Factors Affecting Academic Stress Among Senior High Achieving Grade 12 STEM

Students

A Research Paper
Presented to the
Senior High School Department
Holy Name University
City of Tagbilaran

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
Practical Research 1

11 – STEM – Our Lady of Divine Providence

By:
AKIATAN, Emmari Gabrielle
CAPILI, JC Sean
ENOC, Pio Francis
JAMINAL, Lyza Joy
REMORERAS, Charles Andre
ROTAQUIO, Yvan Graig

December 2023
 CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE
INTRODUCTION

Rationale
Academic stress is caused primarily by schoolwork overload and the pressure to

get high grades. Academic stress has been identified as the primary cause of these

alarming figures. It has now become a grave reality that it is termed as “career stopper”

(Kadapatti & Vijayalaxmi, 2012). Students often felt guilty about their failures and

decided to commit suicide (Shilubane et al., 2014). Moreover, stress could lead to

depression and could potentially influence suicidal ideas. The students are expected to

study hard and get good grades in order for them to achieve something. Perhaps it's

receiving the honors diploma or graduating. These awards, however, are not easy to

achieve and require endless work. But no matter what it is, they strive hard for their

goals.

According to Pascoe et al., (2020) students around the world reported that their

education could be related to their high-stress levels. With this in mind, stress is a

common outcome for students who want to achieve these awards. International

students experience greater academic stress from frustration due to delays, lack of

resources, failure to achieve goals and feeling like social outcasts, or from the pressure

due to competition, deadlines, work, responsibilities and overload. Stress also occurs

when too many changes, including rapid changes, disrupt a student’s life and goals

(Gvelesiani, 2022). However, Davis et al., (2016) found no significant differences in

perceived academic stress between international students and domestic students in the
US and Australia. They found that this type of stress is more often self-imposed among

US students compared to Asian international students. However, the international

students may have answered questions in a socially desirable manner to avoid the

stigma associated with admitting personal inadequacies.

The individual's perception of the stressor and ability to adapt to the stressor are

significant in the perception of whether the stressor is equal to or exceeding his

emotional and behavioral resources to cope (Moksnes et al. 2010). Exposure to many

stressors during this period can be related to psychological symptoms such as

depression and anxiety. If it is severe and prolonged, it could affect the student’s

academic performance and campus life along with an increase in potential behavior for

substance abuse and other like behaviors (Klonsky & Hoe, 2012).

The researchers' main purpose with the aforementioned statements is to

understand the common stress factors students usually face and how this study helps

students acquire knowledge about the stress and its effects on their daily lives.
 The Problem

Statement of the Problem

This study is designed to determine the factors affecting academic stress among

high achieving Grade 12 Science Technology Engineering Mathematics students at

Holy Name University.

To obtain essential knowledge cited above, the study seeks to answer the

following questions:

1. What are the specific academic stressors that the top-performing Grade 12

STEM students usually face?

2. How do these pressures impact the academic achievement of the Grade 12

STEM Students?
Significance of the Study

The study intends to investigate on factors affecting academic stress among

Senior High achieving students. This study aims to provide crucial information and

knowledge regarding of the factors of academic stress that affects various aspects of

student’s life. Results to this study would be useful to the following:

Students. This study is very helpful feedback for students with poor stress

management. It will develop tailor making interventions target to reduce stress levels of

students, which will contribute towards holistic well-being of an individual.

Teachers. This study can immensely aid the teachers by illuminating how to deal

with students who have these types of issues.

Parents. This study can help parents understand on how to provide parental

support to their children and enable them to be more resilient against stress.

School Counsellors. This study will help the school counsellor facilitate the

development of effective counselling modules and intervention strategies in order to

help the students manage stress.

