The Academic performance of Senior High School

Students in Mapua During Online Classes

Research Project (RES01)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The research focuses on the academic performance of Mapua senior high school students
in online classrooms. The research demonstrates a relationship between the effect of the students'
struggles on their academic performance, mental and physical health and how the students cope
with such difficulties by processing the responses of (8) participants. The participants' narratives
were processed by categorizing them, removing extraneous comments, structuring their
responses, and laboriously reviewing each participant's responses to ensure that all answers were
focused on the study's objectives.

Students’ struggles that affect their academic performance

This section addresses students' various issues and obstacles in virtual classrooms, which
impact their academic success. These categories assist researchers in arranging their thoughts
and data sets. Table 1 shows the pupils' difficulties that impact their academic achievement.

Table 1: Students’ struggles that affect their academic performance

Essential Themes Thematic Statements
P4 - “Since there is a lack of student-teacher interaction, I find it hard to
get the help I need. I also find learning difficult in terms of asking
questions, getting assistance ”
P2 - “The common challenge that I encountered during assessment is
disconnection.”
P2 - “The challenges that I encounter in online learning are Technical
Difficulties like weak Wi-Fi connection, and sometimes Power
Interruption.”
P8 - “Challenges that I've encountered in online learning regarding class
Problems in online
lessons are simply the distraction or temptation.”
learning
P8 - “challenges that I've encountered in online learning was a lack of
communication, although we can interact or communicate with peers and
teachers online, it is a struggle for people like me who are introverted.”
 P5 - “I think some challenges I've encountered in regards to online
learning towards concentration was the temptation or distraction. Since
in this era/generation most of the things can be found online.”
P1 - “Some challenges that I encountered with regards concentrating in
online learning are temptations and laziness.”
P8 - “the challenges I've encountered so far were about pressure and time
management, as I am forced to do such assessment (PT or WW) to pass.”
Students’
P4 - “I don't learn that much compared to a f2f mode. I personally prefer
Challenges
the f2f mode since in that mode of learning, we get to use real-life
laboratories and equipment for various courses.”
P6 - “The challenges that I encounter is that I easily gets stressed and
having a hard time focusing”

Problems in online learning. Poor connection, technical difficulties, temptations, and

diversions are common issues that arise while online learning. According to National University
(n.d.), students experience challenges such as ineffective time management, a lack of
communication, not receiving timely feedback, and not receiving clear instructions or
expectations. There is a gap between instructor and student since communication is frequently
asynchronous. Misunderstandings are simple to form in these gaps, leading to an issue
snowballing before being addressed. Feedback and evaluation are among the most important and
influential ways a teacher communicates with a student. If feedback is delayed by days or weeks
owing to an online format, students may get confused or doubtful about the expectations,
progress, and performance in the class. Setting clear expectations is critical at all times. It is vital
to set clear expectations at all times. They can only speculate if they do jobs and projects
correctly otherwise. Setting clear expectations is difficult in any classroom, but asynchronous
communication may make it even more difficult. According to Adamas R. and Blair E. (2019),
time management is linked to better academic achievement and decreased anxiety levels in
students. Unfortunately, the same study found that many students struggle to combine their
academics and their daily lives — and, worse, that lousy time management was linked to
consequences such as "poor sleep patterns" and "higher stress levels." Effective time
management can be complex in a distance learning setting, where students must pace themselves.

Students’ Challenges. Students have gotten lazier in online class settings than in
face-to-face situations, making it more difficult to focus due to distractions and temptations. The
respondents all had similar problems, such as having trouble concentrating. According to Meşe
and Sevilen (2021), the study discovered that participants' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation was
lower in online education than face-to-face education. The researchers attributed this to a loss of
connection with peers and professors. According to Sanchez (2021), most students are stressed
and demotivated due to the many tasks they receive each day. According to Agbejule et al.
(2021), the biggest impediments to online learning were instructional problems followed by a
lack of social connection.
How struggles affect the students
Given the significance of respondents' obstacles in their studies, this section will look at the link
between students' challenges, their performance, and their impact on their academic results. The
correlation between the students’ performance is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. How struggles affect the students

Essential Themes Thematic Statements
P6 - “The difficulties that I face keeps me distracted, making me unable
to perform at my best. ”
P7 - “They impact my productivity and mood in general since the work
load is so severe it heavily affects my day to day activities and
priorities.”
Students’
P8 - “ it affect my ability to concentrate, be productive and etc. as these
performances
difficulties may affect my emotion which will have a negative effect on
my performance.”
P4 - “it negatively impacts my ability to concentrate, be productive, and
participate in online learning and in return, it makes me "unprepared
"when the time comes that the school will hold f2f classes.”
P3 - “it affected my grades because i am demotivated in such doing the
given task and i would rather just play than to get stressed. ”
P5 – “they impact the grades and marks I get therefore lowering my self
Impact on students’ esteem.”
academic P2 - “It makes me less more motivated to study and to accomplish my
performances tasks.”
P4 - “It lowers my overall grades sometimes and makes me feel
unmotivated to learn.”
P8 - “these difficulties hider my learning as it can affect not only my
mental but also my physical.”
P1 - “Some of the most significant mental/physical issues I could think
of were anxiety and some disorders that can affect my academic
Mental and Physical performance to struggle.”
Health P4 - “My eye sight has been affected, just because I'm on my screen
most of the day. For my mental challenges its hard to be not anxious
just because for me the possibility of me not submitting my work or
maybe forgetting do something is highly likely to happen.”
P8 - “The mental and physical challenge I've faced was stress, though it
often happens, stress makes me panic and which gives negative output
 on my performance.”

