NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF

THE PRIMARY PUPILS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Presented to the
Faculty of the graduate school
College of Education
Western Mindanao State University
Zamboanga City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the requirement for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Education
(Special Education)


By:

RHEA PILAR F. COLLADO
February, 2011














Submitted To:
Mrs. Narhuda H. Unga,RND,MaEd
Submitted By:
Delfie Von A. Raganas
BSND 3-A


NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF
THE PRIMARY PUPILS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT
By
RHEA PILAR F. COLLADO
February 12, 2011

NOLAN S. IGLESIA. Ed. D.
Adviser

ABSTRACT

Malnutrition has been identified as a major problem in the Philippines
Despite the many achievements reported in demographic characteristics, such as
the drastic reduction in fertility rates, maternity and infant mortality levels, and
improvement in educational attainment particularly of woman, malnutrition
continues to be a serious health concern.
The goal of this study was to determine the correlation between
nutritional status and academic performance of the primary pupils with hearing
impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED class for school year 2010-
2011. The DepEd form 138, an official record of the pupils and the result of their
nutritional status based on their body mass index were the main sources of data
for this study.
The findings revealed that the nutritional status of the primary pupils with
hearing impairment is normal. The study also revealed that the academic
performance of the primary pupils with hearing impairment is poor.
Age, sex, number of siblings, ethnicity, religion, parents ` income and
mother`s educational attainment were also considered in determining the
significant differences of the respondents `nutritional status and academic
performance.
The results disclosed that there is no significant relationship between
nutritional status and academic performance of the primary pupils with hearing
impairment of Southcom Elem, Sch. SPED class for Sch. Yr. 2010-2011.The
hypothesis which states that there is no significant pupils with hearing
impairment was accepted.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION


Background of the Study
Malnutrition has been identified as a major problem in the Philippines.
Despite the many achievements reported in demographic characteristics, such as
the drastic reduction in fertility rates, maternity and infant mortality levels, and
improvement in educational attainment particularly of women malnutrition
continues to be serious health concern. According to the findings of the Income
and Expenditure survey conducted in 2002, nearly one fourth (23.9%) of the
households fall into the category of poor households: in terms of adequacy in
energy intake, which provides sample evidence to the insufficient food intake in
many households.

The nutritional status of an individual largely depends on the quality and
quantity of food available in the market, purchasing power of the household,
which would determine the accessibility of food and the distribution of food
within the household.

Although food intake influence the nutritional status of an individual to a
great extent, it is not the only critical factor responsible for malnutrition in the
case of children under five years of age. Living standard, water sanitation, birth
weight, birth interval , sex of child, weaning practices and mother education, are
a few of the important factors which have been identified from research studies.
However, dietary inadequacy is certainly the basic case of malnutrition among
school-aged children and many of the above-identified factors directly or
indirectly contribute to the incidence of malnutrition.

The issue if nutritional status among school children is of primordial
concern since this influences school performance. Research evidence showed
that nutritional status is directly related to the academic performance of the
students. It has been shown that poor health nutrition can affect student`s
attendance rates in school which can also lead to affect on their ability to learn,
(Grantham-McGregor & Olney, 2006). There have been several other cross-
sectional studies that have revealed the relationships between poor nutritional
status, including stunting, low weight-for-height ratios, anemia, and iodine
deficiency and late enrollment, poor cognitions, classroom behavioral issues,
poor school achievement, and increased drop-out rates in school; (Grantham-
McGregor & Olney, 2006). As you can imagine, not only does nutrition directly
affect a student achievement, but it can also lead in other factors that can
intensify the struggle to achieve success academically. There are many foods
that have been found to generate a link between nutrition and academic
performance.
Research on this regard, has not yet been explored to students with
special needs. The researcher believes that a study along this line has to be
considered since many children with special needs are in school and deserve
special attention from teachers and significant others, hence, this study


Statement of the Problem
This study conducted to determine the correlation between the nutritional
status and academic performance of primary pupils with hearing impairment of
Southcom Elementary School SPED class, Zamboanga City for school year 2010-
2011

