The Effects of Bullying on Academic Achievement

Table of contents

THE EFFECT OF BULLYING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF LEARNERS IN HIGH SCHOOL

THE BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Bullying has become a challenge that numerous schools are battling with. Olweus (1995), noted that bullying happens at schools during times when a person is exposed over and over again to negative behaviour which can be either verbal or physical to one or more learners. Olweus also noted that a bullying relationship requires an inequality of strength or power over the other person. Dillon and Lash (2005) made a similar explanation about bullying, showing that bullying involves repeated aggressive behaviour being done by learners who have seem to have an advantage in terms strength over their victims.

Providing a precise definition as to what bullying is can be a bit difficult because bullying has evolved and continues to evolve with the societal changes taking place in the society that we now live in. With the new developments in technology, it creates more platforms for bullying to also develop and change. Cyberbullying is bullying that uses technology such as emails or social media platforms to taint and ruin the reputation of a person (Wong, 2009).

Research has shown that bullying does have a bad effect on the victim physically and socially. Learners fear being bullied so much so that they would rather stay at home (Vail, 1999). Therefore, if bullying causes learners to become absent then the effect it has on academic performance can be assessed through learners grades, tardiness and absenteeism.
A study performed by (Glew, Fan, Katon, Rivara and Kenric, 2005) pointed out that victims and bullies were prone to having poor academic achievement than by-standers. There are also emotional effects that are caused by bullying, it causes so much stress for the victim that it ends up showing through physical symptoms, which then leads to the increase in absenteeism of the learner.

Those physical effects of bullying experienced by learners or the victim of bullying along with other psychological issues caused by bullying leads to the poor academic performance.
Canter (2005) confirms bullying is a present-day phenomenon in most schools in the United States and is said to affect over 70% of learners (as cited in Beaty & Alexyev, 2008). Several researchers, Borg (1999), Boulton & Underwood (1992) and Olweus (1993), assert learners that are victims of bullying have lasting emotional, academic, and behavioural problems (as cited in Whitted & Dupper, 2005, p.167).

A recent study has shown that when learners are teased and bullied frequently the learners lose interest in school, and this then affects learners commitment and also their involvement in school activities (Mehta, Cornell, Fan, & Gregory, 2013).It has been reported by principals and teachers that when the school environment is seen as a negative place to be by the learners, it leads to poor school achievement (Cornell, Gregory, Huang, & Fan, 2013; Johnson & Stevens, 2006; Kon- ishi, Hymel, Zumbo, & Li, 2010; MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009; Ripski & Gregory, 2009).

Bradshaw et al. (2007) found that over 49% of learners said that they have been bullied, while over 70% of learners witnessed bullying. While boys bully their victims physically, girls bully their victims through gossip, spreading rumours, or excluding them from social groups (Peckham, 2007).

The Statement of the Research Problem

Bullying is a problem that affects all learners either as the person being bullied, the victim, or by-stander. Bullying can take many forms from verbal to physical assaults, threats, jokes or language, being mocked and criticized, to being insulted or given funny facial expressions. These factors work either individually or together in leading to a learners being bullied. Bullying has several impacts in the school and one those is the impact it has on academic achievement.

For many years now evidence has shown that bullying does have a negative influence on a learners well-being. With so many learners experiencing the effects of being bullied, many schools in the province have decided to act on the problem.

The effects of bullying within the school environment and persistent pressure from legislators and the community as a whole for an increase in the academic performance of learners, is a concern for school administrators, teachers and the parents. This research aims to investigate the link between bullying and the academic performance of learners.

Research questions/Hypotheses

  1. How does bullying affect the academic performance of learners?
  2. Does bullying have an effect on the academic performance of learners?
  3. What are the forms of bullying that take place at the school?
  4. What are the effects of bullying on the victims, the bullies, by-standers and the school environment?
  5. What are the characteristics of a bully?

Purpose of the Study

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect that bullying has on the academic performance of learners’ achievement in schools. The more we are informed about bullying in schools the better equipped the school and district will be and also the school leaders will be able to minimize the bullying from taking place and bring about changes that are positive to the schools, district and also the community.

There is evidence that bullying is a serious problem for schools and this has been found in professional literature and the local setting. The goal of this study is to provide better understanding of the effects of bullying on the academic performance of learners in the school district.

The Significance of the Study

Bullying is a problem that affects many learners lives. Problems linked with bullying have grown over time due to the increased access to technology and social media allowing more opportunities of cyberbullying (Patechin ; Hinduja,2006).Bullying is complicated and is linked to cultural, social, family and personal aspects of our lives (Pepler et al.,2006).

This study attempts to reveal the nature of the relationship between bullying and academic achievement with the use of multiple regression technique and examine whether academic performance levels can be predicted by the frequency of bullying in a given school district.

This study is aimed to at helping the district and the schools to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the frequency of bullying in a school and learners academic performance.

Definition of Key Terms

  1. Academic performance: The extent to which a student , teacher or an institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals.
  2. Bully: A person who intentionally causes harm to another person whet
  3. Bullying: Repeated aggressive verbal or physical behaviour with the intention of harming or hurting another person. This happens frequently and involves an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim.
  4. By-stander: A person who sees the act of bullying taking place.
  5. Learner: A person who is learning a skill or subject
  6. Victim: A learner who is harassed by another learner or a group of learners two, three or more learners leading to suffering physical or psychological harm.

