Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social and

intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the activity of

raising a child aside from the biological relationship involve to it.

After parental separation, a consistent relationship between both child and parents must still be

intact. A parent entering and leaving a child's life can be disruptive for the child and for the life of

the other parent. Though some people may feel that upon being absent for a period of time, the

absent parent should not be allowed back into the child's life. In some situations, the active parent

had remarried and a new partner has formed a meaningful and significant attachment to the child.

The re-introduction of the absent parent therefore threatens not only t to cause emotional turmoil

to the child, but may be perceived as a threat to the relationship. Needless to say, there can be a

tangle of intense feelings.

Generally speaking, the social science literature supports the notion that children fare better in the

long run with secure attachments to both parents. This is true even in the face of many parental

difficulties.

It is important for a child to have a parent by his side growing up. They are considered as the first

teachers responsible for teaching them things they must learn in life, from a simple ABC until

molding their attitudes and behavior. As a child, parents help them in being responsible for their

actions and studies and make them realize what they need to do. As they reach adolescence,

things that they learn from their parents are being used as their guidelines on what they must

expect in their new life exploring their own selves.

Nowadays, many students are experiencing the absence of both or either one of their parents. It

may be because, the mothers or fathers are working in other countries, a result of broken or single

parent families. With this, the researcher would like to know the effect on the academic

achievement of secondary students who are experiencing absence of one or both parents.

Background of the Study

The main thrust of this study is to determine if there is a significant relationship between parental

absence and the academic performance of the respondents.

In the United States alone, nearly 41% of births in 2012 occurred outside of marriage (Ablow,

2012). This is a marked 17% statistical increase within the last three decades. It is even safe to

say that single-parenting has become a trend in the current generation.

Most recent statistics on the Philippines estimates 14-15% of the 94 million Filipinos are single

parents (Cruz, 2012). This premise is even the source of a piece of legislation currently under

scrutiny for amendment by Philippine lawmakers, the so-called Solo Parent Act of 2002.

However, a single parent home or even a home where a parent is completely absent is a situation

that even the Philippine government commends. Of the current population, 10% of Filipinos are

either living or working abroad. Such parents are given the epithet OFW, or shortened for

Overseas Filipino Workers. Otherwise known as, "Bagong Bayani" (New Hero).

Parents who opt to leave their families to work abroad often cite higher salaries, better job

conditions and more career opportunities as reasons for their choice. Many people go to great

lengths and risks to secure job positions in other countries. Others even resort to illegal means as

a way to get into the foreign job market. But as they do so, the children are often left behind

under the care of a spouse, a relative, or even family friends.

These children, while reaping dubious monetary and advantageous rewards from their parent's

hard work, often exhibit unfavorable social and academic behavior.

As such, children in this type of situation are not strictly classified as living in single-parent

homes. They are, however, in a situation which is deemed "temporarily parentless".

A temporarily parentless child, while cognizant of a parent's (or parents') good intentions to

provide and improve his standard of living and academic juncture, has the natural desire to have

both parents together. They often struggle because of lack of relationship with parents. The

greater the absence of contact, the greater the fear and anxiety (Luper, 2011).

It is at this stage that people in authority, such as teachers become in loco parentis. Many OFW

parents express sentiments such as: "Kayo na po ang bahala" (It's up to you) or "You are the only

one he/she will listen to."

With the the advent of easy and affordable wireless communication, many OFW parents have

resorted to "Global Parenting" (Reyes, 2005). And yet, while it appears to help, the essential

conundrum remains.

It has sparked the interest of the researcher to do this research study to determine the effects of

parental absence to the academic performance of adolescent children of Batangas Christian

School.

Research Locale

The study was conducted at Batangas Christian School located in De Joya Compound, Alangilan,

Batangas City bounded in the north by Alangilan Central Elementary School, in the south by

Kumintang Elementary School, in the east by Mega Heights Subdivision, and in the west by the

National Road.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic Performance of

Secondary Students in Batangas Christian School - Batangas City.

The research seeks to answer the following specific questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Gender

1.3 Year, level and section

1.4 Order in the family

2. What are the different aspects of parental absence that affect the academic achievement of the

students in terms of:

2.1 Local/foreign employment

2.2 Duration of separation

2.3 Manner of employment

3. What are the effects of parental absence to academic achievement of students in terms of:

3.1 Cognitive development

3.2 Emotional development

3.3 Social development

3.4 Moral and spiritual development

4. Is there a significant relationship between parental absence and academic achievement?

Objectives

Main Objective:

To determine the effects of Parental Absence on the Academic Performance of Secondary

Students in Batangas Christian School - Batangas City.

