Education is an important part of human life as well as human resource development.
The dictionary meaning of the word “Education” is ‘the process of facilitating learning and acquiring knowledge, skills, development, morals, and beliefs”.
It is an all-encompassing term that includes the development of various kinds of skill-set, be it academic, professional, physical, or creative.
Although “being educated” carries the deep meaning of acquiring these skill sets, according to individual will and talent, it is often mistaken to be purely academic.
Understanding this, Abu Dhabi schools ensure that a balanced education curriculum is provided to the students.
The school focuses on an all-rounded higher secondary school education, complete with hobbies, leisure activities, and academics.
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Importance Of Academics
That said, academic education plays a very important role in a child’s mental and moral development.
It is meant to catapult the child towards intellect, mental maturity, and high order thinking.
Academic education also helps children develop deeper interests in various subjects that play a part in deciding the professional trajectory of an individual.
Every student is taught the significance of a good academic record, to become a stable, successful individual and to help pick out a fruitful career.
It is important for a student to perform well in academics, especially during higher secondary school, to secure university scholarships, have a choice of subjects to study in college, and to ensure the stability of career and enjoy economic freedom during adulthood.
However, every student faces a phase in their student lives, when their academic performance is deeply affected due to outside factors that may be disturbing for them.
We are here to help you determine the 10 most common factors affecting academic performance among higher secondary school students.
Read ahead to find out.
What Are The Factors Affecting A Higher Secondary School Student’s Academic Performance?
Before discussing the various factors affecting the academic performance of students, it is necessary to understand that these situations have to be handled carefully and with sensitivity.
Albeit the unpopular belief of some families, a student’s academic record can fall due to many factors.
During these times, it is important for parents and teachers to be understanding, and help them overcome their problems, and return to their ultimate goals.
Abu Dhabi schools provide an in-house counselor to equip students of higher secondary schools and help their parents deal with such problems.
1. An Uncomfortable Learning Environment
The type of surroundings and people a child interacts with during the higher secondary school phase is partially responsible for the overall performance, including the academic score.
If a child is bullied by his peers, does not have a particular liking towards his teachers, or has difficulty in making friends, it may affect the focus he must have during classes.
Additionally, if the student is not enthusiastic about going to school, it might cause a shortage of attendance, which makes the child miss important lectures of topics that he will probably have difficulty in preparing for, on his own.
Interacting in class, talking to fellow students, and taking small steps towards getting involved in the school activities can help the student take a liking for his surroundings, and eventually perform better.
Abu Dhabi schools take strict action against bullying, so the student can always go to the authorities of the higher secondary school for the same.
2. Family Background
Internal family conflicts often affect the academic performance of a student in higher secondary school.
Oftentimes, returning home to a negative atmosphere affects the will to study, and work towards academics.
Students coming from troubled households mostly have issues concentrating in classroom discussions and lessons and are unable to catch up while studying at home.
As parents, we request you to maintain a healthy and happy household, and not involve your children in dark matters, especially during important examinations.
For such situations where students are unable to perform academically, due to family matters, Abu Dhabi schools offer parental counseling sessions for families to help their children prepare for exams.
3. Learning Infrastructure
The Coronavirus pandemic affected the set teaching and learning pattern of most schools.
Most students were not equipped to study online, due to the lack of resources, and appropriate infrastructure.
While some students faced issues in concentrating and participating in online classes due to lack of subdued learning environment, unnecessary disturbances, and noise, a few higher secondary school students did not possess mobiles or laptops to facilitate their online education.
Besides, schools with a shortage of teaching equipment, seating area, cramped classrooms, and outdated technology also affect the child’s will to learn and basic understanding of the subjects, and thus the academic performance.
Most Abu Dhabi schools are fully equipped with the best of teaching aid, and technology to provide a quality learning experience to their students.
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4. Difficulty In Understanding
Many concepts and topics of the Higher secondary school curriculum can be difficult to understand and prepare for without expert supervision.
Missing classes when such topics are taught may be unfortunate for the child, thus affecting the overall academic score.
Abu Dhabi schools often provide subject-wise doubt classes and extra lessons to students who have difficulty understanding the syllabus.
5. Teacher-Student Ratio
A teacher’s undivided attention, appreciation, and understanding play a huge role in developing the student’s interest in the subject.
