ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF KINDERGARTEN PUPILS WITH

PRESCHOOL AND NON-PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN

SELECTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF PIKIT,
NORTH COTABATO OF S.Y. 2015-2016

MARANIZA G. KAPUSAN

A Thesis Outline Submitted to the Department of Elementary Education,

College of Education, University of Southern Mindanao,
Kabacan, Cotabato in Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Degree

BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

MAY 2016
 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is being an essential tool in nations building, and it is a

process of systematic training and instruction designed to transmit knowledge

and acquisition of skill, potentials and abilities which enable individual to

contribute effectively to the growth and development of his society and nation.

Education is the foundation of knowledge. The pre-primary education as

defined by Omozeghian (1995) is the education meant for children between

the ages of 3 to 6 years. The National Policy on Education (2004) see that pre-

primary education is the education given in an educational institution to

children age 3-5 years plus prior to their entering the primary school. It is

stated that the early education is a special kind of education provided in an

institution for children, prior to their entering the primary school. Early

childhood education, in the context of formal education can be said to be “a

formalized educational process to which children between the ages of 2 and

half through five plus are subjected to in designated pre-school institutions”

(Mezieobi 2006)

According to Osakwe (2006) learning is a natural process of pursuing

meaningful goals, discovering and constructing meaning from information and

experience filtered through the learners’ unique perceptions, thoughts and

feelings. Therefore, when a child is born into this world, the learning of the

child begins immediately as he adapts the new environment. The child learns

to feed, hear, see and respond to stimuli, before learning to sit, walk, talk and

behave like people around him. Day-by-day the change in the child’s

behaviour may be expected as he strives between dependency of infancy and

the dependency of childhood. The child may go further to expose himself in

the world around him and curiously seeking to acquire knowledge. The child’s

curiosity is inherent from the time he was born and it can be develop by giving

him an early education.

According to Feeney, Christensen and Moravick (1987), early childhood

education is an asset of immense value in the later academic pursuit of a child

and much more lately in life. This early experience exposes the child to all

fields which make him more prone to learn in the primary level as the

confidence in his learning capabilities which he acquired from the nursery

school is lifted to the primary school. The early childhood institution aims at

developing the cognitive and affective skills of child at an early age. Anderson

(2002) is of the view that when children are exposed to early childhood

education, they develop superior communication skills, necessary physical

ability and social unity needed in adult life and an increased cognitive and

effective educational balance.

Today, the formal school setting in early childhood education is a

supplement to the home and a substitute. It promotes the complete

development of the child that the house can easily provide. Many parents are

burden with their own concerns that they are unable to provide the guidance

that a child needs as he faces problems and frustrations especially where

mothers are breadwinner of the family. If however the formative years are

characterized by exposure to a wide variety of learning activities and social

contacts, skilled teaching, and intelligent guidance, then healthy growth and

adjustment occurs. Early childhood education give children a group experience

which extends values of family given them a total experience in democratic

living in which cooperation is strengthened and competition minimized.

Therefore early childhood education will provide that vital physical,

psychomotor, affective, cognitive, social potentials which are fundamental to

human life that will play very essential roles in the academic performance of

children in the primary, educational level and even more in the later life of the

individual child.

This study will be conducted to determine the academic performance of

kindergarten pupils with preschool and non-preschool education in selected

elementary schools of Pikit, North Cotabato S.Y 2015-2016.

Significance of the study

The significance of this study is to identify the relevance of preschool

and the importance of the pupil’s academic performance in entering a

kindergarten with a preschool education and non-preschool education.

Objectives of the Study:

The researcher will conduct this study to determine the academic

performance of the kindergarten pupils with preschool and non-preschool

education in selected elementary schools of Pikit, North Cotabato S.Y 2015-

2016.

Specifically, the study aims to:

1. determine the socio-demographic profile of the pupils in terms of name,

age, sex, location, and school attended;

2. determine the academic performance of the kindergarten pupils; and

3. identify the relationship between the academic performance of

kindergarten pupils with preschool and with non-preschool education.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study is only limited in determining the academic performance of

the kindergarten pupils with a preschool and non-preschool education in

Selected School of Pikit, North Cotabato S.Y 2015-2016.

Time and Place of the Study

This study will be conducted at Selected School of Pikit, North Cotabato

from June to August 2016.

Definition of Terms

Academic Performance – is the grade or their GPA (Grade Point Average)

of the selected kindergarten pupils during period of the school year

2016-2017.

