INFLUENCE OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF AT-RISK LEARNERS

Health and Nutrition

This study examined the nutritional status, socio-economic background, and academic performance of at-risk learners. It sought to determine whether nutritional status is significantly associated with academic performance and whether academic performance varies according to parents’ educational attainment, occupation, and family income. The study used survey results as the basis for analysis. Findings revealed that there is no significant association between the nutritional status and academic performance of nutritionally at-risk learners. This indicates that the learners’ nutritional status does not significantly affect their academic performance. In terms of socio-economic background, academic performance significantly differed when respondents were grouped according to the educational background of parents, particularly between those whose parents did not finish elementary and those whose parents are elementary graduates. Significant differences were also found when respondents were grouped according to parents’ occupation, specifically between those with unemployed parents and government/private employees, and between those with parents who are farmers and government/private employees. However, no significant difference was found in the academic performance of learners when grouped according to family income. The findings suggest that parental educational attainment and occupation may influence the academic performance of at-risk learners more than nutritional status and family income. Thus, the study highlights the importance of socio-economic and parental factors in understanding the academic outcomes of learners at risk. The results may serve as a basis for designing intervention programs that will support the academic development of these learners.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.