Student underachievement: causes, types of underachievers
Mironova Olga Evgenevna
3rd year student, Belgorod State National Research University, R.F., Belgorod
Alexander V. Markov
Scientific supervisor,
senior lecturer, Belgorod State National Research University, R.F., Belgorod
Annotation.The article analyzes the approaches of outstanding psychologists and teachers, highlights common signs and manifestations of learning difficulties, identifies the types of underachieving schoolchildren. A theoretical study of the problem of identifying the causes of students' academic failure, diagnostics of the level of motivation of younger schoolchildren to study has been carried out.
Keywords: student, underachievement, academic underachievement, causes of underachievement, types of underachievers, junior schoolchildren, underachievement of schoolchildren, learning difficulties, motivation of schoolchildren, motivation of learning, problems of underachievement.
Each teacher in practice could meet students who have difficulties in mastering the educational material associated with the personal predispositions of the student. Systematic work and active cooperation of participants in educational activities is important to resolve the problem that has arisen. But first it is necessary to get acquainted with the essence and content of the concept of student failure. In the works of teachers-psychologists, the problems of studying the failure of schoolchildren are described from different points of view. Let us turn to a detailed consideration of each of them: Failure, according to P.P. Blonsky, is considered as a situation in which the behavior and learning outcomes are inconsistent with the educational and didactic requirements of the school [2]. Academic failure is understood as a level of training that does not meet certain educational requirements for the successful assimilation of knowledge, skills and abilities. There is also an insufficient, low level of mastery of educational material.
Let's consider the existing approaches to classifying the types of student failure. Budarny A.A. calls academic failure a relative concept, because its content is reduced to one or another framework that is set by the school curriculum for transferring students to the next grade. It defines academic failure in two types: absolute and relative [4]. Gelmont M.A. and Murachkovsky N.I. classified the types of academic failure: general and deep lag; partial, which is relatively stable in one or three of the most difficult subjects; episodic. This is a fixed failure rate, it is determined by unsatisfactory grades of schoolchildren at the end of the quarter and is characterized by unsuccessful assimilation of the material of the compulsory educational program of the institution during a certain period of time [6, 9].
Начало формы
Конец формы
Investigating the problem of underachievement, V.S. Tsetlin emphasized that in addition to the existence of a fixed underachievement, which is based on poorly mastered material, any gaps in knowledge, there is also a hidden one, characterized by the student's attitude to learning [10]. According to research, Budarny A.A., Babansky Yu.K. classify the types of failing children for the dominant reason. Murachkovsky N.I. defines the psychological typology of academic failure, paying attention to the mental activity of the individual associated with learning and the orientation that determines the attitude to educational activity. In pedagogy, the problem of school failure was considered in different ways. In the studies of M.A. Gelmont, the reason for the failure was the errors of the learning process, attention was focused on the level of professionalism of the teacher. Matyukhina M.V. considered the reason for the violation of the main components of the psychological structure of educational activity –target, motivational, operational, noted the influence of individual and age characteristics of students on their success in educational activities [8]. Psychophysiological causes of academic failure: true backwardness, analyzer defects, impaired mental performance of students. Pedagogical neglect, which is caused by a combination of factors that follow minimal brain dysfunction, expressed in varying degrees of biological insufficiency of the central nervous system. Also, the manifestation of factors is the inability of students to prolonged mental stress, weak switching from one task to another, difficulties in memorization and the pace of assimilation of the program material.
In the pedagogical reasons for students' academic failure, pedagogical psychologists identify the main reason for the imperfection of teaching methods. At the first stages of learning at a young age, a positive attitude to learning activities and emotional experiences due to the grades received, the desire to perform socially significant activities are determined by factors such as curiosity, direct interest in the environment. Facing difficulties in learning activities, poor grades are often quite difficult, even to the point of tears experienced by children. The student's attitude to grades is determined by the nature of self-esteem and motivation, the relationship of the child with parents, teachers and classmates.