Kindergarten – is a transition stage between informal literacy and formal

literacy which the age of the student is 5 or 6 years old. This is the

period of greatest growth and development, when the brain develops

most rapidly, almost at its fullest, and prepares them to enter to first

grade.

Preschool – it is an early childhood program which is designed to investigate

and assist the mental, physical emotional, linguistic, and also social

upbringing. This education is given in an educational institution to

children aged 3-5 years.

Non-preschool – children between the ages of 3 to 5 years who are not

able to experience the preschool education

Conceptual Framework

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

- Socio Demographic
- Pupils’
Profile of Pupils
Academic
 With Preschool
Performance
 Without Preschool

Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the relationship between the

independent variable and dependent variable.
 REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

This section is an examination of the research on review of the related

literature on the academic performance of kindergarten pupils with preschool

and non-preschool education.

Information was gathered from academic library searches using online

resources. Research information is organized in the following categories:

Philippines Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programmes,

Importance of Preschool, Integration of Early Childhood Experiences in Grade

I, Quality Preschool Programs, and The Long Term Effects.

Review of Academic Research

Philippines Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programmes

The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Law which was

enacted in 2000, recognizes the importance of early childhood and its special

needs, affirms parents as primary caregivers and the child's first teachers, and

establishes parent effectiveness, seminars and nutrition counselling for

pregnant and lactating mothers. The Law requires the establishment of a

National Coordinating Council for the Welfare of Children which: (a)

establishes guidelines, standards, and culturally relevant practices for ECCD

programs; (b) develops a national system for the recruitment, training, and

accrediting of caregivers; (c) monitors the delivery of ECCD services and the

impact on beneficiaries; (d) provides additional resources to poor and

disadvantaged communities in order to increase the supply of ECCD

programs; and (e) encourages the development of private sector initiatives.

The Republic Act 6972, the “Barangay (village) Level Total Protection of

Children Act”, has a provision that requires all local government units to

establish a day-care centre in every village; the law institutionalized the

features of the day-care programme that provide for young children’s learning

needs aside from their health and psychosocial needs. Since the

decentralization of basic health and social services in 1990, the local

government unit is directly responsible for the management and operation of

day-care centres. Pre-schools are required to seek a permit to operate and

register with the Department of Education. DECS Order No. 107s, 1989,

“Standards for the Operation of Pre-schools (Kindergarten level)”, provides

guidelines for the establishment of private pre-schools. The DepEd requires

the preparation of a feasibility study by prospective school administrators as

an initial step in applying for a permit to operate a pre-school programme.

The Department of Education’s kindergarten curriculum is more

explicitly focused on supporting “school readiness” and promotes the use of

compiled worksheets, manipulative play materials, as well as teacher-made

resources. Kindergarten teachers are provided with a “Pre-school Handbook”

which describes the instructional objectives and concepts or content to be

covered, recommended classroom activities and learning materials. The daily

schedule and some guidelines for classroom management are also included.

Another reference provided by the DepEd is a copy of the “Eight-week ECCD

Curriculum in Grade One.” This is based on the full-year kindergarten

curriculum and designed to be implemented during the first eight weeks of the

school year for all Grade One students. A work book for the children and

several story books suitable for five- and six-year-olds are also included in

what is similar to the basic kindergarten classroom “package” recommended

for use in the public schools.”

The Importance of Preschool

Why is an early education so important? Preschool is a place where

young children can learn through active exploration in a safe place, learn how

to build relationships with peers and adults, develop self-help skills, absorb

knowledge through play-based opportunities, and have support in learning

how to solve problems. Academic, social and emotional skills that are acquired

in preschool stand as the building blocks throughout each individual child’s

educational experience. According to the Forum on Educational Accountability

(FEA) the purpose of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is

to allow for all children to have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to
obtain a high-quality education. Our current version of ESEA is No Child Left

Behind (NCLB), and it has failed in its attempt to provide an equal Opportunity

To Learn (OTL). OTL means that all children have access to a high quality

public preschool program, staffed with qualified teachers, in a safe healthy

environment. NCLB has failed to address the needs of OTL, because public

schools in low-economic communities are unable to obtain the school

expenditures needed to provide equal services.

