CHAPTER 2 Review of Related Literature and Studies

Foreign Literature

Galiher (2006) and Darling (2005), used GPA to measure student performance because the main focus in
the student performance for the particular semester. Some other researchers used test results or
previous year result since they are studying performance for the specific subject or year (Hijazi and
Naqvi, 2006 and Hake, 1998). Many researchers have discussed the different factors that affect the
student academic performance in their research. There are two types of factors that affect the
students‘academic performance. These are internal and external classroom factors and these factors
strongly affect the students ‘performance. Internal classroom factors includes students competence in
English, class schedules, class size, English text books, class test results, learning facilities, homework,
environment of the class, complexity of the course material, teachers role in the class, technology used
in the class and exams systems. External classroom factors include extracurricular activities, family
problems, work and financial, social and other problems. Research studies shows that students
‘performance depends on many factors such as learning facilities, gender and age differences, etc. that
can affect student performance (Hansen, Joe B., 2000). Harb and El-Shaarawi (2006) found that the most
important factor with positive effect on students' performance is Parental Involvement.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

In his widely cited paper, Romer (1993) is one of the first few authors to explore the relationship
between student attendance and exam performance. A number of factors have contributed to declining
class attendances around the world in the last 15 years. The major reasons given by students for non-
attendance include assessment pressures, poor delivery of lectures, timing of lectures, and work
commitments (Newman-Ford, Lloyd & Thomas, 2009). In recent times, students have found a need to
seek employment while studying on a part-time basis due to financial constraints. The numbers of part-
time and mature students has also risen sharply. The use of information technology also means that
information that used to be obtained from sitting through lectures can be obtained at the click of a
mouse. Indeed, web-based learning approaches have become the order of the day. Given all these
developments that either makes it impossible or unnecessary for students to attend classes, the
question that needs to be asked is whether

absenteeism affects students‘ academic performance. Research on this subject seems to provide a

consensus that students who miss classes perform poorly compared to those who attend classes
(Devadoss& Foltz, 1996; Durden& Ellis, 1995; Romer, 1993; Park & Kerr, 1990; Schmidt, 1983). Based on
these findings a number of stakeholders have called for mandatory class attendance. Although the
existing evidence points to a strong correlation between attendance and academic performance, none
of the studies cited above demonstrate a causal effect. The inability of these cross-sectional studies to
isolate attendance from a myriad of confounding student characteristics (e.g. levels of motivation,
intelligence, prior learning, and time-management skills) is a major limiting factor to the utility of these
findings (Rodgers & Rodgers, 2003). Durden and Ellis, (1995) controlled for student differences in
background, ability and motivation, and reported a nonlinear effect of attendance on learning, that is, a
few absences do not lead to poor grades but excessive absenteeism does. Educational services are often
not tangible and are difficult to measure because they result in the form of transformation of
knowledge, life skills and behavior modifications of learners (Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, & Fitsilis, 2010). So
there is no commonly agreed upon definition of quality that is applied to education field. The definition
of quality of education varies from culture to culture (Michael, 1998). The environment and the personal
characteristics of learners play an important role in their academic success. The school personnel,
members of the families and communities provide help and support to students for the quality of their
academic performance. This social assistance has a crucial role for the accomplishment of performance
goals of students at school (Goddard, 2003). Besides the social structure, parents‘involvement in their
child‘s education increases the rate of academic success of their child (Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995).

MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY

Education encounters, in modern times, challenges in all aspects of social, economic & cultural life; the
most important of which are over-population, over-knowledge, education philosophy development &
the change of teacher‘s role, the spread of illiteracy, lack of the staff & the technological development &
mass media (Aloraini, 2005, p. 30– 32). This drove the teaching staff to use the modern teaching
technologies to face some of the main problems, which education & its productivity encounter, by
increasing the learning level which may be achieved through providing equivalent opportunities for all
people whenever & wherever they are, while taking into account the individual differences between
learners (Wilkinson, 1986, p. 13 & Abd El-Halim Said, 1997, p. 19). To improve the educational
productivity, some of the teaching staff sought to mainstream technology within education, developing
traditional techniques & using new educational methods (Al-A‘ny, 2000). Mainstreaming the
technological media within what is called multimedia’s the pattern which led to infinite applications of
computer technologies. The concept of this technology came into being with the appearance of sound
cards, then compact disks, then came the use of digital camera, then the video which made computer an
essential educational tool. Nowadays, multimedia expanded to become a field on its own. The concept
of multimedia technology is broad & it has infinite usage fields; it is a profound element as an
educational technology in addition to its use in medical & statistical domains & in establishing
databases. Moreover, the entertainment sector is one of the sectors that had the lion‘s share in using
this technology. Interaction is the main element in multimedia technology as most of its applications are
characterized by interaction. Consequently, multimedia programs may provide a more effective & more
influential experiment than using each technology separately.

