AN ANALYSIS ON THE CHALLENGES IN LEARNING THAT THE

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SAINT MARY’S ACADEMY

FACES AMIDST THE PANDEMIC S.Y. 2021-2022

A Research Presented to the

Saint Mary’s Academy
Senior High School Department
Municipality of Diffun, Quirino

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the subject
Practical Research
(Qualitative Research)

By:
Almazan, Crisha Reykheyl B.
Castillo, Hannah Leah B.
Marquez, Kathlenmie T.
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of The Study
One of the most afflicted by the virus is education, which has been significantly
halted or slowed as a result of restrictive legislation and the establishment of social
distancing.The global decision to close educational institutes was sensible in order to
maintain social distancing and prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
In today's society, due to the seriousness of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the only
option was to switch to online learning. It is usually done using a learning
management system, which allows students to plan their activities and communicate
with their classmates and teachers. This new learning approach presented some
challenges for students and teachers such as lack of access to technology and the
internet, a shortage in learning resources (such as instructor feedback, structured
course material, and opportunities for collaboration), and limited prior experience with
online learning. As online classes continue, it is important to assess how Saint Mary's
Academy students are adjusting to the new learning approach. The COVID-19
Pandemic is not the first time education has been impacted.
Online learning poses a significant risk to the health of students' mental and
physical health, as well as the health of others, including young children, teens, and
teachers. Many students in virtual classrooms suffer from the most severe mental
illnesses. As online classes continue, it is critical to evaluate Saint Mary's Academy
students' experiences with the new style of learning. Students and instructors had
certain difficulties with this new learning approach.
According to Oyoque and Brown (2020), "(Students) may experience increased
fatigue, headaches, lack of motivation, avoidance/procrastination, ineffective time
management, feelings of isolation due to limited socialization in-person, minimized
awareness and understanding of others created by in-person dialogues," and
"(Students) may experience increased fatigue, headaches, lack of motivation,
avoidance/procrastination, ineffective time management, feelings of isolation due to
limited socialization.
The COVID-19 Pandemic, on the other hand, will have far-reaching and
long-lasting consequences. As a result, studying the challenges and opportunities
presented by the current pandemic in education will assist us in better adapting to
changing circumstances and ensuring the continuance of education.

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 This research looks into students' experiences with online learning because
while some students were happy with the new style of learning, they still struggled to
manage their online classes, chores, and other obligations. This study may serve as a
wake-up call for students at Saint Mary’s Academy, allowing them to effectively
manage their mental health and continue their academics.

Statement of the Problem

This study will present an analysis on how online classes affect the senior high
school students in Saint Mary’s Academy . This study aims to identify the difficulties
and problems that the students experience while having an online class. Especially the
following statement:

1. What are the common difficulties that the students encounter during online
class?
2. What are the problems that affect the students’ studies?
3. How online class and modular affect the following; Mental Health and Critical
Thinking

Assumptions
The researchers were guided with the following assumption:
1. Distraction, technical issues, and computer knowledge were the most common
challenges that Saint Mary's Academy students encountered in online and
modular learning.
2. The students experience lack of motivation, lack of discipline, noisy
environment and have a hard time understanding their lessons especially the
ones given in their learning activity sheet(LAS).
3. Online class and modular learning affect the mental health of the students by
being one of the sources of stress and anxiety that they experience. This stress
and anxiety can affect their critical thinking.
Scope and Delimitation
The respondents of this study are the senior high school students of Saint
Mary’s Academy during the school year 2021-2022.

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Importance of the Study
This research study will greatly benefit the following:
Teachers. The teachers of Saint Mary’s Academy can open up their perception
on how students experience the online class nowadays, they can also ease their mind
while knowing that there is such a study that can help them.
Students. Students will gather many moral lessons on this study, as they reflect
this study in their lives. They will get clarification on how online class can affect them,
teachers, and their performance in academics. Students will also know what the
teachers indicate to them. This study can have a huge impact on students in Saint
Mary’s Academy.
Parents. This will be of great help to the parent of the student who is studying
so that they can guide them properly and do not have to work hard because not all
students can follow the lesson or the connection can be slow to follow the lesson
quickly. It will also serve as a guide for parents so that they do not overthink the
learning that children are doing.
Department of Education. This study will guide the department of education to
provide moral and psychological assistance to students, raise awareness about
students who face challenges in this new learning system, and help them to motivate
themselves.
Researchers. The researchers will gain more knowledge and understanding
about the suffering or the challenges that their fellow students are experiencing. This
gives the researchers ideas and suggestions on how they will help improve the current
situations.
Future researchers. This research can be a guide for upcoming research that
will tackle the same topic. This study will provide future researchers some information
and details about students having online classes.
Definition of Terms
To further understand this research, the following terms are defined:
Cognition - the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge.
Cognitive Development - refers to how a person perceives, thinks, and gains
understanding.