Delimitation of the Study

The study only includes incidents that were reported in the school district and will be based only on high schools in Bloemfontein. Participation in this study will be delimited to Grade 10 learners and their teachers. The amount of unreported bullying is beyond the scope of this study. Bullying might affect other variables but for this study only academic achievement will be measured.

Read more

The Psychological Effect Of Academic Achievement Education Essay

Table of contents

African American pupils have the chance to gain academic accomplishment awards where pupils of their ain race are their lone competition. Each clip they receive those awards, they are reminded of the demands that had to hold been met in order to make such acknowledgment. The GPA demands for these awards normally equal the mean GPA of their Asiatic and Caucasic schoolmates. Therefore, the criterions of these awards statistically pale in comparing to the accomplishments of the Asian and Caucasic pupils. Because there are no tantamount race-specific awards given to Asian or Caucasic pupils, it is clear that there is a disagreement in what society expects from pupils of certain races academically.

These awards were created by organisations to actuate these pupils to go on their academic enterprises and possibly accomplish more. This survey attempts to measure the cogency of such awards by the specifying academic excellence for all pupils, irrespective of race. With research, the paper besides attempts to find grounds for possibly take downing the criterions for Afro-american specific awards. Taking in to account all the factors that contribute to a pupil ‘s motive, it is concluded that the awards could merely turn out to be uneffective.

Michael-Ann Henry

Ms. Emily Sigman

Senior Independent Undertaking

Spring 2010

The Psychological Consequence of Academic Achievement Awards on

African American Students

Over the past twosome decennaries, public schools and separate organisations in Montgomery County, Maryland have awarded African American and Latino pupils who display accomplishments in faculty members, leading, and sports. One of these awards was granted to an jock who maintained a 2.5 class point norm ( lone.5 above the ineligibility GPA of 2.0 ) ; another was rewarded to an African American pupil for geting a GPA of 3.0. These awards clearly exclude other populations such as Asiatic Americans and Caucasians. How is it that the pupils of those ethnicities, who typically sit on the more successful terminal of the academic accomplishment spread, are non awarded for similar achievements? Harmonizing to research, it is statistically more of a rareness for Afro-american and Latino pupils to achieve equal degrees of accomplishments when compared to Asians and Caucasians ( NAEP Studies ) . Because such achievement remains uncommon with the pupils of these races, the achievements warrant wages, in the sentiment of the organisations giving the awards. Organizations like Montgomery County ‘s African American Festival of Academic Excellence claim that they seek to “ promote and help African American pupils to endeavor for academic excellence ” by showing pupils with congratulatory certifications ( AAFAE Online ) . However, it needs to be proven whether these awards do actuate African-American and Latino pupils to prosecute more academic asperity or whether they set the saloon depression in a manner that indicates that it would be excessively hard for them to accomplish more like their Asiatic and Caucasic opposite numbers. Furthermore, a survey of the possible relationship between the awards and the achievement spread demands to be considered to measure the necessity and effectivity of these awards in our school systems. Challenged by statistical and psychological theories, the cogency of the awards and their ability to motivate more motive in African American pupils has proven, so far, to be uneffective.

Context for Evaluation of the Awards

In order to find the legitimacy of these academic awards as motivational tools, true academic excellence must be defined. A pupil ‘s grade point norm is normally the first listed demand for the awards in inquiry and therefore, apparently, the most of import and simplest manner to mensurate school performance.. In order to specify academic excellence in footings of a pupil ‘s grade point norm, the national mean GPA of all high school pupils should be considered. Harmonizing to an article by Justin Pope of the Associated Press, in the twelvemonth 2000, the national norm for GPAs was a 2.94. At that clip, the above norm public presentation could hold been defined by a GPA that surpasses 3.0. However, it was reported that in 2005 over a fifth of the high school population claimed to hold a GPA equivalent to an A norm ( Pope ) . Therefore, throughout this survey, a GPA of 3.5 is believed to outdo represent academic excellence in today ‘s society, across the racial spectrum. In short, awards with this demand are less likely to be given due to racially subjective grounds or differing outlooks of pupils based on race. Students awarded based on this demand would undeniably be considered deserving of the acknowledgment that comes with academic excellence.

Granted that academic excellence should besides be evaluated along with several other factors-such as each county ‘s assorted methods of making a class point norm, each instructor ‘s or academic section ‘s assorted rating policies, and the pupil ‘s single attempt and socioeconomic position to call a few-this survey specifically analyzes academic awards given chiefly based on grade point norms. Therefore, sorting a GPA that about indicates academic excellence for all races, a 3.5, is necessary to measure the cogency and the effectivity of the awards given to merely Afro-american pupils.

