Investigating Factors Affecting Primary Education Performance UK

This report investigates the factors contributing to low performance in primary education among children in the UK. The study identifies key issues such as large class sizes, single-parent households, traditional teaching methods, teacher competency, and lack of parental involvement as significant contributors to poor academic outcomes. The research employs a systematic approach, including literature review, research methodology, and data analysis using both thematic and statistical methods. Findings emphasize the importance of parental engagement in improving student performance and highlight the need for enhanced teaching and learning strategies in the UK education system, advocating for student-centered approaches, digital integration, play-based learning, and the EPPSE model to foster better educational outcomes.

Factors that contribute to low
performance in primary education
children UK

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY
Primary education system of UK is facing a problem of lack of performance of children and
which affect the growth and development of the country. So, author has decided to conduct study
on determining different factors which can decline the performance of primary education
Children UK. Major objective of this research is to determine reason of the poor performance
and impact of parental involvement in primary education children. Further focus will also be
given on effectiveness of teachers and learning methods in performance of students. Author has
applied a systematic process for whole investigation which comprise literature review, research
methodology and data analysis, etc. Including this, author has collected facts and figures using
primary and secondary data collection methods. These collected data has analyzed by thematic
and statistical analysis methods. Findings of the analysis have reflected that major factors which
affect performance of primary education of children include Higher number of students in a
single section, Single parent students, Use of traditional methods of learning, Incompetent
teachers and Lack of parental involvement. Along with this, research has also concluded that
effective involvement of parents in education helps in improving performance of children and
vice versa. In addition, study has disclosed that teach and learning methods of UK is not capable
enough to improve overall performance. So, education system of UK needs to focus on
improving qualities of teachers as well as have to use the following methods of learning such as
Learning centered approach, Digital classrooms and learning methods, Play and learn,
Involvement of students, Observation method and EPPSE (Effective Pre-School, Primary and
Secondary Education Method).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Aim and objectives:.....................................................................................................................1
Research questions.......................................................................................................................1
Rational:.......................................................................................................................................1
Timescale.....................................................................................................................................2
Literature review..............................................................................................................................3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Primary Education.......................................................................................................................3
Impact of parental involvements in the primary education children...........................................6
Effectiveness of learning methods in the primary school education...........................................7
Research gap................................................................................................................................9
METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................9
Research Philosophy....................................................................................................................9
Research Design........................................................................................................................10
Research Approach....................................................................................................................10
Technique of Research..............................................................................................................11
Data Collection..........................................................................................................................11
Questionnaire:............................................................................................................................11
Sampling....................................................................................................................................13
Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................13
Ethical Consideration.................................................................................................................14
Limitation of Research..............................................................................................................14
Results and Findings........................................................................................................................1
Thematic analysis........................................................................................................................1
Statistical analysis........................................................................................................................4
Discussion........................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion and Recommendations..................................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................7
references.........................................................................................................................................9

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Gantt chart for current research.........................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Improving the learning outcomes of primary school students is one of the biggest challenge
for education system. It is very difficult to improve the performance of every students due to the
different associated negative factors. The current research project is based on the similar subject and
wants to determine the different factors which contribute in the low performance of the primary
education performance of students (Adolphus, Lawton and Dye, 2013). This problem in highly
increasing in the UK so, researcher has chosen he primary education students of UK. For
conducting investigation author will follow a very systematic process which will comprise different
stages such as analysis of the research problem, review of literature, selection of appropriate tools
and methods of research methodology and analysis and interpretation of the collected data. The
whole process will help in completing the investigation in effective manner as well as also plays
very important role in making a final conclusion for the research report.
Aim and objectives:
Aim:
“To determine the different factors which can decline the performance of primary education
Children UK”.
Objectives:
 To identify the major reasons behind the poor academic performance of children in primary
school in UK.
 To critically analyze the impact of parental involvements in the primary education children.
 To determine the effectiveness of teachers and learning methods in primary school
education in the UK.
 To suggest appropriate ways for improving performance of primary school children of UK.
Research questions
1. Why children in primary school education perform poorly in their academic in UK?
2. What is the impact parental involvements in the primary education children?
3. How effective are teachers and the learning methods in the primary school education in the
UK?
Rational:
Low performance of children in Primary education in UK is one of the major issue. This
problem affect the entire nations in negative manner because it reduce the skills, knowledge and
capabilities on students which is the future generation of UK. It can affect the future growth of
nation (Vernon, Adamson and Vernon, 2013).
1 | P a g e