The researcher thinks that multimedia is one of the best educational techniques because it addresses
more than one sense simultaneously, as it addresses the senses of sight & hearing. Multimedia
programs provide different stimuli in their presentations which include a number of elements some of
which are (Aloraini, 2005, p. 55-75): Texts, spoken words, sound & music, graphics, animations and still
pictures. These elements were mainstreamed in a comprehensive presentation so as to provide
effective education, which in turn will support the participation of the different senses of the learners in
in diverse syllabi. (Hadmin,2000).

PHYSICAL

Mahar (2006), Habitual physical activity is vital for enhancing overall health. Lifestyle behaviors adopted
in childhood tend to track into adulthood, and more active children tend to be more active as adults
than their sedentary peers, thus aiding in the prevention of diseases such as obesity, hypertension,
cardiovascular disease, and other health problems. Unfortunately, physical activity among children and
adolescents has declined, and increasing numbers of children are spending more time in sedentary
activities. A review of the literature reveals that few studies have been conducted to evaluate the
physical activity levels of elementary school children during a typical school day. Likewise, few studies
have been conducted to evaluate the effects of physical activity on the classroom behavior of
elementary school children. Additional research is also needed to evaluate the effectiveness of
classroom-based physical activity programs on on-task behavior and academic performance. Because
on-task behavior can be directly linked to physical activity that is performed immediately preceding the
observation period, it may be the most appropriate variable to evaluate relative to academic
performance. Test performance is influenced by factors other than physical activity performed at school
and usually can be linked directly to physical activity behavior. Additional information on the
effectiveness of classroom-based physical activity programs on academic performance (e.g.,
standardized tests and grades) can, however, provide a stronger rationale for why school systems
should make policy changes to require more physical activity during the school day. Finally, it is
recommended that students be tracked for several years to evaluate the chronic effects of a classroom-
based physical activity program on physical activity levels, body composition, and academic
performance.

SOCIAL

From Wikipedia (2009), the term psychosocial refers to one in psychological development in and
interaction with a social environment. The individual is not necessarily fully aware of this relationship
with his or her environment. In 2004, Barker and Garvin Doxas stress that a learning environment
includes physical surroundings, psychosocial or emotional components, social and cultural influence that
exist in a learning situation. Ozay, et.al (2004) also pointed out that classroom environment factors have
been found to be particularly influential on student results. Learning Theories.com (2012, April 12),
exemplifies on Vygotsky‘s Social Development Theory that social interaction plays a fundamental role in
the process of cognitive development. Such occurs first between the child and other people
(interpsychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological). Other people can be conceptualized
as the ―The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)‖. The MKO refers to anyone who has a better
understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or
concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, and could also be peers. The
Developmental and Social Factors emphasize that learning is influenced by social interactions,
interpersonal relationships, and communication with others. Learning is often enhanced when children
have an opportunity to interact with and collaborate with others on instructional tasks. In these
situations, children have opportunities for perspective taking and reflective thinking that can enhance
their self-esteem and development. Quality interpersonal relationships can provide trust and caring that
increase children‘s sense of belonging, self -respect, self-acceptance, and produce a positive learning
climate. Parents, teachers, and peers are very important people in the child‘s social world and their
relationships with the child can either enhance or undermine the child‘s learning. When Aronson (2003)
first published The Social Animal in 1972, he confirmed scientifically what people knew experientially:
Human beings are social in their very nature. In fact, Dunbar (1998) hypothesized that the large human
brain evolved primarily to adapt to an increasingly complex social environment. As Goleman (2006) puts
it ―We are wired to connect. The domain of social intelligence and development is a critical component
of descriptions of human ability and behavior (Albrecht, 2006; Gardner, 1983/1993, 2006). Social skills
are important t for preparing young people to mature and succeed in their adult roles within the family,
workplace, and community (Ten Dam & Volman, 2007). Elias et al. (1997) suggested those involved in
guiding children and youth should pay special attention to this domain: social skills allow people to
succeed not only in their social lives, but also in their academic, personal, and future professional
activities. For educators, it is increasingly obvious that learning is ultimately a social process (Bandura,
1986; Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978). While people may initially learn something independently,
eventually that learning will be modified in interaction with others.

