Frustration Readers in Senior High School: A Case Study

Frustration Readers in Senior High School: A Case Study

Queenie Anne S. Castro

Department of Education, Region X

Pulot National High School Pulot, Ozamiz City

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.8120199

Received: 09 December 2024; Accepted: 16 December 2024; Published: 11 January 2025

ABSTRACT

Reading is a crucial skill for students, yet many still struggle with reading performance, hindering their learning and understanding. Studies suggests that frustration readers need to develop their reading skills to improve academic performance. Students with low reading performance also perform poorly in English and other subjects. They have lower reading assessments than their current grade level, leading to difficulties in learning different subjects, increased class failure, and increased risk of bullying. Therefore, it is essential for educators to address these issues to improve students’ reading abilities. Frustration readers are students with low reading capability and scores in reading below their age level. This study explored the contributing factors to the difficulty in reading among the Senior High School students of Pulot National High School. A purposive sampling technique was used in identifying six Grade 11 students who served as the participants for this study. This study utilized a case study design using Yin’s method of data analysis. A researcher-made interview guide was used as the research instrument. Findings revealed that frustration readers in Senior High School were due to a lack of interest in reading, lack of parental support, and lack of time for school work. These resulted in poor academic performance, a source of bullying, and a feeling of envy. A teacher and peer-assisted reading can help the students address their concerns in reading. It is recommended that students will be enjoined to assisted reading which may be conducted more than three times a week. Assisted reading in the form of tutoring can effectively help students achieve success in reading.

Keywords: Bullying, frustration, readers, self-esteem, academic performance

INTRODUCTION

The Philippines had the lowest reading comprehension score in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a global study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that assesses students’ reading, mathematics, and science skills. The main subject evaluated among 15-year-old students was reading. The Philippines had an estimated average score of 340, which was more than 200 points lower than China’s (555) and more than 100 points lower than the OECD average (487). Boys’ and girls’ reading performance in the country was relatively low among PISA-participating countries. Socioeconomic status explains 18 percent of the country’s reading performance variation, compared to the OECD average of 12 percent. The country has the highest percentage of low reading performers among socioeconomically disadvantaged students. According to the profile, the average class sizes for 15-year-olds in the Philippines are the largest, and the student-to-teacher ratio in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools is the highest (San Juan, 2019).

Being able to read and comprehend is vital for students. The gateway unlocks the key to success (Florence, 2017). It is undeniable that reading is essential for academic success. The higher-grade level the students are in, the classroom reading becomes more demanding, thus increasingly linked to academic achievement (Jerković, 2018). It helps students acquire knowledge in different learning areas. It also increases the enjoyment and effectiveness of reading and helps not only academically but in a person’s personal life. Students can pick up important information and understand scientific theories, past opinions, and new frontiers (Rutzler, 2020). In addition, it helps to strengthen students’ language and communication skills, as well as develop other skills such as memory and vocabulary (Your Home Teacher, 2022). Therefore, reading comprehension is a crucial part of the education process.

While reading is a crucial skill that students must master, many still show deficits in reading performance (Spencer & Wagner, 2018). This is a never-ending incidence of slow readers always confronting educators as this hampers the students’ ability to learn skills and concepts. Payas (2019) revealed in his study that frustration readers need to develop their reading skills to improve academic performance. Moreover, he stated that students with low reading performance also perform low in English and other academic subjects. Students with reading difficulties or frustration have low reading capability, and whose reading assessments are lower than their current grade level (Stanton, 2021). Students with poor reading performance experience significant difficulties in learning different subject areas and are more likely to fail in class. And they are most likely to be victims of bullying (Salmivalli et al.,, 2017).

The Department of Education of the US reported that in 2019, the twelfth graders scored two points lower compared to the 2015 average reading score (Hussar et al., 2020). In the Philippines, in a study conducted by Mariñas et al. (2021) in Catablan Integrated School, Urdaneta City, the summary of reading assessment for the school year 2019-2020, 34 SHS students out of 56 falls in the beginning readers category.

Several elements have been identified as contributing factors to students’ reading difficulties which include (1) lack of interest in reading, (2) lack of monitoring of learners’ progress in reading, and (3) parental involvement (Tomas et al., (2021), (4) lack of students’ confidence in reading, and (5) low phonemic awareness (Amponsah & Mohammed, 2018). Frustration-level readers find reading materials so difficult that they cannot successfully respond to them (DepEd Phil-IRI Manual, 2018). These learners score 89 percent and below in word reading and 58 percent in the comprehension test. The word reading score is the percentage of correctly read words over the total number of words in a given passage. In contrast, the comprehension score is the percentage of the correct answers to the questions.