Future Researchers. This study will be a significant reference for future

researchers since it will establish the framework for additional explorations of numerous

elements that affect students’ academic progress and allow for comparisons with

studies completed in different situations.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The goal of this study is to identify the variables influencing academic stress on

Grade 12 students who achieve academic success. This study aims to enrich the limited

literature on the factors of academic stress affecting Grade 12 STEM students’

academic performance. Though certain levels of stress push students towards optimum

performance, when it is not managed efficiently due to inadequate resources to cope

with the stress, it can have dismal consequences for the students as well as the

institutions. The number of participants in this study is limited only to five (5)

participants. This study will be conducted at Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City,

Bohol. The researchers will conduct this study by using qualitative interviews to gather

data on various factors contributing to students’ academic pressure using limited time

framework.
Review of Related Literature
The purpose of this study is to review the literature on various factors and how

they affect senior high school students’ academic performance. The international

researchers and educators have long been interested in examining the factors that

affect students' academic performance quality. Numerous factors influence academic

achievement, such as the educational background and income of parents, the subject

matter expertise of teachers, tardiness, the accessibility and availability of textbooks,

libraries, practical labs, meal preparation, and many more (Chinyoka, 2023). Academic

achievement stated by Chindanya, A. (2012) has been found to be significantly

influenced by the home environment. Children living in poverty could be exposed to less

stimulating physical environments and learning opportunities. Secondary school

education serves as the cornerstone and basis for pursuing higher education at

postsecondary institutions. A country's educational system, particularly Ghana's, is in

danger if senior high school students consistently perform poorly academically. As a

result, it is necessary to evaluate the research on academic performance and gain

understanding of the variables that affect senior high school students' performance in

school. In one way or another, this could assist in highlighting certain gaps in the

literature as well as other topics that study and publications have found to be important.

Jerome Cleofas et al. (2019) discussed that the local students in the Philippines

experience various type of academic stressors. This includes vague model content,

poor internet connectivity, lack of teachers’ guidance and motivation, financial problems,

stress/psychological pressure, insufficient learning materials, overloaded academic

activities, poor inadequate learning environment, conflict with household chores, and

personal factors. Academic pressure has a significant impact on students' mental health

in the Philippines. Students experience stress, sleeping problems, low self-confidence,

and moodiness due to various factors such as teachers, completion of requirements,

and peers who commit cheating.

The challenges faced by Filipino university students in their pursuit of well-being

are exacerbated by socio-cultural factors including volatile household dynamics,

intergenerational misunderstanding of mental illness, and stressful academic

engagement. The mental health of college students is further affected by virtual

learning, leading to issues such as time management, difficulties with internet

connection, and focus/concentration problems, which in turn affect their academic

performance. The prevalence of mental health problems among students is a cause for

concern, with suicide rates increasing, and many students not seeking help due to

inaccessibility and stigma (Cauilan & Reyes, 2022).

Overall, academic pressure in the Philippines has a detrimental effect on

students' mental health, highlighting the need for effective support systems and

interventions to promote well-being and address the challenges faced by students

(Alejandria et al., 2022).

Theoretical Background of the Study

This study is anchored on the Academic Stress Theory by Campbell-Philips et

al., (2020) which states that the personal inadequacy, fear of failure, interpersonal

difficulties with teachers, teacher-student relationships, and inadequate study facilities

were concerns of academic stress. Academic stress is defined as the body's response

to academic-related demands that exceed adaptive capabilities of students. Though

seems to be a consensus that occasional failure is necessary to make subsequent

progress in most academic context failure can be problematic. It is more likely to occur

when an individual anticipates that failure is likely to be aversive and under those

circumstances, the person delegates control to others, searches for approval, or fear of

disapproval of others (De castella, Byrne & Convington, 2013). Irrespective of the cause

of fear, students tend to desire to protect their self-esteem should their academic

performance not reach expectations, and the long-term effect of this type of fear is for

the individual to experience diminished intrinsic motivation and feelings of uneasiness

(Corcker et. al. 2005). The most common characteristic associated with fear of failure

doesn’t involve negative personal feelings but rather the negative social stigma

associated with the appearance of incompetence (Hernández, Moreno-Murcia & Espín,

2020). Moreover, positive psychology constructs of grit and growth mindset may solve

this challenge as both associated with psychological resilience. A growth mindset

describes people underlying beliefs about malleability of intelligence and grit refers to

dedication to long-term goals (Mosanya, 2020). Interpersonal difficulties with teacher

refer to adaptation in daily interactions among students to teachers to deliver teaching

outcomes. The teacher-student relationship is associated with students cognitive

learning domains and the daily interaction is a building block of teacher-student

relationships (Pennings, Brekelmans & Sadler et al., 2017).

