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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Top cause of stress is being late. Running out of time comes in second

closely followed by getting stuck in traffic for making our blood boil. The survey

by A.Vogel also found out that adults feel stressed out for five and a half years of

their lifetime. Health issues for yourself or family members, meeting deadlines,

not being able to afford things, weight gain, cold calls and debt complete the top

10. Some 63% of people even claim to have had days where they have felt

stressed from the moment they woke up until they go to sleep at the end of the

day (De Burca, 2016).

The important way to focus on the study is everyone needs to organize

the schedules before going to school because if you the schedule was organized

everyone will know what your purpose is and what you need to do in school.

Mostly of the student’s problem is unorganized schedule that is why they are late.

Another cause of tardiness is the means of transportation where some of the

students commute and it is psychology stressful (Scott, 2016).

The Senior High School in Luna National High School are very strict when

it comes to time management. Being stressed, wasted, hungry and tired are just

some of the psychological effects of tardiness. Sadly, some of the Senior High

School students in Luna National High School are late in attending to school,

thus this study is going to be conducted.

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Research Objectives:

The main purpose of the study is to find out the relationship between

tardiness and student behaviour of senior high school students. Specifically, it

aims to answer the following objectives:

1. To describe the level of tardiness of students in terms of:

1.1 means of transportation

1.2 time management; and

1.3 responsibilities at home.

2. To describe the level of behaviour of the students in terms of:

1.1 stress;

1.2 anxiety; and

1.3 peer relationship.

3. To find out the significant relationship between the level of tardiness of

students and the level of students behaviour.

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Hypothesis

The following hypothesis is tested at 0.05 level of significance:

1. There is no significant relationship between the level of tardiness of students

and the level of student’s behaviour.

Review of Related Literature

As cited by Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2013), tardiness can be defined as

the situation where an individual arrives after the proper, scheduled or usual time

and being late for any measurable length of time past the stated or scheduled

start time for work or school. In most schools, a student is considered tardy when

he/she is not present when the school bell rings or when the first teacher starts to

give instructional materials for the first subject in the morning class (Weade,

2014).

One of the most recurring and the most frustrating problem that the

schools are having with their students nowadays is tardiness. While having

occasional tardy isn’t a big deal, unfailing tardiness is and it gives students

problems including being ill-prepared for the job market. Being present and on

time in going to school are big factors on the success and behaviour of the

students. Thus, it is a lot important to value time and practice being on time while

being a student (Sprick & Daniels, 2014).

Another study was the one conducted by Enamiroro Oghuvbu in Nigeria.

The objective of the study was to determine the causes of the absenteeism and

tardiness among the secondary students in Nigeria and to seek for solutions to
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the growing problem. According to Oghuvbu (2013), female students are more

likely to be late than male students because of their involvement in domestic

activities by their parents. Also, as cited by Oghuvbu, distance to school, school

discipline, family background and school location are some of the common

causes for the tardiness of the secondary students.

           The study revealed that the causes of tardiness among the secondary

students in Nigeria were going late to bed because of watching films and home

movies, resulting into wake up late in the morning, distance to school and

keeping friends who are not students (Oghuvbu, 2013). These results went

consistent with the results of Oghuvbu’s reference studies which proves that

tardiness among students have been a growing problem and that it is caused,

not just because of the students but also because of the lack of imposing

discipline from the parents.

Students in Nqutu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa faced with such a difficult

journey to school, many affected students drop out before completing Grade 12.

During King’s trip, they heard from those who have continued attending school

that they arrive exhausted, hungry, and have difficulty focusing in class. When

they get home late at night, they may have responsibilities such as caring for

livestock, fetching water, and helping to bathe siblings, nieces, and nephews

before they can study. Some students go to bed at 11:00 pm, only to rise at 4:00

am and start their journey again (King, 2015).

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King added that because of the many hours lost traveling to and from

school, these students are forced to fit a full 24-hour day into something much

less. Many struggle to do so by sacrificing homework and sleep, which has long-

term consequences on their ability to stay healthy, to concentrate and to learn,

and ultimately, to reach their full potential as adults.

Another research partly studied about tardiness but tackled a specific

reason or factor. A study by Pimentel and Quijada (2014) focused on the

frequency of using Facebook by the UP Cebu freshmen students and a part of

the study tackled about the effect of the famous social networking site to UP

Cebu students’ punctuality and academic performance.

Pimentel and Quijada (2014) collected 60 respondents and provided them

with questionnaires. The questionnaires contained questions that ask the

respondents about their use of Facebook and its effects. A certain question

asked the respondents if late-night use of Facebook has an effect on their

punctuality. According to the results of the study, three out of 60 respondents are

always late, eight said they are sometimes late, 12 said they are seldom late and

37 said that they never get late due to late-night use of Facebook.