It is a problem because patents of children are very busy in their own career and personal
life and they do not pay appropriate attention and do not get involve in the education performance
of child. It decline the overall performance of primary students. Including this, ineffective teachers
and different methods of learnings also affect the performance of students. Therefore, these are the
major reasons behind the low performance in Primary education children in UK.
It is an issue now because education system of UK is trying to improve the overall academic
performance of children and invest huge amount of money but still performance of students are
declining. So, for resolving this issue researcher has decided to conduct investigation on this subject
(Ing and et.al, 2012).
For getting appropriate solution author needs to shed lights on the different the major
reasons behind the poor academic performance of children in primary school in UK. In addition
author should focus on involvement of parents on education of student and effectiveness of teachers
and learning methods, etc.
Timescale
Research on current subject will take appropriate time and which can be presented by the
Gantt chart. This method will include activities and required duration for completing these activities
in effective manner. Gantt chart for whole investigation is presented as under:
Table 1: Gantt chart for current research
Key activity /
Weeks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Background
study and
analysis of the
problem
statement
Review of
literature
Appropriate
selection of the
research
methodology
Collection of
primary and
secondary data
2 | P a g e

Sampling method
Analysis of the
collected facts
and figures
Discussion and
conclusion and
recommendations
Submission of
Draft
Final submission
of report
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Literature review is an assessment of academic papers which contain current information
with essential findings. It includes theoretical and methodological contribution of that specific
study for better understanding and meaningful discovery. The information for literature review is
gathered from the secondary sources on the basis of past researches and surveys. The literature
review is on the low performing children in primary schools and the factors behind it. The reason
for applying it is to find the loopholes behind the improper performance and to implement right
strategies for improvement of students, teachers and schools. It consists of proper critical analysis
on the primary education, impact of parents on students, effectiveness of appropriate learning
methods and teachers for improving performance of primary students. In the end of literature
review, there is research gap which explains crack between the researches with the reason behinds
this review including effective key findings and measures.
Primary Education
Alexander, 2004, has stated that “Primary education is the first step of child towards
education which takes place between the early childhood education and secondary education”
(Alexander, 2004). In favour of it Hargreaves, 1994, has asserted that “Primary education is also
termed as elementary education which is the basic understanding of different subjects and skills
which builds the behaviour and knowledge of child and helps in their whole life” (Hargreaves,
1994). Similarly Moyles, Georgeson and Payler, 2011, have said that “Primary schools are changing
the pattern of primary education continuously from 1960 to till yet” (Moyles, Georgeson and Payler,
2011).
3 | P a g e

As per the view of Hill, 1995, “Primary education is introduced for eight years and the age
of children for joining primary schools is from 6 to 13 years” (Hill, 1995). In favour of this, Cotton,
1996, has concluded that “Age of children for taking admission in primary schools plays essential
role for their overall development” (Cotton, 1996). As per this, government decides the age by
evaluating all the factors which helps in improvement and development of skills and knowledge.
In oppose of this Alexander, Entwisle and Dauber, 1996, have said that “Schools are taking
admission of those children who are less then the decided age limit which is the main reason behind
the low performance of students” (Alexander, Entwisle and Dauber, 1996). Similarly Cummins,
1986 has found that “Poor academic knowledge of teachers, improper supervision, unsuitable
techniques and methods are reasons behind the poor performance” (Cummins, 1986). In continue to
this statement, large sizes of classes, burden of homework, having single parent and may more
factors affects the performance of students.
For knowing the student habits Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007, have researched by forming two
groups C and D and found that “94% of students in group C read for their enjoyment whereas in D
it is only 62% and 59% of students in group D reads comics once a week whereas in C it is only
22%” (Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007). From this statement, it is clear that different students have different
habits and interest. For their development primary schools needs to use different learning methods
as per their habits and area of interest. Linnenbrink and Pintrich, 2002, has determined that “44%
Students of primary schools are unable to read the text fluently and also not able to divide a 3 digits
number by one digit”(Linnenbrink and Pintrich, 2002). This statement is altering the government of
countries to improve their educational policies and procedures for improving this condition.
4 | P a g e

