Learning Barriers

Learning barriers are elements that can impact student learning, thus impacting the ability to

understand and retain. There are different barriers that teachers ignore but that have a

negative impact on the learning process. Some of those barriers are lack of motivation,

poverty, and emotions.

Lack of motivation

Motivation is the foundation of learning, and it is vital that all students get motivated so as to

make the learning effective and easy. Motivation is essential to learning since some

motivation includes everything students do, including their motivation to complete tasks that

build knowledge. (Odanga, 2018) Therefore, lack of motivation in students to learn was

identified as a pressing educational problem.

There are different ways of motivation which are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Teachers

do not usually give much consideration to the lack of motivation as a barrier to learning.

(Light, 2012) emphasized that the significance of cultivating intrinsic motivation for learning

in a system that supports comprehensive learning. Lack of motivation leads students to be

absent from their learning. As a teacher, I have recognized that students who are less

motivated usually to do school work usually perform badly and not have the eagerness to

learn, thus having lower morale. I have spared a time during my lessons where I uplift my

students' morale by teaching them the positive impact of learning and getting good grades in

school. There is a need to assess and find out how to help and motivate them.

Poverty

Another barrier that is overlooked by teachers is poverty, students come from different

backgrounds and cultures. They are those who are from less privileged families. (Worthy et

al. 2020) urged that the school curriculum be mostly based on norms and values belonging to
the middle socioeconomic class. Poverty has a negative impact on student learning. Students

who are from poor families lack most resources that are needed

According to (Devlin et al., 2018) ineffectiveness on the part of pupils is higher in families of

low socio-economic status. I once worked in a rural area, and I was teaching one student who

was staying at the cattlepost and had to travel 10 kilometers from there to school. Once he got

into the class, he went to sleep because he was tired. He was a bright and above average

student, but with time, he turned out to be average. There are some cases where students fail

to further their studies due to a lack of funding from their parents, some get demotivated to

come to school knowing that even if they pass, they cannot go anywhere. There has been an

oversight from teachers, and they only put pressure on students and thus worsen the case.

Putting on school uniforms was a strict measure during my primary school days, and children

from the lower socioeconomic class suffered the most because they were sometimes chased

from classes. Their performance was affected as they missed some lessons during their

absence. Emotions

Learner’s self-esteem played a vital role in their ability to learn. Students need support and

encouragement from their peers, teachers, and parents, and this has a positive impact on their

studies. Learning is based on the mental state of the learner, but most teachers have

overlooked this. It is believed that emotions affect the internal motivation of students to learn

based on interest and curiosity in learning as well as their external motivation associated with

the achievement of positive results or to prevent negative consequences. Also, emotions are

expected to facilitate the use of different learning strategies (Pekrun, 2021). An effective

teacher should know the emotional status of her children at all times because negative

emotions may distract and hinder learning. Negative emotions such as hopelessness and

boredom are set to reduce motivation and the easy processing of information, implying a

negative impact on performance. (Mustafina et al., 1970) In the previous term, I had a student
whose mother got transferred to another city and due to that shift I noticed that the students

was affected emotionally, and I made a way of talking with her mother about transferring him

to where she

was as I foresaw that it might affect his studies negatively. The teacher who does not have a

relationship with her students, have difficulty in recognising their emotions.

All of the barriers mentioned here, as well as others not mentioned, must be considered, and

teachers must devise solutions to overcome them. Teachers have a stereotype that students

are uninterested in learning and are too lazy to learn. This judgment has caused teachers to

not do their duties diligently and overseeing other barriers that affect students. In a nutshell,

an effective and efficient teacher has to take into consideration all the barriers and come up

with strategies for overcoming them.

References

Devlin, M. et al. (2018) Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic
status backgrounds: Resources for australian higher education, Charles Sturt
University Research Output. Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research
and Tertiary Education. Available at:
https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/effective-teaching-and-support-of-
students-from-low-socioeconomic (Accessed: December 21, 2022).

Light, D. (2012) Rebuilding for learning: Addressing barriers to learning and teaching, and
re-engaging students. CCT. Available at: https://cct.edc.org/publications/rebuilding-
learning-addressing-barriers-learning-and-teaching-and-re-engaging-students
(Accessed: December 21, 2022).

Mustafina, R., Ilina, M. and Shcherbakova, I. (1970) Emotions and their effect on learning,
Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana. Available at:
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/279/27964362035/html/ (Accessed: December 21,
2022).

Odanga, S.O.J. (2018) Strategies for increasing students’ self-motivation - researchgate.

Available at:
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326556176_Strategies_for_Increasing_Stude
nts'_Self-motivation (Accessed: December 21, 2022).

Pekrun, R. (2021) Emotions, learning and achievement from an educational-psychological

perspective, Emotions, Learning and Achievement from an Educational, Psychological
Perspective”.Learning emotions: the influence of affective factors on classroom
learning. Academia.edu. Available at:
https://www.academia.edu/63004961/Emotions_learning_and_achievement_from_an_e
ducational_psychological_perspective (Accessed: December 21, 2022).

Worthy, L.D., Lavigne, T. and Romero, F. (2020) Socioeconomic status (SES) Culture and
Psychology. MMOER. Available at:
https://open.maricopa.edu/culturepsychology/chapter/socioeconomic-status-ses/
(Accessed: December 21, 2022).