Specific Objectives:

1. To identify the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1. Age

1.2. Gender

1.3. Year level and section

1.4. Order in the family

2. To enumerate the different aspects of parental absence that affect the academic achievement

of the students in terms of:

2.1. foreign employment

2.2. duration of separation

2.3. manner of employment

3. To identify the effects of parental absence to academic achievement of students in terms of:

3.1. Cognitive development

3.2. Emotional development

3.3. Social development

3.4. Moral and spiritual development

4. To determine if there is a significant relationship between parental absence and academic

achievement.

Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between parental absence and academic achievement among

secondary students in Batangas Christian School - Batangas City.

Significance of the Study

The research will be significant to the following:

parents - The study will help the parents realize and understand the effects of absentee

parenting on the academic achievements of their children

Students - It will serve as a reference material for other students who will undertake the same

study in the future.

Readers - The study will provide the readers knowledge and information about the effects of

absentee parenting on the academic achievements of children.

Secondary level children - It will help them understand absentee parenting as an indicator to

their academic achievement.

Future researchers - This study will serve as a basis for future referee and further in-depth

study related to this topic.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The coverage of the study is to determine the Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic

Performance of Secondary Students in Batangas Christian School. It also aims to determine if the

there is a significant relationship between parental absence and academic performance of ours

respondents.

The study is limited to 100 respondents.

Non - probability sampling, specifically purposive/judgmental sampling was utilized wherein

subjects are chosen according to the needed criteria.

Definitions of Terms

Academic - related to school, college or university

Achievement - something carried out successfully

Batangas Christian School - Christian institution of learning providing pre-elementary,

elementary and secondary level of education located in Alangilan, Batangas City.

Cognitive - faculty of knowing; refers to intellect, learning, reasoning

Effects - results produced by cause.

Emotional development - development related to feelings

Fluctuating - changing constantly; showing irregular variation

Habitual - repetition as an act again & again; behavior pattern that has a degree of automation

Insecurity - state of being insecure; liable to collapse or give away

Infraction - a violation of law, policy or regulation

Isolation- state of being apart or alone

Malevolent - having put showing a desire to do harm

Moral - concerned with right and wrong and the distinctions between them

Parental absence - parent being away; failure of parent to be present

Social development - development of am individual relating to human society; interaction of an

individual to other people

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Synthesis

The National Statistics Office in 2010 noted that the total population in the Philippines was 92.34

million. At the time, over 60% was aged 29 and under. Over half of the entire population are

under 25. This makes the Philippines a country of young people. The most recent unofficial

surveys mark the population at 94 million where 14-15% of school-age children are bring brought

up in single-parent homes.

According to Dr. Keith Ablow, a popular psychiatrist and expert commentator for Fox News,

many young people being brought up in incomplete homes have many unresolved, unaddressed

concerns. In truth, he also mentions that there is very little published work on the psychological

effects of incomplete families to the youth. It has become apparent in many instances that there is

depression and behavioral disturbance. The unclear family architecture produces unspoken,

unconscious fear for the well-being of the absent parent. He goes on to say that children need: a)

to feel safe; b) to know that caretakers are also safe.

Children often express the sentiment "Kahit walang makain, basta sama-sama ang pamilya,

masaya!" ("Even when there is no food on the table, as long as the family's together, everybody's

happy!") This is a view that many Filipino parents do not agree with.

As a society, Filipinos are very family-oriented, with very clear traditional mores: parents provide

for their children and children obey and make their parents proud. Although other traditions have

seen marked changes in the recent decades, such as Mothers as breadwinners and Fathers as

primary caretakers, economic demands have often necessitated two incomes in one family. A

common aspiration for many Filipino parents is to be able to support their children from

preschool to tertiary level in prestigious, private schools, with the belief that good education will

equip their children for better, brighter futures. One solution that Filipino parents take advantage

of is working abroad where foreign currencies offer bigger converted salaries, and more

opportunities to save and make money.

The migration abroad toward overseas work has produced a remarkable decrease in manpower

within the country, especially for professions in medical care, allied health, education and other

skilled labor. In 2007, a documented 12 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) occupied job

positions all over the world (Banico). Five million of these were in the Middle East alone. Such

though was the influx of foreign currency in the Philippines that the government has dubbed the

OFWs the "Bagong Bayani" (Modern Hero).

A study conducted by Kanlungan Center in 2011 estimates that 11 million OFWs have three

dependents: parents, spouse and children. While the economic advantage to the country in general

is undeniable, there are implied risks to the situation, primarily the creation of a temporarily

parentless home and a temporarily parentless child.

Albert Banico from the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion argues in his paper

titled, Caring while at Risk published in 2007, posits that overseas migration breaks the family.

He cites several reasons.

Physical separation produces emotional separation as well resulting in family gaps. This causes a

breakdown in communication between generations.

