1

SIMPLIFIED STUDY GUIDE: ITS EFFECT TO THE PERFORMANCE LEVEL IN ARALING

PANLIPUNAN AMONG GRADE SIX LEARNERS

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTED TO THE

SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO

ANNA LISSA T. SELOTERIO

CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

It is quite a sad reality that most learners find Araling Panlipunan subject as a boring

one. Primarily, this is because the subject is dealing with history, economics and politics and

even of government, constitution and society. The contents of the subject are highly objective in

nature that it should be taught in an exact and comprehensive way. For these reasons, learners

find it boring and disinterested in the subject.

According to Lavaris, (2012) Araling Panlipunan teachers have the difficult task of

bringing together diverse elements and blends them into a harmonious whole. Teachers should

try something new in the classroom. This is a must because of the frequent revisions of course

outlines in the school which are based on the fact that people are now living in a fast-changing

world. This constant change makes Araling Panlipunan teaching difficult. It requires extensive

and intensive study of the rapidly increasing changing content that requires constant additions

and revisions.

The diversity of learners would remind us educators that we need to consider the

background of our learners. The community that they are in, the kind of family they have, who

their friends are, their intelligence and interest all affect the way they learn. Hence, we could not

expect that all our learners will respond positively to all the activities that we are giving them.

Expect that there are some who will be left behind having meager understanding of the lesson.

As per result of the Periodical Test for the first grading and second quarter tests showed

that of the Learners of Mina Central School got 27.36 and 29.75 MPS respectively. This simply

shows that they do not master the learning competencies in AP.

Since the teaching of AP as a subject requires intensive mastery of facts, there is a need

to devise a plan or a guide for the learners to study as to minimize the time to be spent in
 3

making their notes. The unavailability of the learning materials to be provided to the learners are

also one of the reasons why teaching the subject is difficult on the part of the teacher.

For so many years that I have been teaching the subject, trying different strategies, yet,

the learners still find it difficult to grasp the lessons being taught to them. Not all of them learn

and digest information on the same pace.

The use of Simplified Study Guide in teaching is another form of aid in instructions. The

guide contains the topics that can be given to the learners as assignments for learning. It takes

into account individual differences and is believed to be the most appropriate teaching

techniques in order to help the students grow and develop their study habit.

Taking these ideas into consideration to improve the performance in Araling Panlipunan

among Grade Six Eagle Learners of Mina Central School, the researcher devised a Simplified

Study Guide which will be given to the learners. Discussions, and exercises in guide will cover

the topics in Araling Panlipunan and are aligned with the learning competencies set by the

Department of Education.
 4

Research Questions

This action research will be conducted to find out the effect of simplified study guide as

an intervention in improving performance level in Aralin Panlipunan among the Grade Six

learners of Mina Central School for the School Year 2018 - 2019.

Specifically, this investigative inquiry will answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of performance in Araling Panlipunan among the Grade VI learners

based on their pretest result?

2. What is the level of performance in Araling Panlipunan among the Grade VI learners

based on their posttest results?

3. Is there a significant difference in the level of performance in Araling Panlipunan

among the Grade Six learners based on their pretest and posttest scores?

4. What action should be undertaken after the study is conducted?

Proposed Innovation, Intervention and Strategy

The use of Simplified Study Guide (SSG) is hereby proposed to improve the

performance in Araling Panlipunan among the Grade Six Eagle learners.

The SSG presents simple and brief discussion of the topics specified in the curriculum

guide. For better understanding of the concepts, activities and exercises done by learners are

also included. It will be given to the learners during their AP class handled by the researcher.

Araling Panlipunan has only 50 minutes actual teaching time in a day which is not

enough to discuss and inculcate knowledge and learning amongst learners. During lectures,

copies of SSG will be given to learners in order for them to participate during class discussions

and for them to keep it thus will served as their notes and to avoid spending time to copy.
 5

Time spent for copying can be used in further lectures and activities needed by the

learners.

The use of Simplified Study Guide as an intervention will start on November 12, 2018.

The intervention will last for 21 days.

Action Research Methods

Participants and Other Sources of Data

The participants in this study will be the Grade 6 Eagle learners. They will be taken from

the sections handled by the researcher. Purposive sampling will be used to determine the

samples. According to Crossman (2018), a purposive sample in a non-probability sample that is

selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of the study. Purposive

sampling is also known as judgmental, selective or subjective sampling. There will be 43

respondents, in which are 17 boys and are 26 girls.

Data Gathering Methods

This action research will use one shot design. A pre-test will be given to learners before

the SSG is introduced in order to determine the level of performance level in AP. Then, the SSG

will be given for them to answer/do the activities. After the intervention, a post test will be

administered to the participants to determine whether the use of Simplified Study Guide has a

significant effect in improving their performance.