EMOTIONAL

Emotion may be seen as a complex of feelings, sensations and tendencies to action accompany by
stirred-up bodily conditions and directed toward a specific object or situation. It covers a wide range of
behavior that is agitated and without definite orientation, as well as behavior that is highly motivated
and goal directed. It has been defined as ―a strong feeling or agitation involving internal and external
bodily changes‖ or ―a condition of upset that drives the individual to move‖. Emotional states from the
mildest effective states of pleasantness and unpleasantness to the more intense states. Gilmer (1996)
stresses that the affective factors involving emotions and feelings can significantly influence the
outcome. It will be helpful to think of emotions as accompanying motivated behavior. John Dewey
began with an eloquent plea for the education of the whole child. Study shows that our emotional
system is a complex, widely distributed, and error-prone system that defines our basic personality early
in life, and is quite resistant to change. Far more neural fibers project from our brain‘s emotional center
into the logical/rational centers than the reverse, so emotion is often a powerful determinant of our
behavior than our brain‘s logical/rational processes. Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains was
created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Bloom in order to
promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating, rather than just
remembering facts (rote learning).In the affective domain of the learners (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia,
1973) includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,
appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The five major categories are listed from the
simplest behavior to the most complex. According to Dean Taylor, students between the ages 5 and 18
years of age are expected to learn in school. It is their primary job in this society, and it‘s possibly the
one thing that will prepare them to become productive members in their adult years. What they learn
will also determine the choices they make when they enter the workforce or continue into higher
education. In order for students to learn there are several factors that must be considered. Most of
these factors are external; they deal with social or cultural values. Also, it may be determined by the
school‘s environment as well as the teachers and the administrations that teach them. Still, another
important factor falls upon the student‘s ability and willingness to learn. Thorndike, like many of the
early behavioral learning theorists, linked behavior to physical reflexes. In his early work he also viewed
most behavior as a response to stimuli in the environment. This view that stimuli can prompt responses
was the forerunner of what became known as stimulus-response (S-R) theory (Elliot et al, 1996).
Thorndike developed his Law of Effect which states that if an act is followed by a satisfying change in the
environment, the likelihood that the act will be repeated in similar situations increases. According to
Thorndike, pupils learn more effectively and easily, and retain that learning longer, if it has pleasant
consequences. Thus, rewards, successes, or positive reinforcement further learning, while punishments,
failures or negative experiences hinder it. B. F. Skinner proposed that reflexive behavior accounts for
only a small proportion of actions. He proposed another class of behavior, which he labeled operant
behaviors because they operate on the environment in the apparent absence of any unconditioned
stimuli, such as food. Like Thorndike‘s, Skinner‘s work focused on the relation between behavior and its
consequences. For example, if an individual‘s behavior is immediately followed by pleasurable
consequences, the individual will engage in that behavior more frequently. The use of pleasant and
unpleasant consequences to change behavior is often referred to as operant conditioning (Microsoft
Encarta Reference Library, 2004).

Bandura‘s social learning theory is a major outgrowth of the behavioral learning theory tradition.
Developed by Albert Bandura, the social learning theory accepts most of the principles of behavioral
theories but focuses to a much greater degree on the effects of cues on behavior and on internal mental
processes, emphasizing the effects of thought on action and action on thought. Bandura noted that
Skinnerian emphasis on the effects of consequences of behavior largely ignored the phenomena of
modeling the imitation of others‘ successes or failures. He felt that much of human learning is not
shaped by its consequences but more efficiently learned directly from a model. Bandura‘s analysis of
observational learning involves four phases: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivational
processes (Slavin et. al., 1995). To produce a behavior that matches that of a model, a child goes
through four sets of processes. Her ability to attend to the modeled behavior is influenced by factors in
her own experience as well as in the situation; her skill in retaining what she has observed reflects a
collection of cognitive skills; her reproduction of the behavior depends on other cognitive skills including
the use of feedback from others; and she will be motivated to produce the behavior by various
incentives, her own standards, and her tendency to compare herself with others (Hetherington, p.25).
English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke disagreed. They argued that all human experiences
including sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings are physical processes occurring within the brain
and nervous system. Therefore, these experiences are valid subjects of study. In this view, which later
became known as monism, the mind and body are one and the same. Today, in light of years of research
indicating that the physical and mental aspects of the human experience are intertwined, most
psychologists reject a rigid dualist position. (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft
Corporation).