Examples of Awards Given

While based on the national norm GPA, an above norm GPA would be closer to 3.5, most of the race-specific awards do non necessitate a GPA stopping point to that estimated pot of academic excellence. Within Montgomery County Maryland, the African American Festival of Academic Excellence awards high school pupils in this county who earn a “ cumulative unweighted Grade Point Average ( GPA ) of 3.0 or above or a cumulative leaden GPA of 3.2 or above for all combined high school old ages through the first semester of the current school twelvemonth ” . Besides in the Montgomery County country, the Iota Upsilon Lambda Chapter of the , a historically Black fraternity grants the undermentioned awards based on the corresponding demands: Jesse Owens Award for jocks with outstanding devotedness to sports and a minimal GPA of 2.5 ; Paul Robeson Award for minimal 3.0 GPA ; and the W.E.B Dubois Award for lower limit of 3.5 GPA. Illustrated in Montgomery County, the disagreement conspicuously separates the races that typically perform good at the high terminal of the accomplishment spread and the races that normally fall short of the criterions of academic excellence. The bulk of the acknowledgment given to African American pupils in Montgomery County does non run into the criterion of excellence that was based upon the mean GPA in the state. Hence, there seems to be a disagreement between the likely definition of “ above norm ” for the pupils across the state ( a class point norm of 3.5 or higher ) and the likely definition of “ above norm ” for African American pupils.

Although the conditions of the listed academic awards still represent all right accomplishments, tantamount certifications and acknowledgment are non given to Asian and Caucasic pupils of in a similar race-specific manner. Based on informations from the National Assessment of Educational Progress ( NAEP ) , if organisation s were to give out the same awards to Caucasian and Asiatic American pupils that met the same demands, the sum of pupils that would have wagess would be overpowering. In contrast, there exists merely a little part of the African American pupil organic structure that reach the criterions of those academic awards. This disparity in the awarding system for pupils of different races nowadayss itself non merely in Montgomery County, but besides throughout the state. In the San Francisco Unified School District, the territory itself hosts a community event known as the Annual African American Student Honor Roll Parade and Celebration honouring “ all center and high school pupils with a 3.0 class point norm or above for the past two semesters, along with the 10 top accomplishing pupils from each simple school in the territory ” ( Robbins ) . However, the degree of acknowledgment seems indefensible when a pupil with a 3.0 does run into the same criterion to which other pupils are held for the non-race specific academic awards they would be eligible to have. Superintendent of Schools in that San Francisco territory, Waldemar Rojas, besides yearly presents a particular gold embossed plaque, “ the Academic Excellence Award ” to all Afro-american center and high school pupils with a 4.0 GPA ( Robbins ) . Even though the conditional GPA of this award seems to transcend the antecedently decided definition of academic excellence, in footings of GPA, there was no grounds that equal acknowledgment was given to pupils of other races who achieved the same.

In Seattle Public Schools ( 2003 ) , “ more than 140 African American pupils from Garfield High School [ were ] recognized for their academic accomplishment at the Ku’Onesha Awards. These pupils have achieved a class point norm of 3.0 or higher ” sponsored by the “ Parents for African American Student Excellence ( PAASE ) , a multicultural group dedicated to shuting the academic accomplishment spread at Garfield High School ” ( “ Seattle ‘s Public Schools ” ) . Therefore, the incompatibility among the awards given to pupil of assorted races becomes clear when there is no clear tantamount acknowledgment for academic accomplishment given to specifically Asians and Caucasic pupils. It is apparent that there is inequality in the presenting systems across the state ; the Afro-american pupils get awards with less demanding conditions than what the national norm GPA implies the demands should be, while the pupils of the races on the statistically better side of the academic accomplishment spread, receive no acknowledgment for equal accomplishment. The latter pupils must vie with all races to have more requirement intensive awards ( Divoky 220 ) .

Reasons for Race-Specific Academic Awards

In order to decide the evident disparity, the grounds for presenting second-rate accomplishment ( or achievement deemed mediocre for pupils of other races ) must be analyzed. Why do organisations and school systems feel that it is necessary to allow race-specific academic awards to African American pupils? The allowance of these lowered outlooks and demands for African American pupils must be argued and evaluated by statistical and historical informations Sandra Graham, who studied motive in African American pupils, define motive as a perceptual experience of the “ likeliness of achieving a end and the value ( affect ) associated with that end attainment ” ( 57 ) . Thus we must dig into the factors that influence this perceptual experience of what can be attained.

The deficit of internal motive for the bulk of African American pupils has been the beginning of argument of pedagogues across the state. One theory claims that within the African American pupil community, there is animus towards the high-achieving that stems from cultural associations, making an environment that discourages larning. Therefore, the awards may function as a physical manner to battle the verbal “ put-downs ” that can impede a pupil from accomplishing self-actualization in academe. Harmonizing to a survey performed by the University of Illinois, Afro-american high school pupils who considered themselves really good pupils were shown to be more likely to be the victims of verbal maltreatment from their equals ( Cherry ) . “ The survey farther suggests that covering with classmate squelchs can do it hard for good pupils to larn while doing it near impossible for behind to catch up ( Cherry ) . Harmonizing Fordham and Ogbu who studied internal cultural prejudice, high accomplishing African American pupils tend to be labeled by their academic strive as “ moving white ” ( 178 ) . As clarified by Tyson, Darity, and Castellino, the formation of the term, “ moving white ” was portion of a larger oppositional civilization constructed by African Americans in response to their history of captivity and favoritism. The oppositional individuality was said to be “ portion of a cultural orientation toward schooling which exists within the minority community ” ( Tyson, Darity, and Castellino 583 ) . Thus, some African Americans claim that academic accomplishment should non be extremely valued in the community because such actions have been associated with the standard norms of success among Caucasic Americans. Therefore, academic awards, specifically given to African American pupils, may hold lowered criterions for retrieval to equal this force against instruction in the African American community. The end of the awards in this instance would be to allow the pupil with assurance that what their difficult work in school is worth the possible ridicule because of the hereafter success.

