Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION WITH REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Background of the Study Academic performance plays a vital role in the development of competent graduates that are well equipped with character

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION WITH REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Background of the Study Academic performance plays a vital role in the development of competent graduates that are well equipped with character

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION WITH REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Background of the Study
Academic performance plays a vital role in the development of competent graduates that are well equipped with character, knowledge, and skills. Steinmayr, Meiner, Weiding, and Wirthwein (2014) defines academic performance as the extent to which a student, instructors, and the institution have achieved their short or long-term educational goals aligned with their mission.
Arcand and Leblanc (2011) implied that, students who do not make sufficient progress are putted on academic probation. Academic probation is the status of students who does not meet the stated standard of an institution and are at risk for being dismissed. Academic probation is a policy to remind students of the gravity of their academic situation so that steps can be taken to help them improve their performance (Hoover, 2014). Since the shipping companies want the best students they can have, the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) ensures that all midshipmen would be able to achieve satisfactory academic progress that would comply with the required competence set by the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) and shipping companies and to provide competent students and graduates for the necessary pursuit of the maritime career that will contribute to maritime industry.

Sulphey, Al-Kahtani, and Syed (2018) stated that the admission qualifications such as the reflection of the previous academic performance has a significant impact on the tertiary performance of the students. The Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific have set admission qualifications to meet the standard of shipping companies and to ensure that the students will perform well academically and eliminate the need for academic probation. In MAAP, Midshipmen are expected to perform well in academics since the process of recruitment of MAAP requires applicants to have at least 83% General Percentage Average (GPA) during their high school education. Also, some sponsoring companies have their own standards for admission needed to be passed by the aspirants that are additional to the requirements set by the academy. Some of these sponsoring companies are International Maritime Employer’s Council (IMEC), Maersk and International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ) that are conducting separate and additional screening processes to guarantee that the midshipmen that they would be getting have passed their qualifications. Passing the admission process justifies that midshipmen have met the minimum requirements, both physically and academically in accordance to the standards set by the academy and sponsoring companies.

MAAP continues to provide support to all midshipmen in their endeavors ensuring that they would excel academically and would be able to finish their studies and become successful world-class seafarers that would serve their sponsoring companies in the future. Having met the minimum standard set by MAAP will guarantee the graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills that would serve as an advantage against other maritime schools. Having good academic performance of midshipmen is a big factor that would encourage shipping companies to get cadets from MAAP hence supporting the growth of the academy as well.

Despite of these, the academic records of Class 2021 shows that midshipmen have high Grade Point Average (GPA) but have low grades in subjects under and related to Math and Science courses. The profile of the midshipmen, the student, school, family and teacher related factors contribute for the academic performance of midshipmen based on the result of the initial survey conducted by the researchers.

Due to the statements above, poor academic performance or academic deficiency is a serious problem that MAAP is facing right now especially when the K-12 system is introduced. MAAP has adapted to the change of curriculum of high school education that causes depletion in the numbers of applicants in the year 2017. For this reason, the members of class 2021 are no longer fresh graduates from high school; some are college students, some did stop after high school while some are already employees. And based in the academic records of class 2021 in the academic year of 2017-2018, it is very alarming that there are many midshipmen who are academically deficient in courses that are related to Mathematics and Science. With these, the researchers would like to address the problems related to academics and to know the factors that are affecting the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen.

left347345INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
Profile of Midshipmen in terms of:
Age
Educational attainment
Type of School Attended
00INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
Profile of Midshipmen in terms of:
Age
Educational attainment
Type of School Attended
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
325755015875DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Academic Performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 in Mathematics and Science related courses
00DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Academic Performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 in Mathematics and Science related courses

239458518796000
23580725365800
17335506350Factors affecting the academic performance in terms of:
Student-related factors
School-related factors
Family-related factors
Teacher-related factors
00Factors affecting the academic performance in terms of:
Student-related factors
School-related factors
Family-related factors
Teacher-related factors

Figure 1. Research Paradigm
This study aims to identify the factors affecting the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 in Mathematics and Science related courses. Figure 1 presents the model which will guide the researchers in the conduct of this study.

Frame 1 shows the independent variables of the study which refers to the profile of the respondents such as age, educational attainment and type of the previous school attended.
Frame 2 presents the dependent variable which is the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 in Mathematics and Science related courses.