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions
1. What is the nutritional status of the primary pupils with hearing
impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED Class?
2. What is the academic performance of the primary pupils with hearing
impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED Class?
3. Is there a significant difference in the nutritional status of the primary
pupils with hearing impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED
Class when data are grouped according to:

a. Age;
b. Sex;
c. Number of siblings;
d. Ethnicity
e. Religion
f. Parents` income
g. Mother`s educational attainment?
4. Is there a significant difference in the academic performance of the
primary pupils with hearing impairment of Southcom Elementary School
SPED Class when data are grouped according to:
a. Age;
b. Sex;
c. Number of siblings;
d. Ethnicity
e. Religion
f. Parents `income;
g. Mother`s educational attainment?
5. Is there a significant correlation between nutritional status and academic
performance of the primary pupils with hearing impairment of Southcom
Elementary School SPED Class?
Significant of the Study
The results of the study will be beneficial to the following
The study can provide school administrators with the idea of conducting
feeding program among the pupils with hearing impairments.
The study can provide parents with ideas on the present nutritional status
of the pupils with hearing impairment and its relation to the academic
performance in the classroom.
The result of the study will help teachers adopt measures in improving the
nutritional status of the pupils with hearing impairment by closely collaborating
with their parents especially on food preparation.
The study can provide researchers who work along this field that will
make them better understand their researches. In the same manner, this can
lend support to some of the findings of their studies
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study was limited to the nutritional status of the primary pupils with
hearing impairment and their academic performance covering from first to third
grading period for the year 2010-2011 of Southcom Elementary School SPED
Class, Baliwasan District, Zamboanga City. Considering the number of enrollees
in Special Education particularly for children with hearing impairment, there were
only 16 respondents available since the respondents are primary pupils.
The nutritional status of the subjects was based on the official school
records of their body mass index. The academic performance of the subjects was
based on the DepEd Form 138, which records their progress in the different
learning areas from first to third grading of school year 2010-2011.




CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter presents a review of related studies and literature that has
something to do with the research. The ideas presented in the studies formed an
essential part of this manuscript toward formulating theories, concepts, findings
and conclusions.

Review of Related Literature and Studies
A. Related Literature
In today`s society, many children are still not getting
adequate diet or proper nutrition. Many students today are severely
malnourished, whether they are underfed or significantly
overweight. An adequate diet or lack thereof, can greatly affect
behavior, how they perform in school, on tests, and their overall
academic success. Over time, many people, including both parents
and educators, have looked at the link between students diet and
overall school performance, (Taras, 2005), and research has shown
that nutrition is in fact, important for students to achieve
successfully.
Nutrition is important for cognitive and brain development,
therefore, making healthy food choices becomes vital to a
student`s academic performance. Nutrients provide the energy
needed to complete simple and complex tasks. Even a moderate
lack of nutrients can have lasting effects on children`s cognitive
development and school performance. It shows that there is a
strong link between good nutrition and academic performance. Not
surprisingly, when kids` basic nutritional needs are met; they
perform better academically than those with poor nutrition, based
on the 1994 Nutrition- Cognition Imitative (Center on Hunger,
Poverty and Nutrition)
Academic performance was significantly correlated with
breast feeding, income and educational level of their parents, Body
Mass Index, and whether they have been taking breakfast.
Improving the socio economic status of the parents will lend a
helping hand in the academic performance of the students (Asia
Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2003)
B. Related Studies
It has often been stated that malnutrition-one of the most
serious social problems-is also one of the greatest factor for poor
academic performance.
Ribeiro(1991,1993), in his studies, pointed out that about
50% of the children enrolled in the first grades of the elementary
school failed all over the country. The studies of that time try to
show that the poor academic performance of the lower classes
children resulted from deficiencies in their biopsychosocial
development. Known in the educational environments as cultural
deprivation or cultural scarcity theories, the studies searched for
the reasons of the poor academic performance in the children
themselves and in their precarious life and eating conditions.

Theoretical Framework
This study was anchored on David Satcher (2005) theory.
According to him well-nourished children tend to be better
students, compared to poorly nourished students, who tend to
display a lower academic performance and receive lower scores on
standardized test. He said that children who do not have a healthy
diet or proper nutrition during the brains most formative years
have a lower vocabulary, poorer reading comprehension skills, poor
mathematical skills, and less knowledge in general. If a student is
not present for class, it is impossible for them to keep up with their
tasks and they can get further and further behind the rest of the
class. According to him 6-to-11 year-old children from food-
insufficient families had significantly lower arithmetic scores and
were more likely to repeat a grade Schools have the unique
opportunityeven the responsibility- to teach and model healthful
eating and physical activity, both in theory and in practice
Improving children`s health likely improves school performance,
and it may even help a school`s bottom line. Therefore, schools
have a vested interest in improving the nutrition and increasing the
physical activity of their students.

















Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable














FIGURE 1. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of this study. It presents
variables, which are considered important in determining the correlation between
the nutritional status and the academic performance of the primary pupils with
hearing impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED Class during the
school year 2010-2011.The independent variable is the nutritional status of the
primary pupils with hearing impairment. The dependent variable is the academic
performance of the primary pupils with hearing impairment. The moderator
variables are the age, sex, number of siblings, ethnicity, religion, parents
`income and mother`s educational attainment of the primary pupils with hearing
impairment.


Nutritional Status


Academic Performance of
Pupils with Hearing
Impairment
a. Age
b. Sex
c. Number of siblings
d. Ethnicity
e. Religion
f. Parents `income
g. Mother`s`Educational
Attainment

Hypotheses Statement
This study hypothesis that
1. There is no significant difference in the nutritional status of the primary
pupils with hearing impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED Class when
data are grouped according to:

a. Age;
b. Sex;
c. Number of siblings;
d. Ethnicity
e. Religion
f. Parents` income
g. Mother`s educational attainment
2. There is no significant difference in the academic performance of the
primary pupils with hearing impairment of Southcom Elementary School SPED
Class when data are grouped according to:
a. Age;
b. Sex;
c. Number of siblings;
d. Ethnicity
e. Religion
f. Parents `income;
g. Mother`s educational attainment
3. There is no significant correlation between nutritional status and
academic performance of the primary pupils with hearing impairment of
Southcom Elementary School SPED Class
Definition of Variables/Other Terms
The following terms have been defined operationally to ensure clarity and
better understanding of the data in the study
Independent Variable
Nutritional status. Is based on height and weight (Wasted, Severely
Wasted, Normal, Obese, and Overweight) using the body mass index (BMI)
classification, where mild, moderate, and severe were considered
undernourished.
Wasted. Refers to the nutritional status of the child equal or below 70%
of the ideal weight for actual length.
Severely Wasted. Refers to the nutritional status of the child equal or
below 50% of the ideal weight for actual length.
Normal. Refers to the nutritional status of child equal or more than 90%
of the ideal weight for actual length.
Obese. Refers to having a body weight more than 20% greater than
recommended for a relevant height.
Overweight. Refers to having more body weight than is considered
healthy for a person`s height, build or age.
Dependent Variable
Academic Performance. Refers to the general average grades from
first to third grading period of the primary pupils with hearing impairment. The
rating scale used in the academic performance is as follows
O- 95-100
VG- 89-94
G- 83-88
F- 76-82
P- 70-75
Moderator Variables
Age. Is referred to as the biological age of the pupils. In this study, the
age was categorized as 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15.
Sex. Is referred to the gender of the pupil classified as male and female
Number of Siblings. The number of brothers and sisters who share at
least parent. In this study, number of siblings was categorized as 1-3, 4-6 & 7-8

Ethnicity. The quality of belonging to an ethnic group, In this study,
ethnicity was categorized as Visayan, Tausog, and Zamboangueno
Religion. Is a fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed
upon by a group of people, In this study, religion was categorized as Roman
Catholic and Islam.
Parents` Income. Refers to the total income the parents received
during the month. In this study, parents` income was categorized as 5 thousand
below and 5 thousand above
Mother`s Educational Attainment. Refers to the highest degree of
education that a mother has completed. In this study, mother`s educational
attainment categorized as elementary, high school and college levels
Children with Hearing Impairment. Those who are deaf or hard of
hearing . The deaf persons are those whose hearing is non-functional for
ordinary purposes in life. The hard-of-hearing has a sense of hearing which
although defective is functional with or without a hearing aid
Body Mass Index. An index that expresses weight in relation to height.
Is calculated as weight in kilogram divided by height in meters squared, or 704.5
times weight in pounds divided by height in inches squared. A body mass index
of less than 25 it considered normal, and one of over 30 implies obesity.
DepEd Form 138. The report card that shows the academic
performance and progress in the form of grades of a pupil in all his or her
subjects.