School systems and private organisations would make these race-specific awards besides to possibly excite motive when pupils face hard socio-economic and place environment related issues that result in less drive to win. As indicated by the U.S. Census Bureau ‘s survey of kids younger than 18 life in households, 27 per centum of Latino kids and 30 per centum of black kids live in poorness, compared with approximately 13 per centum of white kids. Harmonizing Graham research of the motive of African American pupils old “ societal scientistsaˆ¦found it easy to associate differences between Blacks and White persons in household construction to differences in their accomplishment demands ” ( 60 ) . Graham cited George Mussen as holding conducted first comparative racial survey on the demand to accomplish, or a pupil ‘s motive. Thereafter, 18 more surveies arose that fundamentally tested for the same information, the degree of each race of pupils ‘ demand to accomplish. Seven out of 19 surveies, or 36 % , reported Whites to be higher in the demand to accomplish than Blacks, ( Graham 61 ) . Graham goes on to reason that “ even though African Americans appeared to be lower in the accomplishment motivation in these surveies, they reported educational and vocational aspirations equal to or higher than their White opposite numbers. ” This means that they were merely every bit likely as Caucasians to draw a bead on to travel to college and to come in high position professions ( Graham 66 ) Therefore the awards could be given to bring forth this demand to accomplish that compels pupils to hold higher aspirations and academic successes and hence associate the awards with the wagess that difficult work brings in the hereafter such post-secondary instruction and a steady occupation. Graham continues to indicate out the concrete correlativity between hapless socio-economic position and low motive. Therefore, the awards could supply the encouragement that their economic state of affairs knees.

The Research Center for the organisation known as Editorial Projects in Education asserts that, “ the disparities in accomplishment are frequently attributed to socioeconomic factors ” . As referenced earlier, Graham noticed that motive was lower among pupils of certain socioeconomic position, non pupils in a peculiar race. Therefore, the academic awards do non necessitate to be race specific because race entirely has no correlativity to the deficiency of motive. While the proportions of African American and Latino pupils who achieve good academically continue to increase, there is still a clear disparity between those who are rewarded for their accomplishments with relation to ethnicity. Illustrated in Montgomery County, the disagreement conspicuously separates the races that typically perform good at the high terminal of the accomplishment spread and the races that normally fall short of the criterions of academic excellence. Harmonizing to the U.S. Census Bureau ‘s survey of kids younger than 18 life in households, 27 per centum of Latino kids and 30 per centum of black kids live in poorness, compared with approximately 13 per centum of white kids. Graham goes on to reason that “ even though African Americans appeared to be lower in the accomplishment motivation in these surveies, they reported educational and vocational aspirations equal to or higher than their White opposite numbers. ” This means that they were merely every bit likely as Caucasians to draw a bead on to travel to college and to come in high position professions ( Graham 66 ) The Research Center for the organisation known as Editorial Projects in Education asserts that, “ the disparities in accomplishment are frequently attributed to socioeconomic factors ” . As referenced earlier, Graham noticed that motive was lower among pupils of certain socioeconomic position, non pupils in a peculiar race. Therefore, the academic awards do non necessitate to be race specific because race entirely has no correlativity to the deficiency of motive. Therefore, the deficiency of motive among African American pupils is non a subscriber to the accomplishment but the deficit of thrust in pupils who live in hapless economic conditions remains the job. Unfortunately, African Americans and Hipics go on to organize the bulk of the economically down-trotted. Conversely, we must besides retrieve that non all African Americans are in economic adversity while there are several Caucasian and Asiatic American pupils in hapless socioeconomic state of affairss who can non have awards that encourage to them endeavor academically despite their state of affairs further set uping inequality within our school systems.

The Academic Achievement Gap

Although it has been concluded that African American pupils are capable of bring forthing adequate motive for great accomplishment, despite some possible obstructions, the statistics still problem pedagogues as there still clear differences between the racial groups of pupils ( see Figure1 ) .

Fig. 1. Swerve in Grade Point Average by Race/Ethnicity, “ NAEP 2005 HSTS: Grade Point Average, Entire GPA. ” NAEP. U.S. Department of Education. Web. 3 Jan. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //nationsreportcard.gov/hsts_2005/hs_gpa_3a_1.asp? tab_id=tab3 & A ; subtab_id=Tab_1 # chart & gt ; .

The mean GPA for Asian and Pacific Islander pupils throughout the U.S. surpasses all other groups with a 3.16, a class point norm higher than most of the demands for the African American particular academic awards. Black pupils remain at the bottom terminal of the GPA spectrum with a GPA of 2.69. Taking this figure in to account, school systems and private organisations that create the academic awards in inquiry clearly must hold made the demands low plenty to do certain that there would be some feasible campaigners for such awards. But if these organisations continue to further the thought that 3.0 is an academic range, some African American pupils will ne’er make above that saloon. By puting the saloon at such a degree, I hypothesize that it sends a message to African American pupils that they are hardly capable of making their opposite numbers ‘ mean tonss.

