1.

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

As cited by Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2011), “lateness” can be defined as the

“situation where an individual arrives after the proper, scheduled or usual time (Oxford

Advance Learners’ Dictionary, 5th ed., 1995) Furthermore, Lauby (2009) puts it as a

term used to describe “people not showing up on time” and Breeze et al. (2010)

contributed by saying that, the term “class tardiness” has been defined as students not

attending lecture on time, missing out initial time from the first period and primarily not

being present in the time set. In most schools, a student is considered tardy when he/she

is not present when the school bell rings. Breeze et al. (2010) also added that, lateness is

synonymous with “tardiness”, which implies being slow to act or slow to respond, thus

not meeting up with proper or usual timing. It is obvious therefore that, lateness could be

seen as a system of network breakdown, a situation of not meeting up with programme, a

function of time, time is the criteria and determinant of lateness. Having therefore known

the meaning of lateness, the causes of lateness should be highlighted.

Reasons for being late in class and other factors affecting the punctuality if a

student vary. There had been some theories that pointed out that tardiness is caused by

the personality of a person. Santillano (2010) stated that psychological theorists

factors of tardiness. She also mentioned that while some theorists considered tardiness as

an “inborn quality” since our being early or late is “partially biologically determined”,

which she also agreed, other experts also believed that some people are “chronically

tardy” for the reason that they consciously and unconsciously get good things from it.

Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2011) attribute lateness or tardiness to a lot of factors or

causes. Going late to bed and waking up late next morning are the most common. The

authors added social networking and film-watching late at night can cause tardiness. The

student may forget that he/she needs to be in school the next day. Ledoux, as cited by

Pimentel and Quijada (2011), said that lack of sleep causes neural malfunctions and

further affects a person’s behavior. In the study’s case, it is a student’s punctuality that is

affected. Sometimes, it is not solely the students’ fault why they keep on being late in

coming to class. The distance between the student’s home and school or solely the

school’s location is also considered by Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2011) as a possible

cause for tardiness. Not just because it takes more time to get to school, but according to

the authors, the student is susceptible to more distractions and hindrances along the way.

In some cases, individuals are obsessed by their appearance to the detriment of timely

engagements in school. Oghuvbu (2008) agreed to this when he opined that “lateness is
common among females more than males”. This could be as a result of the fact that,

females require more time for their body and facial care and make up.

Another factor that could affect the punctuality of a student is the response of the

teachers to tardy students. Sprick and Daniels (2007) stated that the range of the teachers’

response was “from ignoring them to sending them to office”. This variation could lead

the students to confusion as to how important it is to be on time in going to class.

Individuals are likely to be more punctual, if they perceive obvious “rule of law” in terms

of punctuality (Clackmannanshire Council Online, 2010). Lack of a firm and consistent

policy on punctuality also encourages students to come late at school since there are no

consequences attached to lateness or tardiness. Another reason is the lack of motivation.

Students who come to school on time are not given incentives or rewards. Also,

responses to tardiness are lenient, that is nothing is done until the tenth strike or more.

Another reason is “giving the student the impression that they won’t be missing anything

if they are late” since in some classes, no important activities or instructions and no

lessons are being done for first few minutes.

Apart from the above mentioned causes, as mentioned by Malik et al., (n.d.),

nutrition is an important cause of both tardiness and absenteeism. Studies on the

relationship between diet and the defined research problem have directly identified
nutrition as the source behind tardiness. In the first place, and as Taras (2005) reports that

malnutrition has an adverse effect on both cognitive functioning and energy levels.

Students who suffer either form of malnutrition generally tend towards high tardiness and

absenteeism rates. The reason is very simple that they don’t have the energy to come to

school on time. That means, that apart from the fact that they do not have the physical

energy required to do their school work, they lose whatever motivation they have. (Taras,

2005).These causes of tardiness will lead to serious effects.

According to Zeiger (n.d.), students who are frequently tardy have higher rates of

suspension and other disciplinary measures. Thus, tardiness causes students to feel

disconnected with school, leading to behavior problems and dropouts. Zeiger added that

when students are tardy, they negatively impact their teachers and other students.

Teachers are often required to allow tardy students to make up work, which often

requires them to restructure their lessons or re-teach missed material. Tardiness also takes

other students' attention away from a teacher's lesson, leading to more behavior problems

and missed instruction.