Parent’s Involvement to the Academic of the Learner Parents‘ positive attitude towards child‘s
education is important in determining school attendance and academic achievement of the child.
Favorable attitude towards schooling and education enhances parental involvement in children‘s
present and future studies.

Often, the affluent parent will have access to educational resources for his/her child directly or
indirectly. It is more likely that these parents will have higher regards for education, set educational
goals for the child and/or be models. Also, it is more likely a child with doctors as parents will end up
pursuing higher education- possibly medical school, than the child whose parent‘s education stopped at
a high school diploma. This is not to stay that the child‘s education is predetermined by the parent‘s
education; however it is merely one factor that can affect the student‘s desire to learn.

Krashen (2005) concluded that students whose parents are educated score higher on
standardized tests than those whose parents were not educated. Educated parents can better
communicate with their children regarding the school work, activities and the information being taught
at school. They can better assist their children in their work and participate at school (Fantuzzo & Tighe,
2000; Trusty, 1999).

Theory of Educational Productivity by Walberg (1981) determined three groups of nine factors
based on affective, cognitive and behavioral skills for optimization of learning that affect the quality of
academic performance: Aptitude (ability, development and motivation); instruction (amount and
quality); environment (home, classroom, peers and television) (Roberts, 2007). The home environment
also affects the academic performance of students. Educated parents can provide such an environment
that suits best for academic success of their children. The school authorities can provide counseling and
guidance to parents for creating positive home environment for improvement in students‘ quality of
work (Marzano, 2003). The academic performance of students heavily depends upon the parental
involvement in their academic activities to attain the higher level of quality in academic success
(Barnard, 2004; Henderson, 1988; Shumox & Lomax, 2001).

Parent’s Involvement to the Academic of the Learner

Parental involvement in a child‘s education along with environmental and economic factors may affect
child development in areas such as cognition, language, and social skills. Numerous studies in this area
have demonstrated the importance of family interaction and involvement in the years prior to entering
school (Bergsten, 1998; Hill, 2001; Wynn, 2002). Research findings have also shown that a continued
effort of parental involvement throughout the child‘s education can improve academic achievement
(Driessen, Smit & Sleegers, 2005; Fan, 2001; Hong & Ho, 2005). Academic failure has been linked with
risk behaviors and negative outcomes such as; substance abuse, delinquency, and emotional and
behavioral problems (Annunziata, Houge, Faw, & Liddle, 2006).
 Weiss et al. (2006) also provide an integrative model of family involvement that is evidence-
based or clearly linked to positive child outcomes. Their model encompasses three important categories:
Parenting, Home-School Relationships, and Responsibility for Learning Outcomes. Parenting includes the
attitudes, values, and practices that parents use in raising young children. This category would include
nurturing parent-child relationships and child-centered practices. Home-School Relationships pertain to
both formal and informal connections between families and young children‘s early childhood education
programs. It may include regular communication with teachers and efforts by the early childhood
education programs to discussion groups. Responsibility for Learning Outcomes speaks to how parents
can support the language and literacy development of their children through direct parent-teaching
activities such as reading aloud and engaging in linguistically rich conversations with their children.

Teacher’s Involvement in the Academic of the Learner

Mary Chamberlain (2002) said that that great teacher make a difference. They have passion that seeps
through the skin- a love of learning. Great progress (‗a revolution‘) was made but a working hum and
engagement is now not enough. What are now needed are quality learning conversations between
teachers and learners. It is about extending rather than supervising, about linking to the child‘s world,
about creating lines of desires, about not seeing the curriculum as a straightjacket. The curriculum it
seems is more a direction.

Appreciate that learning isn‘t always fun‘– a good teacher knows when to push‘– some learning may be
uncomfortable‘- really good teachers do this in skilled way.‘ The x‘factor is enthusiasms- an enthusiasm
and zest for teaching is critical‖, John Langley (2002) emphasized.