Why Awards with Mediocre Requirements Do Not Work As Incentives for Education

No affair what the grounds are for presenting African American pupils for mean work, the permanent effects of such acknowledgment and attending on mediocre accomplishments have yet to be to the full examined. Based on psychological inclinations, trying to put extrinsic value on instruction, particularly through the representation of a simple piece of paper, in attempt to supply an inducement to larn proves uneffective with striplings ( Plotnik 333 ) . In order to bring forth more of an intrinsic desire to accomplish, Henry Murray ‘s original theory on human motive must be understood. He “ observed that persons vary in their inclination or desire to make things good and vie against a criterion of excellence ” ( Graham 60 ) . Alternatively of seeking to make an inducement to larn, pedagogues who desire to shut the accomplishment spread should arouse with the intrinsic motives within pupils by puting the academic accomplishment saloon even higher.

Read more

Impact of Socio Economic Condition on Academic Achievement of Students

Research Proposal On Impact of Socio Economic Condition on Academic Achievement of Students Introduction Education provides individual children with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance themselves and their nation economically. Socioeconomic factors, such as family income level, parents’ level of education, race and gender, all influence the quality and availability of education as well as the ability of education to improve life circumstances. (Jennifer, 2005).

A person’s education is closely linked to their life chances, income, and well being. Therefore, it is important to have a clear understanding of what benefits or hinders one’s educational attainment (Barry 2005). Socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group. When viewed through a social class lens, privilege, power, and control are emphasized.

Understanding the effects of socioeconomic status on academic performance is important in determining effective and valid testing for students. Determining the correlation between these two variables is important for all educators to understand, so that all students can achieve to their academic potential. Finding the correlation between academic performance and socioeconomic status can assist educators in determining instructional strategies that best fit each individual student (Brent, 2009).

The issue of socioeconomic status and its relationship in the academic performance creates an emerging study in academic research. The link between the economic status of the family and its influence in the student’s pursuance for education is one of the issues that the educators are attempting to address. In public institutions all levels of students are getting chance to study according to their merit. After getting the scope to study in public universities, it is not a very easy task for all students to carry on their studies in present circumstances.

According to statistical reports 23-25% students of public universities are come from those families which are living below the poverty line (Dr. Abdul Hai, 2009). Problem Statement The level of family income, what level of income a family is in, has the potential to influence a child’s ability to perform from one extreme to the other. Parents with higher status often have more opportunities in preparing their young children for school because they typically have access to a wide range of resources in contrast to parents with lack of financial and social status.

Parents with inadequate resources and limited access can negatively affect their young children’s development in learning (Eamon, 2005). In the other developing country, like Bangladesh which is a populous country, socio-economic status of a family is usually linked with the family’s income, parent’s educational level, parent’s occupation and the social status of other relatives. This logic is said to create great parental influences on the student’s university performance (Okafor, 2007). The university effectiveness is also addressed in the determining the outcome of the students.

This justification motivated to investigate the socio-economic condition of the parents and its impact on their children’s’ academic achievements in Department of Business Administration Literature Review We know that the link between a child’s socio-economic status (SES) and school achievement is real; it is a very tight link as such things go, and the link has existed for decades (Grant, 2005). The level of family income, what level of income a family is in, has the potential to influence a child’s ability to perform from one extreme to the other.

If a parent is financially able to clothe, feed and entertain their children it appears they should have all the support they would need to score well on exams. However on the flip side, if parents are not financially able to support their children with just the basic needs, it is possible that will have an effect on the child’s scores as well(Ima,2008). Extensive  research  in  the  sociology  of  education  offers  conclusive  evidence  of  a  positive  relationship  between  family  socio? economic  status (SES)  and  the  academic  achievement  of students  (Sirin,  2005;  White, 1982).

On this relationship, Bone (1981) studied and concluded that the students belong to the family of high socio-economic condition have effective academic achievements than students belong to poor family. Sirin (2005) conducted research and the result showed medium to strong relationship between socio-economic condition and academic achievements. The socio-economic condition of a family is an important factor which affects the learning achievements (Iqbal, 2012). According to Bon (1981) Socio-economic status can be measured in a number of different ways.

Most commonly it is measured by parents’ education, occupation and income and the responsible factor is father, but sometimes mother’s education or occupation, family income resources or household possession are used, especially in combination. Whatever the measurement is the socio-economic status is positively correlated with both educational attainment and achievement. The socioeconomic background was founded and recognized from the wealthy and well-educated parents that can help to ensure the future of their children.

Because of their influence, it is believed that the background of a student is favorable for their learning environment, better education, and good jobs. On the other hand, the children who have the low socioeconomic background are believed to lack in education and obtaining an opportunity in the future may be difficult. Because of the importance of family backgrounds in other countries, it is also referenced to be the major influence on the student school success. The relationships of the student environment have established many variables that can be direct or indirect in the student’s success (Okafor, 2007).