The study by Totto and Ramos (2021) revealed that 80.33 percent of the SHS students of Delfin Albano High School fall on the readers’ frustration. This implies a poor reading performance of the students. As a result, these students are most likely to become victims of bullying (Salmivalli, 2017). In Batangas City, 96.60 percent of the 171 high school students failed their reading performance (Bacong & An, 2020). This significant number of failed participants calls great attention from teachers and administrators. Consequently, these students struggle with their overall academic performance.

In the time of the pandemic brought by CoVid-19, modular learning plays an essential role in the new normal education, where many students are struggling with different difficulties in their learning (Villegas, 2021). For example, the study by Trovela and Emma (2021) revealed that students with reading difficulties face challenges in the modular learning modality because they do not understand their modules without the physical guidance of a teacher.

Since DepEd has stated that education must continue, learning modalities will be used for alternative learning delivery. On the other hand, teachers have their feelings about this issue because reading is a complex stage that the current educational situation should not jeopardize. Due to the limited teacher-learner interaction, modular learning modality impacts the teaching-learning process of students, particularly frustration readers. These students could not develop reading skills because schooling was interrupted and stagnant. These students’ academic performance demonstrates this. In Pulot National High School, Ozamiz City, six learners were identified as frustration-level readers in the conduct of a reading assessment for the school year 2021-2022. This observation prompted the researcher to conduct a study to identify the factors contributing to students’ struggles with reading, even though they are already in senior high school.

Significantly, this research may benefit the following users for several reasons. The result may provide meaningful information for the teachers, which would help them implement intervention programs for frustration adolescent readers. In addition, this study could enlighten the school administrators’ greater responsibilities toward the teachers and students. The result of this study may also help the students identify factors that result in their reading difficulties and motivate them to be competent in reading. Finally, this study may help parents understand the needs of their children in terms of reading which affects the students’ academic performance.

Conceptual Framework

Students are expected to have better reading performance as they progress to Senior High School (Sor & Caraig, 2020). However, a few students still perform below the basic level of reading expected for their age. Contributing factors to students’ difficulties in reading must be identified to help address this concern. This study has established the following themes through the conduct of interviews.

Student and Home Factors. One of the factors that cause students to be non-readers is the lack of interest in spending extra time to read. Wahyuni et al. (2020) argued that to improve students’ learning outcomes, they must have a high interest in reading. Reading interest is defined as a strong desire to read or a strong desire to read (Dewi, 2020). It can be evident in someone’s will and effort to seek out reading materials and read them. It is also associated with a love of reading. The study by Asadi and Catts (2018) proves that high interest in reading results in better reading performance. Thus, increasingly influence students’ academic performance.

Parents are considered the first teachers of their children. Parents have a big impact on the language development of a child from the time of birth. Furthermore, parents’ involvement in the education process of their children promotes positive outcomes (Ceka, 2017). Although parents are supposed to assist their children with schoolwork, many become too busy to teach. Most parents spend the majority of their time earning a living. Aside from parents having no time to teach, another factor contributing to students being non-readers is parents being non-readers. Children’s reading ability is often linked to parents’ educational attainment (Xiaofeng, 2018). These children are most likely deprived of opportunities to learn, including reading, in their early school years (Stole, 2021). According to Stutzel (2019), parental involvement leads to a higher motivation to study, fewer absenteeism, and better academic performance.

Ameyaw (2018) pointed out that when students spend their normal time doing school work, the more that they will get better scores in their examinations and has a low risk of dropping out. However, students who lack time in spending for school work develop poor performance not just in reading but also across learning areas. Students are hindered from spending time for school work at home are the responsibilities that they have to face at home. It may include doing household chores, and others are making a living.

Effects of Reading Difficulties. Kumar et al. (2021) define academic performance as the knowledge learned by a student that is evaluated by a teacher and/or educational objectives established by students and instructors to be met during a particular period. Academic achievement is determined by the learners’ intellect and study abilities, especially in reading (Anggraini, 2017). Reading as a basic skill contributes strongly to students’ academic success. Increasing the quantity of reading allows the reader’s past knowledge and experience to increase, and the improvement in prior knowledge and experience results in enhanced reading comprehension. Reading comprehension enhancement is understood as students’ effective acquisition of information and substance. Therefore, the academic performance of students who increase their reading may improve. Reading ability is thus necessary for academic performance and achievement (Iheakanwa et al., 2021).

