The Effects of Academic Pressure to

the Academic Performance of STEM

Students of STI College Novaliches
School Year 2019 - 2020
Submitted by:

Abustan, Keanna

Aguila, Dan David

Cajucom, Patrick Shane

Cuesta, Lois Allen

Dizon, Lyka

Faustino, Joshua

Loberiano, Neil Angelo

Miranda, Paul

Sampaayan, Djarel Anthonie

Viray, Marie Joy

STEM 101

Submitted to:

Ms. Florence Erika Karen P. Molina, LPT.

 Chapter 1

The Problem
and its
Background
Background of the Study

We all know that the strand Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) involves complex structures which requires deep understanding especially when
a student experience high levels of stress, regardless of his age or grades, it can
impede with his ability to learn, memorize and get good grades as well as to lead to
poor physical, emotional and mental health.

In today’s highly competitive world, students face varied academic matters

including exam stress and inability to understand a subject. Academic stress involves
mental distress regarding academic challenges or failure or the fear of the possibility to
fail. STEM students will gain valuable skills as they learn to navigate life, including time
management, personal maturity, independence and academic virtue. These
experiences, both in and out of classroom, will help students to be more triumphant in
their future academic pursuits.

As failure in these highly demanding degree programs is very costly not only to
one’s motivation but also career potential. Students in STEM programs are often found
to exert academic overconfidence in an effort to conciliate their high primary
achievement with the highly aversive of potential delinquency. Pressure to perform is
particularly true if students develop difficulty with STEM at the start of their time at
school. One of the greatest tragedies of developing a fear of STEM for students is that
they may never reach their capability, due to the perceived emphasized education
system on assessment rather than learning.

STEM students have been experiencing hardships. One of the challenges is

to maintain their grades in their subjects, more specifically in the specialized subjects.
 Aside from the hardships, the expectations will come and put more
pressure. Either way, this strand will develop the student’s ability to assess simple to
complex societal problems and be responsive and active in the formulation of its solution
through the application and integration of scientific, technological, engineering and
mathematical concepts as it prepares them to pursue degrees that focuses on the enigma
of the natural world. The results and output of this study will be significant to the students
of STEM who experience adversity with the strand.

Academic stress is one of the factors that students face, in any kind of aspects
whether grade school or higher education. On average across OECD countries, 59% of
students reported that they often worry that taking a test will be difficult, and 66%
reported that they worry about poor grades. Some 55% of students say they are very
anxious for a test even if they are well prepared. (OECD, 2017)

Anxiety and Anxiousness are the main factors that affects students that are
suffering Academic stress, because of that they tend to think/do negative things. They
tend not to sleep, overthink things, panic and worst case is to suicide. Having an Academic
stress can affect your Physical and Mental Health. For example, having poor grades can
lead to depression, they will feel anxious about the next thing they will make and tend to
cancel it. Connected to depression, instead of taking care of your physical body, they
tend to skip meals repeatedly and overthink their failures.

The ongoing stress relating to education has demonstrated negative impact

to students. Increasing student's stress management skills and abilities is an important
target for change. Having enough sleep, relaxation of body and mind, healthy eating,
proper way of exercising, and seeking for help if necessary.
Statement of the Problem

This study is designed to know the possible effects of Academic Pressure to the
Academic Performance of STEM students of STI College Novaliches S.Y. 2019-2020. This
seeks to determine the answers to the following:

 What are the Academic Pressure that affects the Academic Performance of STEM
students?
 What are the effects of Academic Pressure to the Academic Performance in STEM
students?
 What are the factors that affect the Academic Performance of STEM students?
 How does the STEM students cope up in Academic Stress?
Assumption of the Study

Academic pressures come from different aspects of a student’s life. It may

be personal or academical. There will be students that will menti0on the negative effect
of personal problems to their daily lives, not just their academic performance. If a student
will get caught up in a family problem, then stress and pressure will build up on the
student.

Academic pressure negatively affects the academic performance of students.

Academic stress can lead to anxiety and will eventually lead to depression. If one suffers
from these mental problems, then they may not perform simple tasks properly. If
academic pressure is applied to students, then the possibility that the academic
performance of the student will be affected directly most likely excessive.

We assume that there will be personal issues such as family and relationship
problems that will be mentioned as factors that affect the academic performance of
students. Aside from the expectations of parents and relatives, we may all agree on the
fact that relationships play a big role on the performance of many students academically.
It may build up the confidence of one to participate on academic tasks. But it may also
take a turn for the worse if that relationship will be the reason to why a student fails or
even drop out from school.