This is an unfortunate reality, when in fact public schools in

communities of poverty actually need even more funds then public schools in

affluent communities, to help pay for additional programs such as wraparound

services. Wraparound services are an extended way to support students of

poverty by providing additional programs before and after school that include

mental services, medical care, subsidized meals, tutoring, family literacy

classes, parenting skills classes, and adult mentoring programs. While these

services are another added expense, they provide a better chance for the child

and the family to succeed, and they play an integral part of the process in

creating an opportunity for children in need to begin their education with an

equal opportunity in the education system, meeting the necessary

requirements to be school ready.

What does it truly mean for a child to be ready for school? The

definition of school readiness can have different meanings to different people,

but it often includes more than just academic readiness. Social, emotional, and
behavioural skills are equally as important in being academically prepared to

begin a formal education. In the past children were considered ready for

kindergarten when they turned 5 years old. We now know that simply turning a

certain age does not mean a child will possess the skills needed to be ready to

learn. “Early childhood educators have seemed at times to hold the view that

the goal of the child is to be five, and have not looked systematically at the

skills that underlie performing well in school at school entry and

beyond”(Farren, 2011). Attending a preschool program and the quality of that

program is a greater factor in determining a child’s readiness for school than

turning 5. The focus now should be on finding out what skills a child should

have, at what level of performance would the skill be considered mastered

before entering kindergarten, and what are the best ways to acquire those

skills. Farren believes that, “The Early Childhood Education (ECE) field needs

a better theory of change. A theory of change involves determining what kinds

of experiences lead to what kinds of skills that would then lead to the desired

outcome of success in school”(Farren, 2011, p. 6). Those skills that need to be

acquired in order to be school ready do not only include academic, but social

and emotional coping skills as well.

Controversy continues in the field about whether the problem in

readiness is that children do not have discreet content skills that then must be

explicitly taught before school entry or whether children need time to explore in

a materials-rich environment to construct the knowledge they will later depend

upon (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, as cited in Farren, 2011). Of the readiness

skills for early learners, math instruction is often set aside to enable teachers

to focus on literacy and language interventions. Long-term negative effects of

receiving a poor introduction to language or not receiving one at all are

documented in the research literature. Studies are needed on the long-term

negative effects for children who do not receive a solid foundation in math

skills, with an emphasis on how that affects children throughout their education

experience.

Comprehension is difficult to measure in young children. Few standard

measures of school readiness contain a valid measure of comprehension.

Research has provided evidence of the negative long-term effects of missing

preschool, leading educators to develop programs one such program is called

Head Start.

Integration of Early childhood Experiences in Grade I

In January 1995, a survey was conducted to assess the preschools

implemented by DECS. One of the conclusions of the survey was that

Government cannot afford to provide preschools in all parts of the country.

Thus, in March 1995, DECS issued the following statement on early childhood

education which affirms the importance of preschool but states that preschools

should be developed by the community to provide early childhood

development experiences for 5-year old-children before they enter Grade 1.

 To provide children...the benefits of preschool education, the concept of

preschool as a structured system must give way to a system which is

community based. A community-based preschool will be an alternative

technology that will be set up in the disadvantaged areas togive early

childhood development experiences to 5-year old children before they

go to grade I. It is a community-based non-profit school which will be

established through a collaborative partnership of DECS, NGOs, Local

Government Units (LGUs) and agents.

In addition to this movement toward locally-sponsored preschools,

DECS has put considerable emphasis on the issue of school readiness,

exploring different methods of better preparing children for school, and then

keeping them in school. A study reported on in 1995 (Heaver and Hunt)

brought to light some disheartening statistics regarding the effectiveness of

primary education in the Philippines. A high dropout rate was found to be

prevalent in the first and second grades, accounting for 60% of total primary

school dropouts. In addition, national achievement tests indicated performance

in the earlier grades at below 50% of the norm. These findings resulted in

concerns about such issues as quality of education, dropout rates, and school

readiness. A World Bank study, which showed that children from poor areas

who do not attend preschool have an 18% drop-out rate, while the rate for

those who do attend preschool is 12%, prompted the Bureau of Elementary

Education (within DECS) to explore and implement programs that would

provide preschool education to all children, and assist them in making the

transition from home to school.

Prior to 1995, Philippine children entered the primary school at age 7. A

majority of these children entered school without having had the opportunity to

go to preschools. Recognizing that many children enter school at a definite

disadvantage, the Government of the Philippines, with assistance from

UNICEF, experimented in 1991 with a 6-week summer preschool program

designed to improve socialization and "readiness" skills for children 6.5 to 7

years of age.