Reasons behind poor performance of primary students
Pintrich and De Groot, 1990, have demonstrated that “Poor performance of students are
related to the various factors which includes student related, teacher related, school related and
family related factors” (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990). In the same context Meece, Anderman and
Anderman, 2006, have stated that “Before applying the strategies or techniques to improve the
performance school needs to determine the factors which are the reason behind it” (Meece,
Anderman and Anderman, 2006.). Similarly Alvermann, Moon and Hagood, 1999, have found that
“Student related factors includes learning disability, physical disability and less motivation which
results to low performance in their schools” (Alvermann, Moon and Hagood, 1999). Harlen, 1985,
has focused on teacher related factors and found that “Lack of experience, improper knowledge of
required field, classroom management problem, lack of communication skills and lack of
creativeness and innovativeness leads to low results in the end” (Harlen, 1985).
On the other hand Calderhead and Robson, 1991, have stated that “School related factors
affects more the performance of students as compare to the other factors as it includes improper
equipments, use of old techniques, ineffective management and maintenance, less umber of
teachers, etc” (Calderhead and Robson, 1991). As per the above statement, if schools do not have
sufficient equipments and techniques than it affects the working and performance of skilled teachers
as they are not able to give their best for developing children. Similarly Mercer, and Mercer, 1989,
have said that “It is the prime responsibility of schools to provide all facilities which are essential
for both teachers and students which results to better outcomes.” (Mercer, and Mercer, 1989).
5 | P a g e
Illu
stration 1: Performance of students in English and Maths in UK
Source: (Harrison, 2010)

Dauber, and Epstein, 1993, have determined that “In some countries approximate 1000
primary schools are failed to achieve their targets and these schools later face take over, closure or
converted into an academy ” (Dauber, and Epstein, 1993). Similarly Hoover-Dempsey and et.al.,
2001, have found that “Schools are focusing on earning profit rather than developing children as the
results they are playing with the future of students and country as well” (Hoover-Dempsey and
et.al., 2001). On the other hand Lareau, 2000, has stated that “Government needs to change their
educational policies and procedures which look after both the issues i.e. profit earning and
development of pupils” (Lareau, 2000). In favour of the above statement Alexander, 2004, has
asserted that “Government is planning and applying development plans and also upped its
educational spendings from 8% of total budget to 23%” (Alexander, 2004). As per the above
statements, government is trying very hard for improving the condition of students and schools.
They are building schools in rural areas with all facilities, hiring skilled teachers, providing training
to them and maintaining roads in rural areas.
Impact of parental involvements in the primary education children.
Hill, 1995, has stated that “Involvement of parents in any sought of work gives measurable
gains in student's life” (Hill, 1995). Similarly Hargreaves, 1994, has demonstrate that “Parental
involvement is essential in student's life and their schools as it results to produce great rewards”
(Hargreaves, 1994). In favour of the above statements Cummins, 1986, has found in his research
that “Parental involvements includes two major factors which are level of commitment
6 | P a g e
Illustration 1: UK Government spending on education
Source: (Pettinger, 2014)

(encouraging, motivating and understanding students, ) and active participation (activities, parent
meetings, parents day, etc)” (Cummins, 1986). As per this statement, the combination of both the
factors results to effective parent involvement which improves performance and skills of students.
On the other hand Cotton, 1996, has concluded that “Too much involvement of parents
makes children dependent which somewhere affects their thought process, decision making power,
lifestyle etc.” (Cotton, 1996). In context of this Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007, have said that “Parents
should involve in only those activities where they find their child in some problem so that their
child does not feel dependent” (Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007). As per these statements, parents
involvement is necessary but they should not be over protective and cared as it results to affect their
performance and makes them dependent.
In contrast of above statements Harlen, 1985, has found that “Now a days, parents are more
aware of the school policies which results to affect the education of their children” (Harlen, 1985).
Similarly Linnenbrink and Pintrich, 2002, have stated that “Parents have proper information
regarding the child development which later use in motivating their children and also makes them to
less punish their children” (Linnenbrink and Pintrich, 2002). In approval of this Dauber, and
Epstein, 1993, have demonstrate that “95% of students perform well in their exams when they get
help of their parents in completing homework” (Dauber, and Epstein, 1993). By conducting
research among English students of age limit from 5 to 16 years Calderhead and Robson, 1991,
have found that “71% parents involve themselves in the activities of their children in primary
schools which later declines as children move towards higher classes”(Calderhead and Robson,
1991).
Lareau, 2000, has said that “Those students who have support of their parents are more
talented in maths as compare to other” (Lareau, 2000). In favour of this Hargreaves, 1994, has
researched that “Guidance ad monitoring of parents leads to improve the skills, abilities and
knowledge of students not only in maths but in other fields also”(Hargreaves, 1994).
On the other hand Alexander, 2004, has stated that “Sometimes school do not welcome
parents which later results to feeling of unimportant and unappreciated” (Alexander, 2004). The
issues of all these statements leads to lack of parental involvement. Some other issues are
embarrassment, illiteracy, unable to speak English, memories of parent's failure in their school times
and many more which prevents parents to take participate in their children's activities and studies.
Effectiveness of learning methods in the primary school education
Hill, 1995 , has said that “Learning-centred teaching is well known teaching method in
which students plays essential role in enhancing their knowledge and teachers only guide them so
that students can handle the tasks independently” (Hill, 1995). As per this statement, for effective
7 | P a g e