A parent or both leaving for abroad may cause dispersal of children to family members. Children

are foisted on grandparents, aunts our uncles, live-in partners, our even family friends when all

avenues have been exhausted.

Separation from parents due to employment causes the decision-making body in the family to be

crippled. No one in the family is able to lead effectively.

A respected journalist and sociologist, Randy David once wrote in his article, Overseas

Employment and Its Effects in 2009: "How young children adjust to the reality of absentee parents

or what spouses do to keep martial bonds strong despite prolonged separation are long-term

effects that no nation that has been pushed in a big way into the global diaspora can possibly

ignore." His sociological analysis is that massive deployment has injurious social outcomes,

particularly to the emerging generation.

Children of a certain age, despite being given exorbitant amounts of money (or material things)

refuse to listen and acknowledge absentee parents as "real" parents (Nabiruma, 2011). Teachers

often become substitute parents, an event that is acknowledged by both child and parent. It is not

uncommon for parents to entrust their children's welfare to third parties. This is when the children

learn to search for love elsewhere. Children that are temporarily parentless are love-hungry and

susceptible top deception from older members of society.

Dr. Scott Luper, author of Absentee Parent: Child Left Behind (2011) defines an absentee parent

to be a parent who fails to make a positive, meaningful, constant impact on a child's life.An

absent parent deeply wounds the emotional well-being of a child consciously or subconsciously.

Children often worry about their parent's health. They "forget"what their parents look like (Clark,

2010). The physical separation causes a dissociation characterized by lack of connection, focus

and a feeling of neglect.

An absent parent also affects the spouse present as caregiver of the child. The balance of

authority is often disrupted leading to the destruction of family framework. This often occurs

when the normally absent parent returns bearing material things, taking everyone on extravagant

excursions. A dissatisfaction on the part of the spouse left behind causes further neglect of the

children.

When this occurs, children are forced to take on responsibilities of parents or older siblings

earlier, resulting in discontent, retarded or hastened development causing unresolved

developmental issues.

Furthermore, with the OFW being the primary breadwinner, this causes a shift in the authority in

the family. Often no big decisions are made nor finalized, despite the urgency, without the

approval of the absentee parent. Examples of these are often seen in decisions regarding the

welfare and discipline of children, i.e. attendance in school affairs, calls from the

adviser/principal's office, etc.

Other fears that children often posses but never speak of include apprehensions about: living

arrangements, economic needs and needs for nurturance. These children ar also crippled with the

inability to cope with tragedy, such as who should take care of them if the primary caretaker were

to meet an unfortunate circumstance.

A child has many needs that only a parent's presence can fulfill.

Theoretical Framework

Harry Stack Sullivan's Social Psychological Theory

Human nature is plastic and malleable. Harry Sullivan, unlike many during his time,

believed that a person's interpersonal interactions characterize a person's life. He believed that

man is the product of social interactions and that the personality is an energy system.

In a similar manner, Sullivan proposes that all men have needs. Needs may present

themselves to be a general well-being of a person, or be more specific as in, physiological or they

may be interpersonal like intimacy or intellectual as in academic success.

From these needs arise 'tension' -- the motivation to act or to work. Tension may also be

defined as the potentiality to action. Thus, man as an organism, needs to be satisfactorily

productive. These are referred to as energy transformations which are the actions themselves.

However, failure to meet these needs or to transform energy properly produces anxiety. It is this

anxiety that gives way to inappropriate transformations of energy.

Anxiety is disjunctive and has no consistency. An anxiety must be relieved and is often

disruptive. One such anxiety that may be illustrated is when a child must first go school. The

parent pushes the child away from himself and home and is put into another’s care. This form of

rejection causes tension in a child’s persona, such that his entire being is troubled, but is a cue for

the start of a new chapter in his life.

Sullivan outlines six stages of development prior to maturity: infancy, childhood, juvenile

era, preadolescence, early adolescence, and late adolescence. It is in the early childhood years that

a child establishes his self-system or pattern of behavior. It is here that the parents, or the primary

caretakers begin to affect the development of a child.

Sullivan stresses the importance of the early to late teenage years in the overall

development of the child. It is here that the child branches out and forms interpersonal

relationships and builds intimacy with other people. Security is a key factor in determining the

sound development of a child’s passing on to the next stage with adequate success. For many,

academic achievement often takes a back seat versus forming intimate relationships; however,

without security or a home anchor in the presence of parents dynamisms that run contrary to the

child's needs arise, producing undue tension. This event causes great anxiety that limits the

child’s efficiency in transforming energy. Hence, the child becomes unsuccessful in his academic

undertaking.

Conceptual Framework

Parenting in the Philippines is a very hands-on approach to child-rearing and child-

raising. For Filipinos, the word ‘family’ has a greater, broader and nobler concept than in the

West. For many, the presence of all members of the family in a household is a source of pride.

