

empowerment of young people, and their ability to live according to values and

standards. Such conceptualization is in line with the emergence of positive psychology

which emphasizes fostering of human strengths.

In short, people who are self-determined are self-initiated, self-directed, and

make things happen in their lives. Self-determination is about the competence of

young people in engaging in volitional behavior and their autonomy in making choices

and decisions, which are nurtured in supportive social environments.

Extrinsic Motivation. Extrinsic motivation is a construct that pertains whenever

an activity is done in order to attain some separable outcome. Extrinsic motivation

thus contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing an activity simply for the

enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental value (Ryan and Deci,

2000).
 For example, a child that does thoroughly his homework might be motivated by

avoiding the sanctions of his parents if he would not do it. The cause for action is here

clearly external, and the homework is not done for its own sake but for the separate

outcome of not getting sanctions. Here, the child is extrinsically and externally

motivated.

Organization of the Study

The organization of the study will give an understanding of what the chapters

include. Those chapters are:

Chapter 1 will be the introduction and it will include the study’s background,

purpose, research questions, theoretical framework, importance, limitations,

definitions of terms, and organization. The introduction will feature the background

and current situation of the study. It will also state the research’s objectives in this

chapter.

Chapter 2, the review of related literature, will include similar pieces of literature

that are relevant to anxiety in educational facilities. It will analyze the role of the

pandemic towards the performance of students.

In Chapter 3, it will be discussing the methods that the researchers will use. It

will include how they will construct a survey for the students of MCM. It will state how

they will choose their participants and how they will gather the results. It will also
feature how they analyzed the data they collected from the surveys and tests they

conducted.

Chapter 4 will include the results and discussion of the study. It will feature the

data that the researchers collected and their calculations. In the discussion, it will

include their thoughts about the results. It will feature what is important and new about

what was gathered.

For Chapters 5, 6, …, and N, it will feature the selected participants and report

their characteristics. It will identify pieces of information about the participants that are

relevant to the study. The number of chapters will depend on the number of

participants.

In Chapter (N+1), it will be the study’s summary and conclusion. In the

summary, the researchers will restate the topic and summarize the study. It will feature

what is important and new about the results that were gathered. It will conclude the

thoughts of the researchers.

 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This research aims to expand on previous studies by looking within the

students’ strategies in developing their motivation, the anxiety that they acquire by

themselves or from their environment, the effects of anxiety, and the positive effects

and challenges that students face because of the pandemic. The reason for studying

motivation is to understand how the students motivate themselves to accomplish their

tasks in a platform that they might not be used to. Anxiety is experienced differently

by different people so it is important to study. However, with a situation as big as a

pandemic that is affecting everyone globally, there can be a pattern found in the

anxiety that people, especially students, experience. The studies below will help

people further understand the purpose of this research.

Strategies in developing ones motivation

Regularly motivation problems will direct what kind of mediation will be utilized,

be it a need-based intercession, a cognizance based mediation, or a feeling based

intercession. According to Beata Souders, PsyD candidate, MSPP, ACC, the very

purpose of studying motivation is to translate motivation theory into practical

intervention programs and to design and implement successful interventions to

improve people’s lives. Often motivational dilemmas will dictate what type of

intervention will be used, be it a need-based intervention, a cognition-based

intervention, or an emotion-based intervention. The motivational techniques and

strategies described below give examples of how people can intervene in the status

of motives originating from these different sources and only scratch the surface of the

many approaches to motivation.

The metacognitive checking of one's setting progress is a self-administrative

cycle that expands one’s ability to carry out long-term goals by one’s sel. Self-control

is a big part of the process of self-regulation and is of crucial importance in sustained

motivation. The ability to stifle, limit, and supersede an incautious, momentary craving

or impulse to seek after a drawn-out objective is immediately exhausted when people

battle to abrogate prompt desires.