Nakpodia and Dafiaghor empasizes that lateness or tardiness is not just the

problem of the late student but it affects the surrounding people. A student coming late in

class distracts the rest of the students and disrupts the flow of the teacher’s discussion. It
is even a burden to the student/s whom the late students ask for what to catch up with.

Showing up late to class can affect other people losing respect for you (Fuller, n.d.). The

rest of the effects given by Nakpodia and Dafiaghor are about the welfare of the whole

school, its productivity and revenue.

As mentioned by Fuller, students who are late to classes may fall behind in their

classroom work. For instance, if a student misses the first part of a lecture, he may miss

the notes that he will need to study for an upcoming exam. Some teachers do not accept

late home works, so they will not permit a student to turn in a homework assignment if he

is tardy. This can result in an incomplete or failing grade for the work.

Synder (2011) added that, habitual lateness to class is typically a sign of

devaluation and contempt for teachers and other students who have arrived to class

punctually. Even more important, it is most likely a sign of devaluation and contempt for

one’s own education, albeit unconscious, since the student’s habitual lateness will

necessarily curtail his or her time in class and cause the student to forfeit important

opportunities for learning.

Knowing the possible effects of tardiness or lateness, it is necessary for solutions

to be executed. Due to the fact that tardiness has been giving negative effects on the

students nowadays, the most important thing to do is to develop a firm, consistent and
functional policy that addresses late students. There must be defined sanctions and

penalties for late students. Nakpodia and Dafiaghor (2011) stated that school

administrators must lead by example. They should be punctual in their own meetings and

classes to avoid students to think that being late is just alright since even the authoritative

persons are doing it. They should as well teach it and integrate it in every lesson. The

effort on the remedy on lateness or tardiness does not start and end with the school. It

must begin with the parents of the students and the government must take part as well.

Transportation must be improved in order to avoid students getting stuck in traffic or

encountering other obstacles down the streets.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know the internal and external causes of tardiness to the senior

high school students of Guevara, High School.

The research wanted to answer the following questions:

1. What are the demographic profiles of the respondents in terms of:

online games

c. Length of period of playing online games (since they’ve started)

2. How does playing online games affect the academic performance of the students in

relation with:

a. Class Participation b. Number of Hours spent in Studying

c. Frequency of Absences in Class

3. Is there significant relationship between playing online games and academic

performance of the student

Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to identify the effects of online gaming on the

academic performance of students in Grade 10; Study the effects of playing computer

games on the academic performance of the students; Investigate the relation between

exposure to computer games and the academic performance of the students; and analyze

data collected from the questionnaire using statistical method to devise conclusions.
1.3 Significance of the study

This study will help the students have an insight on the impact of online

games towards their academic performance.

To the Parents, it will serve as basis to help share with other parents the

information about certain games or ideas to help each other in parenting. Also it will help

them understand the behaviour and study habit of their children when they’re engaged

into such activity

To the Teachers, it will provide additional knowledge on what strategy to use to

educate students about the well-known effects of online gaming to students’ academic

performance, problem-solving strategy, decision-making and spatial visualization.

1.5 Scope and limitation of the study

The study covers students of MSU N IDS selected Grade 10 students. This study

was limited to DOTA2, Clash of Clans, and Counter Strike. The researcher will
 gather information about the possible effects of the selected online games on

students’ academic performance.

A survey will be conducted about the evaluation of the respondents regarding in the

study of the effects of these online games on students’ academic performance in MSU N

IDS Grade 10. In a random order, fifteen selected grade 10 students in MSU N –IDS will

be given questionnaires to get information that will be needed in the study. This study

will be conducted to determine the effects of online gaming to students’ academic

performance, problem-solving strategy, decision-making and spatial visualization. The

problem-solving strategy, memorization and decision-making capabilities will be

measured through a series of situations and identifications on the questionnaire.

1.6 Definition of terms

Academic Performance - is measured by taking written and oral tests, performing

presentations, turning in homework and participating in class activities and discussions.

Teachers evaluate in the form of letter or number grades and side notes, to describe how

well a student has done.

Game Addiction - is an excessive or compulsive use of computer games or video games,

which interferes with a person's everyday life.

role-playing game.

Online Game - is any game that is played online, based online, or has a majority of its

content/gameplay online.