FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENTS LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT

by: Zakridatul Agusmaniar Rane
makalah diajukan untuk tugas mata kuliah Belajar dan Pembelajaran
prog. study Pend. Bahasa Inggris
FKIP- UNHALU

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Education has important role in the raising the quality of our human resources. By education, we are hoped that the ability, education quality and human prestige can be raised. And education part that has important role in it is learning process.

Learning is an activity that has purpose to make a change of behavior, attitude, habitual, knowledge, skill, etc as a result of individual experience of interaction with the environment.

Psychologists have many different ways to explain the definition of learning. But, either explicit or implicit finally has the similar meaning that the definition of learning always directed to a process of someone behavior change based on practice or certain experience.

Slameto in Nurkholis (2003:2) said that learning is an effort process that is done by someone to get a change of fully new behavior as a result of own experience in interaction with the environment.

One of parameter that is used to measure level of education success is students learning achievement. If the students show good learning achievement, it means that the education process is success. But when students show bad learning achievement, it means that the education process has failed.

Therefore, considering the important role of students learning achievement to determine the success of education, so learning process should be directed toward the increasing of students learning achievement. But, firstly we have to know what kind of factors those influences it. Because of that, considering the important of this factors so writer decide to make a paper about “factors that influence students learning achievement”.

1.2 Problem Statement

Talking about learning process, there are many aspects that interest to be discussed. But, in this paper we narrow down the problem only about:

1. What is the definition of learning achievement?

2. What factors that influence students learning achievement?

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

2.1 The Definition Of Learning Achievement

In dictionary, achievement is a result that has been reached. About learning achievement, Sumadi Suryabrata divides it into two parts. First, learning result is skill mastery that is done willfully in a period and certain topic. Second, learning result is the difference between someone skill at the beginning and the end of learning process. (Sumardi in Munir, 2010)

Leaning achievement is knowledge mastery or skill that is developed by subject and it is used to be shown by mark (grade) that is given by a teacher (Purwodarminto in Nurkholis 2006:10). While Rusyan in Nurkholis (2006:10) said that learning achievement is the result of planning and applying of learning process so we are needed supporting information with objective and appropriate data.

At school learning result is showed in mark (grade) in all of lesson. So, these marks are symbol of students learning achievement (students learning result).Winkle in Nurkholis (2006:10) said that learning achievement is a result of knowledge assessment, skill and behavior which is showed by a mark (grade).

Based on some definition above, we can conclude that learning achievement or learning result is the change that is happened in students self after follow a learning process. Learning result is a response that given by students. Learning result that is found is not only knowledge but also students’ behavior.

2.2 Factors That Influence Students Learning Achievement

Every activity that we do absolutely have factors that influence it either motivate of demotivates factors. Like as others activities, learning achievement is also influenced by some factors. Factors that influence learning achievement can be divided into two general group these are internal and external factors.

2.2.1 Internal Factor

Internal factors consist of two general groups these are physiological factors and psychological factors.

a. Physiological factors

There are two kinds of physiological condition. The first is general physiology condition. This condition influences students learning process. Students who have good health condition will increase their learning capacity. While students who are sick or have bad health condition has weak physic, so their sensory and motorist nerve become weak. As the result, students who are in poor health will find it difficult to learn because they become tired soon, dizzy, sleepy, less of concentration, and lazy to study. Wasti Sumanto said that learning needs healthy condition. People who sick because of certain disease and exhaustion will not learn effectively. (Soemanto, 1990:121)

The second is particular physiology condition that related to the function of five senses in learning process especially sight and hearing, and also another physical defect will disturb students concentration in learning process.

b. Psychological factors

Saifuddin Azwar (2002) divides psychological factor into two types, these are cognitive and non-cognitive variable. Cognitive variable consist of talent and intelligence. While non-cognitive variable consist of interest, motivation and students maturity

1. Intelligence

According to David Wechsler, intelligence is people ability to think and act in order and also handle and master the environment effectively. Intelligence factor is related to IQ. Every people have different IQ level. Someone who has IQ 110-140 is categorized as smart people, and people who have IQ over 140 are categorized as genius people. This category has potency to finish under graduated. Someone who has IQ less than 90 is categorized as dullard and has many difficulties in learning.

This factor has big influence for students learning achievement. If someone intelligence is low and he/she doesn’t get help from teacher and parents, his/her effort in learning will get a bad result or event fail.

2. Talent

Talent is a potency or basic skill which is brought since we bore (Ahmadi, 1991:78). Every people have different talent and someone will learn something that appropriate with his/her talent. Someone will easier to learn something based on his/her talent. If someone learn about a subject that contrary with his/her talent, he will be bore and desperate soon. It is shown by students who always disturb learning process, make something crowded, and don’t pay attention to the subject so they get low grade. Intelligence

3. Interest

Interest is trend to choose something that appear from us to pay attention, accept and do something without compulsion and it is thought important or useful for ourselves.

Students who don’t have interest to a subject will appear difficulties in learning. Interest occurs from students learning needed become support for them to do learning process.