This investigation explicitly centered around instructing systems that are

pointed toward supporting studies ' need to feel self-ruling. Despite the fact that past

writing proposes that self-governance steady persuasive techniques encourage

studies' characteristic inspiration (Niemic and Ryan 2009; Stroet et al. 2013;

Vansteenkiste et al. 2004), concentrates in different nations have shown that

numerous educators depend on controlling systems rather utilizing outward rewards

and disciplines to energize learning (Pelletier et al. 2002; Reeve et al. 2004a, b; Turner

2010; Turner et al. 2009).

The tracking down that numerous instructors depend on controlling procedures

can halfway be clarified by educators' fundamental individual convictions about what

persuades studies or their inclinations towards a specific showing style, yet past

writing has additionally demonstrated that logical conditions, for example, school

guidelines, public norms or high-stakes testing, can pressure educators towards

controlling inspirational methodologies (Reeve 2009). These have been alluded to as

'factors from above' (Pelletier et al. 2002). Furthermore, instructors' inspirational

techniques additionally can be influenced by 'factors from beneath' alluding the

specific qualities of their study hall populace. Educator anticipation writing (Rosenthal

1994) has shown that instructor view of their studies ' capacity or foundation can

influence numerous parts of educating and learning results. All things being equal,

little exploration has inspected how educator view of their studies identify with the kind

of persuasive systems that instructors accept to be powerful and thus receive in their

homerooms.

Anxiety that could be acquired by oneself or from the environment.

Anxiety could be acquired by anything or anyone, anytime and anywhere. It is

not new that some people experience anxiety, it could be because some people or

even animals use anxiety as their basis of their fight or flight response which could

help people in certain situations. The development of anxiety could be either caused

by the person voluntarily acquires anxiety, to trigger said fight or flight response or it

could be caused specifically by what kind of environment the person is in.

 There are many ways anxiety could be triggered, but there are more common

causes which triggers a persons emotional and mental stability and makes them

experience anxiety. According to Adam Felman (2018) that the most common causes

of anxiety are from genetics, environmental factors, medical factors , brain chemistry

and from the use of drugs, alcoholic beverages or any other vices that may lead to the

person to be capricious. Traumatic experiences in life can also tirgger emotional

factors in a person which may cause anxiety to a person.. Stress is a key factor to

anxiety, stress from school, work, or even from the family. The amount of stress they

accumulate could be the probable cause of anxiety since excess of stress can make

people not think straight and pressures them mentally and emotionally.

The study of Schmidt, L and Brook, C. (2008) that the social anxiety disorder

(SAD) could have many factors, one of which are the environmental risks.

Environmental risk factors include the parenting strategies of parents, social factors,

life occurrences and even gender roles, these factors could be some of the common

causes of anxiety by students since they could be pressured to live up to the standards

of their parents and the standards of the society, they are surrounded in. The family

is an environmental factor of anxiety, the way the parents treat their children or how

the children treat their parents. Anxiety factors in the family could come from many

sources one of which is from the Maternal side of the family, Paternal side or even

from siblings.
 According to Alvarado Parkway Institute (2016) that anxiety disorders likely come

from genetics since most studies were based off the family history of people. They

also stated that not only genetics can be the actual cause of anxiety among people

could be from vices such as drinking and smoking, but it could also be brought by the

environment they are surrounded in and based on the personality of that person. In

many ways anxiety could develop a lot of factors could be in place which causes the

person to experience anxiety which could be brought to themselves with vices and it

could be brough to them from the environment or from genetics. Medical conditions

could also be the cause of anxiety to some people. Diabetes, heart diseases, asthma

and other medical conditions alike are some of the examples of diseases which will

likely cause anxiety to people with those said medical conditions.

Social Anxiety covers about 7% of the adult population according to Bridges to

Recovery(n.d.) which may be caused by genetics, own thoughts of people, stressful

experiences, parenting styles and influences from their environment. There are many

factors that effect on how these people developed anxiety and each factor may differ

to each person. A gene called SLCGA4 is the one responsible for the transportation

of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which calms people down and helps in the

stabilizing of one’s mood. This gene has specifying genetic markers which is directly

related to social anxiety. When this gene changes, the mood of a person changes too.

