ASSEMBLYWOMAN FELICITA G.

BERNARDINO
MEMORIAL TRADE SCHOOL

CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter presents the literature and studies related to non-

intellective correlates and academic performance of SHS students. It

also includes the conceptual framework and research paradigm of the

study.

Non-intellective Correlates/ Non-cognitive Factors

According to Feng (2015), the term “Non-intellective factor” is

first defined by American psychologist W. P. Alexander in 1935. In

Wechsler’s view, non-intellective factors mainly refer to the person’s

temperament and personality, especially the personality factors, and

should include congenital, cognitive and emotional elements.

Moreover, non-intellective factors are psychological factors

besides intelligence and ability that interact with the benefits of

intellectual activities, such as interest, emotion and attitude. These

factors do not directly involved in learning activities, but work with

intellective factors together to influence the entire learning process.

They act as motivation and compensation for the development of

intelligence (Zhenying& Yun, 2015).

Similarly, non-cognitive factors are sets of behaviors, skills,

attitudes, and strategies that are crucial to students’ academic

performance and persistence in post-secondary education (Nagaoka,

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Farrington, Roderick, Allensworth, Keyes, Johnson & Beechum,

2012).

Personality Traits

Conscientiousness is characterized by being well-organized, self-

disciplined, and persevering. Individuals who have these characteristics

may learn more in a systematic manner, because conscientious and

hard-working students may exhibit “better cognitive processing of

language instruction” (Oz, 2014).

In line with Oz, Perera, Mcllveen & Oliver (2015)

mentioned that students with high achievement orientation and

perseverance may direct efforts to set academic goals and engage and

persist in academic activity towards attaining academic outcomes.

Aside from that, a self-discipline disposition may foster efforts to

remain engaged in academic activity even when confronting boredom,

temptation, and distraction, or adversity.

This is evident in the systematic review and meta-analysis of

psychological correlates of university students’ academic performance

by Abraham, Bond and Richardson (2012). Result showed that

conscientiousness has been found to predict academic success.

Students with high conscientiousness are the ones who are inspired to

do better in school and are tougher when engaged in difficult

situations.
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Similarly, Mcabee, Oswald, & Connelly (2014) said that

conscientiousness has consistently demonstrated meaningful

relationships with performance-related outcomes in both academic and

employment settings.

It is proven in the study of Caers, Vigna and Berings

(2012). Three hundred seventy five students of a University

college in Belgium were used as respondents of the study. The

findings revealed a positive indirect effect of neuroticism

on academic performance at higher levels of self-efficacy,

complemented by a positive direct effect of neuroticism at lower

levels of self-efficacy.

The study also showed that conscientiousness positively

affected academic performance through academic motivation, but

also that it is a condition for the indirect impact of extraversion,

neuroticism, and conscientiousness.

In addition, conscientiousness has consistently been found to predict

academic achievement from preschool through high school.

Conscientiousness measured in school children was found to predict

academic achievement at age 20 and eventual academic attainment at

age 30. This factor predicts college grades even after controlling for high

school grades and SAT scores, suggesting it may compensate for lower

cognitive ability. High Conscientiousness may be associated with

personal attributes necessary for learning and academic pursuits such

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as being organized, dependable and efficient, striving for success and

exercising self-control. For example, in one study this factor was found

to predict early completion of independent credit assignments, and

signing up early to participate. Conscientiousness might even affect

achievement through its effect on the sleep schedule — high

Conscientious individuals rise and retire earlier.

The effects of Conscientiousness on academic performance may be

mediated by motivational processes such as expenditure of effort,

persistence, perceived intellectual ability, effort regulation and

attendance. There is some evidence that particular facets of

Conscientiousness — achievement-striving, self- discipline, diligence,

achievement via independence — may be particularly strong predictors

of academic achievement, perhaps stronger than the broad

Conscientiousness factor itself ( Education Testing Service, 2012).

Moreover, the study of Hakimi, Hejazi, and Lavasani (2011) indicated

that personality traits were significantly related to academic

achievement. Two hundred eighty five participants were asked to

answer the NEO Big Five Personality Factor and were asked to give

their GPA. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that personality

characteristics are accounted for 48 percent of variance in academic

achievement. Results also showed that conscientiousness is 39 percent

of variance in academic achievement which means that it was the most

important predictor variable.

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On the contrary, the study of Metofe, Gardiner, Walker and Wedlow

(2014) revealed that Psychological factors have been shown to be

interrelated and to predict various outcome measures such as

academic performance, as indexed by grade point average (GPA). Two

hundred five African-American students were used as respondents of

the study, results showed that self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and

extrinsic motivation significantly predicted academic performance of

African-American students while conscientiousness was not a

significant predictor of academic performance for the sample of African

American students.