Objectives The main aim of the study is to examine the impact of socio-economic condition of parents and its relationship with academic achievements of children. In order to provide the idea regarding the study, there are other objectives that should be considered. * To recognize the perceptions of the students regarding the family status and academic achievements. * To examine the impact of socio-economic condition of parents and its relationship with academic achievements of children. * And to suggest the other possible ways to increase the competitiveness of the academic settings.

Methodology This study is an exploratory in nature. For exploring and explaining the impact of socioeconomic condition on academic achievement, the researchers apply both qualitative and quantitative method. To collect information we use various techniques like interview, observation. * Sources of data: The study will be based on both primary and secondary data. The respondents are the source of primary data and the literature (research reports, journals, articles, bulletins) related to the socioeconomic status will be considered as secondary sources of data. Population: Target population of the research is 350 students of Business department. Sampling procedure: As a sample technique we use probability sampling, because every member of the population has a known, non-zero probability of selection. All probability sampling are designed or based on selection criterion and among them we select stratified sampling, a probability sampling procedure in which simple random subsamples that are more or less equal on some characteristics are drawn from within each stratum of the population.

Stratified sampling is of two types, proportional stratified sample and disproportional stratified sample. For purpose of our study we use proportional stratified sampling, a stratified sample in which the number of sampling units drawn from each stratum is proportional to the population size of that stratum. We have stratified 350 students of Business department in seven batches and randomly select seven students from each stratum. * Sample size: The total numbers of sample is 49.

All respondents will be selected for interview. Techniques of data collection Research data will be collected by using the techniques of interview. During the interview phase selected respondent will be formally invited to participate in the session. A convenient place of respondent will be fixed according to their yearning. Tools of data collection For collecting data the following tools will be used- * Interview schedule with open and close ended questions * Unit of analysis:

Every student of the study will be the unit of analysis. * Respondents: The respondents will be selected on basis of following three criteria. Such as- * Who currently study in Business Administration Department * Those who are engaged on tuition for supporting their study * Those who live in the student hall or Boarding house Data processing and interpretation As result being conducted using the tools of interview schedule. So it will transcribe the data and carefully reexamine to minimized errors in the data.

Collected data will be classified into different socio-economic characters. Analysis work after tabulation will generally based on the computation of various percentages. Researcher will use various statistical tools like regression analysis, correlation analysis and also dispersion for analyzing the data. References * Ahmad Iqbal (31 July, 2012), Relationship between parental socio-economic conditions and student’s academic achievements: A case of district dir, Timergara, Pakistan [online] accessed on 21 December 2012. Barry Jennifer (2005), The Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Academic Achievement [online] Accessed on 15 December 2012. * Blevins M Brent (2009), Effects of socioeconomic status on academic performance in Missouri public schools [online] Accessed on 15 December 2012. * C. R. Kothari (2005), Research Methodology: Methods & Techniques – Page: 95-122, used for collecting and analyzing the data. * Ima (November 2008), Socioeconomic Status and School Achievement [online] accessed on 20December 2012. * Okafor, P. (2007) A Case Study: Factors Contributing to the Academic Achievement of Low-Socio Economic Status Students in Anambra South County, Anambra State Nigeria[Online] Available at: http://patrickokafor. com/LeadingtoThesisProposal1. pdf [Accessed 01 December 2012]. * Thomas, J. , & Stockton, C. , (2003) Socioeconomic Status, Race, Gender, & Retention: Impact on Student Achievement [Online] Available at: http://www. usca. edu/essays/vol72003/stockton. pdf [Accessed 07 December 20102]. * William G. Zikmund (2010-2011), Business Research Methods – Page: 400-402, Stratified Sampling Technique.

Read more

Teacher Motivation and Its Effect on the Academic Achievement

Fall 2011 Gender differences on Intrinsic Motivation in Hong Kong Higher Education Hon Keung Yau Man Shan Kan City University of Hong Kong Alison Lai Fong Cheng Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there are different levels of intrinsic motivation towards study, curiosity and external regulation among males and females. This […]

Read more

The impact of family and neighbourhood on the academic achievement among African American teenagers

Table of contents

1.0 Introduction

Performance in school has for many years been closely attributed to an individual’s life chances. As the need for an individual to undergo advanced level of training to be able to sustain basic living become a necessity, the consequence of difficulty in schooling have become imperative (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). However, individuals do not attend schools in a vacuum as they come from families, neighbourhoods, and various life events that generally impact on their performance in one way, or another.

Currently, almost half of the school going teenagers are coloured. Over 70 percent of residents in large cities in the United States are also coloured (Williams et al., 2002). Based on this statistics it is important to understand the specific aspects of academic development of coloured people in the United States.According to ecological theory, the environment has a great influence on the development of adolescents (Steinberg, 2001; Ingoldsby & Shaw, 2002). As much as the adolescents make their own behavioural choices, societal structures and interpersonal relationships are viewed as imperative aspects that shape the adolescent choices (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Adolescents growing up in the 21st century look beyond their parents and siblings for developmental support. Therefore, the concept of neighbourhood comes in when analysing the development of adolescents. The neighbourhood concept in this context refers to both home and school neighbourhood and how it interacts with the teenager.