The academic stress theory is relevant to this study due to the fact that it will

emphasize how academic stress encompasses a wide range of stressors also known as

triggers that impair academic growth in educational institutions.

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study employs a mono-method strategy to investigate the factors influencing

high-achieving Grade 12 students. This is a qualitative study which employed a

phenomenological research design using interview approach to gather relevant data.

Subject

The main participants of this study are the five (5) high-achieving Grade 12

STEM students at Holy Name University. The participants are senior high school

students from the Department of Integrated Basic Education that are aligned with the

STEM program.

Environment

This study was conducted at the Senior High School building of Holy Name

University. This institution for higher learning is the premier Catholic University in the

Province of Bohol located at Janssen Heights, Dampas District, Tagbilaran City.

Procedures

The study includes a comprehensive research approach to investigate the factors

of academic stressors among students. Firstly, a subjective interview was conducted to

the high-achieving grade12 students of Holy Name University. The interview comprises

of flexible questions to assess various factors affecting the Grade 12 STEM students’

academic performance. Participants were asked open-ended questions during the

interview to share their ideas and experiences, as well as the specific elements that led

to their academic performance. This method enables researchers to collect facts and
insights regarding the numerous elements influencing students' academic success. The

researchers employ a content analysis method, which allows them to investigate the

occurrence of academic stressors and the association between academic stress and

academic performance.
 CHAPTER II

This part of the research discusses the result that have investigated the

prevalence and causal factors on the stress, and well-being of Grade 12 STEM

students.

The participants tend to identify difficult tasks as threats to their academic

performance. Because of this, they also tend to avoid setting goals and have low levels

of commitment to the ones they do make. When setbacks happen, they tend to give up

quickly. The participants are most likely having the habit of unnecessarily delaying an

important task or what you called “Procrastination”, usually by focusing on less urgent,

more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. Overloading school works led the Grade

12 STEM students develop stress and lack of sleep. Students feel stress and pressure,

while lacking the time in or out of school to complete all required assignments. The

participants also mentioned that they do not have enough time to complete all the tasks

assigned to them due to other circumstances. For instance, they were having a difficulty

in managing their time because some of the participants are student athletes while

others are members of student organizations.

Overall, overloading of academic activities or schoolwork is the most common

stressor among these top achieving Grade 12 STEM students. Specifically, within the

area of Practical Research. Given only a limited amount of time to prepare. Moreover,

extra-curricular activities are another source of stress for these high-achieving students,

such as becoming a student athlete or a member of the student government. This,

along with an overflow of schoolwork, can cause significant stress to the learners.
 CHAPTER III

This chapter presents the summary of the study. The last portion deals on the

impacts of pressure in the academic achievement of the Grade 12 STEM top learners.

The interviewed participants were asked how the pressure impacted their

academic performance as high-achieving Grade 12 students. According to the

interviewed participants, it made the maintaining of grades a lot harder with all the

overloaded schoolwork they had to finish on time, all this schoolwork would pile up and

increase in numbers. They have stated that most of the time they are confused about

what to do because of how much they have to do and do not know where to begin with.

They end up distracted and confused, causing them to stress out. Furthermore, one

participant stated that if they abstain to participate in extracurricular activities, they

would be less stressed out and get better grades. The participants suggested to spare

time to rest the mind, spend time with family and friends, have fun doing activities, and

participating in hobbies to somehow diverse oneself from stress. Another common

answer is evaluating the factors that cause these situations and trying to fix them for the

stress to be minimized. A common example of this is time management, the participants

stated that planning ahead of time on what to do first is the best way to avoid these

situations from happening.

In conclusion, the factors relating to stress greatly affect the students’ academic

performance. These stressors could be suppressed by taking the time to rest and

managing time properly.

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