When a person has too much or too less of serotonin in the body, some people start

to have signs of anxiety. Anxiety triggers the fight or flight response of people which

shows the adaptation of people based on the surroundings they are in. In their study,
they have said that when people have sudden rush of anxiety, their focus mentally,

shifts to the prefrontal cortex which assesses each problem calmly. The brain in times

where people experience social anxiety could interpret any reaction as a threat which

makes some people more anxious.

Anxiety may be caused from environmental factors which may trigger a persons’

emotion. According to James Clear(n.d.), anxiety was an important part of human

emotion before, since it could trigger the persons’ fight or flight response during

stressful situations. It explains that one’s anxiety could be from the environment for

the person to quickly adapt to their environment depending on the situation. All of it

depends on the situation a person is in. If that specific person is in danger, then one

will likely run away from danger. The action running away from danger is caused by

anxiety that is brought to one’s self based on what one feels from the environment

one is in. Immediate-return environment is when the actions one does, gives off a

clear and direct outcome which will help in rational choices and thinking. Delayed-

return environment is when a person chooses their choices on what the expected

outcome is in the future; choices that will not have direct answers or indirect answers.

This affects humans in a way that causes them to have anxiety because of the fear of

what the outcome maybe since the choices they made will not have an immediate

effect to them, this will cause stress and anxiety because it makes those people to

overthink of what is ahead.

The effects of anxiety to students.

Anxiety has different effects to each person; it may affect a person severely which

may cause some people to experience anxiety regularly and some might get only a

small effect of anxiety to them. Each person will react differently to anxiety, the effects

of anxiety could be long term which might cause a permanent risk to that person. To

students, anxiety might work differently. It could possibly even help students in their

schoolwork or it may affect them in an unfavorable way which will cause them to have

other mental illnesses, such as depression.

According to Katherine Bisson (2017), the effect of anxiety to a students’

academic performance was not significant, since some possible factors that the said

student may or may not be suffering silently from mental illnesses such as depression

and anxiety. There were still some effects that students may not focus during their

classes and they worry too much that they tend to forget that they have some

important things to do. Untreated anxiety could affect students by adding different

types of health complications such as heart diseases, hypertension, alcohol and

nicotine addiction and even suicidality. The complications stated, could give a bad

effect to these students, thus making the anxiety they experience worsen which will

give them a harder time to cope up from the anxiety they experienced.

“A high level of anxiety interferes with concentration and memory, which are

critical for academic success” (Morales, B., Landa, J. & Criollo, F.,2015). The effects
of anxiety to students have both negative and positive effects to students, since if

there are no traces of anxiety, students will not be motivated to do their homework,

schoolwork, or exams. Some parents lack knowledge about depression and anxiety,

which could be a problem since some students might be facing depression or anxiety

without the parents seeing the symptoms on their child. This could cause the child to

not really focus on everything, especially their studies. Thus leading those said

students to experience even more anxiety since they could not get treated early and

it can develop complications in the future. Anxiety can also cause long term problems

to students if it is not attended to, since it could alter their memory and concentration

as said above.

Anxiety causes students to underperform especially in distance learning because

there are more factors that can affect the students’ anxiety at home. Stress from

house chores and schoolwork could merge and it may make students feel more

anxious that they end up not focusing on their schoolwork. According to Jegede,

Alaiyemola, & Okebukola (1990) “There is evidence in the literature that there is a

negative correlation between anxiety and student achievement, and there is a

negative correlation between anxiety and the realization of important cognitive and

emotional outcomes in distance learning education”. There are many stressors

students can face. These stressors cause students to experience anxiety, depending

on their situation, which forces them to perform poorly in school.

 According to England, B., Brigati, J., Schussler, E., & Chen, M. (2019) that

verbal response to questions produce higher levels of anxiety to students since they

could feel different emotions such as fear; they fear of getting humiliated because they

said the wrong answer. Students suffering from anxiety will affect their performance

since it can affect their motivation to study or they become less persistent to finish

their schoolwork. The anxiety that students experience could have positive and

negative effects, positive is that they become anxious of the deadlines and they

become motivated to do their schoolwork and negative is that if they experience too

much of anxiety it may lead them to not focusing and become unmotivated because

of the fear they experience. Students tend to feel more anxious when they undergo

too much stress and pressure which makes them think irrationally and make poor

choices. Constant pressure to the student in their academic performance affects them

as it could become a stressor; they feel pressured to do very well in school.