2.0 Problem Definition

The issue of educational achievement gap has been documented by various studies (Gutman et al., 2002; Rankin & Quane, 2002). Unfortunately, most of these studies indicate that African American learners have the lowest educational standards in the United States (Moore & Chase?Lansdale, 2001). Empirical evidences indicate that in comparison to their white counterparts, the performance of African American children is below the normal standards (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Many African American learners come from families that are not only economically unstable but also socially underserved. Several reasons have been linked to the poor academic performance of African American teenagers which eventually results to high rates of school dropout. Common issues that these teenagers face include racism, poverty, and violence (Brody et al., 2001). These issues affect their emotional and academic performance. Due to their poverty ridden home settings and surrounding, African American teenagers fail to establish a link between academic excellence and better adult life (Moore & Chase?Lansdale, 2001). The teenagers are also aware of the stereotypic approach linked to their race which affects their self-concept and ultimately educational performance (Gutman et al., 2002).

Consequently, it is important to establish family and neighbourhood factors and how they impact on the academic performance of African American teenagers. This position is vital in the context that the current understanding on the issue is limited and does not consider the modern-day neighbourhood concept, where the United States has embraced mixed racial neighbourhood settings in most places where African Americans reside. More so, most African Americans live in big cities, which expose them to multiracial settings that may affect academic performance of the teenagers. Specifically, it is important to analyse how parents, peers, close friends, classmates, and teachers influence the performance of the African American teenagers.

3.0 Research Aim and Objectives

To fully explore this research issue, the following objectives will guide this study:

To investigate the links between family settings and academic achievement of the African American teenagers
To examine how school and home neighbourhoods influences academic achievement among African American adolescents
To devise a way forward regarding family and neighbourhood in managing the poor academic performance among African American teenagers
4.0 Literature Review

Various factors have been linked to poor academic performance among students. A study by Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, (2000) identified variables within a culture, a family, and the environment to greatly influence the academic achievement of learners as compared to the type of an educational program. The roles of social and individual support in education are influential in the academic achievement outcomes. The school environment communicates to the learners on how the school perceives them (Brody et al., 2001). A school that is known to promote collegiality, respect and values has students that are positively inclined to better performance (Gutman et al., 2002). African American learners record high levels of school drop-outs due to the possibility that the school environment does not support their needs. Consequently, the school setting ’s neighbourhood influences the academic achievement of the learners (Rankin & Quane, 2002).

Studies have also suggested the existence of other various factors that influence the academic achievement of the learners other than the school curriculum (Ingoldsby & Shaw, 2002). It is essential to understand how these other factors affect the African American adolescent especially those that are facing academic hurdles. Peers have been identified to determine the teenagers’ deposition towards their learning institutions (Brody et al., 2001). The fact that African Americans generally have a problem with academic performance the role of peers may in most cases be negative as far as academic performance is concerned. For instance, studies have shown that the mere lack of approval from peers is substantive enough to negatively influence the academic achievement of the adolescents (Williams et al., 2002).

Furthermore, numerous studies identify parenting as a central player in academic performance of teenagers (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Gutman et al., 2002). Parents that have supportive association with their teenagers tend to promote a sense of autonomy among the teenagers which allows the teenagers to not only explore their environment but also seek parental emotional support (Steinberg, 2001). Studies have also shown that the role of parent in defining the emotional and academic performance of the teenagers is greater among the minorities in the United States (Moore & Chase?Lansdale, 2001).

Another issue that was identified in the literature review as an influential factor for academic permanence among teenagers was the social support. Specifically, social support was closely linked to school retention levels for adolescents (Brody et al., 2001). Specifically four social factors are known to influence the academic performance of African American teenagers, namely neighbourhood, peers, parents, and the school (Williams et al., 2002).

This clearly indicates that there is a link between the research issues and the academic performance of African American teenagers. This study will try to provide an in-depth analysis of existing information on the research issue in an attempt to establish a gap of knowledge that the study will attempt to seek. Specifically current literature links family and neighbourhood to performance, but it does not provide the exact family and neighbourhood factors that have resulted to poor academic achievement among African American this will be the area of interest for this study. To be able to establish a comprehensive investigation into the research issue, it will be important to provide an overview of the general research plan that will be adopted

5.0 Research Plan
6.0 General methodology

To conduct the research successfully, it is vital to develop and abide by a working methodology to ensure the outcomes are worthwhile (Creswell, 2003). This research is an analytic in nature as it will involve the analysis of the existing situation of academic performance of African American teenagers relative to their homes as well as neighbourhoods. This will ultimately allow the investigator to draw conclusions based on these analyses pertaining to how much homes and neighbourhoods influence the academic performance of teenage African Americans. The research methodology that will be used will blend quantitative and qualitative research methods as summarized below:

Literature Review

The literature review will offer an overview of the research topic at hand using data collected from articles, journals and books. A literature review will be important in the comprehension of the background of the topic (Creswell, 2003). It will also serve as a base in aiding the methods employed in the research. Specifically, this will involve examining articles, books and any other literature that has already been published on the research issue

Surveys

Since the research issue involves analysing the public opinions, which is vast, survey is an appropriate method for collecting quantitative data (Creswell, 2003). This will be done through creating questionnaires. The questionnaires will then be used for collecting numerical data from the participants. The questionnaire will also contain a section that will be used for the collection of demographic data from the participants.

