CONCEPT PAPER

Rationale

Learning English involves many factors that would affect the process of learning

positively or negatively. Factors affecting school students' language learning

achievement has been the concern of socio-linguists and educationist since the last

quarter of the twentieth century (El-omari, 2016). It was found that the communicative

abilities of students in the rural school were lower than those in urban schools.

Moreover, urban school students produced more descriptions and speech acts. The

issue has gained more interest with the beginning of the twenty first century. Genc and

Aydin (2011) examined some factors affecting the motivation level of the preparatory

school students in using a web-based computer-assisted language-learning course. The

sample group of the study consisted of 126 English-as-a-foreign-language learners at a

preparatory school of a state university. It was found that there were no statistical

differences between such selected demographic variables as learners' age, gender,

grades, compulsory and optional status, type of high school, parents' educational status,

the period of the participants' language-learning process, and experience of computer

use. The only variable found to be statistically significant was the degree of importance

of learning English for the participants; more than half the participants possess

moderately high motivation level. Jurkovic (2010) examined the effect of two factors on

achievement test scores in English as a foreign language for specific purposes in higher

education: preexisting linguistic competence and frequency of use of language learner

strategies. The results of this study indicated a statistically significant positive effect of

general linguistic competence on achievement test scores. Among the constructs of

language learner strategies, however, the only construct having a statistically significant

effect on achievement test scores was metacognitive strategies. Suh et al (2010)

investigated the effectiveness of massive multiplayer online role-playing game

(MMORPG)-based (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) instruction in

elementary English education. The results indicated that students studying English

utilizing online role-playing games showed higher scores in areas of listening, reading,

and writing than those who attended face-to-face instruction classes.

Based on the literatures concerning English language learning, the research of

this study aims to determine different factors which affect students learning of the

English language and their proficiency in it.

This study aims to determine the relationship between the English language

achievement of senior high school students from secondary public schools in Santa

Maria, Davao Occidental and their attitude, socioeconomic status, social factor, and

extracurricular factor.
Conceptual Framework

Challenges During the

Academic Performance
Pandemic
1. written work
1. engagement
2. performance task
2. support
3. quarterly examination
3. recommendation

Intervention
for
Improvement

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the study showing the relationship between the
independent and dependent variable
Brief Review of Related Literature

This study is anchored to the theory of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for

Learners. Maslow’s theory is a motivational theory which comprises of five-tier model of

human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of

the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job

security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization

(McLeod, 2020). Maslow (1954) stated that “people are motivated to achieve certain

needs and that some needs take precedence over others.”

 Perhaps one of the most prominent academic challenges faced by the students

during COVID-19 is the lack of motivation and engagement. Motivation is defined as the

process of sustenance to actualize goal-directed activities. Recent studies aimed to

understand and investigate the influence of motivation towards students’ achievement.

Students’ beliefs, goals, and values to which academic tasks to finish first is defined as

academic motivation (Wentzel & Wigfield, 2009). The pandemic has caught us in shock,

and its adverse impact towards students learning patterns in now emerging. Although

the education sector is quick to adapt, switching from traditional teaching to blended,

distance learning, its aftermath is still to be uncovered. One study in Malaysia showed

that COVID-19 has caused students in higher education to loss motivation and to have

poor academic performance using online learning methods (Tan, 2020). Similarly, in

Portugal and Italy, students have shown a decrease in academic motivation which is

also associated to their participation in extracurricular activities (Zaccoletti, 2020).

Despite the efforts of schools, teachers, and parents to mitigate the detrimental effects

of COVID-19 to students, the phenomenon still left students unmotivated. Therefore, to

address this issue the researcher of this study will determine the impact of COVID-19 to

primary pupils’ academic performance.

Methodology

 Research Locale: Primary schools in Sta. Maria East, Davao Occidental

 Research Design: Descriptive-predictive

o This research will utilized a descriptive-predictive quantitative type of study

since it will determine the level of challenges experienced by primary

pupils during the pandemic and their academic performance. Moreover,

 this study will determine the impact of the independent variable towards

dependent variable.

 Respondents

o This respondents of this study will be the primary pupils from Santa Maria

East District Division of Davao Occidental.

 Sampling Design and Technique: This study will utilize a cluster sampling

technique where randomly selected primary pupils will be clustered according to

grade level.

 Research Instrument: The researchers will use a modified questionnaire from

the study of Dziuban et. al. (2015) and Almusharraf and Khahro (2020).

 Data Gathering Procedures: following the procedures and protocols of the

conduct of study set by the graduate studies of Davao del Sur State College, with

the permission to conduct the study from all authorities, the researcher is

planning to use google form to administer the questionnaires to the

respondents. The results will be analyzed and summed up with appropriate

statistical tools advised by the statistician.

Working Title:

CHALLENGES FACED BY PRIMARY PUPILS DURING COVID-19

AND ITS IMPACT TO THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Prepared by:

References

Department of Budget and Management. (2020). Prrd signs the P4.506 trillion national
budget for FY 2021. Retrieved from https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/secretary-
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 national-budget-for-fy-2021#:~:text=Consistent%20with%20the%20provisions%2
0of,of%20the%20FY%202021%20budget.

Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.

McLeod, S. A. (2020, March 20). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Tan, C. (2021), "The impact of COVID-19 on student motivation, community of inquiry

and learning performance", Asian Education and Development Studies, Vol. 10
No. 2, pp. 308-321.

Wentzel, K. R., and Wigfield, A. (2009). “Introduction,” in Handbook of Motivation

at School, eds K. R. Wenzel and A. Wigfield (New York, NY: Routledge), 1–8.

Zaccoletti S, Camacho A, Correia N, Aguiar C, Mason L, Alves RA and Daniel JR

(2020)
Parents’ perceptions of student academic motivation during the covid-19
lockdown: a cross-country comparison. front. psychol. 11:592670. doi:
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.592670