Sometimes, the anxiety they feel could have good effects. The fear of them passing

their schoolwork late could help them properly manage their time and it could also

keep them motivated to do their schoolwork properly.

According to Ehmke, R.(n.d.), students suffering from anxiety could have many

effects such as restlessness, disruptive behavior, and having trouble in answering

questions in class. Anxiety could also be the reason why some students become

absent-minded in certain situations, especially when they are experiencing severe

stress. It makes them anxious and tend to forget what their objective is. Anxiety makes

students feel self-conscious about everything; their body figure, the clothes they wear,

the way they speak, or anything that makes them fear that society will reject them.
Positive effects from the pandemic towards students.

Thomas (2021) stated that there are eight positive impacts to look forward to

post COVID-19 pandemic. Among the positive impacts he mentioned, four of them

have significant effect on students. He posits that COVID-19 pandemic has helped

build genuine relationships as COVID-19 situation has positively impacted the way

people, especially the students, emote and maintain relationships. Students get to

spend their time with their family and plan their everyday life better. This helps them

build a better future for both their study and family. As life slowed down, they have

found ways to stay connected with people, even if it is virtually, and reconnect with

their loved ones and retrospect. The pandemic has encouraged everyone especially

the students to create innovations to stay connected. Also, it has encouraged an entire

lifestyle change which has driven people to practice better hygiene. Being hygienic is

no longer just a good habit, but the very skill everyone, especially students, need for

survival. Moreover, the pandemic has led to the creation of a new wave of tools and

software that help identify and enhance the learning processes of the students, which

made education become digitized and affordable. Online classes have become the

new norm for educational institutions, and it has come with a few benefits too.

Institutions can now save on the infrastructural costs, and as a result, the students

need not bear the brunt of the costs, making it more affordable. Moreover, parents will

get first-hand knowledge about how classes are taught and can directly understand

how their child perceives concepts. As the online education system grows, people can
expect an increase in the reach and accessibility of education within every section of

the society.

Hoffower (2020) mentioned the one major upside coronavirus pandemic is

creating. She highlighted Charles Thornburgh, a veteran education technology CEO

who has spent 25 years building ed-tech businesses, from creating K-12 study skills

software to founding Civitas Learning, a data company that works with hundreds of

universities to improve graduation rates. Thornburgh pointed out that the future of

education will see more peer-to-peer mentoring and adaptive learning. The pandemic

has partially amplified an already strong demand and desire to connect with peers,

which lead to more peer-to-peer mentoring and tutoring in the future. The first digitally

native generation is now expecting even more virtual connectivity with friends and

learning materials. He anticipates the concept of a "flipped classroom" in which

students self-navigate learning content and then ask questions afterward. It would be

a step toward more independent learning in the classroom that enables students to

learn at the pace that works best for them.

Widnall (2020) postulated school closures had positive effects on some

teenagers’ mental health. Her new research suggests that the period of lockdown

when students were not attending school may have protected them from some of the

usual factors which can lead to poor mental health. These are likely to include the

pressures of schoolwork and bullying, but also more subtle challenges in negotiating

relationships with peers and with teachers. This may be caused both by poor behavior

or engagement on the side of the student, and by teachers’ stress levels as a result
of working within a highly pressured environment. Students who already felt

disconnected from school and peers saw larger improvements in mental health and

wellbeing during lockdown, lending support to this theory. She believes that the

closure of schools for most young people has created an unprecedented pause to

school life. students felt more connected to school during lockdown. Removed from

the stresses of conventional school life, teachers may have found new and better ways

to connect and communicate with them during lockdown.