Frustration readers are most likely to be bullied and perform poorly in school (Cipra & Hall, 2019). The more students are bullied, the more they are not earning their confidence to participate in class. School bullying increases peer pressure, which may have a wide range of effects. Bullies may reinforce popular culture and societal standards through victimization. Students who differ from the standard are often mistreated via isolation or exclusion. Bullying victims continue to suffer due to fear, which has negative effects such as low academic performance. Students may also have the feeling of envy. Envy is an unpleasant feeling that may result from a negative social comparison with another individual who has better skills, accomplishments, or goods (Yang, 2018). The result of envy can come in either positive or negative effects. For frustration readers, it can be their driving force to help themselves and motivate them to learn.

Addressing Reading Difficulties. Teachers play an important role in teaching reading to the students. A teacher’s responsibility is to make students possess basic skills, including reading. When students get help and direction from their teachers, they do better than their peers who don’t get help. Assisted reading has always been believed to improve reading. Daulay (2017) proved in his study that students’ reading abilities had increased significantly through peer-assisted reading. Furthermore, it is supported by the claim of The Department of Education – in the USA that peer-assisted reading has positive effects on the reading skills of adolescent learners.

Research Questions

This study aims to identify the contributing factors to the students’ difficulties in reading among frustration readers of Senior High Students of Pulot National High School.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the contributing factors to students who have reading difficulties?
2. What is the effect of the students’ reading difficulties on their academic performance?
3. How can the reading difficulties of Senior High School students be addressed?

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study used a case study research design. A case study is an in-depth examination of an individual, a group of individuals, or a unit to generalize across several units. A case study is an extensive, systematic examination of a single person, group, community, or another unit in which the researcher investigates in-depth data pertaining to multiple factors (Heale & Twycross, 2018).

A case study communicates a view of the phenomena of students’ school experiences to learn about what each student experiences in school as a unique learner. It is an effective method for learning about the school lives of students who struggle with reading comprehension. Students tend to describe things as they are, and case studies place this in the context of what has come before. Their feelings, hopes, and desires, as well as their relationships with people in their environment, are critical to understanding how the relationship between students and teachers, as well as between students and the techniques used, affect these students’ experiences. Since the specific location is vital to the students’ experience, an analysis of their school and classroom environment must be considered an important context of their school lives.

Research Setting

This study was conducted in Pulot National High School, Ozamiz City, from 2021-to 2022. Pulot NHS is one of the large schools in the Division of Ozamiz City. It has around 1,000 learners and 43 teaching and non-teaching personnel. PNHS caters to Grades 7 to 10 for Junior High School (JHS) and Grades 11 and 12 for Senior High School (SHS). PNHS offers five strands in the Senior High School. These are the General Academic Strand (GAS), Technical Vocational and Livelihood – Home Economics (TVL-HE), TVL – Electrical Installation and Maintenance (TVL-EIM), TVL – Computer System Servicing (TVL-CSS), and TVL – Shielded Metal Arc Welding (TVL-SMAW).

Research Participants

The participants of this research were the frustration readers of SHS and English language teachers in Pulot National High School, Ozamiz City. A total of six student-participants and five teacher-participants were considered as samples for this study. They were the students who fell in the frustration level during the conduct of Phil-IRI for the school year 2021-2022 in Pulot NHS and language teachers, respectively. They were selected through a purposive sampling technique so that the chosen participants qualified based on a criterion.

Research Instruments

An interview guide was used to elicit information from the participants. The interview guide questionnaire contained open-ended questions to probe the participants’ in-depth experiences as frustrated readers. Another set of questionnaires was utilized to solicit information from previous language teachers on their observation of the frustrations readers. The researcher developed the questionnaires and subjected them to pilot testing to check for clarity and ensure they would bring out relevant information in response to research questions. A record sheet was used to document and validate the interview transcript. An audio recorder was also used to capture the answers of the participants verbatim. This allowed the researcher to refer back to the interview so that no detail would be missed.

Ethical Considerations

The researcher employed the Helsinki Declaration (2001) rules to conform to ethical norms. The researcher informed all participants about the study’s objectives and importance. The value of autonomy and respect for the individual was protected through informed consent. The participants’ signed informed consent was acquired before the interview. The participants were informed of the study’s objectives, potential benefits to themselves or others; confidentiality protection; the researcher’s contact information for answers to questions regarding the study; and conditions of participation, including the right to refuse or withdraw at any time without penalty. The researcher informed the participants that their participation was fully optional, and they would have the opportunity to refuse to participate at any moment throughout the interview.

Data Analysis

This study used Yin’s (2009) five components of an effective case study, (1) research questions, (2) proposition or purpose of the study, (3) unit analysis, (4) logic that links data to propositions, and (5) criteria for interpreting findings. The most appropriate questions for this type of qualitative case study research were “how” and “why” forms of questions.

