Factors that Affect the Learning Engagement of

Grade 12 STEM student in Physics at TSHS

Academic Year 2024-2025

INTRODUCTION

The challenges to engage in Physics subject as one of the vigorous subjects for STEM

12 student at Tala Senior High School. Student’s involvement and participation anticipate a high

chance of having high grades. There are numerous ways for a student to participate in their

subjects. Learning engagement is the ability to participate in an effective learning process. In

fact, there are factors that affect the learning engagement of students. Such as, student’s attitudes

towards physics, the teaching methods used by teachers, the availability and application of

learning materials, the complexity of the subject itself, the overall classroom environment, and

external factors such as family support and peer influence have an important effect on students’

participation.

In the STEM curriculum, physics is one of the specialized subjects, and it has a big

impact on student’s knowledge of nature itself. Involvement in physics has a significance to their

academic achievement and future employment in science and engineering courses. Despite its

significance, students struggle to remain engaged in physics because of the underlying elements

that affect the students’ engagement. The researchers, will delve on these aspects to identify how

these factors affects the students to engage in their physics subject. This study will run through

the intricate factors that affects the learning engagement of STEM 12 students from Tala Senior
High School whether these elements have a beneficial or detrimental impact on their academic

performance. Closely examining these factors will help the researchers contributing to expand

the knowledge in this topic and provide actions for better chances of academic success.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This research study primarily focused on Physics as the specialized subject of Grade 12

STEM students. Physics is a branch of science that deals with the structure of matter and the

interactions between the fundamental constituents of the observable universe (Weidner, R. T., &

Brown, L. M. (2024, July 28). Tala High School offers the public secondary and upper secondary

education, this school offers academic tracks which involve the STEM strand.

Additionally, learning engagement refers to a logical process but also involves emotional and

behavioral involvement. Hence, it is essential in determining the effectiveness of a student's

interaction and absorption of material from the course. A student's interest, participation, and

motivation are all components of learning engagement, which is essential for success in this

demanding field of study. The classroom atmosphere, instructional strategies, teacher efficacy,

students' attitudes, past knowledge, and outside factors like parental support and socioeconomic

circumstances can all have an impact on their learning engagement. According to Putarek, 2022

physics engagement are subject-specific these aspects includes cognitive, behavioral, and

emotional involvement, as well as the influence of variables like gender, grade level, and

academic expectations.
 The study by Coffie et al. (2020) elaborated that students with a good foundation in

physics have a higher degree of precision and accuracy when approaching new problems and can

reason both deductively and inductively. Even though physics is a vital subject to study, some

students will inevitably lose determination to engage and learn because of the complexity of the

subject. This perception is reinforced by the fact that physics involves mathematical precision

and the analysis of physical quantities. (M. Vijaya Bhaskara & Reddy Buncha

Panacharoensawad 2017). This may put at risk their future employment opportunities and restrict

their ability to contribute to scientific and technical breakthroughs, which is concerning not just

for them but also for their parents and teachers.

The learners' engagement in class is highly influenced by their perceptions and attitudes

toward their prior knowledge and motivation to learn more. Although student engagement in

their education is being emphasized, there are not enough comprehensive studies that elaborate

on the factors that influence it. This study intend to fill that gap in such a way that the researchers

will identify and analyze the factors that contribute to the student's learning engagement. The

researcher will, identify the factors affecting STEM 12 students’ physics learning engagement.

Furthermore, the researcher’s main objective of this research, will be to provide action items on

how to increase the engagement of students in physics and provide better chances of hitting their

academic and career goals through proper adjustment of school practice, based on the results of

this study.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

engagement of STEM 12 students in physics from Tala Senior High School. This study is to be

conducted during the first quarter of academic year 2024-2025. In addressing these factors,

students can understand their strengths and weaknesses, and can increase their motivation and

level of engagement in their physics class.

Specifically, this research aims to answer the following.

1. What are the challenges perceived by STEM 12 students in learning physics?

2. How does the challenges perceived by STEM 12 students affect their learning engagement in

physics class?

3. In what way does the quality of the classroom environment relate to students' reported levels of

engagement in Physics?

4. Which teaching techniques and approaches work best for improving the level of interest in

physics among STEM 12 students?

5. Based on the findings, which factor—student motivation, teaching methods, or classroom

environment—has the most significant impact on the learning engagement of Grade 12 STEM

students in physics?
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The objective of this study is to identify the several factors that influence the rate of

learning engagement of grade 12 STEM student at Tala Senior High School in the academic year

2024-2025. The thorough investigation will examine both internal and external elements, such

as student-related factors, teacher-related factors, and school-related factors. The student-related

factors, namely motivation of the students, family support, and peer interaction, may start

learners' "on-task" scenarios. The teacher related factors include the methods and strategies used

in teaching and school related factors such as the classroom environment, accessibility of

learning resources, and support allocated.

This research will be limited to grade 12 students enrolled in the Academic Track,

STEM at Tala Senior High School. This includes sections A and B, and will focus solely on

their engagement with General Physics 1 on the first semester of the school year 2024 to 2025.

This research will not include the academic performance, as well as the grades for the first

semester of these students. Also, it will not extend to other STEM major subjects like biology

or chemistry. To add more, this study will not delve into the teachers’ professional

development.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be greatly important to the following:

Learners, this study aims to uncover insights that can lead to improved learning

experiences. Understanding the academic performance, motivation, and classroom participation

can help tailor educational strategies to better support students, ultimately enhancing their

engagement and helping them reach their full potential in physics.

Teachers, through this research, physics teachers will be able to identify effective

teaching methods and strategies that they can further enhance to increase student learning

engagement to gain more knowledge.

School Administrators, this research will be an eye-opener for school administrators

since this study will help in identifying the gaps that school administrators could fill. The area

specified where they could allocate their support and resources to increase the level of students'

engagement in physics.

Future Researchers, this research study builds the basis for future studies on physics

participation by students, encouraging researchers to improve on previous acquired information

and research unknown areas.