Misra (2020) stated that there are four positive changes in education due to

Covid-19. One of the positive changes is the rise in blended learning, which opens

immense opportunities for a major transformation in curriculum development and

pedagogy. Another positive change is that the learning management systems are the

new norm. A great opportunity will open after developing and strengthening learning

management systems. Third, since blended learning will be the new format of learning

there will be a push to find new ways to design, there also improvement in learning

material. The learning material that is used in the teaching and learning process will

deliver quality content especially due to the fact that the use of learning management

systems will bring about more openness and transparency in academics. The fourth

positive change is the rise in collaborative work. There is a new opportunity where

collaborative teaching and learning can take on new forms. It is also expected that

there will be a massive rise in teleconferencing opportunities.

Challenges students face because of the pandemic.

The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone around the world. With educational

facilities having to close down on March 2020, and having to reopen for students to

continue learning for the Academic Year of 2020-2021, it has been very challenging

for those involved. Teachers and family members struggle to get the attention of

students nowadays because of various factors. They can benefit from understanding

the challenges that students face because of the pandemic.

Rarkryan Angdhiri said in their article, “As a student participating in the home-

learning program, online school was confusing to adjust to as we had not been

prepared through simulations or practices beforehand.” (2020). The work given by

teachers is heavier and many students have been feeling stressed as they don’t have

the opportunity to socialize with their classmates anymore. The students who are

challeneged the most, are those who are in unfortunate situations and those who are

enrolled in schools that are not well-funded or well-resourced.

Saavedra (2020) illustrated three challenges that students of all ages are going

through in this situation. The pandemic has impacted the learning, engagement, and

nourishment of students. Many children lack the materials needed for online school,

especially in third world countries. Many students have been struggling with staying

engaged, because school is not only about learning academically, but learning social

skills and staying connected with society. In many countries, school is where a child
gets their meals. Food is important for cognitive development. Under-nutrition could

affect children’s said cognitive development, academic performance, and their

physical appearance.

Wood (2020) emphasizes that students with special needs are having a hard

time adjusting to the pandemic. They need to be taught face-to-face, so with social

distancing, it is difficult for them to do certain things. It is also hard for those with

special needs to utilize virtual learning. They need to feel comfortable in their

environment and in this situation, it is especially difficult to follow the guidelines and

satisfy the needs of the students. In this case, too much restrictions can make the

student feel uncomfortable which will affect their ability to learn, especially in an online

platform.

Spokey Wheeler mentions quite a few challenges that students face all around

the world. These are the absence of human interaction, adapting to environment,

getting used to learning in a virtual setting, temptations of virtual distractions, impact

on the health of the student, and lack of physical exercise. Without human interaction,

people tend to obtain more feelings of loneliness and a low self-esteem. A child feeling

this way may affect the family. Interacting with people is important for a person to feel

good about themselves, build relationships, and to stay healthy overall. Adapting to a

new environment can take time so it will be a challenge for the student, especially

since there was a switch from a traditional setting to a virtual setting. A lack of physical

activity can impact the physical health of the student. The benefits of getting exercise
are improved sleep, increased ability to perform everyday activities, improved

cognitive ability and a risk of dementia, and improved bone and musculoskeletal

health (CDC, 2019).

There are a number of challenges for the learners. Those suffering with loss

and grief due to loved ones being hospitalized with the virus. Challenges at home

include domestic violence, abuse or neglect, family conflict, financial concerns, and

lack of nutrition. Domestic violence is any behavior the purpose of which is to gain

power and control over a spouse, partner, girl/boyfriend or intimate family member

(Arizona Coalition, n.d.). Experiencing this can have affect a person as it will take time

to heal. Students are stuck with their families and with that said, conflicts within the

could potentially happen often. This does not benefit anyone and will only negatively

impact the student and the family member involved. The pandemic may have affected

some of the students’ friendships which cause them to have a lack of emotional

support. This lack of emotional support will then cause students to feel lonely.

Related Studies

The studies that are reported below are relevant to the research topic, which is

anxiety experienced by Grade 11 students. The research problem of the study will be

evaluated and its data will be shown as well. Providing related studies will help the
reader understand the research better for it gives them knowledge prior to reading the

methodology and the rest of the areas of the research.