The second component of the case study research design defined the study purpose clearly. In this case study, the challenges experienced by the participants with regard to reading will be explored. The case study research design’s third component was the analysis unit. The researcher describes the unit of analysis as the area of focus (Yin, 2009). An appropriate unit of analysis occurred when primary research was accurately specified. The unit of analysis was directly tied to the research questions developed by the researcher. This study’s units of analysis were the contributing factors to the reading difficulties of the participants. The fourth component of the case study research design connected data to propositions. As a theme emerges, this connection will be made following the data collection phase. In this research study, themes were based on the participants’ challenges in reading. As data were analyzed, the researcher attempted to match patterns in the data to the case study’s theoretical propositions. The themes that emerged in this study served as answers to the research questions posed in Chapter 1.

The fifth component of this case study design was the criteria for interpreting findings. Commonly, the case study researcher coded the data before developing themes (Yin, 2009). For example, the student participants in this research will be coded as SP 1, 2, 3, and so on. Following the theme development stage, the researcher carefully extracted meaning from the findings to determine recommendations for practice and future research.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Student and Home Factors

While it is true that reading proficiency influences academic achievement, many SHS students still show difficulties in reading. This is because of various elements that affect their reading achievement. It can be due to student and home factors. These factors may result from lack of interest, lack of parental support, and lack of time for school work.

Lack of Interest. Interest plays an important role in creating a positive attitude towards reading. The more learners are interested in reading activities, the more they spend time reading. Their interest in reading is built upon making reading a habit. Sadly, reading habit has declined among teens nowadays. They find reading a boring activity. It is then the responsibility of the teachers to make the students desire to read. They must let the students know their need to learn how to read. The students must understand that reading is fundamental to learning skills and concepts. Through this, the learners may be interested and motivated to learn reading. However, a sad reality about the students’ interest in reading is poor. This lack of interest in reading hampers the academic achievement of the learners. During the interview, participants 2 and 5 mentioned that they are not interested in reading and that it gives them headaches. The participants also shared that they dislike reading and are not used to it. These were revealed in their answers:

“I don’t read at home. It feels tiring when I read. I get bored when reading. It gives me a headache.” (P2)

“I don’t like reading.” (P5))

At the time of the pandemic, education is greatly affected. It made the schools open using different learning modalities. The modular learning approach has become a common modality, especially for schools with unstable internet connections. During modular learning, students’ reading engagement in reading is in much demand. The students were left with no choice but to read for them to answer their modules. This implies that the students only read when needed, particularly when they need to work on their modules. It was also notable that students only do reading for them to comply with their requirements in school. Even online reading apps, such as watt pad, which are common for teenage readers nowadays, do not interest them. Participant 1 revealed these in his answers during the interview:

“I don’t read at home; sometimes, when I work on my modules, I read. I don’t read online reading apps. I am not interested in reading. (P1)

It was noted that the students have no interest in reading, making it difficult to understand their lessons. When a student does not understand what he is reading, it can be presumed that the student will not invest in reading. The lack of comprehension makes the students less interested in reading because they cannot make any worth in doing the activity. Barber (2020) believed that reading interest develops reading engagement, promoting reading success. Motivation is a critical component of reading. Without the will to read, improvement in comprehension would be difficult to achieve. Motivation fuels the reading habit. His claim is evident in his study, where the students yielded better results in reading when they were motivated to read. If students do not understand the words and can hardly understand what they are reading, this will lessen their interest in reading. In this study, participant 1 finds long words hard to read. Participant 3 also didn’t understand the module because he did not understand English texts. He is not used to reading or has just not practiced reading. Hence there are words he didn’t understand well. This was also expressed by participant 6. He didn’t read his module and even copied his classmate’s answers.

“There are words that are hard to read, especially long words.” (P1).

“I don’t like reading. I don’t even understand our module. I don’t understand English texts. Maybe because I am not used to reading. I have not practiced reading. There are words also that I don’t understand.” (P3)

“I don’t even read our modules. I only copy answers from Sheila.” (P6)

To enhance the students’ reading skills, PNHS came with Project REAL, a reading program designed to help frustrated readers become good readers. The program was meant to enrich the learners’ reading experience and build better reading abilities. Further, classroom teachers conducted individual reading activities. To successfully achieve the program’s objective, students must be active in joining the activities. To capture their desire to participate in reading, the teacher-facilitators prepared some snacks for the attendees. However, some students were not interested in joining the intervention program. Some students would even hide from their teachers. It was evident in the answer of teacher-participant 5, as she mentioned:

“Reading intervention program was created but not all frustration readers were active in participating the program.” (TP5)

It can be assumed that the students’ interest was not activated since the intervention program was done in fewer hours than expected. It can also be assumed that the program’s objectives would be best attained if done daily. The more frequently an intervention was cultured, the better results would yield. However, what was done was lesser than five days a week. Teacher-participants 1,2, 3, 4, and 5 mentioned that they conducted reading activities fewer than three days a week. It was evident in their answers:

“Fewer than three days a week” (TP1, TP2, TP3, TP4, TP5)

Aside from creating a reading intervention program, the students must also be given supplemental reading materials that best suit the learners’ interests. Teacher-Participants revealed that they have various reading materials in the reading corner of their classrooms. These materials can be used for homeroom activities. Teacher-participants 1 and 3 mentioned that they provided materials for home reading. However, no follow-ups were mentioned as to how far the progress of the learners in reading has gone. They mentioned the following:

“I provided reading materials for homeroom activities.” (TP1, TP3)

“Books, Magazines, Brochures, Encyclopedia, Newspaper, Comic” (TP1, TP2, TP3, TP4, TP5)

While teaching students to read is essential to instill a love of reading. Students who read willingly are more positive about reading than those forced to read (Starke, 2020). For students to be good readers, they need reading materials that capture their interests (Dawkins, 2017). Therefore, they must be supplemented with reading materials of their interest. Students should have access to materials from many genres so they may discover what they love reading most. The selection of books by students is the first step in getting students interested in reading. Learners become effective, independent readers when they take control of their reading.

The lack of interest in reading impacted the students’ learning engagement. The learners did not develop a culture of reading because they were not interested in reading. As a result, their academic achievement suffers. The learners were not interested in reading because they found it boring. Other students lose interest in reading because they have difficulty understanding some words, especially long ones. The presence of these frustration readers made teachers come up with a reading intervention program to cater to the students’ needs. But this can be successfully done with the desire of the learners to learn and participate in the program.

Lack of parental support. Education starts at home since parents greatly influence their children’s lives. A child does not learn to read on his or her own. Parents and teachers should assist the child. The child’s first teacher is his parents, and his first school is his house. Parents must instill a passion for learning in their children and encourage them to continue on their own. However, it can be difficult for parents to be involved in their children’s educational attainment or even impossible to teach their children when they have deficiencies. Yet, they can still support their children by encouraging them to do well in school.

Parental participation is associated with fewer behavioral issues in school, improved attendance, reduced dropout rates, and lower grade retention (Ross, 2018). Lam and Ducreaux (2017) state that parental support includes home-based activities. Home-based activities include parents helping their children with schoolwork and reading to them. On the contrary, children who were not taught literacy at an early age show deficiency in their performance in school, including reading. This study proves this claim as participants 1 and 6 revealed that their parents did not teach them how to read. Participant 1 further narrates he could not even remember any instance that his parents taught him how to read. Participant 6 shared that nobody even taught him when he was young. These were mentioned in the following interview responses:

 “Our parents did not teach us how to read when we were young. I can’t remember them letting us read at home.” (P1)

“Maybe because nobody taught me when I was young.” (P6)

Additionally, participants claimed that they are frustrated readers because of their experience growing up, where they mentioned that they did not grow up with their parents. Participants 2 and 3 pointed out that they did not grow up with their parents. Specifically, participant 3 mentioned that his parents separated, and his mother went to Manila for work, leaving him with his aunt. These were their responses:

“Maybe I can somehow blame my parents because they left me. They did not teach me.” (P2)

“My parents did not teach me, because when my father got a new family, my mother left me with my aunt because she had to go to Manila for work then she never came back.” (P3) 

Parents must make time at home to read with their children. Every family member should participate and reading together should be a routine. Parents’ involvement in homeroom activities can greatly impact students’ learning progress. However, on the part of the participants, their parents didn’t have time to teach them and were not even willing to help them with their assignments. Participant 4 claimed that his mother would only tell him to do his assignments, but he didn’t get help from her. He was only left to do it with his cousin. Participant 5 also mentioned that his mother taught him when he was young until his brother was born. From then on, his mother didn’t have time to teach him. These were their responses:

“My mother would only tell us to make our assignments but won’t help us. It would be just my cousin and me who will do it.” (P4)

“My mother only taught me a little then when my brother was born; she didn’t have time to teach me.” (P5)

Another factor that may have caused the participants to be non-reader has parents who are non-readers. It can be impossible for non-reader parents to teach their children to read because they too have difficulties in reading. They cannot pass on a skill they do not have. Participant 3 stated that his parents are also struggling readers. His father does not know how to read, while his mother reads like a young kid. Even writing is a struggle for them. This was his answer:

“My father does know how to read too. My mother reads just like a young kid. They don’t even know how to write. They can only write their names.” (P3)

Chen (2021) remarked that frustrated readers might find it unpleasant for parents to read to their children daily for eight to ten minutes to foster greater reading skills and a good attitude toward reading. When parents are proactive, they encourage and push their children to study harder, motivating them to work hard and attain academic success.