Meanwhile, agreeableness is marked by altruism, social

adaptability, likability and emotional support. Agreeable individuals are

particularly motivated to avoid emotions which may lead to

interpersonal conflicts. These characteristics of agreeableness are

negatively related to anxiety symptoms and disorders ( Shi,Liu, Wang &

Wang, 2015).

It only shows that students with high agreeableness may

be more likely to attend classes consistently and may also show greater

levels of cooperation with instructors. This could facilitate the process

of learning and can support academic performance (Abraham, Bond

and Richardson, 2012).

It was supported by the study of Komarraju, Karau,

Schmeck and Avdic (2011). Three hundred eight college students

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answered the five factor inventory, learning processes inventory and

submitted their GPA. Result showed that conscientiousness and

agreeableness were positively related with all learning styles while

neuroticism was negatively related. The research also showed that both

personality traits and learning styles contribute to academic

performance. It was further discussed that openness and GPA was

mediated by learning style which means that intellectually curious

students has a better tendency of enhancing his or her academic

performance.

One key feature of openness is plasticity, which provides

a mechanism whereby responses to internal and external dynamic

circumstances can be facilitated .People with high levels of openness

may engage more frequently in activities that stimulate and enhance

several aspectsof their cognitive functioning, whichin turn canreduce

anxiety (Shi, Liu, Wang & Wang,2015).

Likewise, Richardson, Bond and Abraham (2012)

asserted that students with high openness are expected to be more

imaginative and willing to consider new ideas. These students may be

better able to manage new learning essential to academic achievement.

In addition, Oz (2014) argued that language students

with a higher level of openness to experience may perceive themselves

as more well-informed and even more proficient L2 learners and

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because openness to experience may trigger perceived communicative

competence – also as being more competent in L2 communication.

Moreover, the Educational Testing Center (2012) revealed

that openness has been shown to have a positive correlation with

standardized measures of knowledge and achievement and is modestly

correlated with cognitive ability. Of the Big Five, it has the highest

correlations with the SAT verbal score (although, interestingly, not with

math scores). Openness has been positively associated with final

grades, even when controlling for intelligence. It also may facilitate the

use of efficient learning strategies which, in turn, affects academic

success. The correlation between Openness and academic achievement

is not always found, however. The creative and imaginative nature of

open individuals may sometimes be a disadvantage in academic

settings, particularly when individuals are required to reproduce

curricular content rather than produce novel response or creative

problem solving.

According to Perera, Mcllveen & Oliver (2015) one

potential pathway of negative influence concerns the behavioural

inhibition of individuals high in neuroticism. Neuroticism involves

heighted threat sensitivity and emotional arousal in response to stress.

These responses are believed to be generated by an overactive

motivational system of withdrawal that regulates sensitivity to cues of

threat.
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Similarly, Dewaele (2013) as mentioned by Oz (2014)

found a significant correlation between neuroticism (a proxy for trait

anxiety) and foreign language anxiety, suggesting that participants with

high neuroticism have a significantly higher level of foreign language

anxiety, and vice versa.

It is supported by the study of Richardson, Bond and

Abraham (2012). According to the researchers, students who have high

neuroticism were more likely to be absent from examinations due to

illness and note that it is possible that poorer attendance, more

generally, may also undermine academic performance among students

high in neuroticism.

Furthermore, in a study done by ETS (2012) neuroticism

was shown to predict poorer academic performance among school-aged

children. For example, a study of 3,000 13-year-olds showed that

emotional stability was related to academic success. A longitudinal

study of 205 participants who were assessed around ages 10, 20 and

30 demonstrated that negative emotionality at age 20 was correlated

with poor adaptation concurrently and 10 years previously.

Analysis suggests a correlation between Neuroticism and

academic achievement, particularly for the anxiety and impulsiveness

facets. This relationship may be due to Neuroticism’s correlation with

study attitudes. However, some studies of both school children and

university students have failed to find any significant correlations

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between Neuroticism and academic attainment. Such inconsistencies

may reflect the role of moderating factors, such as self-control and

motivation, in compensating for negative emotionality.

Extraversion has set the groundwork for social

interaction and, thus, greatly decreased language anxiety. Kind,

helpful, and straightforward people with a higher level of agreeableness

are expected to be more willing to interact with the members of the L2

community. Agreeable and pleasant people are more likely to have

pleasant contact with the target language community or international

community (Oz, 2014).