Study on Student Experiences During the Pandemic Pivot

Melissa Blankstein, Jennifer K. Frederick, and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg

(2020) published their study investigating the experiences of students as colleges

and universities swiftly tried their best to adapt to the effects of the pandemic by

utilizing technology to continue educating. The researchers of this study conducted a

survey targeting students in colleges and universities in the United States of America.

The result of their survey showed that

(1) Students wanted additional communication and support from financial aid and

academic advising departments.

(2) Students still find it difficult to balance their work and their activities at home.

Finding their own space to finish their work was difficult.

(3) Group works were the most difficult to finish.

(4) Students lacked a feeling of connection between their fellow students

(5) About half of the students were concerned with their physical and mental health

even if they understood how to stay safe during the pandemic.

(6) One in three students were concerned with their food and housing security

(7) Three-quarters of the students that did not graduate were likely to re-enroll

again with many expressing their concern about, given the pandemic, their

timeline of graduating.
Study on the Adaptability to a Sudden Transition to Online Learning During the

COVID-19 Pandemic: Understanding the Challenges for Students

Besser, A., Flett, G. L., and Zeigler-Hill, V. (2020) investigated the relationship

between higher education students and their personality, adaptability to the pandemic,

and levels of learning experiences which can be affective, cognitive, and behavioral.

The researchers produced an online questionnaire wherein selected students from

Israel were asked to answer. 1,857 students were able to access the questionnaire.

However, only 1,217 students completed the questionnaire. The results showed

significantly higher levels of stress and isolation as well as negative mood and

significantly lower levels of positive mood, relatedness, concentration and focus,

motivation, and performance. The results also state that the students personality

correlates to how they can adapt to the effects of the pandemic, which also correlates

with their experiences in online learning. Overall, the study shows the challenges that

each student faces. Yet, it also shows that depending on the personality of the student,

they may or may not have adapted easily to the restrictions that the pandemic created.
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researchers will discuss the methodology of the study. It will

include the research design, the research participants, sampling method, data

sources, the data collection procedure, the trustworthiness of the study and its ethical

considerations.

Research Design

Until this point, a few investigations have been directed on the impacts of the

COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns from the general wellbeing point of view. The

majority of the examination has been directed in China and Western nations,

fundamentally among the general populace, medical services laborers, and clinical

studies. No such examinations have been directed in Philippines, yet. Subsequently,

this examination desires to expand the current writing by exactly assessing the effects

of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns on the socio-psychological

well-being and anxiety among students, during the heights of the pandemic and

lockdown, between April 2021. We hope the findings of this study could assist colleges

and universities in Philippines in forming a theoretical basis for determining

psychological well-being and identifying evidenced-based psychological intervention

practices to assist the students in times of similar pandemics in the future.

Research Participants

It is the point at which the researchers depend on their own judgment while

picking individuals from the populace to take an interest in their study. What's more, it

is requires researcher to have earlier information about the motivation behind their

examinations with the goal that they can appropriately pick and approach qualified

members And Researchers utilize purposive inspecting when they need to get to a

specific subset of individuals, as all members of an investigation are chosen since

they fit a specific profile.

What is purposive sampling? (March 22 2018). Retrieved from

https://www.alchemer.com/resources/blog/purposive-sampling-101/

https://www.mdpi.com/

Data Sources

PRIMARY:

Grade 11 students in MCM will be important since we will gather

information to conclude about their perceptions. This will be crucial for

research questions that will be answered. We choose mcm students to

be our participants because it is easier get information from our school

mates in MCM.

SECONDARY:

Materials are additionally significant like papers, pen, to compose

questions, jot down information and ends for the research to be done

perfectly.
Data Collection Procedure

To start the data collection, the researchers must pick students that are

qualified and are willing to give consent to use the information they have given for

research purposes, we gather data in multiple ways we used the data triangulation

method which involves other sources from the participants such as interviews,

gathering some of their journals and what the researchers have observed. Different

schedules and different but similar questions to each student so that the validity of the

data will be faultless. Next is to ask the students for their consent, the researchers will

be sending an online form which will ask the chosen students if they allow the

researchers to interview them and add the data collected by the researchers in the

research paper. After asking for their consent, the researchers will carry on in

interviewing, gathering notes from their journals and to observe the qualities of each

student. In gathering data from interviews, the researchers will be asking multiple

questions to which the participant will answer, and based on the interview, data will

be gathered. In the part where the researchers will be gathering notes or data from

the journals of students, is to read and understand the contents of some of the

student’s journals. Lastly, researchers will be observing different qualities of a

students’ attitude towards multiple things.