In the psychological and pedagogical literature, the influence of the family and the costs of its upbringing have been studied quite widely. The reasons are mainly highlighted such as: discord in the family, rude relationships, alcoholism or antisocial behavior of parents, indifference of parents to children, inept help to them and mistakes in upbringing. Experimental work was organized to diagnose the underachievement of younger schoolchildren. The purpose of the diagnosis is to identify the main aspects of the failure of primary school students and ways to overcome them. We examined 15 children of primary school age.
The results of the methodology for studying the motivation of learning in younger schoolchildren of M.R. Ginzburg: 6.67% of the subjects have a very high level of motivation, which indicates the predominance of educational motives in younger schoolchildren, the presence of social motives is possible. The high level is 13.33%, in which social motives predominate, the presence of educational and positional motives is possible. 53.33% is characterized by a normal (average) level of motivation with a predominance of positional motives, social and evaluative motives are also present. The same average indicator was made up of students with reduced and low levels of motivation, who have evaluative, gaming or external motives. The results of the questionnaire for assessing the level of school motivation of N.G. Luskanova: a very high level of school motivation, educational activity is 6.67% of the class, characterized by the presence of high cognitive motives, the desire to most successfully fulfill all the requirements of the school.
20% of students who successfully cope with educational activities have a high level and good school motivation. 46.67% is the average level. Such children feel quite well at school, but more often go to school to communicate with friends and a teacher. Their cognitive motives are formed to a lesser extent, and the learning process attracts them less than a beautiful briefcase, pens. The low level of school motivation is 13.33% of the class. Schoolchildren are reluctant to attend school, engage in extraneous matters in the classroom, and experience serious difficulties in learning activities. A negative attitude towards school is observed in 13.33% of the subjects – a very low level. Children are experiencing serious difficulties at school, it is like a hostile environment for them.
In the course of the study, through the analysis of the approaches of psychologists and teachers, common signs and manifestations of learning difficulties were identified, which made it possible to identify the types of underachieving schoolchildren. The dominant causes of the phenomenon of academic failure were identified and described in detail: psychophysiological, pedagogical and family reasons for learning difficulties. In order to eliminate violations of mental performance and cognitive processes, difficulties in relationships with parents and teachers that have arisen, and to reduce motivation for learning, it is necessary to make optimal use of available means of pedagogical influence.
The empirical study was devoted to the study of the problem of the causes and ways to overcome the failure of students in theoretical and practical aspects. For successful work on correcting or overcoming the problems and difficulties encountered by students in mastering the educational program, it is necessary to understand the essence of failure, the possible root causes of its occurrence.
List of literature:
1. Babansky Yu.K. Issues of preventing academic failure. - Rostov-on-Don, 2000
2. Blonsky P.P. School failure // Selected pedagogical works - M., 2000. 695 p.
3. Borisov P.P. Psychophysiological causes of underachievement and repeatability, ways to overcome them. - Yakutsk: Publishing house, 2000. 95 p.
4. Budarny A.A. Overcoming academic failure - M.: Public education, 2003. 37 p.
5. Age and pedagogical psychology: Textbook for students of pedagogical institutes / edited by A.V. Petrovsky. - M., 2000
6. Helmont A.M. On the causes of academic failure and ways to overcome it. - M.: Enlightenment, 2004. 326 p.
7. Mayorova N.P. Underachievement: How to identify and eliminate its causes: A manual for the school. psychologist - St. Petersburg: Znanie, 2001. 125 p.
8. Matyukhina M.V. Motivation of the teaching of younger schoolchildren. - M.: Pedagogy, 2004. 144 p.
9. Murachkovsky N.I. Types of underachieving schoolchildren / Psychological problems of underachievement of schoolchildren / edited by N.A. Menchinskaya. - M.: Pedagogy, 2001. 272 p.
10. Tsetlin V.S. School failure and its prevention. - M.: Pedagogy, 2005. 120 p.
