A Qualitative Analysis on Students’ Perception on The Concept of Academic Achievement and The Barriers

Abstract

Adolescents' views on success serve as a cornerstone in structuring their future. Hence, this study aims to determine the students’ perception on the concept of academic achievement, how they perceive themselves in terms of academic achievement, the barriers to academic achievement, and what they need to eliminate them. The study group, which consists of 29 science high school students studying the 10th grade in the academic year of 2018-19. According to the content analysis, students do not measure academic achievement with grades alone the high school education system relying heavily on grades to measure achievement and being highly competitive, the students address ‘social’, ‘psychological’, ‘cognitive’ and ‘professional’ aspects, as well. It has been identified that 75,9% of the students do not find themselves academically successful, whose reason is based on academic self-evaluations and behavioral manifestation of these academic self-evaluations. Examining students’ perceptions on the barriers to their academic achievements, it has been seen that they fight fierce battles not only with external factors but also with internal factors. When asked about their needs to eliminate such barriers, the students noted the need for individual strategies, sources of motivation and social, psychological, instrumental support to promote academic achievement.