Interviews

To further enhance the effectiveness of the analysis, interviews of a selected few people will be conducted in order to provide qualitative data for analysis. Interviews, unlike surveys require a lot of time but provide more in depth data founded on opinions and hence assist in uncovering specific information relevant to the research issue (Creswell, 2003). Semi structured interviews will be conducted to collective subjective views of the study participants on the research issue.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods will be necessary to provide enough data needed for the analysis to ensure the study arrives at a well informed conclusion. Consequently, combining all the data uncovered through the above methods, a data analysis will follow. This will be implemented through vigilant assessment of qualitative and quantitative data in order to reach an acceptable conclusion. Specifically, the findings from the qualitative part of the study will be used to enrich the quantitative findings (Creswell, 2003)

6.1 Research Questions

The above research methodology will be used in providing responses to the following research questions:

What are the links between family settings and academic achievement of the African American teenagers
How does school and home neighbourhoods influences academic achievement among African American adolescents
What is the way forward regarding family and neighbourhood in managing the poor academic performance among African American teenagers
7.0 Research Study Stages and Time Lines
References

Brody, G. H., Conger, R., Gibbons, F. X., Ge, X., McBride Murry, V., Gerrard, M., & Simons, R. L. (2001). The influence of neighbourhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African American children’s affiliation with deviant peers. Child development, 72(4), 1231-1246.

Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications

Gutman, L. M., Sameroff, A. J., & Eccles, J. S. (2002). The academic achievement of African American students during early adolescence: An examination of multiple risk, promotive, and protective factors. American journal of community psychology, 30(3), 367-399.

Ingoldsby, E. M., & Shaw, D. S. (2002). Neighborhood contextual factors and early-starting antisocial pathways. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5(1), 21-55.

Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighbourhoods they live in: the effects of neighbourhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological bulletin, 126(2), 309.

Moore, M. R., & Chase?Lansdale, P. L. (2001). Sexual intercourse and pregnancy among African American girls in high?poverty neighbourhoods: The role of family and perceived community environment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1146-1157.

Rankin, B. H., & Quane, J. M. (2002). Social contexts and urban adolescent outcomes: The interrelated effects of neighbourhoods, families, and peers on African-American youth. Social Problems, 49(1), 79-100.

Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent–adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of research on adolescence, 11(1), 1-19.

Williams, T. R., Davis, L. E., Saunders, J., & Williams, J. H. (2002). Friends, family, and neighbourhood understanding academic outcomes of African American youth. Urban Education, 37(3), 408-431.

Read more

Factors Affecting Academic Achievement in Children

Factors affecting academic achievement in children By Aaron shen Nowadays people are concerneed about education so much due to it has inevitable influence on academic achievement. But what is academic success? More and More studies have been taken to show different ideas about factors affecting academic achievement in . It’s clear that teachers’ assistants are no longer a popular point. Instead,researhers found that the size of the class is a noticable factor.Of course,tradtional ideas are still very useful to consture it such as teaching method,teaching equipment,personal qualities,families and so on. Jeremy Finn of the State University of New York and Charles M.

Achilles of Eastern Michiggan University found ‘an array of benefits of small classes’in their review. In their study,they drew a conclusion that students in the small classes performed better than those who were in the larger classes. Increasing data and study are proving this idea. Due to all the studies,it’s easy to say why this happens.First,fewer students in the classroom seem to translate into less noise and disruptive behaviour from students,which not only give the teacher more time for class but also more freedom to engage students creatively. Undoubtfully,this will help improve academic achievement. However,some new points are put forward arguing that although students can gain initial benefit from small classes,the STAR data cannot prove that the gains persist for years after a student has returned to a normal-sized class.

The example of Japan is typical to testify that teaching method is a necessary factor.It is well known that classes in Asia are large,but why Asian childen do so well in such classes compared to the small classes in American and oher developed countries? The legendary is the way accroding to Catherinne lewis who is an expert on the Japanese educational system and a senior researcher at Mills College. Such discipline is not imposed by fearsome teachers. Instead,students are honored to be chosen to lead lessons,and they take turns to do it,experiencing firsthand what it is like to quieten down an unruly group of students.As a result,teachers mange the class by this rather than punishing and rewarding. What’s more,Japanese teachers spend more time with their students which centainly help studennts to learn well both in study and life skills..

All in all there are lots of factors that will affect academic achievement. Except what have been mentioned above,families and intelligence are very necessary factors as well. This eassy aims to study and tries to explain all of these aspects.

Read more

Levels Of Achievement Need

Conceptual Framework Study habits and academic performance of the working students have attracted increased attention among the university teachers and students with the aim of knowing and understanding the reasons, problems and other factors affecting them. This may empower them for lifelong learning to their journey to success hindered by their busy schedules and always […]

Read more
OUR GIFT TO YOU
15% OFF your first order
Use a coupon FIRST15 and enjoy expert help with any task at the most affordable price.
Claim my 15% OFF Order in Chat
Close

Sometimes it is hard to do all the work on your own

Let us help you get a good grade on your paper. Get professional help and free up your time for more important courses. Let us handle your;

  • Dissertations and Thesis
  • Essays
  • All Assignments

  • Research papers
  • Terms Papers
  • Online Classes
Live ChatWhatsApp