A researcher-made 30–item pretest and posttest will be used as data gathering

instrument. Descriptive statistics such a mean and standard deviation will be used to determine

the level of conceptual understanding among the learners. Furthermore, one paired sample t-

test will also be used to determine if there is a significant difference in the pretest and posttest
 6

scores of learners. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used to analyze

data using the appropriate statistical tools.

This study will be conducted at Mina Central School. A total of 40 days will be allotted to

finish it. The use of Simplified Study Guide by learners will be monitored by the researcher to

ensure that they are religiously using it.

In order to gather relevant data on the conceptual understanding among the participants,

a researcher-made pre-test and post-test will be given to the participants before and after the

treatment with the use of SSG. The instrument will undergo validity by the expert AP teachers.

To establish the reliability of the test, it will undergo pilot testing among the learners who are

part of this study.

Ethical Issues

Upon the approval of the research proposal, permission will be secured from the

Principal of Mina Central School before the conduct of the research. The orientation will be

given to the learners to ensure the validity of the data to be taken from them. Parents will also

be informed during the Parent-Teacher Homeroom meeting that their children will be part of an

action research and this will help them in improving their performance in Araling Panlipunan. As

moral adherence for their involvement to the study, the students will be given snacks after doing

the study.

Plans for Data Analysis

After gathering the data, they will be analyzed and interpreted using the SPSS. All

inferential tests are set at .05 level of significance.

Descriptive statistics like the mean will be used to determine the average scores of the

respondents in the pretest and the posttest. Standard deviation will also be used to determine
 7

the variability in the score of the respondents. Moreover, results of the posttest compared using

the paired sample t-test and will be used to determine if the use of SSG has a significant effect

in improving the performance of the learners.

Action Research Work Plan and Timeline

To achieve this research work’s objectives, the researcher will religiously follow the

activities, timelines, and activity duration presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Schedule of Research Activities

Activities Timetable Duration

Planning

Preparing for the research proposal November 12-17, 2018 5 days

Submit action research November 29, 2018 1 day

Working on/Formulate Research Instrument November 12-13, 2018 3 days

Implementation

Identify the samples November 2, 2018 1 day

Soliciting Parental Consent November 16, 2018 1 day

Conduct Pretest December 3, 2018 1 day

Employ the Intervention December 10-14, 2018 21 days

January 3-24, 2019

Conduct the Posttest January 25, 2019 1 day

Dissemination

Preparing for the final write-up January 28 – 31, 2019 4 days

Present Action Research during LAC session February 6, 2019 1 day

Present results during the Mid-Year Inset May 2019 1 day

Span 40 days

Cost Estimates

The table below shows how the research will operate in terms of expenditures. Items,

unit, unit cost, and total cost are included for transparency and accountability purposes.

Table 2

Materials and Costs

Item Unit Unit Cost Total

Legal sized bondpaper 4 reams 185.00 740.00

Folders (long) 43 pieces 7.00 301.00

Ink 4 bottles 250.00 1,000.00

Snacks for Respondents 43 persons 35.00 1,505.00

Token for Internal Validators 3 persons 100.00 300.00

Fastener 43 pieces 1.00 43.00

Plan for Dissemination and Advocacy

If the results of this action research would show positive effect of the use of SSG in

improving the performance of the learners in Araling Panlipunan, the researcher will consider it

as an innovative teaching intervention to help low performing learners. Mina Central School

would be the first to benefit from the results of this study since the result will be presented

during the AP LAC session of AP teachers. Moreover, the researcher will encourage other
 10

teachers to use SSG in their classes. Hence, it will be presented in the Summer INSET. Lastly,

schools within the Division of Iloilo may adopt the use of SSG in dealing with problems on low

performance among learners.

References

Crossman, A. (2018). ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thouhtco.com.purposive

sampling-3026727.

Lavaris, M.M. (2012). Focus in Teaching Approaches. Quezon City: Rex Printing

Company, Inc.

Making Araling Panlipunan Interesting. https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-

pampanga/20170331/281655369915405

Why Kids Don’t Like Social Studies. Retrieved from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED224765.pdf
12
13
 14

Innovation, Intervention, and Strategy

History is essential to a nation and its citizens. Without historians, we would not know much about our
past, our heroes, our ancestors, their heroic deeds or their epic mistakes.

Children need to be taught their history so that they are aware of their identity. Learning the works and
heroism of Jose Rizal, also of Andres Bonifacio, and how battles were won and why some Filipinos
became traitors to their own country will not only inform the youth about the past but provide them
insights on how to avoid mistakes or make something of themselves.

The burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is controversial.
Whether he deserves a hero’s burial or not should be discussed not only in barber shops but also inside
classrooms.

This is why the subject of History or Araling Panlipunan should be retained in elementary and high
school. We should invest in history teachers so that they can teach well for without knowing our history,
we are nothing.