Generally, the results showed that the respondents are seldom late in

class because of late-night use of the social networking site. Ledoux, as cited by

Pimentel and Quijada, said that lack of sleep causes neural malfunctions and

further affects a person’s behavior. In the study’s case, it is a student’s

punctuality that is affected.

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            Studies have revealed that those students with perfect or near-perfect

attendance have good grades compared to those students who miss classes

often and late-comers. Moreover, as mentioned by Zeiger (2016), the results

from the survey report conducted by teachers show that students with high

tardiness rates have higher rates of suspension and other disciplinary measures.

It also causes the students to have behavioral problems and to drop out. Lastly,

Zeiger stated that students who are frequently tardy to school are also more apt

to be fired from a job for showing up late.

Zeiger added that most essential learning time of the day for the students

lies in the morning, specifically between 7:00 to 9:30 AM. It is because the

students are most mindful and observant at this time of the day. It is also the

reason why most important lessons and subject matters are discussed during

this time. So when students are late or are not present during this time of the

day, they, in effect, miss out most of the important lessons to be noted and

learned.

Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2013), attribute lateness or tardiness to a lot of

factors or causes. Going late to bed and waking up late next morning are the

most common. The authors added film-watching late at night as a cause for

tardiness. The student may forget that he/she needs to be in school the next day.

The distance between the student’s home and school or solely the school’s

location is also considered by Nakpodia and Dafiaghor as a possible cause for

tardiness. Not just because it takes more time to get to school, but according to
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the authors, the student is susceptible to more distractions and hindrances along

the way.

Being late insults others, but it also undermines the person who is late,

because it may betray a lack of intelligence, self-knowledge, will power, or

empathy. For instance, it may be that the person who is late has set unrealistic

goals and overscheduled his day, or underestimated the time that it takes to

travel from one place to another. Being late is not necessarily unhealthy or

pathological. Sometimes, being late is your unconscious (intuition) telling you that

that you don’t actually want to be there, or that it would be better for you not to be

there—for instance, it could be that a meeting (or even a job) is not the best use

of your time, or will inevitably work against your own best interests (Burton,

2014).

The social experience has a powerful impact on a child's feelings about

school and his or her ability to be academically successful. When a child

continuously shows up late to class, other students are distracted. Attention is

drawn away from the teacher or assignment and toward the child who has just

arrived. Over time, classmates may begin to criticize this child, affecting how they

feel about themselves in school. During adolescence, children are especially

conscious of fitting in and being accepted by peers. If your child is repeatedly

tardy, they may become a target or outcast over time, and negative peer

interactions can hurt their ability to concentrate on learning (Scott, 2016).

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To summarize, many studies have shown the reasons and factors that

may contribute to the tardiness of a student. One of the mentioned reasons of

tardy students was waking up late in the morning, which can also be attributed to

late-night activities, such as social networking, watching movies and television

shows, as well as untimely academic and domestic errands. As proven by

several studies, sometimes, it’s not also the act of the student that leads to

his/her tardiness. The heavy traffic, means of transportation, the teachers, the

school surroundings and policies may also serve as influences to the tardiness of

students (Bilocura, 2017).

Theoretical Framework

 According to Santillano’s Theory of Punctuality (2010), arriving late to

school can also mean that students miss out on activities designed to build

connections with their peers, potentially impacting their social interactions and

creating a greater sense of alienation from their classmates. In the book cited by

Santillano, Never be late again: 7 cures for the punctually challenged, the author

Diana DeLonzor suggested that some personality traits could most likely lead to

a person being often late. Some of the traits included were struggling with self-

control, feeling nervous or uncomfortable with social situations and getting

distracted easily.

       
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Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Tardiness of Senior High Behavior of Senior High

School Students in Luna School Students in Luna
National High School National High School

Means of Transportation Stress

Time Management Anxiety

Responsibilities at home Peer Relationship

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study

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Figure 1 shows the variables of the study. The first variable is the

tardiness with the indicators of; means of transportation, time management, and

responsibilities at home. In this study, stress, anxiety and peer relationship are

the indicators of the second variable which is the student’s behaviour.

Significance of the Study

This study can be the key for the lock doors of heedlessness. This will

help the parents to be aware about the psychological effect of tardiness, to the

teachers for them to make a move or give any punishments that cannot affect the

students psychologically, for the society to be conscious about the effects of

tardiness to the child.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined:

Tardiness serves as the independent variable which lateness can be

defined as the situation where an individual arrives after the proper, scheduled or

usual time and being late for any measurable length of time past the stated or

scheduled start time for work or school.

Student’s Behaviour serves as the dependent variable refers to

defensive answers towards a provocation and generally linked to feelings of guilt

and frustration.