Frame 3 presents the moderating variable which is the factors that affects the academic performance of MAAP midshipmen such as student-related, school-related, family related and teacher-related factors. This is the variable that affects the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variable.

Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 limited to Mathematics and Science related courses.

This study seeks to answer the following specific questions:
What is the profile of the participants in terms of;
Age
Educational attainment
Type of School
What is the level of the academic performance of Class 2021 in Mathematics and Science related courses?
What are the factors that affect the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen in Mathematics and Science related courses in terms of the following perceived factors;
Student-Related Factors
School-Related Factors
Family-Related Factors
Teacher-Related Factors
Is there a significant relationship between the identified factors that affect the academic performance of midshipmen and their profile?
Is there a significant relationship among the level of academic performance of MAAP midshipmen’s under the program of Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering?
Hypotheses of the Study
H01: There is no significant relationship between the identified factors that affect the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021 and their profile.

H02: There is no significant relationship among the level of academic performance of MAAP midshipmen’s under the program of Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering.

Significance of the Study
The results of this study will be beneficial to the following:
Sponsors – for them to set their qualifications in accepting cadets they would sponsor to more likely perform good academic performance.

Institution – for them to be knowledgeable about the factors affecting the academic performance of fourth-class midshipmen and to help them in setting the standards of admission and to design and implement policies to improve students’ performance and quality of education by changing some approach.

Instructors- to help them improve students-instructors relationship and strategy of teaching
Midshipmen- to create awareness among students about the factors that would affect their academic performance and to help them change their attitude towards learning.

Scope and Limitation
The researchers are limiting this study inside the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific. The sample will be the members of Class 2021 coming from the Main Campus. The study will only be limited to determining the factors affecting academic performance in Mathematics and Science related courses.
Literature Review
Bush (2012) stated that the admission qualifications such as the reflection of the previous academic performance have a significant impact on the tertiary performance of the students. In MAAP, the recruitment process requires applicants to have at least 83% General Percentage Average (GPA) during their high school education to ensure that students will perform well academically inside the Academy. Despite of that standard, many still fails in some courses specifically in Mathematics and Science related courses. In this study, the researchers will relate the academic performance of the midshipmen in their secondary education with their performance inside the Academy.

A study suggests that efforts to recruit more disadvantaged students to college by seeking those at disadvantaged high schools may be hindered if there are not simultaneous efforts to improve the high schools or to offer those students help once in college. The study found that the quality of high school is a key predictor of grades in college (Jaschik, 2014). Ahmed, Chowdhury, Rahman and Talukder (2014) concluded in their study that students’ educational backgrounds and experiences significantly affect students’ academic performance. Also in their research, it is stated that involvement with extra-curricular activities, wrong course selection and lack of seriousness in studies have significant factors in the academic performance of the students in the two universities of Bangladesh. In MAAP an Academic RAMP Program is established that serves as a refresher in courses such as Math, Physics and English in order to bridge the gap academically between students before the start of the semester.

Mansson (2016) presented in his research that the classes wherein college students most frequently express academic performance concerns to their instructors are in Math classes, followed by English classes, Psychology classes, Sociology classes, and statistics classes. Based on the academic records of class 2021 during their first and second semesters of the Academic year 2017-2018, the Midshipmen have low academic performance in courses related to Mathematics and Sciences.

Research (Babcock, 2010) has shown that a tougher grading standard leads above average students to improve study habits to meet the higher standard while below average students considers the higher standard unattainable and give up, affecting their net grades negatively. It is important for faculty to understand the conditions under which they can motivate all students to change their study behavior early in the course given in their performance on early assignments and tests.
In the research study conducted by Kusurkar, Ten Cate, Vos, Westers, and Croiset (2011) states that studying motivation is very important in medical education since it is subjected to high intensity of study compared to general education. The fact that there is a need to carry out clinical work along with study and to follow a highly specifically defined path in order to be qualified and have competence in becoming a doctor. This also relates here in the academy where midshipmen are subjected to semi-regimental training and being away from their loved ones. Due to this condition, studying motivation between each midshipman differs from each other and this affects their academic performance.
A study showed that one’s environment and culture impacts on the way an individual will learn, which correlates with old philosophies that infants are similar and that their surroundings influence their development (Vanderstel, 2014). The environment and culture in MAAP affects the academic performance of the midshipmen. For example, the academy is observing class system wherein the upperclassmen can give pressure to the underclassmen which gives additional factor for the cognitive behavior of the midshipmen towards studying. Moreover, some traditions though not specifically allowed such as giving compliance to the underclassmen also contributes in making the study habits of the midshipmen become disarray.