implementation of learner centred method, it is important to provide effective training to the
teachers.
On the other hand Moyles, Georgeson and Payler, 2011, have found that “Primary schools of
some countries such as Kenya are still using old traditional methods for developing their students”
(Moyles, Georgeson and Payler, 2011). In favour of this statement Alvermann, Moon and Hagood,
1999, have researched that “Schools resist to change and due to this they feel themselves
comfortable in following old traditional methods” (Alvermann, Moon and Hagood, 1999). In
contrast of these statements, schools are need to use effective learning methods which can help
students in fast and easy learning.
Pintrich and De Groot, 1990, have asserted that “By obtaining observation learning
approach teachers are able to monitor the performance of each and every student and this makes
them to give more emphasis to low performers” (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990). Similarly
Alvermann, Moon and Hagood, 1999, have stated that “Observation leads to student curiosity,
questioning, innovation and feedbacks which results to better development and learning”
(Alvermann, Moon and Hagood, 1999). These statements are explaining the effectiveness of
learning methods for improving the performance of students.
Dauber, and Epstein, 1993, have researched that “Use of information technology (IT) in
learning methods give more effective and better results” (Dauber, and Epstein, 1993).As per these
statements, IT plays important role in betterment of teaching techniques and learning methods and
results to effective development of students and teachers both.
Effectiveness of teachers in the primary school education
Hargreaves, 1994, has found that “Primary schools are providing effective training to
teachers for improving their management skills, communication skills, knowledge, creativeness and
problem handling skills” (Hargreaves, 1994). Similarly Hargreaves, 1994, has stated that “Pre-
service training and In-service training helps in improving the skills and capabilities of teachers”
(Hargreaves, 1994). In favour of the above statements Cummins, 1986, has said that “Teachers are
classified into three categories which are highly effective, effective and moderately effective which
helps in understanding the efforts and performance of teachers” (Cummins, 1986). These statements
shows the effectiveness of teachers in development of student's skills, abilities and knowledge with
the better performance.
On the other hand Lareau, 2000, has found that “Experienced teachers are more helpful in
providing appropriate and effective knowledge to the students” (Lareau, 2000). In context of this
Harlen, 1985, has demonstrate that “Experience makes teachers to use effective strategies as per the
habits and interest of primary students which makes them enjoy their studies” (Harlen, 1985). In
8 | P a g e

favour of these statements, experience leads to enhance the knowledge, skills and management
capabilities which results in proper handling of primary students and their problems.
Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007, have researched that “For hiring talented and skilled teachers primary
schools are taking three phase of interviews which are background interview, concept mapping
interview and personal construct interview” (Fuchs and Fuchs, 2007). In approval of the this
statement Hill, 1995, has stated that “Concept interview is for exploring the knowledge and their
concepts related to their specific field” (Hill, 1995). On the other hand Pintrich and De Groot, 1990,
have said that “Personal construct interviews are for exploring the extra skills, creativeness, beliefs
and behaviour of teachers” (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990). As per these statements, hiring of
appropriate teacher also helps in effective learning and development of primary students.
Research gap
It is found that there are various factors which are affecting the performance of primary
students. Primary schools needs to adopt latest techniques for improving their learning methods also
that students take studies as fun rather than burden. Hiring of skilled, experienced and talented
teachers also helps in handling the problems of students and helps them in improving performance
of students by applying best strategies. Parental involvement in school and studies of students
results to great achievements and rewards. But too much involvement makes children dependent
which is not good for their development. Some countries are still using old and traditional methods
as they resist to change whereas some are applying new techniques to their schedule for meeting the
targets. Numbers of researches are available on the topic of primary students and their performance
but no research is conducted on the students of UK which is a big research gap. And due to the
unavailability of appropriate surveys and researches on the performance of primary students of UK,
so researcher has select this subject for further investigation.
METHODOLOGY
It is a process to collect information and data to conduct a research based on a particular
theme. In order to conduct research on the factors that are contributing to low performance in
primary education in UK, different kind of tools and techniques have been applied. It is necessary to
determine the reasons to degrading the quality of education of primary students (Kriz, Gummesson
and Quazi, 2013). It is necessary for a country to embark better reforms in education so as to
improve the efficiency of education and learning among the students. Thus the following
methodology aims to study the techniques and tools required to conduct research on the “Factors
that contribute to low performance in primary education children UK”.
Research Philosophy
A research philosophy is a belief about the technique and methods, for collecting data for a
9 | P a g e