Families greatly impact how children learn and how well they do in school because they are the first and most important environment they are exposed to. Children’s academic achievement is linked to their parents’ educational background. Less-educated parents could poorly transfer skills to their children. The parents’ educational attainment has a long-term influence on students’ academic achievement. Children from parents with a high level of education do better than those with a lower level of education. As their children’s first instructors, parents must concentrate on creating reading habits such as reading for pleasure and outside of school to help them read smoothly at school and beyond. Parents who read often may encourage their children to read. Students must also develop motivation and interest in reading.

Lack of Time for School Work. Reading regularly instills in students the drive to read independently. Because practice leads to perfection, the more a skill is practiced, the more it is learned, applied, and remembered. Reading must be done even beyond school hours. Students must devote time to doing schoolwork even if they are at home. Parents must encourage their children to do home activities. However, in this study, the participants become occupied with their responsibilities at home. The participants’ responsibilities in their respective households become contributory to their being frustration readers. There is nothing wrong with teens of school-age earning a living, but it should not hamper the achievement of their academic success. It is not their responsibility to provide for their family. However, it has been revealed by participant 4 that he has worked, and it makes him tired already to do schoolwork. Participants 5 and 6 also said that they do too many household chores, that’s why they do not have time to read at home. Participant 5 specifically mentioned that he still has to help his grandfather with the copra. Because of these, they find no interest in spending extra time learning how to read. These were revealed in their answers:

“I don’t read. I don’t even stay at home. I have work. When I get home from work, I sleep. So I don’t have time to read.” (P4)

“I go to our grandfather’s house to help him with the copra.” (P5)

“I don’t like to read. I also get tired doing all the chores at home. I have a lot of chores.” (P6)

Making time to do schoolwork at home increases students’ academic success. This should include reading books, reviewing notes, and answering assignments. Making it a habit makes it easier for students to create a reading culture. Good reading habits may be instilled in a learner if they regularly read without giving it much thought because of the habit’s inherent stability. In other words, when someone repeatedly performs something, an automatic habit is created and becomes an integral part of their daily routine (Issa, 2021). On the other hand, many learners don’t fall into the group of those who read regularly. The educational system’s record of low performance in both internal and external tests might be attributed to students’ poor reading habits (Acheaw, 2019).

When students develop, a habit of finding time to do schoolwork at home gives greater possibilities of achieving academic success. From this study, learners claimed they don’t have time to do it, so their academic performance is affected. Finding means to help parents do household chores or earn an income is not bad, but it should not hinder them from doing school-related activities. Parents should help their children when it is needed. The parents should be motivated to make their children do home assignments.

Effects of Reading Difficulties

Being in senior high school, students are expected to be good at reading. They are already in higher secondary education and are expected to be critical readers. In addition, 21st century learners are more linguistically diverse and thus should be proficient and knowledgeable in reading and writing the language. However, not all students possess such skills. Many still perform poorly. Because of having reading difficulties, students show poor academic performance. They also become victims of bullying, and a feeling of envy is built up in them.

Poor academic performance. Poor academic performance in school is a severe problem that must be addressed. The first thing that must be considered to identify the correct answers is the cause. Poor academic performance can have external or internal causes. External factors include the school environment, social interaction, teachers, and instructional methodologies. Internal reasons may include issues at home and children’s emotional development and condition.

In the study, participants 1, 3, 4, and 5 revealed that they got low grades. Low grades may manifest that learner have a deficiency in their academic performance. Reading, as a basic skill, is very much important to be mastered. If a student does not perform well in reading, the more he will fail in all other skills. How can a student answer an examination when he has difficulty answering the questions, thus leading him to get low grades. Participant 1 specifically disclosed that he even sorted to doing projects to pass a subject. It is not new to the participants anymore if they receive low grades. The following responses were mentioned during the interview:

“I get low grades. There are a lot of 7’s. My other grades are out of pity only. I would even do some projects for grades.” P1)

“I have low grades. I am used to having low grades.” (P3)

 “My grades are low.” (P4)

“I have low grades.” (P5)

Additionally, all the teachers-participants have observed reading difficulties among the participants, contributing to students’ poor academic performance. Frustration readers mostly read at a slow pace. They have tendencies to skip words that they cannot read. Sometimes, they would even change the words and associate them with other words that are closely spelled as the same. They manifested abilities that were lower than expected for their age. Further, teacher-participant 5 revealed that students also lacked interest in joining intervention programs to help them become good readers. The following are the answers of the teacher-participants:

“Slow reading speed, Omission of words while reading, Substitution of words while reading, Difficulty decoding syllables or singles words and associating them with specific sounds.” (TP1, TP2, TP3, TP4, TP5, TP6)

“Reading intervention program was created but not all frustration readers were active in participating the program.” (TP5)

Students who have difficulty in reading resulted to having poor academic performance. Since reading is a vital component that leads to academic success, achievement becomes hindered when students struggle to understand. Therefore, for students to perform best in school, they must first master the skill of reading. Williams (2018) defined academic performance as a measured result associated with the students’ general point average (GPA), commonly known as the general average. He further explained that the student’s GPA results from various academic subjects. Furthermore, the study by Gao et al. (2017) proves that increased independent reading among students helps achieve better academic performance. They further believed that high-quality reading performance is an important component of academic success.

