ACADEMIC UNDERPERFORMANCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL INDIAN STUDENTS : A PSYCHO-SOCIAL CUM CULTURAL APPROACH

Abstract

This study examined the problem of academic underperformance among primary school Indian pupils (11 years old). A group of high performers was used as a control group for comparison between the two categories. The first part of this research studied the seriousness of the problem of academic underperformance among Indians in general in Singapore. This was followed by a section on the psychological aspect of the child using Rotter's ( 1966) Locus of Control Scale and Chang's (1997) Achievement Motivation Scale. The third aspect of this research documented the parent – child interaction which was assumed to play a major role in the socialization of a child. The difference in parenting styles between the parents of high performing and underperforming subjects was studied in terms of three broad headings, namely parental attitudes, parental behaviour and parental involvement. A combination of qualitative indepth interviews with subjects and their parents was triangulated with the administration of scales to the respondents. This aspect of the study showed salient differences. A recurrent theme that emerged from the study was that parents of underperforming subjects tended to impart negative feedback to their children. The negative feedback, extended into a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby children tended to act in accordance to what was expected of them. This was in line with the subjects' learned helplessness, which they expressed during the interviews. This was in contrast to the high performing subjects.