theme. It consists of gathering and analysing the data gathered for the research (Li, Zhao and Chen,
2012). It helps in understanding the objectives of the research and attracts reader's attention towards
the object and subject of the research. There are positivist and interpretivism approach to identify
the philosophy based on particular research. For identifying factors affecting the educational system
in UK researcher will use positivism philosophy. It will be applied by researcher because it focuses
on the main objective of the study and not on the subjective content. Thus, the researcher will able
to accumulate all the related content to the main objective of the research. Positivism will be
appropriate for knowing the factors that are affecting education in UK (McMillan and Schumacher,
2014). It is based on the knowledge derived from the sensory experiences of a human. Thus it will
prove to beneficiary to use positivist theory in order to understand the factors affecting education in
UK.
Research Design
A research design refers to the blueprint of all the components used to conduct a research. It
is basically the outline of how the research findings will be done. Research design will play an
important role in in generating findings that will in concluding the basis of the research done on the
factors affecting performance of education in UK (Sunil and et.al, 2014). There are three types of
research design i.e. experimental, descriptive and cause-effect. Thus to conduct the finding
researcher will use descriptive design this will be a reasonable method, that will help in identifying
the relevant answers of the question as to “what, how, when and why” of a research problem. The
subject of the answers to the research question will be studied in order to find out recommendations
and to improve the conditions faced by the lower performances in primary education. It is an
effectual approach that will highlight the tolls implied to conduct a research on a theme or topic.
The main aim of the design outlay is to obtain the effectiveness of the findings of the research (Ye
and Lai, 2012). It is an appropriate prototype to address the factors that are contributing to low
performance of education in UK.
Research Approach
Research approach is used to test the validity of the findings of various other researchers or
in developing in new theory to the research theme. Inductive and deductive approach are used for
the research (Bhattacharyya, 2009). In order to find the factors that are the major factors in lowering
the performance of primary education, deductive approach will be used. This approach will be
helpful in finding the measures and concepts of old findings and theories. This theory is justified to
be used in the given theme by the author as it will identify the cogency of the old findings and
research, whether they are appropriate or not. It will help the researcher in completion of
investigation which will be specific to the object of the research. This approach will highlight the
educational system of UK and the factors that are responsible for bringing in low performance to
10 | P a g e

the theme (Daniel and Sam, 2011). Thus, it is the right approach towards identifying the research
problem and will enable the author in completing hypothesis that will lead towards finding factors
resulting in low performance in primary education.
Technique of Research
Techniques are applied to a research as they will guide the author in finding relevant
solution to the research problem. In this research, as the primary education is facing issue of low
performance, a combined strategy will be helpful in concluding findings of the research (Fiegen,
2010). Thus to conduct the research both qualitative and quantitative technique will be used by the
author. Qualitative helps in describing each detail of the problem and solution to the research
finding. Quantitative on the other hand, is beneficial in assessing data that will allow the research to
conduct a feasible study to the problem of low performance in primary education of UK. The
combination of the above technique will enable the research to complete a valuable and justifiable
findings about the research problem. It will be effective in understanding the subjective concept as
well as the quantitative part of the research (Flick, 2011). Thus, combined strategy to apply
qualitative and quantitative technique will be appropriate in attaining findings for the research
theme.
Data Collection
Collection of data is a technique to gather and measure information on variables that will
enable the researcher to answer the question arising in a research problem (Goddard and Melville,
2004). Data collections assist the author to research for the data that will help in evaluating the
findings of the research. There are two types of method used to collect data i.e. primary and
secondary. To identify the factors that are causing bad performance in the education system of UK,
a combine method will be be applied. This combination will consists of both primary and secondary
sources of collection of data. Primary method comprises of collection of primary sources of data
that are not being used by any person or party. These sources are primary i.e. these are fresh and are
not outdated. For identifying factors affecting the performance of education in the theme the
research will use teacher as the primary source to conduct the research. For this questionnaire
method will be helpful, that will consists of open and close ended questions. These may be collected
by the researcher himself/herself and help in accumulation of accurate result. Secondary data is
collected by other than the researcher himself/herself (Kumar, 2014). The main sources of these are
journals, websites, books and etc. These cannot be termed as authentic as these are framed by some
other person, but after analysis the relevance of the source it is adequate to use these into a report.
Both the method will justified the research finding on the factors contributing to performance crisis
of primary education in UK.
11 | P a g e