Although the results of the Summer Preschool Program were

moderately positive, budget constraints prevented continuation and expansion

of the program. As a result, it was decided to incorporate early childhood

experiences into the curriculum of Grade I. The experiences and outcomes of

these two programmes follow.

Early Childhood Experiences for Grade I. Beginning in the 1992-93

school years, an experiment was carried out in which the curriculum of

the summer preschool program was moved into the first four weeks of

the school year. The experiment was implemented in 66 classes in six

regions of the country. Feedback from the teachers suggested that the

curriculum was useful and the activities challenging, interesting, and

enjoyable for the children. These encouraging results led to extension

of the program to eight weeks in 1993-94, and to implementation in a

 larger number of classes and areas. DECS Central Office initiated

training for teachers of public school kindergartens (referred to as

"school-based ECD") in preparation for the opening of 1,428 classes in

October, 1993.

An evaluation of the expanded program indicated that parents were

supportive, that the materials were helpful, and that the curriculum helped to

prepare children better for their grade I work.

During the 1994-95 school years, the program was expanded further to

include 30,375 pupils in 15 regions, with a total of 675 Grade I classes

participating. In addition, a 2-week trainer" training course was conducted in

November 1994 with the regional and division supervisors as participants.

There are now 48 supervisors who have conducted one-week or weekend

training programs for the teachers in their divisions.

In 1995, Early Childhood Experiences for Grade I was institutionalized

at the same time as the official age for entry into primary school was dropped

to six years of age. All Grade I teachers were requested to implement the

eight-week curriculum and gradually move to the regular Grade I curriculum.

Monitoring of the institutionalization of the Early Childhood Experiences

conducted in 176 classes in 22 divisions during June and July of 1995

indicated the following:

 Most teachers had undergone a training program of 1 to 3 days,

but the length of the training was thought by many to be too

short.

 The curriculum guide was generally thought to be helpful and

age-appropriate but brought with it extra work, and the teaching

aids were sometimes inadequate.

 Most teachers followed the suggested schedule of activities.

 Some teachers were apprehensive that the 8-week curriculum

would infringe on their budget of time to work on Grade One

curriculum.

 Some teachers did not implement the 8-week curriculum

because they thought their students were ready for Grade I

work, they had not been given an orientation, they were worried

about covering the Grade I materials, or the classes were too

large.

One of the concerns which has surfaced in regard to the curriculum is

that it is too close to formal elementary school approaches.

Quality Preschool Programs

“By "high-quality," we mean a program for 3- and 4-year-olds that

develops their knowledge and skills across the content areas: language and

literacy, math, science, social studies, and the arts. A high-quality program
also helps facilitate children's social, emotional, moral, and physical

development, as well as helps shape their attitudes, beliefs, dispositions, and

habits” (Barnett & Frede, 2010, para. 2).

If educators know that some preschool programs are better than others,

what factors make one preschool program better than another, and how does

a parent go about finding a high quality preschool program? Currently only

three U.S. states include an assessment of the school along with an

assessment of the child in regards to school readiness. Educators at individual

schools need to establish the quality of their program and the level of their

students’ readiness for school use a High Scope Ready School Assessment

(HSRSA) tool. A study by Williams, Landry, Anthony, Swank, and Crawford

(2012) focused on presenting the public with a state wide system that would

link information about kindergarten programs with children’s school readiness

scores to certify pre-kindergarten classrooms involving over 8,000 children

from 1,255 pre-kindergarten classrooms in their research (Williams, Landry,

Anthony, Swank &Crawford, 2012, p. 1). “One of the most important reasons

for identifying effective programs is to provide parents with information that

they can use to guide their decisions regarding selection of the best program

for their child” (Williams, et al., 2012, p. 4). This information can provide

parents with the necessary data to make a formal decision about which

preschool program best fits their child’s needs. Areas to consider when

searching for a good preschool are; child-teacher ratio, class size, instructional
strategies, teacher-child interactions, peer interactions, and the ecologies of

the learning environment in which the facility presides in. Since the public is

becoming increasingly aware of the importance of incorporating preschool in a

child’s educational experience, it is imperative to create a system that

determines a child’s school readiness after they have completed the program,

and making this information public. Reporting data serves as a representation

of the quality and performance of the program, thus allowing parents to make

an informed decision.

