Research Report No.17 Educational Wastage in Elementary Grades BY Wanpen Pisalpongse Penkhae Prachonpachanuk (1974) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade repetition or retaredation is a serious problem of educational wastage. It was estimated by the Ministry of Education in 1966 that there would be repeaters in the elementary schools each year in Thailand around 15 to 16 percent out of the total numbers of children registered. Repetition is highest in the first grade with decreasing numbers through the succeeding years. The study to the real causes of these failures will be of great help to decrease wastage as such. Educational wastage in this study involves school failures or repeaters which are divided into 3 categories : 1) those who fail in the examination, 2) those who are barred from sitting in the examination due to having less than 80 percent of school attendance and 3) those who are absent from the examination by any other reason. Purpose of the study The purposes of this study are to find out factors related to the failures of children in the elementary grade especially those caused by children's home environment, school environment, community and the children themselves, and also to make intensive studied of those are repeaters and nonrepeaters. Children in both groups are in respect to their family backgrounds, ability and interest,relationship with the parents, teachers and peers, and their family socio- economic background. Method of study Fifteen elementary schools in Bangkok and Dhonburi (now called the Bangkok Metropolis) were selected as samples. Out of these one school chosen for intensive studies. Questionnaires concerning school environment, teachers' attitudes toward their careers and causes of children's failures in school were given to the principal and first-grade teachers of each school. Interview schedules and observations were used for the first- graders to get information about their attitudes toward school,teachers and parents. Questionnaires were also employed to the first- graders' parents to find their attitudes toward school, education in general, and family relationship to their children. Altogether ten questionnaires and interview schedules were used in this study. Data concerning back-ground of children e.g. sex, age, number of years in school, school attendance and achievements, parents' income and occupation were collected. Besides, school environment such as sites, buildings, numbers of children in each grade, system of promoting children grade to grade were also studied. In addition, data concerning teachers' personal problems in various aspects such as health, income attitude toward teaching and higher authorities, transferring to other school, etc., were also gathered, as it was felt that teachers might be one of the major factors causing the success and failure of school children. On particular school from the samples, located in the suburb of Bangkok was chosen for intensive studies. First-graders in this school were divided according to their acievement records into success group and failure group, each of nearly equal numbers. Case studies of five in each group were made on home environment, socio- economic background, number of children in his or her family, attitudes of parents toward teachers and schools and their children's education and aspiration. Observations were made on children's appearance, manners, clothings, attitudes toward the school and their teachers, in order to see whether there are any differences in these characteristics between the children in the two groups. Findings 1. School attendance was the most important factor. Repeaters went to school irregularly due to many reasons. Frequent absence kept the children far behind their friends in school subjects and brought them feeling of frustration and boredom. The more absence occurred, the more failure resulted. 2. Problems about parents and home environment were obvious. There was an evidence that most repeaters had to do more chores at home than those promoted. The former also lack attention and supervision from parents and many had to be on their own self- reliance. It was also found that 50 percent of repeaters were in the low income families. Being inferior to their friends in these aspects, they felt ashamed to go to school and lacked real intention to study 3. Physical defects, poor mental health and low intelligence were other reasons of failure. It was reported by some teachers that some repeaters had defects in hearing and seeing. It was also found that their mental health were in poor condition, showing signs of inferiority, depression and isolation. Some showed aggression and anti-social behavior thus caused rejection by their peers in return. Low intelligence and school unreadiness were other important factors. 4. Teacher shortage or misplacing of teachers in the classroom, lack of text books and educational materials, overcrowded classroom, teachingload of teachers, poor school services to children, were reasons why children were not attracted to attend schools. Teaching and learning at school were then unfruitful. Findings from case studies of two groups of children have shown some similarities and some differences as follows : 1. Economic status and home atmosphere. Parents of successful group had more regular and higher income than those of the failure group. The family of the successful group had fewer numbers of children than those of the failure ones. Childrearing practices and history of illness of children were similar in both groups. Home atmosphere in both groups were similar with respect to having no parental concern about schooling but getting some extra knowledge from radio, television and comic books, Besides, both groups had to be resopnsible for various home chores. 2. school attendance. The successful ones had regular attendance and minor illness, while the failure group were different in these aspects and the absence from school were of much longer time. These disadvantages made it impossible for the latter to keep pace with their school learning and caused them the negative attitudes toward school attendance thus finally resulted in the failing of the examination by the end of the year. 3. The attitudes of children toward their teachers and friends. Many complained that teachers were very serious and both groups were similarly punished. Information from the teachers showed that the successful group could get along with their friends very well, while the failure group often showed aggression or performing other anti-social behaviors such as unfriendliness and/or shut-in. 4. Classroom teachers' opinions about the children. Based on the interviews made with the class-teachers, the following informations were obtained : No contact or very few contacts with the parents of children in both groups were found. Children did not earn any money outside the family. Repeaters were always weak in nearly every subject. Teachers usually show affection for children in both groups with more inclination of pity to the failure group. Both groups behaved well except one in the failure group who stole. The success group was energetic and in good health, while the failure group was not so energetic and had some physical defects such as poor eyesight and poor hearing. 5. Children's expectation for the future. Being asked about their expectation for the future, children seem unable to respond to the question. Most children reported that they only wanted to know how read and write. Only two of the whole group gave reponses to the question, on wanted to enter Teachers Training College in order become a teacher and the other wanted to be a soldier. Conclusion Some major findings from the study may be concluded as follows : 1. Factors arising from the children themselves From the teachers' point of view, the failures of children were cause by many factors of which the important ones were low intelligence, lack of learning materials, poor hearing and eyesight, lack of learning readiness, feeling of inferiority, too many absences from school, laziness, school trauncy, and poor mental health. These teachers' viewpoints agreed with those of the parents. This can be concluded that the above mentioned factors caused school children unable to use their full capacity so that they became tired and uninterested in learning which finally resulted in school failure. 2. Factors arising from the family Family is one of the most important factors for success and failure of the children. It is found that the parents of the successful group had very favorable attitude toward education and tried their best to encourage their children to learn whereas the parents of the failure group did not attempt to do so. It is also found that the children of the failure group had a shorter and more irregular income than those of the successful group thus resuting in under-nutrition, lack of clothings and learning materials on the part of the children. The failure ones also have dicordant parents. They lack their parents' attention, love, care, and feeling of security. 3. Factors arising from schools and school teachers Success of failure of school children owes a great deal to the teachers. The teachers' too heavy load of teaching, lack of teaching materials, overcrowed class-room, uncooperation from parents, and teachers' lack of interest in teaching are all found to affect children's school achievement and their attitude toward school. Shortage of buildings, poor light and ventilation are also found in most schools in the sample. Under such circumstances, teaching ard learning cannot go on effectively and thus indirectly causing school failure of the children. 4. Factors arising from the community As far as factors on the part of the community influences are concerned, it was reported by the principals that there were no such places nearby school as theaters, nightclubs, etc. However, this fact cannot infer that the community influences do not exist. Since the schools by a way serve more or less as a community center, the absence of such important places seem to put more role on the school in serving the community. Nevertheless, it was found in this study that the majority of the schools in the sample did not assume the role in serving the community as much as they should. This might lead to affect the teachers, parents as well as children to be less initiative in educational matters as well as social natters. This fact, in turn, indirecty may cause children's success of failure in school. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWUHOMEPAGEBack to Behavioral Science Research Institute