Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This comparative study will focus on the perspective of the grades 1-3 parents towards Mass

Promotion. The perspective of the parents from Central School will be compare to the perspective of the

parents from the Barangay School. The respondents of this study will be the parents of Grades 1 – 3

from Central School of Miagao and Barangay School from Guibongan Elementary School and conducive

sampling is the method to be use. This study will be conducted on the first semester of the Academic

Year 2023 – 2024. One-on-one interview and narrative inquiry for thematic analysis will be use.

Defintion of Terms

For a better understanding, the following terms are defined conceptually and operationallyas

how they are used in the study:

Lens. It refers to something that facilitates and influences perceptions, comprehension or

evaluation. (Merriam Webster)

In this study, it referred to the perspective of the parents towards their child’s promotion in

learning.

Parents. It refers to a person who gives birth to or raises a child. (Cambridge Dictionary)

In this study, it referred to the mother/father of the Elementary Grade from Grades 1-3 of both

central and barangay school.

Mass Promotion. It refers to the policy of promoting students to the next grade level despite of

poor achievement at their current grade level. (Encyclopedia)

 In this study, it referred to the personal experiences of parents with regards to promoting their

child’s grade level.

the literature and studies by the researchers which provided insights on the concepts of the study.

Related Literature

Mass PromotionAgainst the backdrop of high failure rate, the high opportunity cost of class repetition
and the deadline given to provide basic education for all children by 2015, most countries, including
Nigeria, have opted for the mass promotion policy (European Scientific Journal, 20150)

Mass Promotion, according to Goldman, (2007) is the practice of promoting students to the next grade
even though they have not acquired minimum competencies expected of that grade.

In addition to that, the policy of promotion is considered as most appropriate and cost effective
alternative of grade retention. It is the simplest way to reduce repetition of students and is beneficial for
children to carry their studies with their age fellows. Advocates of this practice affirmed it as more cost
effective whereas; the opponents believe that it affects quality of education by eliminating competition
and motivation for students and teachers as well (Iqbal, 2011).

Social PromotionSocial promotion is generally understood to be the practice of allowing students who
have failed to meet performance standards and academic requirements to pass on to the next grade
with their peers instead of completing or satisfying the requirements. Promoting students in this way is
called social promotion because it is often carried out in the presumed interest of a student‟s social and
psychological well-being, without regard to achievement (Wiley,1999)

Educational institutions used to believe that holding a student back could harm her self-esteem, but
there is increasing evidence that social promotion may be even more damaging to a child‟s self-esteem
(Thompson, 2018).

Although many schools uses this practice to avoid students from stigmatism after being held back
making it a factor for mass promoting students.
Automatic PromotionUIS-UNESCO (2012), stated that Automatic promotion is a policy whereby all
children are systematically promoted to the next grade except in exceptional circumstances (e.g.
extended absenteeism due to illness).

Nugent, (2013) defines automatic promotion as advancing a student who has not sufficiently gained the
academic skills and knowledge of one grade level to a higher instruction or grade level.

Moreover, Janvier Gasana, the Deputy Director General in charge of Education Quality and Standard
Department, added in his statement that what is being referred to as „automatic promotion‟ was an
initiative by the government that calls on schools to give special attention and extra coaching to
students who perform poorly in the course of the year so as to minimise cases of repeating classes or
expulsion of students as a result of failing exams. (Tashoa, 2014)

Academic Achievement

Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person
has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments,
specifically in school, college, and university (Steinmayr et. al, 2017).Academic achievement is
commonly measured through examinations or continuous assessments but there is no general
agreement on how it is best evaluated or which aspects are most important- procedural knowledge such
as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts (Ward et al. 1996)

Cruz et al, (2015) asserted that the quality of students‟ performance remains at top priority for
educator, trainers, and researchers who have long been interested in exploring variables contributing
effectively for quality of performance of learners.

Related Studies

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted in 2001 by President George H. W. Bush. This act was
implemented to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice so that no child is
left behind educationally. Therefore, most schools are working extremely hard to ensure appropriate
education for all students (Richardson, 2010). Schools nation-wide have implemented programs to assist
students in their academic endeavours in an effort to meet the benchmarks established by NCLB (U.S.
Department of Education, 2001). In addition to after-school programs, 504 plans, and Individualized
Education Programs (IEPs), promotion practices are also being utilized.

Grade promotion is the initial goal of every school-age child. However, the task of meeting the
requirements for promotion is difficult for some students. Students often experience educational
setbacks that usually result in grade retention (Richardson 2010). Tutop (2012) asserted that retention is
the act where a student repeats a grade if they fail to meet the minimum competency set by grade level
expectations. The assumption is if students know they will be retained each year when evidence of
achievement is not demonstrated, this will motivate students to be successful (Larsen & Akmal, 2007).
Marcus et al. (2006) in their new study conducted for the Manhattan Institute found that holding back
low- performing students helps them academically. Additionally, Jacob & Lefgren (2009) made several
valid points for the support of retention. Their study noted that in some instances retained students may
be better prepared for high school courses, thus enabling the student to “accumulate high school credits
at a faster pace”. However,Jacob (2009), Carifio, (2010), Stone & Angel, (2007) in their studies as cited
by Knight (2014), it shows that those students who are retained experience adverse effects, emotionally,
cognitively, and those experiences increases high school dropout rates. According to the Intercultural
Development Research Association (IDRA, 1999) mass promotion is the most common name for the
policy of promoting all the students to the next grade level despite poor achievement at their current
grade level. In other words, it is the practice of passing students on to the next grade who have failed to
master part or the entire grade-level curriculum.

In a study conducted in Anambra State and Nigeria, researchers investigated the impact of class
repetition and mass promotion policies on the academic achievements of students in Anambra State
secondary schools. Most teachers, parents and even students have the belief that is not backed by any
known study in Anambra State and Nigeria that class repetition has a remedial effect on learning. But
some educationists and policy makers argue that class repetition is economically wasteful and
emotionally stressful because the alternative policy, mass promotion, will ease the students‟
progression rates and make it possible for more children to be educated (Eboatu, 2014).

This debate has encouraged the researchers to conduct a research on the schools of the Guiuan
mainland specifically the large schools to see how they see this policy and how it influence the students‟
academic performance