Students’ performance. Distraction, a lack of motivation, a lack of attention, a heavy

workload, and poor mental and physical health are all issues that impede student success.
According to Akue et al. (2017), the presence or lack of social contact in the online learning
environment might affect online learners' motivation. In online learning settings, the degree of
engagement with learning materials is substantially related to learner motivation. Anxiety and
stress have been shown to impair learning skills such as time management, focus, study
motivation, and learning strategies, according to Idris et al. (2021). A previous study suggests
that academic-related stress might diminish academic success, decrease motivation, and raise the
chance of school dropout, according to Pascoe et al. (2019).
Impact on students’ academic performance. The difficulties that many students have
faced have impacted their academic achievement. According to Ezekiel (n.d.), stress affects
pupils' work rate and capacity to learn in class and produces a lack of attention. As a result, low-
quality work is produced, and academic performance suffers. As a result, academic stress has a
detrimental impact on student performance. According to Duru and Bakis (2014), passive
attitudes such as laziness or procrastination influence the self-regulation of academic
performance. If they postpone academic duties, students will lose control, resulting in tension,
poor academic achievement, and worry.
Mental and physical health. Because the difficulties and obstacles that students
encountered had a significant impact on their mental and physical health, according to Aristovnik
et al. (n.d.), online learning students were more inclined to interrupt their studies and felt more
socially isolated than traditional education students (34). Depression and anxiety are increased
by social isolation and loneliness (42). According to our findings, the growing use of computers
or devices for online learning has resulted in physical impacts such as back pain, eye strain, dry
eyes, and computer-related physical stress, which is likely to be aggravated by extended screen
time (Idris et al. 2021). Increased anxiety and absenteeism are two of the adverse mental health
outcomes of online learning (Alibudbud, 2021). According to the Kentucky Counseling Center
(2021), online programs are harmful to students' mental health and the mental health of their
parents and teachers. It may aggravate pre-existing mental health disorders. Due to increased
workloads, teachers and academics are under growing pressure to provide excellent learning
without face-to-face meetings. It is also believed that "Zoom Fatigue" was coined during COVID.
Zoom Fatigue refers to weariness symptoms experienced after engaging in long Zoom classes or
video conference calls. Zoom fatigue does occur, even though it is not a formal diagnosis,
particularly in virtual learning. In an online class, there is information overload, and gazing at a
screen for extended periods is mentally exhausting. Children have a more difficult time learning
new things, and even if they are merely sitting in front of a computer, they are physically weary.
Virtual learning fatigue exists and may induce anxiety and stress in students and teachers.
How students cope with their problems
As a result of many adverse effects on students' academic performance, which influence their
mental and physical health, students utilize strategic techniques to deal with their issues. Table 3
shows the many types of coping and their advantages and usefulness.
Table 3: How students cope with their problems
Essential Themes Thematic Statements
P4 - “I listen to music, specifically rock music, to keep me awake. I also
put food beside me at times so that I get motivated.”
Coping methods P8 - “I usually do instrumental music and eat food to boost my
motivation, and productivity to complete my task and assignment.”
P7 - “Exercising, Watching entertaining videos every once in a while to
help you brain have a break, talking with friends, doing activities you
want to do.”
P1 - “Taking a rest by doing other things that can make me calm/relax
(ex. doing arts or playing games )”
P5 - “sleeping is my coping mechanism. so the best thing to do is to
avoid procrastinating and do tasks the same time they are released.”
P8 - “meditating is some of my Coping skills that might help my
psychologically and physically to boost my academic performance.”
P1 - “it lessens my stress levels and makes me comfortable enough to
continue work again.”
Benefits of Coping P2 - “Coping helps my academic performance to have a better results in
everything especially when my grades were showed up in my report
card and gladly, those grades were high.”
P8 - “Coping is very beneficial to my academic performance, as it
greatly helps improve myself and affects my academic performance. ”
P6 - “Coping mechanism help me be a better student and it shows that
there is always a way to overcome difficulties.”

Coping methods. Because of the obstacles and challenges that the students endure, they
have developed their tactics and coping methods to overcome the problems they confront.
Coping mechanisms are the tactics that humans frequently employ in response to stress and
trauma. Coping mechanisms are the tactics that people frequently employ amid stress or trauma
to help them cope with painful or challenging emotions. Coping techniques can assist people in
adjusting to difficult experiences while maintaining their emotional well-being: GoodTherapy,
n.d. Learning good coping skills is critical because it teaches us how to deal with adversity and
makes us more resilient. So, whatever problems arise in the future, we have the strength and will
to persevere (Kentucky counseling center, 2021).
 Benefits of coping. Coping helps the student to reduce the stress, anxiety, and problems
they are feeling or facing. Coping skills help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful
situations in life. Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and
psychologically and it can impact your ability to perform your best (Baton Rouge Behavioral
Hospital, n.d.).Coping skills help you process and deal with life stressors, struggles and emotions.
They help balance your overall mental health. (Sunny sky counseling. According to the
University of Tolido (n.d.) Coping skills will help an individual to address and be proactive in
handling the situation. Coping skills can be different from person to person. They can help you
identify ways to minimize your stress and develop nutrition and exercise plans to maintain your
health as you handle your other obligations. Through coping strategies and good self-care, you
can manage your stress healthfully and avoid long-term problems (Scott, 2021).
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