If teachers are burdened with immense side responsibilities, and an abnormal number of students to teach, it may affect the teaching style and the quality of education imparted to the students.
Student-teacher ratio refers to the number of students in a classroom, per teacher.
It is an important concept adhered to by many primary schools as well as higher secondary schools in Abu Dhabi.
An imbalance in the ratio has proven to affect the academic performance of the students.
Abu Dhabi schools give a lot of thought to assigning roles to teachers and work towards maintaining a healthy student-teacher ratio, to ensure quality education to their young learners.
6. Information Overload
The saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is true. Students tend to overwork and study with no breaks.
Significantly during exam season when they are worried about their academic performance.
Albeit the infamous belief that taking breaks disrupts the learning process, and decreases the students’ performance, a vacation or a weekly break of 1-2 days is needed by every student to refresh and gain a better understanding of what was taught in the last 5 days.
Information overload tires out the mind and reduces its ability to think, thus reducing the academic performance of the child.
Indulging in a hobby, or leisure activity such as Art, Dance, Sports for one hour a day helps students de-stress and learn better.
Abu Dhabi schools provide a lot of hobby classes for their students, that are strategically placed in between their classes, to ensure a study-life balance, and prevent burn-out.
7. Performance Pressure
Abu Dhabi schools understand the effect of pressure on a child.
Performance pressure can be caused due to unrealistic expectations from family, set assigned goals, or other outside factors.
Whatever is the cause, performance pressure has always proven to be harmful to the mental health of the child and thus causing a serious reduction in academic performance.
Fear and stress are never good for the grades, and thus teachers and parents need to oversee that the students are not stressed about their performance.
Foreseeing this, Abu Dhabi higher secondary schools provide full-time counseling to students so that they can unburden and seek professional help whenever required.
8. Unhealthy Lifestyle
An unhealthy lifestyle can play havoc with the most well-planned plans, so how can it not affect a student in higher secondary school?
Students believe that studying till late at night, sleeping less, reducing their appetite can bring them good academic results.
This is not at all true. In fact, surviving on caffeine, or getting inadequate hours of sleep affects the ability to learn, retain and think.
A healthy lifestyle is crucial to performing well in academics or any other field.
Maintaining a balanced diet, along with adequate hours of sleep, study breaks is very important to sustain or improve an academic record.
9. Distracted Mind
Distractions are taken for granted during higher secondary school years.
Students are easily distracted by new gadgets, new habits, excess of television, past problems, friendships, etc which affects their academic performance drastically.
Meditation, leisure reading, counseling sessions, and hobby classes are recommended to the students of Abu Dhabi schools, to avoid unnecessary distractions and work better towards their goals.
Also Read: 10 Effective Strategies to Motivate Your Kid to Study
10. Loss Of Interest
Not all subjects can be a student’s favorite. It is not reasonable to expect every child to like all topics, and perform exceptionally well in every subject, all the time.
There are instances when children lose interest in a few topics in the curriculum and do not have the will to study and prepare them for exams.
It is understandable but detrimental to the academic score of the student.
During these situations, it is highly recommended by Abu Dhabi schools for students to share such problems with their teachers so that they can help them in overcoming such obstacles.
Conclusion
There are instances when a child falls into a cycle of facing these challenges alone, and as a result, performing poorly in school.
It not only affects their academic reports but also their confidence.
We understand that students of higher secondary schools are expected to be treated as adults. But even adults need help sometimes.
So if your child is facing a problem in performing in his academics, we suggest you help and guide them, and try to understand their side of the story.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do teacher-student relationships affect the academic performance of higher secondary school students?
Positive teacher-student relationships can enhance the academic performance of higher secondary students. Supportive, encouraging teachers foster motivation, engagement, and a positive learning environment, leading to improved academic outcomes.
2. What are the factors affecting the academic performance of the grade 11 students?
Factors affecting the academic performance of grade 11 students include study habits, motivation, teacher quality, family support, peer influence, and school environment. Academic performance is influenced by various factors.
3. Can mental health issues impact the academic performance of higher secondary school students?
Yes, mental health issues can significantly affect the academic performance of higher secondary school students. Stress, anxiety, and depression can lead to poor concentration, motivation, and overall performance in school.
