LA CONSOLACION COLLEGE MANILA

Mendiola, Manila 1
SHS – HUMANITIES AND SOCIALSCIENCES STRAND

PERCEPTIONS OF ABM STUDENTS IN INTELLECTUAL SHAMING AND

ITS EFFECTS IN THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES

A Qualitative Research Study Presented to the Faculty of

Senior High School of La Consolacion College Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

for the Course Practical Research 1

By:

Ablao, Tyra Cate F.

Bitun, Khirsiy Eunice P.

Caliguiran, Maria Cassandra Caliguiran A.

Casapao, Luke Hendric

Flaviano, Nichole M.

Marino, Kyle Bryan H.

Ramos, John Djedrick M.

Grade 11 – St. Thomas

April 2023
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Anyone can smart-shame someone without even noticing it, especially

when they are joking around to the point where they don’t notice that they are

actually hitting a sensitive spot or feelings of someone when they are trying their

best to make something understandable. In the Philippines pool, anti-

intellectualism is slowly expanding. While some may argue that there is little to

worry about, the long-term effects of this issue will be significant, particularly for

our economy and the youth. According to a Sta. Ana article, "Pinoy culture is

unfortunately embedded in smart-shaming and seems to be set in stone."

Romana (2015), as mentioned in Dr. Virgilio Enriquez's book "Sikolohiyang

Pilipino" Apparently establishing a foothold in Filipino society is a new

communication strategy that has evolved. Anti-intellectualism, also referred to as

"smart shaming," is the idea that intellectual pursuits are somehow unworthy of

trust or that one lacks knowledge and understanding of them. It's a mentality in

which those who display intelligence are mocked for it (Sison, 2015). Studies

have been done to examine the culture of smart shaming, which is what has

caused the issue in this study. The purpose of this research is to clarify the

understanding of the ABM students in intellectual shaming and explain the

various effects of it on our academic performances. Through conducting this

research study, it will provide benefits to all students of ABM, it will explain the

experiences of ABM students regarding their academic performances, help them

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express themselves due to intellectual shaming and academic pressures, and

provide further information regarding the impact of intellectual shame on their

academic performances. Anti-intellectualism is a problem that is prevalent in

Philippine society, especially among academics and high achievers. This study

was carried out by researchers at La Consolacion College Manila in the

Philippines to examine the impact of smart shaming or anti-intellectualism on the

social skills of grade 11 ABM.

Background of the Study

There’s been a lot of talk about toxic Pinoy habits recently. Specifically,

there’s been a lot of flak about our spreading of fake news, of our inability to

follow simple road rules and our “manhid” feelings towards anything that doesn’t

personally involve us. But right now, in this study, we’re talking about something

that is currently existing especially in the field of education: smart shaming. What

is Smart shaming or Intellectual Shaming? Intellectual shaming is the act of

mocking someone who is smarter than others.The truth is most of us would deny

it if anyone asked and we might not even be conscious of it, but we all do smart

shame. No matter what school we came from, no matter what degree we hold

and no matter our upbringing, we’re all guilty of it.

Intellectual Shaming here in the Philippines became rampant. One of the

reasons behind this is the “Crab Mentality” that Filipinos already have developed

since before. Crab mentality plays a huge role in smart shaming in the

Philippines. Whenever someone is better than them, they're not just being

unhappy about that but they try to drag them down mostly by smart shaming to
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let others know they're smarter. Smart shaming in the Philippines is based on

different factors and here are some other thoughts about it. Most Filipinos say

“Ikaw na” which means “You are already smart, don't brag about it” in its sense.

“Daming alam” means “You know too much” and unfortunately it's always said in

a tone of arrogance most of the time from a person who is intellectually shaming.

“May pinaglalaban” is always said when you are trying to let your political opinion

be heard but majority of the “kids” find the statements to be mature that you're

like fighting for something ridiculous or impossible.

Another issue is that Filipinos tend to accept ordinariness and mediocrity

to the extent that they will accept claims without conducting more study. They

prefer already completed tasks. They'd rather hear rumors than the truth. They

would humiliate the person if they received philosophical responses or

assertions. Smart-shaming is common in the Philippine context. They view

intelligence more negatively than positively, almost like a curse. It should be

something of which one can be proud and not embarrassed. Technically

speaking, some Filipinos dislike the thought of having someone who is wiser or

better than they are. As they say, crab mentality.

As students of the ABM strand, we already have experienced smart

shaming, with everyone always saying, "Maybe you're smart? That's why you

take ABM", "You ABM students are just good at doing math", "Are you smart in

math?" and "Aren't you weak in analyzing? Why did you take an ABM? You're

just going to fail", and more. Nowadays, many criticize or make fun of those that

are intelligent. However, intelligence is criticized rather than commended. One

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excellent example of discrimination is "intellectual shaming." Instead of receiving

compliments from their peers, clever kids may hear negative comments like

"Nakalunok ng calculator" and "Syempre ABM 'yan eh!", as well as "Matic

magaling sa math 'yan." It may look positive but for some reason it has a

negative impact on academic performances of the students. This also is why we

conducted this study research in order to point out these things and experiences

of intellectual shaming as ABM students.