Karuppaya (2008) stated that the positive teacher-student relationship is the basic foundation that is needed to be established in schools in Malaysia which are very scarce and is obviously lacking among today and affects the learning of students. A good relationship between an instructor and a midshipman is very vital part of learning here in the Academy since the instructors act as the midshipmen’s parents and their guide to achieve good grades and conduct.

Raychauduri, Debnath, Sen, & Majumder (2010) examined that various studies have been concluded to recognize those variables which are in?uencing academic performance of the students. The academic performance of the students also rely on a various socioeconomic variables like students’ participation in the class, family pay, and teacher-student ratio, presence of quali?ed teachers in school and gender of the student.  
Mushtaq and Khan (2012) in their research stated that there are different factors that affect students’ academic performance and is divided into two types. These are internal and external classroom factors that strongly affects students’ performance. Internal classroom factors include students’ competence in the subject, class schedules, class size, study supplements, learning facilities, the environment of the class, the complexity of the course syllabus, teacher’s role in the class, the technology used in the class and grading systems. External classroom factors include extracurricular activities, family problems, work and financial, social and other problems.
In this study, the gap that has been noticed with regards to the previous literature is that those studies were conducted in universities and other programs which has different settings than in MAAP.

Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study is a quantitative and descriptive research that investigates the possible factors that affect the academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen Class 2021. The researchers will collaborate with the Academics Department concerning the academic records of the midshipmen and will conduct surveys of those midshipmen involved. This research uses descriptive statistics that describes the sample through representations and analysis. The sample is the Midshipmen being investigated to represent a population or the entire class of 2021.

Howell (2010) defined in his book that descriptive statistics provide the opportunity to describe the acquired data in the superficial level of understanding while inferential studies provide analysis that assists in predicting results across an entire population based upon data gathered from a certain sample.

Dulock (1993) stated that descriptive research describes facts and characteristics of a given population systematically and accurately, to determine the frequency of something occurred and to explain the relationships between or among selected variables.

Participants/Population of the Study
This study involves the MAAP Midshipmen members of Class 2021 regardless of their academic performance. The population size of Class 2021 is 180, with the acceptable margin of error at 5% and confidence level of 99% the recommended sample size for the is a total of 142 Midshipmen with the use of Raosoft Sample Size Calculator. The respondents are the midshipmen that residing in the Main Campus of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific.

Locale of the Study
The conduct of the study will be on the premises of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific covering the period of First and Second Semesters of the Academic Year 2017-2018 from November 2017 to December 2018.

Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers will be determining the factors affecting the academic performance of MAAP class 2021 by first, distributing the survey forms that we have formulated to the 142 Midshipmen of MAAP class 2021. Then these forms will accomplished by the said population. Afterwards, it will then be collected by the researchers for consolidation and tallying with the use of Microsoft Excel.
Also, the researchers have gathered the academic records of MAAP Class 2021in the registrar’s office of MAAP consisting of 180 midshipmen. This data will be used separately for determining the level of academic performance of MAAP Midshipmen in math and science related courses.
The researchers then will hand over the tallied result to the Academic Research Unit of MAAP for the interpretation of data and for the results of the study.

Data Analysis or Treatment of Data
The researchers will sort out the data acquired and will use the Microsoft Excel program to arrange the data and information acquired to evaluate, analyze, and determine the frequency and percentage of the data gathered through excel formulas and computations. The frequency count and the percentage will be used to determine the profile of the respondents. Weighted mean will be utilized to determine the extent of the factors in the academic performance of MAAP midshipmen. The results of the acquired data will be further compared to midshipmen academic performance to identify the possible significant relationships.

The statistical tool that the researchers will be using are factor analysis, Chi-Square test of independence, and levene’s test. First, the factor analysis will be used to measure the impact of a few un-observed variables called factors on a large number of observed variables (www.researchoptimus.com). Second, the chi-square test of independence will be used to determine the significant relationship of the identified factors that affect the academic performance and the profile of the midshipmen. This will determine whether to reject or not the first null hypothesis (Sullivan, 2013). Third, the levene’s test will be used to determine the significant relationship among the academic performance of BMarE and BMT midshipmen. Levene’s test is used to check that variances are equal for all samples when the data comes from a non-normal distribution (Stephanie, 2014).