Therefore, reading plays a vital role in the success of the students. Students who read independently have greater reading comprehension, verbal fluency, and general knowledge than those who do not. They become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have greater content knowledge than their non-reading peers.

Source of Bullying. In today’s public schools, bullying is becoming an increasingly common issue. Most victims of bullying in schools are students who perform poorly, including poor readers. Due to reading difficulties, participant 1 mentioned that he became shy and was repeatedly teased for his mistakes, while together with participants 3 and 5 were laughed at. The participants also became victims of bullying for being frustration readers. The following responses were made during the interview:

“I get shy with my classmates because they would laugh at my reading. They bully me. They would repeatedly tease me with my mistakes. I get hurt because they see me as dumb.” (P1)

“They bully me. It hurts because I am just a human; I also have feelings.” (P3)

“There was one time that my classmates laughed at my reading. Then they bullied me. No one would choose me to be a part of their group during class activities.” (P5)

People who have reading difficulties are more prone to be bullied. It impacts the lives of the students making learning hindered. The study of Mbah (2020) revealed that bullied students resulted in less classroom participation among the victims. It even escalated to higher levels of depression. Another study by Raqqad et al. (2021) also showed that bullying negatively affects students’ academic achievement.

Bullying happens everywhere. It mostly happens to learners who show difficulties in school. Victims of bullying become afraid of participating in class because they fear being laughed at whenever they commit a mistake. As a result, they will miss chances to interact with others and engage in school activities. As a result, they will achieve lower academic achievement and educational attainment. 

Feeling of Envy. Envy is an unpleasant feeling that one may feel the longing to possess the same ability as others. It is a feeling of wanting to possess the same as others have. In a classroom, frustrated readers can feel envy knowing that their classmates have the abilities they do not have or are not even good at. Participants 2, 4, and 6 revealed that they envied their classmates for being good readers. Specifically, participant 4 said that he envied his classmates more for having their families to support them. They mentioned:

“I envy my classmates because they know how to read plus they have their family to support them.” (P2)

“I pity myself, and I envy my classmates because they know how to read.” (P4)

“I envy my classmates who are good at reading.” (P6)

Envy is more than just a sinking feeling. Psychiatrists have theorized that envy is a natural human feeling that develops throughout life and must be handled. The belief that we have been denied something that we are entitled to be typically accompanied by feelings of inferiority (Will, 2018). In some cases, the envy of the participants has made them seek help as they wish to become good readers. If there is one good thing the unpleasant feeling of envy has to give is the desire to be helped by experts or peers.

Based on the researcher’s observation, the feeling of envy is evident on the part of the frustrated readers because they are less likely to be wanted by others. It can be observed that their presence in the classroom can be compared to normal days, just like when they are not around. Their classmates would even worry if they have groupmates who are frustration readers because they feel like they are a burden in their group.

Addressing Reading Difficulties

Reading with someone encourages students to try materials somewhat above their typical reading level. This theme presents the participants’ insights on how they think they can be helped to address their concerns on reading difficulties. First, they think that tutoring can help them become fluent readers. They believe their teachers can be their best tutors to address their reading difficulties.

Teacher Assisted Reading. All classes have students with varying degrees of competency in numerous reading abilities. Meeting the reading demands of various students is often mentioned as one of the most difficult responsibilities for teachers. To address the reading difficulties, participants 1, 4, 5, and 6 believed that the teachers could help them best. Explicitly, participant 1 felt embarrassed to be in senior high school but still struggles to read; that is why he felt that a tutorial could best help him. Furthermore, participant 6 mentioned that asking for help from the teachers is not only enough, but it should be paired with the best effort to practice reading. The following were evident in the responses of the participants:

“Maybe like a tutorial. Because it’s embarrassing to be in senior high school, but I’m not good at reading.” (P1)

“Ask help from the teachers.” (P4)

“I should not be shy to ask help from the teachers.” (P5)

“I will try my best to practice and ask help from the teachers.” (P6)