According to one of AMA university`s researches, Smart shaming is not as

fervent as bullying but it is a phenomenon that is slowly spreading throughout the

community, specifically in the Philippines, and it mostly happens in schools and

other educational institutions. This causes students and people to not strive for

intelligence and information and affect their self-esteem. Depreciating or insulting

a person who’s much more intelligent than you can rapidly lower the self-esteem

of the recipient. While those of the people who smart-shame and humiliate one`s

ability to handle things will someday become one of the hindrances of their

success (Arcilla, et al.) You can say people celebrate education but seem to hold

themselves back. It's almost like they're afraid or ashamed to be too intelligent.

Playfully shaming people when they're `too smart` for the common tastes has

become such a common thing not knowing how it could affect and make the

other person feel. This is why, Everyone should be treated equally. We should

rather encourage the intellectual ones to continue their pursuit of knowledge and

sharing of novel ideas than insulting and mistreating them because of their

nature of ability and capabilities.

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Statement of the Problem:

As we proceed to the statement of the problem, we already discussed

some information regarding the intellectual shaming towards abm students. In a

brief explanation, the main purpose of this study is to look into the issue of

intellectual shaming toward ABM students and its impact on their academic

performance. This study aims to explore the reasons behind such shaming, how

it affects the psychological well-being of students, and the strategies that can be

implemented to counter this negative behavior.

The study also aims to create awareness about the negative impact of

intellectual shaming and the need to foster a healthy and positive learning

environment for all students. Here are some specific questions the researchers

aim to be answered:

1. What is intellectual shaming?

2. What is the perception of ABM students in intellectual shaming?

3. How does intellectual shaming affect the academic performance of ABM

students?

4. What are the factors of intellectual shaming?

5. How do ABM students cope with it?

Assumption:

Based on the assumption that ABM students who experience intellectual

shaming suffer from negative effects on their academic performance and mental

health, it is assumed that there is a significant negative correlation between

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intellectual shaming and academic performance. Furthermore, it is assumed that

students who experience intellectual shaming are more likely to suffer from

mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, it is assumed

that there is a significant difference in the experiences of intellectual shaming

among male and female ABM students. Finally, it is assumed that the level of

intellectual shaming experienced by ABM students varies based on factors such

as age, socio-economic status, and academic achievement.

Significance of the Study:

It won't be overstated to say that smart shaming plays a significant role in how

society views intelligence and how it can affect a person's self-esteem. Everyone

agrees that it will not be beneficial, even though individual results vary. The goal

of this study is to increase awareness of intellectual shaming, which occurs

frequently but has received little attention in recent years. The findings of this

study may be very beneficial to students whose self-esteem has suffered as a

result of this particular behavior. Additionally, this can greatly assist students in

resisting the urge to dismiss someone who is intellectually far superior to them.

Lastly, it can also foster a more welcoming and encouraging learning

environment where everyone is encouraged to follow their interests and abilities

without worry or judgment.

Students. This research paper will provide benefits to ABM students to

have further information on this study, help them express themselves due to

intellectual shaming and academic pressures, provide further information

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regarding the impact of intellectual shame on their academic performances, and

provide advice on how to avoid such circumstances.

Academic Achievers. This study will make them see smart shaming as a

factor that affects their holistic growth as a student and find ways on how they

can avoid such and further improve their interpersonal skills and academic

performance.

Teachers. This study's findings can help them to understand how big a

problem this kind of humiliation is. Thus, they would have an idea to pay closer

attention to their classes or students and take appropriate action as necessary.

Parents. This study will also help the parents to guide their children.

Parents will have an idea to know the proper approach to their children who are

experiencing this kind of assault or shaming.

Society. This study paper will assist them in understanding what smart

shaming is and the impact it can have towards abm students.

Future Researchers. This can fill in as a guide or references for them to

add more data with regards to the intellectual shaming towards students. This

can likewise fill in as one of their related reviews. They can likewise think about

our result from the result that they have accumulated for them to have the option

to define another technique in gathering data information and they can go

beyond the limits of our studies.

Filipino People. Filipinos will have a wider viewpoint on intellectual

shaming as a growing culture in the Philippines. This study will help them
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understand that smart shaming is a serious matter that makes an impact on

students and the society as a whole.

Significance of the Study:

This study focuses on the perceptions of abm students in intellectual

shaming and its effect in their academic performance. The data collection will be

conducted to all abm students ranging from 16-18 years old of La Consolacion

College Manila year of 2022-2023 who already have an experience on

intellectual shaming. This study will focused on the possible impact of intellectual

shaming that may affect our performances as abm students. A questionnaire will

be used to gather data. By their strategy the researchers will be able to know the

perceptions of abm students in intellectual shaming and its effects in their

academic performance.

The possible limitation of this research study is, We as researchers had a

difficulty to focus “intellectual shaming” on a single strand. As we all know,

intellectual shaming is a very extensive and generic topic. It has a different factor

that targets not just a single strand but generally all students, teachers, workers

can plug in. Intellectual shaming generally covers everyone which really limits us

to find a specific case that only focuses on ABM strand and its students. Which

implies that this study will only focus on one school, La Consolacion College

Manila, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other schools.

Moreover, The study only relies on self-reported experiences of intellectual

shaming, which may be subject to bias or inaccuracy. Lastly, The study may be
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limited by the availability of participants or their willingness to share their

experiences.