Questionnaire:
Demographic information of teachers of primary schools of UK:
Age:
Qualification:
1. What do you think weather academic performance of primary school students in UK is
declining or not?
 Declining
 Increasing
 Neutral
2. What are the major reasons behind the poor academic performance of primary education
children in UK?
 Higher number of students in a single section
 Single parent students
 Use of traditional methods of learning
 Incompetent teachers
 Lack of parental involvement
 Low performance in English and mathematics
3. To which extent you believe that “Involvement of parents is required for improving primary
education of children”.
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
4. Do you think that effective teachers and learning methods affect the performance of children
on primary education in UK?
 Yes
 No
5. What are the major qualities which are required for an effective teacher of primary
education children in UK?
 Qualification
 Appropriate training and development
 Skills and knowledge
 Effective and favorable behavior
 Problem solving attitude
12 | P a g e

 Patience
6. What are the effective learning methods which helps in improving performance of students
of children of UK?
 Learning centered approach
 Digital classrooms and learning methods
 Play and learn
 Involvement of students
 Observation method
 EPPSE (Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education Method)
7. Please suggest appropriate ways for improving performance of primary school children of
UK.
Sampling
Accordingly to the above discussion, the researcher have to ensure top take sample from the
primary education system in order to achieve a result or to gain recommendation. As the author
have used primary and secondary technique of collecting data (Martin and Guerin, 2006). It is
recommended to use random sampling method. In this method the researcher produces a scheme
which ensure that each sample has an equal opportunity of being in chosen in a sample. It allows
the author to reduce the probability of any sort of discrimination among the samples. For
conducting random sampling, random number table is used to increase the effectiveness and
proficiency of the sampling. Also this method allows the researcher to represent the entire
population of sample conducted from the primary and secondary sources of data. This method
justifies the the conclusion as it lets the author to unbiasedly draw relations to the findings (Sobh
and Perry, 2006). As the method represents the entire population of samples, it is reasonable to use
this method in order to draw reliable conclusion to the findings.
Data Analysis
Data analysis is a process of inspecting and transforming data with the aim to discover the
relevant information generated from the data. (Whiteley and Whiteley, 2006) There are different
kind of approaches to conduct analysis for the data produced in a research finding. After sampling
the primary and secondary data sources two types of data i.e. qualitative and quantitative will be
available. As the research wants to find out about the factors that are leading to low performance of
primary education in UK, the research will use thematic and statistical method to analyse the data
acquired through primary and secondary sources. Thematic analysis of the data is useful for the
13 | P a g e

qualitative research conducted by the author. The researcher can use graphs, pictures and varied
patternised themes to show his/her findings of the research. In statistical analysis allows the author
to organize and interpret the research findings (Vaivio, 2008). The data accumulated from the
findings will be subjective and numerical thus it will be relevant for the researcher to use thematic
and statistical analysis to find out the appropriate and accurate answer to the research problem.
Ethical Consideration
It is recommended that every research complies with the ethics that are considered to be
important part of a research finding. It is important for the author to eliminate any factors or reason
that may affect the authenticity of the research (Sunil and et.al, 2014). While conducting primary
research it is advisable that the research must keep respondent information private. And in case
must not leak his/her information as this will be violation of ethical rights of the respondents.
Whereas the researcher also have to ensure that there is no plagiarism in the secondary sources of
data. There must be no manipulation done with the data acquired for the research. For this the
researcher must use references and citation to ensure reliability of the resources used by the same.
This will reduce any probability of plagiarism or manipulation with the data (Kriz, Gummesson and
Quazi, 2013). Thus applying these strategies of research the author will be able to complete an
authentic investigation with ethical standards.
Limitation of Research
The major limitation that may arise during a research are the management of cost and time
factors. There may be instances when the budget of the research increase or the time might be less
as per the content of the theme (Li, Zhao and Chen, 2012). These factors contribute to generate
limitations for a researcher and may affect the quality of the research as well. Thus to reduce these,
the researcher will have to properly manage the research so as to not increase the cost and time of
the searches. Lack in experience of conducting a research may disrupt the quality and content of the
research. Thus the author will make sure that he/she gains appropriate experience before conducting
a research. Thus the author will be able to generate in depth and accurate to the standards of a
research. Along with this the researcher must have supplement knowledge about the methods and
techniques used in a research to eliminate limitation that may occur due to poor knowledge (Ye and
Lai, 2012). By applying these above methods the researcher will eliminate the risk of limitation that
may hamper research findings.
14 | P a g e