Likewise, in Rastegar (2002) as cited in Kao and Craigie

(2014) reported in their study the Effects of English Usage on Facebook

and Personality Traits on Achievement of Students Learning English as

a Foreign Language that there was no significant relationship between

EFL proficiency and extraversion in Kerman and Shiraz university

students.

In support with Rastegar, Richardson, Bond and

Abraham (2012) asserted that students with extravert tendencies might

be expected to achieve lower grades because they are more distracted

and more sociable than students with introvert tendencies who are

likely to spend more of their time learning and consolidating

knowledge. Thus, extraversion may limit students’ capacity to regulate

their effort devoted to academic tasks. Moreover, extraverts have been

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found to reach cognitive decisions prematurely which may curtail

systematic consideration and checking.

It was supported by the study of ETS in 2012, it revealed

that age may moderate the effect of Extraversion on academic success.

Before the age of 11–12, extraverted children outperform introverted

children; among adolescents and adults some research has shown that

introverts show higher achievement than extraverts. This change in the

direction of the correlation has been attributed to the move from the

sociable, less competitive atmosphere of primary school to the rather

formal atmospheres of secondary school and higher education, in

which introverted behaviors such as avoidance of intensive socializing

become advantageous.

Extraverts and introverts also differ in parameters of

information-processing such as speech production, attention and

reflective problem-solving, with performance varying along meaningful

dimensions. For example, extraverts have been shown to be better at

oral contributions to seminars but poorer at essay-writing than

introverts.

Academic Performance

English

English language proficiency is the way to academic

performance. A student who is poor in English, for instance, may not

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have passes to the famous scientific and technological discoveries that

are usually written in English. This means that students need to be

proficient in English for a better understanding of the concepts in

Technology, Science, and Mathematics( Racca&Lasaten, 2016).

This is supported by the study of Guingab (2015). The

study revealed that English language usage and academic achievement

exhibited highly significant correlation. Likewise, correlation analysis of

the language usage and academic achievement in Science and

Mathematics indicated a highly significant correlation. Regression

analysis further confirms that the students’ English usage is a good

predictor of their overall academic achievement and of their

performance in both Mathematics and the Sciences. As their English

usage score increases, their GWA, grades in Mathematics and grades in

Science increase too. Therefore, curriculum planners and teachers of

English should plan intervention activities to improve English usage of

the students and create programs to hone the English proficiency of

freshmen students so that they would be better equipped as they go up

the higher years, thereby ensuring academic success.

Similarly, Racca and Lasaten (2016) found out that academic

subjects like Science, Mathematics and English often requires the use

of language functions. The language functions play a significant role in

critical and analytical thinking required in science and mathematics

subjects. The more language functions with which students are adept,
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the more effective their thinking can be. Thus, the more the students

are proficient with the English language, the more they are likely to

perform well in their academic subjects.

Speaking is considered as the most demanding of the

four macro skills. In classroom set up students tend to be shy when

asked to participate in class discussions. Vinoya (2014) said that

students tend to be quite in class because they are too worried that

they may commit mistakes in an English speaking zone class. Anxiety

lowers their self-esteem that hinders the learning of the new language.

In line with Vinoya, Aquino et.al (2016) identified

demotivating factors of students in learning the English language

among the Filipino students. Among them are confidence, fear of

committing mistakes, demotivated teachers, and lack resources.

Although demotivation cannot be eradicated completely, the roles of the

teachers are to lessen the pressure and anxiety that students feel

through their customized teaching strategies. They should engage

students to be more productive and turn their fear into challenges and

challenges into success by giving activities that they’ll surely enjoy as a

class.

Moreover, the study of Fontillas (2013) indicated that

students both male and female with average level of IQ and perform

good to passing marks in English can learn in either using the

traditional or interactive methodology but using interactive lessons can

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help them get rid of boredom hence the main function of music and

film is utilized and simultaneously the students learn from it. In the

practice of language, this study can be a motivating factor for those

who may want to venture in film or music making to create a film or

music that is not just entertaining but also educational in a way that

they can help mold the younger generations such as students or adults

who may want to learn more of language.

Writing gives one the knowledge to create and be creative

on many things. It is indeed true about how Dr. Jose P. Rizal used the

power of writing than using sharp killings metals to free our country

Philippines. Writing skill is the most complex of all communication

skills and takes a long time to be professional. Like other skills, it is

improved through practice and willingness. It is also the representation

of language through text form therefore must be given top priority since

it is the most difficult among the macro skills (Sharma 2011, as cited in

Dimacali, 2013).