From a personal perspective, I think that hobbies and activities that student’s find
fun will be in the list of answers. The use of online games to distract students form their
problems will more likely be mentioned. A way to also cope up with stress is to spend
more time with friends and having fun; forgetting all the pressure and stress that is given
to them. By doing the said activities, along with other recreational activities such as
playing sports, then STEM students can cope up with academic stress.

This study assumes that peer and family pressure are the factors affecting the
students. It also forms an assumption than high expectations from everyone is a big
factor affecting the students. We assume that experiencing academic pressure can lead
to stress and mental problems.

The study also assumes that student are able to cope up with these academic
pressure by finding something or someone that can calm them. Students may also cope
up by just trying to meet the expectations and studying hard.
Significance of the Study

This research will be conducted to the year of 2019-2020 in STI College Novaliches.
This research is about The Effects of Academic Pressure to the Academic Performance of
STEM students. This study will identify what are the benefits and who will get the benefits
with this study. First of course STEM students will be the one who will benefit with it. As
a student, we need to be academically wise. Most of senior high school students are now
emotionally stressed with the subjects. Grade 11 students or senior high school students
has a chance to pick their strands that will fit to their skills. There are different types of
academic pressure in grade 11 students and it has a big difference with the pressure on
grade 12 students in terms of Academic pressure to the academic stress. This study
intends to know what are the factors that gives pressure on them.

This study will possibly give the benefits to the following:

Students: The most factors that will give them benefit is in this way of study, they will
find out that every student has their own academic pressure with their strand that can
affect with their academic performance. They will be aware how social media apps such
as, Facebook, Instagram, video games, etc. And for them to be able to assess with
themselves on how they will deal with academic pressure under their academic
performances.

Teachers: Teachers will also get benefits with this study. For them to know how the
students deal with those academic pressure and how they handle it. Because there are
times some students were under pressure, and they can’t handle the struggle which
makes them overthink in way that it affects their behavior on their academic
performances.

Future researchers: This study will help, and this will be a guide on how they will find
the different information with this topic. This will also give them the different behaviors
of STEM students each year.
Scope and Delimitation

This study aims to know the possible effects of academic pressure to the
academic performance of students. This study aims to understand the different effects of
academic pressure to students. It also aims to know the different academic pressure that
might affect the academic performance of senior high school students. It focuses on the
STEM students of STI College Novaliches.

The random sample of the research consists of twenty (20) students of STEM
strand in STI College Novaliches for the School Year 2019-2020 only. The data to be
gathered will be taken through an interview which can give the researchers information
about the topic. The data will contain the student's perspectives and insights on the
effects of academic pressure on STEM students.

The study is delimited to the number of respondents, its location, and the
school year it was conducted. This study focuses on the possible effects of academic
pressure to only the STEM students studying on STI College Novaliches in the said school
year.

Definition of Terms

Academic performance - defined by students’ reporting of past semester CGPA/GPA

and their expected GPA for the current semester. (Alsulami,2019)

Academic pursuit - is which academic field you wish to enter/what you would like to
study for your career. (Parfaite, 2019)

Academic - relating to, or associated with an academy or school especially of higher

learning. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Academic stress- the body’s response to academic-related demands that exceed

adaptive capabilities of students’ Academic performance. (Alsulami,2019)

Anxiety - apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or

anticipated ill. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Depression - a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in

thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent
sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies.
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Enigma - something hard to understand or explain. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Impede - to interfere with or slow the progress of. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Mental Health - the condition of being sound mentally and emotionally that is
characterized by the absence of mental illness and by adequate adjustment especially as
reflected in feeling comfortable about oneself, positive feelings about others, and the
ability to meet the demands of daily life. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Pressure - the stress or urgency of matters demanding attention (Merriam Webster

Dictionary)

STEM - is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines
— science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied
approach. (Hom, 2014)
References

OECD (2017), PISA 2015 Results (Volume III): Students’Well-Being, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris.

Alsulami, S., Al Omar, Z., Binnwejim, M. S., Alhamdan, F., Aldrees, A., Al-Bawardi, A., …
Alhabeeb, M. (2018, March 12). Perception of academic stress among Health Science
Preparatory Program students in two Saudi universities. Retrieved December 12, 2019,
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5856041/.

Academic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/academic.

Pressure. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/pressure.
Anxiety. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/anxiety.

Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/mental health.

Depression. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/depression.

Impede. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/impede.

Enigma. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/enigma.

Hom, E. J. (2014). What is STEM Education? Retrieved December 12, 2019, from
https://www.livescience.com/43296-what-is-stem-education.html.

Parfaite, M. (n.d.). r/EnglishLearning - "Academic Pursuit" meaning. Retrieved December

12, 2019, from
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/buzxxu/academic_pursuit_meanin
g/