Unlike our Western counterparts, for a parent, a sibling, or a child, whether of adult age or not, to

leave the household for reasons such as work or education is viewed as anathema or the face of

supreme sacrifice.

Likewise, the dedication shown by an offspring towards his studies and academic work is

vital. In this culture, in fact, it is often an indicator that a child has been raised properly by

solicitous and attentive parents. A poor grade is perceived by many as a result of inattention of

parents or guardians to a child’s well-being.

Many researchers have linked absentee parenting as a major reason for poor academic

results, although results vary. The trend towards poor academic achievement and parental absence

is undeniable.

According to Sullivan’s Interpersonal Model, a person has naturally recurring needs that

must be met in order to sufficiently produce adequate tension. Tension contains the potential to

transform energy. Transformed energy is apparent in the self-system, or the pattern of behavior

established as a child develops. When needs are met, positive indicators of well-adjusted behavior

become apparent. A child is theoretically viewed as an energy system.

On the other hand, unfulfilled needs build unbearable tension and create anxiety. This

anxiety causes a student to become inefficient in his energy transformations. In short, he is unable

to do satisfying work because the need to relieve the anxiety reduces his energy resulting in lack

of academic achievement. Often, energy is misspent, or work is substandard. The anxiety is

revealed in the negative indicators of academic achievement.

Parents are pivotal in the fulfillment of their child’s needs. Their position of authority and

primary caretaker give them not only access but opportunity to do so. Furthermore, as parent, it is

their primary purpose to fulfill needs that should have been met earlier in the child’s

development. Failure to fulfill those needs, such as attachment and security, results in

accumulated tension.

Although parents often set up surrogates in their place, the natural order of need

fulfillment is still present. Because surrogates are not permanent, children do perceive them as

inappropriate replacements, thus, insufficiently carry out their purpose.

Research Paradigm

Chapter 3METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The researcher made use of non-experimental research design to determine the effects of

parental absence on the academic achievement of Secondary students in Batangas Christian

School - Batangas City. Non-probability sampling, specifically purposive/judgmental sampling

was utilized, where subjects were chosen according to their age, year level and section, and

parents who are not living with them.

Participants of the Study

The participants of the study are the Secondary level students of Batangas Christian

School - Batangas City. The participants are limited to 100 students who are experiencing

parental absence.

Research Instruments and Techniques

The descriptive method was used on the study to determine the effects of parental

absence on the academic achievement of secondary level students in Batangas Christian School -

Batangas City. Structured questionnaire was utilized in data gathering, reinforced by interviews.

To validate the instrument used, pre-testing was done by the researcher to 20 secondary level

students to attain the necessary data as precise within the limits of ability.

Data Gathering Procedure

the respondents of the research study are the selected secondary level students of

Batangas Christian School - Batangas City.

Before the data-gathering procedure, a letter of permission was sent to the Dean of

Graduate Studies, _______________, for approval.This letter was previously approved by

_________. Then, the researcher made another letter of permission that was sent to Rev. Ephraim

S. Camacho, the administrator of Batangas Christian School for his approval to conduct the study

within the institution. Upon approval, the researcher used different resources such as books,

literature and Internet.

The researcher, afterwards, made a letter to the respondents asking for their time and

cooperation for the research study, assuring them that all their information will not be used

against them and that their responses and identities will be kept strictly confidential.

The study was generated through the use of structured questionnaire strengthened by

interviews.

The respondents were requested to answer the questionnaire as precisely as possible.

Retrieval of the questionnaire was done after.

Pre-testing was also done to twenty secondary level students to validate the instrument.

Treatment of Data

Subsequent to data collection, the researcher organized, tabulated, analyzed and

presented the data using chi-square for data analysis and data interpretation.

January 8, 2013

Dear Respondent,

I am currently conducting a research study entitled, "The Effects of Parental Absence on the

Academic Achievement of Secondary Students in Batangas Christian School - Batangas City."

Upon conducting this study, I need your cooperation by honestly answering the questionnaire.

Please do not leave any question blank.

Rest assured that all information provided will be held strictly confidential.

Your response will be highly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation.

God bless you.

JOELLE P. CAMACHOResearcher

January 4, 2013

Rev. Ephraim S. CamachoAdministratorBatangas Christian SchoolBatangas City

Dear Sir,

In connection with my research study entitled, "The Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic

Achievement of Secondary Students in Batangas Christian School - Batangas City."

I respectfully ask your permission to allow me to conduct a survey among the secondary students

in your institution.

I will be using a questionnaire in conducting the survey. Rest assured all information and data

collected will be held strictly confidential.

I am looking forward to your favorable response regarding this request.

Thank you and more power to you and your good office.

God bless you.

Sincerely,

JOELLE P. CAMACHOResearcher