RESULTS AND FINDINGS
As per the discussion of the research methodology researcher will apply appropriate
techniques for analyzing collected data. Thematic analysis will be used by researcher for
examining subjective facts and figures (Adolphus, Lawton and Dye, 2013). In contrast,
researcher will use the statistical methods well be used by author for examining statistical facts
and figures of the organization. Analysis of the collected data is as under:
Thematic analysis
Theme 1: Major reasons behind the poor academic performance of primary education
children in UK
What are the major reasons behind the poor academic performance of
primary education children in UK? Frequency
Higher number of students in a single section 4
Single parent students 2
Use of traditional methods of learning 4
Incompetent teachers 3
Lack of parental involvement 5
Low performance in English and mathematics 2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
4
2
4
3
5
2
What are the major reasons behind the poor academic
performance of primary education children in UK?
As per the above theme author has disclosed that there are different factors of the
education system and environment of students which affect the academic performance of
1 | P a g e

children. According to responses 5 respondents believed that lack of parental involvement is
major negative factor. On the other hand, 4 participants have believed that large number of
students in single class, traditional and ineffective methods of learning are also considered as
major factors of the poor performance. In addition, rest of the participants have believed that
single parents, incompetent teachers and low performance in particular subjects are also major
factors which can affect the academic performance of primary education students.
Theme 2: Major qualities which are required for an effective teacher of primary education
children in UK
What are the major qualities which are required for an effective
teacher of primary education children in UK? Frequency
Qualification 4
Appropriate training and development 4
Skills and knowledge 4
Effective and favorable behavior 3
Problem solving attitude 2
Patience 3
Qualification
Appropriate training and development
Skills and knowledge
Effective and favorable behavior
Problem solving attitude
Patience
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
4
4
4
3
2
3
What are the major qualities w hich are
required for an effective teacher of primary
education children in U K?
LR has concluded that teachers of primary education students of UK must have
appropriate capabilities to improve performance of students, so, author has included this question
in questionnaire. After collecting facts and analysis researcher has found that 4 participants have
thought that skills and knowledge, training and development and qualifications are major
2 | P a g e

qualities which are required in teacher. Further, 3 respondents though that patience, problem
solving attitude and effective behavior are also required for an effective teacher.
Theme 3: Effective learning methods which helps in improving performance of students of
children of UK
What are the effective learning methods which helps in improving
performance of students of children of UK? Frequency
Learning centered approach 4
Digital classrooms and learning methods 5
Play and learn 3
Involvement of students 4
Observation method 2
EPPSE (Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education Method) 2
4
5
3
4
2
2
What are the effective learning methods which helps in
improving performance of students of children of UK?
Learning centered approach
Digital classrooms and learning
methods
Play and learn
Involvement of students
Observation method
EPPSE (Effective Pre-School, Primary
and Secondary Education Method)
Author wants to know about the effective learning methods for primary education
students so, author has included this question. Author has disclosed that major frequency of
response are belonged to Learning centered approach, Digital classrooms and learning methods
and Involvement of students. In addition, as per the 3 participants play and learn method is also
very effective for improving performance. Further, rest of the participants have provided their
vote to Observation method and EPPSE (Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary
Education Method).
3 | P a g e

Theme 4: Involvement of parents is required for improving primary education of children.
To which extent you believe that “Involvement of parents is required
for improving primary education of children” Frequency
Strongly agree 12
Agree 5
Neutral 0
Disagree 1
Strongly disagree 2
12
5
1
2
To w hich extent you believe that “Involvement
of parents is required for improving primary
education of children”
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree Strongly disagree
According to the above theme most of the respondents believed that involvement of
parents is necessary for improving performance of primary education of children in UK. Lack of
involvement can decline performance of children in negative manner.
Statistical analysis
Chi Square Testing:
For analyzing the quantitative data author has applied chi square test which is non
parametric test of hypothesis. It compare observed and expected frequency of response. For the
current investigation level of significance is 5% and degree of freedom is (n-1=5-1= 4) 4. So,
critical value of chi square is 9.48 (Bhattacharyya, 2009).
Hypothesis 1:
H0 = Involvement of parents is not required for improving primary education of children.
4 | P a g e