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Mental Health - includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
Physical Health - a person’s physical condition.
Anxiety - body's natural response to stress.
Stress - body’s response to pressure.
Stressors - an event or situation that causes stress.
Online Class - a course conducted over the Internet.
ICT- Information and Communications Technology .
Modular Learning - is a form of distance learning that uses Self-Learning Modules.
COVID-19 - also known as coronavirus disease and it is a very infectious disease.

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 CHAPTER II
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
This chapter discusses the many ways to collect and analyze data that are
applicable to the study. The procedures will cover topics including the study's location,
research design, sampling and sample size, data type, data gathering methods, and
data management.
Research Design
The researchers used the descriptive method for qualitative research in
gathering all information about the research study of the senior high school student’s
difficulties in the online class and modular learning. This study will determine how the
students from Saint Mary’s Academy cope with the difficulties and systematically
describe the phenomena about the online class. Using this kind of research design can
help the researchers to accurately and systematically describe the phenomena. This
research is designed to explore, investigate, analyze, and gather information in the
study that focuses on an individual perspective of a student.
Sources of Data
Locale and Population
For the sampling process, the researchers used simple random sampling. A
simple random sample is a randomly selected subset of a population. In this sampling
method, each member of the population has an exactly equal chance of being selected.
This method is the most straightforward of all the probability sampling methods, since
it only involves a single random selection and requires little advance knowledge about
the population. Because it uses randomization, any research performed on this
sample should have high internal and external validity. The sampling process will be
done by putting the names of the students’ in a jar and randomly selecting from it.
Moving on, the researchers chose students from the senior high school
department in Saint Mary’s Academy. The researchers decided to choose students in
our institution so that the interpretation of data will be more precise, accurate, clear,
and easier because the students of these sections are enrolled in an online learning
system.
Instrumentation and Data Collection
The primary instruments that were used for gathering the needed data for this
study was the questionnaire created in Google Forms. The researchers chose to use
Questionnaires to gather accurate and precise data needed for the tabulation process.
Questionnaires are very useful for the respondents to find out what the challenges

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that they are facing and to say what they think or feel free to give their opinions
regarding the topic used.
Data Gathering Procedure:
The researchers prepared a questionnaire created in Google Forms. The survey
questionnaire is composed of random questions. The respondents may take their time
answering the given questions for them to think about what point of view they have
about our research topic. The link of the survey was sent to the respective Facebook
accounts of the respondents in messenger. The result would hopefully be the basis for
us to confirm that the online class has affected the cognitive development of a student
in Saint Mary’s Academy .Specifically, the senior high school students in the said
institution in the Academic Year of 2021-2022.
Validation. The research questionnaire was based on the study “A Survey on
the Effectiveness of Online Teaching–Learning Methods for University and College
Students(2021)” which was validated and approved by the The Institution of Engineers
(India).
Tools for Data Analysis
The gathered data will be analyzed and interpreted. The responses of the
students who were handed the questionnaires will be treated using data analysis.
Ethical Considerations
In order to create and maintain ethics in this study, the researchers were strictly
observed the following:
The participants/respondents were informed about the objectives of the study
and gave their consent. The names of participants were never mentioned in this study.
Participants were not harmed physically or emotionally as a result of their
participation in this study.
The researchers have protected and guided the data against unauthorized
access, and that only researcher has access to the survey/research data.
The researcher gathered information through an unstructured interview. This
data collection strategy was chosen because it allows the participants/respondents to
thoroughly express their experiences and share their stories in their own words.