A danger is that teachers are bogged down with curricula‘. The best teachers can assess the needs of
their kids‘- it is worrying in recent years that curricula have become the dominant things‘- a conduit for
shoveling information‘- this is not what teaching is all about‖. A good teacher for 9-year old in this
international sense is usually a female teacher. She has many years of teaching experiences. Outside of
the school, the good teacher reads a lot, both professionally about education and also literature. She
has stayed in the class ever since the children took their first step into school literacy, and has followed
their progress carefully by informal as well as more formal assessment methods. The good teacher gives
the students many opportunities to do independent, silent reading in the library, which is richly stocked,
and she also often holds discussion with the students about books they have read. The children of the
good teacher are encouraged to read outside school and to use the library often. During reading lessons,
the children are guided to interact actively with the text by relating their own experiences to what is
read, by making predictions of upcoming events during reading and by making generalizations and
inferences. The good reading teacher also takes the students‘ interest into account when selecting
reading material. The student oriented approach with a clear focus on strategies for understanding does
not prevent the good teacher from using phonics elements now and then in her teaching to meet
particular students‘ needs or when unknown long worlds, like names, are encountered.‖ (Lundberg and
Linnakyla, 1993).
 Dowling (2003) believed that human teachers characteristically perform a wide range of activities that
we subsume under the general heading of ‗teaching‘. Those include planning and designing,
demonstrating, guiding, telling, questioning, testing, recording, motivating, and criticizing even learning.
Many of these aspects of a teacher‘s role require significant expertise and the making of finely tuned
and sensitive judgments based on both breadth and depth of experience. This is important, for instance,
in relation to the provision of appropriate scaffolding to learners. It can also be argued that the human
teacher is in a strong position, in particular by virtue of overall life experience and sophistication as a
communicator, to both model and facilitate co-operative learning behaviors.

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Literature_Student_Performance_Galiher

22

According to the Ministerial Round Table Meeting (2003), the image of the teacher as a specialist in a
specific subject who stands alone in front of the class is still a reality today in many contexts, particularly
at the elementary level. However, this perception of the role of teachers no longer matches the
demands of teaching and the expectations that are made with regard to the education of young people.
Even if the teaching profession has preserved an element have changed and are continually changing
knowledge and ways to access it, the influence of the media, societal demands, the social environment,
the students themselves, etc.

The teacher is moving away from being a ―transmitter of knowledge‖ and led more and more towards
becoming a ―mediator in the construction of knowledge‖ a facilitator and even at times,

a social worker. He or She must also foster the development of social skills and create a learning
environment that will encourage young people to learn to live together and to become responsible
citizens. Faced with expanding access to secondary education, the growing heterogeneity of students,
the redefinition of objectives, learning content, working methods and Due to low performance of the
pupils, it has always been blamed on the low of efficiency of teachers. In response to this, in the article
written by Evasco

(2007), he quote, ―We have to look

for other factors to account for the deterioration of quality instruction. It is a firm belief that the

failure to address quality instruction has something to do with student‘s socio

-economic status and our culture towards education.‖

A common hypothesis with respect to

teacher‘s attitude and student achievement is

that students taught using the right approach or attitude achieve at a higher level because their teachers
have displayed the right attitude and acquired classroom management skills to deal with different types
of classroom problems (Slavin, 1987, Evan, 1992, Gibbons et al., 1997). Furthermore, more experienced
teachers are considered to be more able to concentrate on the

23

most appropriate way to teach particular topics to students who differ in their abilities, prior knowledge
and background (Rauden bush and Williams, 1991). Stringfield and Teddlie 1991, Ejiogu, 1999 was of the
view that in order to improve on any aspect of education, it is therefore imperative to involve a well
articulated teacher education programme that will prepare the teacher for the leadership role they are
expected to play. The importance of teacher in the meaningful education at all level is reflected in the
national policy on education (2004) as it declares that no educational system may rise above the quality
of its teachers. This declaration in the policy document underscores the need for teacher effectiveness
in our schools. conceptualize

teacher‘s effectiveness as the

managerial skills essential for enhanced classroom control and

discipline. It is the teacher‘s competence, ability,

resourcefulness and ingenuity to efficiently utilize the appropriate language, methodology and available
instructional materials to bring out the best from learners in terms of academic achievement.Students‘
perceptions of teacher support have a direct effect on their interest and

motivation (Wentzel, 1998), and teachers‘ expectations of student achievement(which has an affective
component) influence the way they behave toward their students and thus can affect students‘
motivation, self

-perceptions, and academic performance (Jussim & Harber, 2005). However, teacher support in the
form of

care for students‘ well

-being and comfort may be necessary but insufficient to promote

mastery goal orientation: Care and concern for students‘

learning

may also be required (Patrick, Anderman, Ryan, Edelin, & Midgley, 2001). Teachers are role models who
continuously induce and respond to the emotional reactions of their students. Pianta et al. (2003)
applied components of attachment theory (Ainsworth, Belehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1982) in
understanding teacher student relationships and the teacher‘s function as an important role model.