Once all necessary data is collected, the researchers will now interpret and

transcribe the data. The researchers will then arrange the data collected according to

its qualities, significance, and the effects.

Trustworthiness of the Study

Credibility

To establish trustworthiness, the researchers will employ credibility which will

essentially demands the researchers to clearly link the research’s findings with reality

to show the truth of the research study’s findings. The research will use triangulation

and member checking, which are most often found in qualitative research.

Triangulation

The triangulated research designs, which are commonly used in applied

sociology and evaluation research, use more than one method to collect data on the

same topic. This process assures the validity of research using a variety of methods

to collect data on the same topic, which use multiple methods, data sources,

observers, or theories to achieve a more complete understanding of the phenomenon

being studied. As a result, this will capture different dimensions of the same

phenomenon.

Member-checking

Member checking, which is also known as participant or respondent validation,

is another important technique that qualitative researchers will use to establish

credibility. This is a technique in which data or results are returned to participants to

check for accuracy and resonance with their experiences. It will allow participants to

clarify their intentions, correct errors, and provide additional information if needed.

Transferability

Transferability will determine whether people outside can transfer or apply the

results of the research to different settings. Low transferability in this study will imply
that the results can only be applied to the students of MCM experiencing anxiety

throughout the COVID19 lockdown period. High transferability in the research will

indicate that other students in different cities and countries experience anxiety while

taking up online classes because of COVID19.

Confirmability

To establish confirmability, the researchers will reflect on their background and

position. To ensure it, the researchers will also document the collecting of the data.

Confirmability will be used to check that the findings are shaped by participants more

so than they are shaped by the researchers. The research will use Audit Trail and

Reflexivity to establish the confirmability of the research study’s findings:

Audit Trail

An audit trail will be utilized when detailing the process of data collection, data

analysis, and interpretation of the data. In this process, the researchers will record

what topics were unique and interesting during the data collection. The researchers

will also write down their thoughts about coding, provide a rationale for why they

merged codes together, and explain what the themes mean.

Reflexivity

When collecting and analyzing the data, researchers will have to adopt

reflexivity. The researchers must look at their own background and position to see

how they influence the research process such as when the researchers select the

topic, when they choose the methodology, when they analyze the data, when they

interpret the results, and when they present the conclusions. The researchers will
have to keep and maintain a reflexive journal that will record what is happening in the

research process, regarding the researchers’ values and interests.

Dependability

Dependability is important to establish in a research because it will provide the

readers a sense of consistency. When a research is dependable, it allows people

outside to rely on the research. The researchers will conduct an external audit to

ensure dependability.

External Audit

A researcher will not be included in the data collection process. This researcher

will examine, from the outside, the process and results of the study. This will be done

to avoid bias in the research, to verify the data and accuracy, and to check if they have

missed anything.

Ethical Considerations

This study takes into consideration the ethical issues which are: anonymity,

confidentiality, informed consent, and the results that each participant acquires.

Firstly, to establish anonymity, the researchers will use codenames in exchange for

their full names. The researchers will not include personal and identifiable data in the

research as well.

Secondly, to manage confidentiality, the researchers will implement safeguards

in the data collection process. The researchers will be the only individuals to have

access to the participant’s particular results. Links to online forms will be sent privately
as well. When the researcher is interviewing the participant, it will be done in a

secluded room.

Thirdly, before a potential participant takes part, the researchers will provide

them with an online consent form educating them about the data collection process.

Lastly, before inscribing and analyzing the results of the participant, the

researchers will send a copy of their results and data. The researches will then wait

for a notice from the participant indicating that they have received their copy.
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