If students don’t have interest about the subject, maybe it doesn’t appropriate with their talent, their needed or their skill. It and will occur a problem to student. Students’ interest can be observed from students’ way in follow learning process, their note, and activity in the class.

4. Motivation

Motivation means that “everything that pushes someone to do something” (Purwanto, 1985:69) there is motivation that comes from ourselves and from outside. Motivation pushes someone to get good achievement and reaches the success or gets something that becomes his/her goal and someone’s participation in a project.

Motivation as internal factor has function to occur, becomes a basic and directs learning process. Motivation can determine the way to reach the goal so learning success is as big as motivation. Someone who has big motivation will study hard, doesn’t give up, and always read books to increase his/her achievement. In contrary, students who have low motivation don’t care with the lesson, give up immediately and always disturb learning process. So, they get many difficulties.

5. Student maturity

Maturity factor has important role for students’ development either physical or spiritual to reach a good cognitive, affective and psychomotor development.

2.2.2 External Factor

External factor is factors that come from students’ environment. External factor can be divided into some kinds such as:

a. Family

Family is center of main education for students. Some aspects that included this factor are:

1) Parents education

In the family every people or student need attention from her/his parents to reach her/his learning achievement. Parents will determine whether students can reach high learning achievement or not. Parents care is shown by affection, advices, etc.

Parents who don’t care enough to their children learning achievement will become the cause of students learning difficulties. Children need parents’ guidance to learn about responsibility. Learn without parents’ guidance make students feel difficult in learning.

2) Relationship between parents and children

In the family there must a good relationship between parents and children. It will occur peacefulness, composure and tranquility. It can create good learning condition so students learning achievement can be created well.

Less of parents’ affection occur emotional insecurity. A child will feel difficult in learning if he/she gets less affection from her/his parents.

3) Economic condition

Economic level that categorize as poor family make parents can’t prepare enough learning tools for their children and even make students can’t get a good education place. It will become inhibitor for children to learning well and increase learning achievement.

But economic level that categorized as reach family sometimes give negative impact for students learning achievement too. Because of their parents’ wealth, they become lazy to study and always be extravagant and forget their duty to study seriously.

4) Home condition

Home condition that very crowded make children can’t learn well. Their concentration will be disturbed by the noise so they will feel too hard to study.

b. School

1) Teacher

Teacher is one of school environmental factors who has important role to increase students learning achievement. Teacher is a subject in education who has duty to transfer the knowledge to the students. So, a teacher has to able to master the topic that will be transferred and can explain it well and control class condition.

Teacher will become source of learning difficulties if he/she doesn’t fulfill the requirement as an educator, for example: the relationship between teacher and students is not good enough and teacher demands learning standard out of students’ capability. A teacher is demanded to able to manage components in learning process.

2) Learning media

The lack of learning media makes the learning process become ineffective especially practicum subject. The lack of laboratory tools will be occur students’ difficulties in learning so teacher use lecture method that make student become passive and it possible to hamper students learning achievement.

3) Infrastructure

The condition of infrastructure is refers to class room. The room has to be comfortable to learn so that students can concentrate in learning. The classroom that is not comfortable for example dark or sultry will break students concentrate so the learning process will not running well.

4) Curriculum

“Good and balance curriculum. Curriculum that can fulfill society demand is good and balance curriculum. The curriculum also has to able to develop all of students’ behavioral aspect. Beside students‘needed as society.” Slameto, 2003:93)

5) School time and discipline

The best time for learning process is in the morning because students condition still optimal in the morning. If learning process is in the afternoon, students’ condition is not optimal anymore to learn. Besides that discipline also give influence for students learning achievement.

c. Social and mass media

1) Mass media such as: cinema, newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV. These things will hamper learning process if student spend so much time for those things, so they forget to study (ahmadi, 1991:87)

2) Social condition such as peer, neighbor and activity in society. These three factors have big influence in students learning achievement, for example, students follow so many organizations, it will make students ignore their study.

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSSION

3.1. Conclusion

1. Learning achievement or learning result is the change that is happened in students self after follow a learning process. Learning result is a response that given by students. Learning result that is found is not only knowledge but also students’ behavior.

2. Factors that influence students learning achievement consist of:

a. internal factors such as:

- Physiological aspect

- Intelligence aspect

- Talent aspect

- Interest aspect

- Motivation aspect

- Students maturity

b. external factors such as:

1) Family

- Parents education

- Relationship between parents and children

- Economic condition

- Home condition

2) School

- Teacher

- Learning media

- Infrastructure

- Curriculum

- School time and discipline

3) Social and mass media

- Mass media such as cinema, newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV

- Social influence such as neighbor, peer, and organizations that students follow

3.2. Suggestion

1. As a teacher, it is better to increase our learning methodology and mastering the class in order to increase students learning achievement. We also have to pay attention students needed and students’ psychology to know what they want.

2. As parents we have to pay attention about our children development and education. We have to follow their development so they will not find difficulties in learning.

3. As government, we have to pay attention in education infrastructure to create good education for society.