To meet the demands of the students’, need to improve reading, the teachers should go beyond the books in teaching the frustration readers. It is worthy to note that reading intervention programs were created to help the students and provide them with reading materials. Teacher-Participants 1 and 3 shared some reading activities with the frustrated readers to help them become good readers. Teacher-Participant 5 also provided reading materials for homeroom activities and created a reading intervention program. These were their responses:

“I provided reading materials for homeroom activities.” (TP1, TP3)

“Reading intervention program was created, but not all frustration readers were active in participating the program.” (TP5)

Through regular guided reading, educators may expose children to various informative texts with high-interest levels. Daily tailored reading practice allows students to read books of their choice on their reading level, allowing them to develop as readers (Kate, 2021). During small-group reading teaching, learners must be exposed to various book genres. When students find a book of interest, they may make it their independent reading book of choice (Starke, 2020).

As frustration readers believe that the teachers are the best ones to help them address their reading difficulties, teachers should give attention to the needs of these students. The teachers should not only implement reading interventions but as well as going the extra mile to make the students improve. There are various strategies that the teachers can do aside from tutorials. The teachers should not just look into making the students read but also develop their skills in understanding and inferences about what they read. Strategies may also vary depending on the diversity of the learners.

Peer Assisted Reading. Peers can also help frustration readers address their reading difficulties. Frustrated readers can build trust in students who are performing well in school. Peers can help frustration readers develop their skills in reading. In the interview, participants 3 and 2 consider asking for help from the honor students and other older family members. The students can build trust in students on the honor roll and believe they are also the best ones who can help them develop their reading skills. In the interview, they mentioned the following:

“Ask help from those who know how to read, especially to the honor students.” (P3)

“Ate Myka, my cousin, was in 2nd-year high school that time. She taught me a little about the alphabet and numbers.” (P2)

Peer reading has always been believed to carry out positive student experiences successfully. All knowledge arises as a function of social interaction and language usage and hence is a shared, rather than an individual, experience. Knowledge is also the consequence of various social processes and relationships rather than simply seeing the environment (Victoria, 2021). It is believed that a student could increase his reading abilities when paired with a qualified peer. The interaction with a proficient reader can be through tutoring or small group discussions. Qualified peers can be those language teachers and even honor students in the class. The study of Jubran (2017) supports this claim where the result of his study yielded a significant increase in the participants’ reading ability. During the experimentation of his study, the teachers were the first who conducted the tutoring and later paired the participants with advanced readers from the class.

Paired reading may also improve oral abilities, allowing hesitant readers to practice reading in front of a big group. It may considerably benefit students developing fluency abilities such as precise phrasing and expression. It aids in the development of sight word identification and understanding. Finally, it enables students to hear the tone and speed of an experienced reader.

FINDINGS

After consolidating the data gathered, this study yielded the following themes:

1. Student and home factors which include lack of interest among students, lack of parental support and lack of time for schoolwork.
2. Effects of reading difficulties including poor academic performance, source of bullying, and feeling of envy.
3. Addressing reading difficulties through teacher assisted reading and peer-assisted reading. 

CONCLUSION

In the light of the findings of this study, it is concluded that frustration readers face difficulty in reading due to various factors.

1. The participants are not interested in spending time reading at home. Their parents did not teach the learners how to read because even they have difficulty reading, thus comprehending poorly. Some parents also are busy earning a living to the point that they do not have time to oversee their children’s academic status. The participants do not have time to spend schoolwork at home because they are already occupied with making a living independently.
2. Having difficulty in reading also leads to poor academic performance. This is a concern that must be given attention by the school administrators together with the teachers and other stakeholders. Non-readers are at risk of being bullied in school. This also caused them to envy their classmates. The more the students are being bullied, the more they will lose confidence and interest in participating in classroom activities.
3. An effective way to address the concern of the reading difficulties of the students is to conduct teacher and peer-assisted reading. It is believed to be a good program to help frustrated readers improve their abilities in reading.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To help the frustration readers become fluent readers, it is recommended that:

1. Teachers may encourage students to develop a culture of reading within themselves. Reading materials may also be provided to the students. The teacher may also assess the students reading to see their progress.
2. The school may organize community forums to alert parents of the strong link between school performance and academic success. Conduct school activities to ensure that bullying does not happen outside the campus. The school administrators may build a program that will awaken the interest of the students to participate in reading activities. The school may also tap the stakeholders to support the reading intervention program by providing reading materials.
3. Teachers may go outside the classroom to assist students in understanding how their opinions of themselves and their surroundings impact their academic achievement. Counseling students may entail mentoring them. Academic and personal mentorship of students promotes a positive attitude toward academic work, study habits, and orientation to people, institutions, and universities.
4. Future researchers may also conduct other research that may determine other factors that caused frustration readers among students.

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