However, Arsad, Buniyamin&Abmanan (2014) insisted

that Report Writing and Communication and Interpersonal skills have

little impact on the curriculum general point average of engineering

students. This outcome is expected, because engineering courses are

mostly based on calculation and problem based solving, and hence

Report Writing and Communication and Interpersonal skills have

relatively have effect on the final performance of the students. It can

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safely conclude that English Language courses had little effects on the

performance (final CGPA) but good English proficiency will help

students during job interview session.

Mathematics

Students often find difficulty in accomplishing their mathematics

activities but they have no other choice but to accept the fact that in

any other college course math is a mandatory subject that everyone

should learn. Statistics which is one of the difficult topics in

mathematics is often offered at the beginning of their degree program

and in most cases they become pre-requisite for other mathematics

subject. The skills that the students learn from statistics become their

requirement as well in their final thesis. Sad to say, most of the

students find it difficult to grasp mathematical concepts thus these

intricacies result to poor academic performance ( Chiesi & Primi,2010).

With these observations Chiesi and Primi (2010)

conducted a study on cognitive and non-cognitive factor related to

students’ statistics achievement. The study hypothesized that

background in mathematics which is a cognitive factor and students’

attitudes towards statistics and their anxiety which is a non-cognitive

factor was related to their achievement in statistics.

Science
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Al-Naggar, Osman, Ismail, Bobryshev, Ali & Gonzalez (2015) conducted

a study to determine the relationship between types of personality and

level of academic performance among health sciences students in

Malaysia. Result showed that the most dominant personality trait was

openness (32.8 ± 5.1) and the least dominant was neuroticism (23.9 ±

4.4). Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that there was correlation

between GPA and the following types of personality: openness

(p=0.001), conscientiousness (p<0.001), extraversion (p=0.018).

Multiple linear regression analysis showed that openness and

conscientiousness personalities were positively associated with

academic performance (p=0.047, p=0.036; respectively).

K to 12 Curriculum

Countries all over the world committed to gain the six Education

for All (EFA) goals thru the use of the strategies in the DAKAR

Framework of Action. In line with this commitment, Philippines’

Development Plan (PDP) for 2014-2016 aimed to reduce the poverty

which consisted of health and nutrition, education and living

standards.

The Department of Education in support of the PDP 2014-2016

had formulated strategies which would help them achieve its mission.

The first strategy was to provide every Filipino to total quality basic

education. The second was to train every graduate for vocational,

technical or higher and lifelong learning, employment and

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entrepreneurship; and the third strategy was to deliver basic education

services to learners in an effective, efficient and collaborative way with

the help of the stakeholders’ participation.(Education for All 2015

National Review Report: Philippines)

As mandated in the Education act of 1982(BP Blg. 232) “ The

state shall provide the right of every individual to relevant quality

education regardless of sex, age, creed, socio-economic status, physical

and mental condition, racial or ethnic origin, political and other

affiliation”. This is the reason why public elementary and secondary

schools are free of charge. Government officials wanted the Filipinos to

be abreast of education for they believe that it would help them acquire

better job opportunities abroad once they graduated.

It was further supported by the Republic Act No. 10533 also

known as Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. The ten year Basic

Education Curriculum of the Philippine educational system was

changed to twelve-year Basic Education which is commonly called as K

to 12 curriculum. The modification in the curriculum is an action to

resolve the gap in the degree of programs in other neighboring

countries. It aimed to make Filipino graduates to become globally

competitive.

Under the new curriculum, kindergarten education will be

mandatory as a pre requisite for grade 1. This shall mean one (1) year

of preparatory education for children at least five (5) years of age.

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Elementary education, on the other hand, refers to the second stage of

compulsory basic education which is composed of six (6) years. The

entrant age to this level is typically six (6) years old. Meanwhile,

Secondary education refers to the third stage of compulsory basic

education. It consists of four (4) years of junior high school education

and two (2) years of senior high school education. The senior high

school curriculum is divided into two tracks—academic and technical-

vocational livelihood education. The academic track has four academic

strands which are Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM),

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ,

Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS),and General Academic

Subject (GAS). Meanwhile, Technical, Vocational and Livelihood track

has three strands which are Shielded, Metal, Arc, Welding (SMAW),

Home Economics (HE) and Automotive (AUTO).

To sum these up, it could be drawn that learning could

only exist if there is a two way process of exchanging ideas. This means

that the teacher should offer his/her best knowledge and effort in order

to cater the needs of the students. Students in like manner should also

show eagerness to acquire the knowledge and skills being imparted to

them. It will only happen if issues and problems that hinder the

learning process in addressed. Knowing the personality traits as non-

cognitive factor affecting the academic performance of the students can

help the teacher become more innovative in designing educational

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activities and programs that will help increase the academic

performance of the students not just in STEM subjects but as well as

other related courses.