Long Term Effects

“Children who enter school not yet ready to learn, whether because of

academic or social and emotional deficits, continue to have difficulties later in

life” (Rouse, Brooks-Gunn, & McLanahan, as cited by Farren 2011, p. 5). A

longitudinal study examined the relationship between the behaviors exhibited

by 1stgrade students, and their achievement in reading and math in 5thgrade.

Included in the study were students from different social groups. The focus

was not on SES or race, but on the connection between one’s intellectual

capabilities and their social and emotional skills. “The findings reveal the

complexity of the intertwined relationship between cognitive and behavior

outcomes among young students and the long-term effects of early acquired

skills and behaviors” (Bodovski, Youn, 2011, p. 15). The connection cannot be

or defined with a single explanation, but is based on the overall outcome of an

on-going web, weaved of cognitive and behavioral connections and

interactions over a long period of time. By observing children’s behavior in a

classroom, one can identify the degree of difficulty they will experience in

reaching academic success in school. “Young children’s early behavior is

associated with later academic achievement. A substantial body of research

has suggested that children who are more attentive to tasks, inhibit impulsive

behavior, and relate appropriately to adults and peers, take greater advantage

of learning opportunities in the classroom, thus more easily mastering reading

and mathematics concepts” (Bodovski & Youn, 2011, p. 4). These are skills

that are introduced and taught to children throughout their preschool

experience. They are taught to focus on both gross motor activities and fine

motor skills, such as playing a physical education game with the whole class,

or working on fine motor skills by completing a puzzle individually. Through

class rules and routines along with regular reminders to slow down and take

turns, preschool students have a better chance of inhibiting their impulse

behavior. Preschool lays down the path for a child’s future academic

achievement in school by providing and instilling the early skills students need

to be successful in school.
 METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The study will use the descriptive correlation design to determine the

academic performance of the kindergarten pupils with preschool and non-

preschool education in Selected Elementary Schools of Pikit, North Cotabato

S.Y 2015-2016.

Locale of the Study

The study will be conducted in Selected Elementary Schools of Pikit, North

Cotabato.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study will be the Kindergarten Pupils in the

Selected Elementary Schools of Pikit, North Cotabato S.Y 2015-2016.

Sampling Procedure

The respondents of this study will be selected through stratified random

sampling with equal allocation from the Selected Elementary Schools in Pikit,

North Cotabato.
Research Instrument

The research instrument will use a tertiary data. The first part contains

the record of Kindergarten pupils about their socio-demographic information.

Second part is the record of the pupils about their academic performance.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher will sent first a letter to Principal or teacher in-charge of

the school and to the adviser of the students to ask their permission to get a

copy of pupil’s record for both personal information and academic

performance.

Data Analysis

The data that will be gathered in this study will be analyzed with the use

of frequency, percentage and weighted mean.

Statistical Analysis

Calculations will be made and interpreted by the statistician. The

researcher will use descripted type of analysis. This type of research design

will use in analyzing the data gathered using the tertiary data. Descriptive
statistics will use to interpret data such as frequency, percentage and

weighted mean.
 LITERATURE CITED

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Term Effects on Academic and Social Readiness of Children” Master's
Theses and Capstone Projects, pg. 153 Retrieved from
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masters-theses

Dr. L. Luis-Santos (1999) “Early Childhood Counts: Programming Resources

for Early Childhood Care and Development.” Retrieved from
http://www.ecdgroup.com/download/vc1pcsps.pdf

Osakwe, RN (2009) “The Effect of Early Childhood Education Experience on

the Academic Performances of Primary School Children.”
Retrieved from http://www.ecdgroup.com/download/gw1iecds.pdf

Rashmi B. and Kevin L. (2008) “Kindergarten Entry Age and Academic

Performance” Retrieved from May 05, 2016
http://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/rashmibarua/kindergarten_entry_age.pdf

Richard H. and Joseph H. (1995) “Improving Early Childhood Development”

An Integrated Program for the Philippines Retrieved from
http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/S-HCS/HCS-03-0-000-09-
Web/HCS-03-2-000-09-Abst-PDF/HCS-03-2-143-09-038-Osakwe-R-
N/HCS-03-2-143-09-038-Osakwe-R-N-Tt.pdf

UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) (2006) “Philippines Early

Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes” Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001472/147225e.pdf

Wilayat B. and Arshad A. (2012) “The Impact of Pre-school Education on the

Academic Achievements of Primary School Students” Retrieved from
http://www.qurtuba.edu.pk/thedialogue/The%20Dialogue/7_2/Dialogue_
April_June2012_152-159.pdf