Ha = Involvement of parents is required for improving primary education of children.
Involvement of parents is required for improving primary education of children
S. No. Responses No. of responses % of Responses
1 Strongly agree 12 60.0%
2 Agree 5 25.0%
Neutral 0 0.0%
Disagree 1 5.0%
3 Strongly disagree 2 10.0%
Total responses 20 100.0%
Responses Observed (O) Expected (E) O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E
Strongly agree 12 4 8 64 16
Agree 5 4 1 1 0.25
Neutral 0 4 -4 16 4
Disagree 1 4 -3 9 2.25
Strongly disagree 2 4 -2 4 1
Calculated value of Chi Square 23.5
As per the above calculation, calculated value of chi square is 23.5 and tabulated value of
chi square is 9.48. It has reflected that calculated value of chi square is high as compare to
tabulated value. So, researcher needs to reject null hypothesis and accept alternative one. So,
from the above hypothesis testing researcher has found that involvement of parents is required
for improving primary education of children (Adolphus, Lawton and Dye, 2013).
DISCUSSION
As per the findings of the research it was found that the academic performance in the primary
sector of eduction in UK is declining. There are varied factors that are responsible for the decline
in quality and performance of education. There are higher number of students in one single
section which creates the problem for the teacher, as she/he isn't able to concentrate on each one
them. Due to lack of proper attentions students aren't able to acquire complete guidance for the
same and thus they are not able to perform perfectly. Their are many single parents who juggle
between two or more jobs. They are not able to concentrate on helpline their kids with
homework's and assignments. Along with this many primary school are still using traditional
methods of learning. They are old, outdated and do not relate the new content of books provided
5 | P a g e

to the students. This is hampering the quality education that the children must be able to receive
instead of the traditional one.
It was also found from the research that the teachers are highly incompetent in providing
education to the primary students. The qualification and experience of the teachers are not up-to
the standard of primary schooling. This is the reason that children are not able to receive the
quality education which could have been if they were under guidance of supervised and qualified
teacher. Also the parents are not involved with the projects and assignments given to the
students. In many cases it was found that kids suffer as their parents do not provide them with
help and do not mentor them regarding their homework. Die to this students lack in providing
sufficient performance to their studies. English and mathematics were found to be the subjects
which lacked in performance among the other subjects.
As per the statistical analysis done with the help of chi square test, teachers strongly
agreed that parents are required to involve with the academics of their children. They believed
that the parents must pay attention on the homework and assignments and must help their kids
with their coaching classes. The students lack in providing ultimate performance which is
depicted from their poor results. The parents are required to motivate and insure their kids to
study and help them in improving their grades. Teachers also felt that effective teaching styles
and learning method may improve the performance of education in the primary field.
It was found that if the better reforms are implemented in the primary section the
performance will surely improve. As per the analysis an effective teacher must posses good
qualification and must be equipped with proper training and development methods to guide the
students. The teacher must also have adequate knowledge and skill required by the primary class
teacher. The teacher must be able to solve problems faced by the students and must conduct
favourable behaviour with the students. This will be possible only when the teacher is highly
patients. As it is essential to be patient due to the fact that children are of primary age and they
require a soft spoken and polite teacher. It was found that primary school must levy effective
learning centred approach in order to improve the performance of the students. Digital
classrooms must be build with play and learn features to make the learning effective. This will
help to increase the involvement of students and they will be able to observe and learn about the
concepts of their course. Thus from the research on identifying the factors that were contributing
to the poor performance it was found that the education system must focus on adapting better and
6 | P a g e

improved learning methods to improve the condition.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
The research concludes that there are various factors that are contributing to low performance of
education in primary field in UK. This is because children are performing poorly in their
academics. This is due to the fact that there are traditional methods of teaching and learnings
used in the classes. It was found that these methods are outdated and do not relate to the
advanced structure of the coursework pro-founded for primary classes. The research found that
low parental involvement with children has led to the poor performance as well. There is low
involvement of parents as there are high number of teenage and single parents who are not able
to provide eminent time for the kids education after school hours.
Parents do not pay attention to their wards and in many cases it was evident that this
affected the quality of homework and assignment carried out by the child. From the research was
relevant that non availability of effective methods of learning lead to poor academic performance
in primary education. This was due to the reason that teachers were not qualified up to the
standards of primary level. They did not possess skills that were necessary requires to teach
primary student. Thus it can be concluded that the above factors lead to poor performance.
Further recommendations are presented to improve the performance of primary classes.
Recommendation
In order to improve the standards of education and the performance of students in the
primary classes the following points are recommended.
 The teachers must be given training to improve their skills and ability to impart better
education to the children (Ing and et.al, 2012).
 It is also recommended that the teacher must be qualified to the primary level standard.
 The schools have to modern methods of teachings in the schools (Adolphus, Lawton and
Dye, 2013).
 Learning centred approach will enhance the children involvement with the teachers
which will build cordial relationship among the children and the teacher.
 Digital classrooms will improve the learning skills of the children that will further
generate better results from them (Vernon, Adamson and Vernon, 2013).
7 | P a g e

 Counselling session may be advised to the parents who seem to involve less with their
wards.
8 | P a g e

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Adolphus, K., Lawton, C. L. and Dye, L., 2013. The effects of breakfast on behavior and
academic performance in children and adolescents. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 7.
Alexander*, R., 2004. Still no pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary
education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34(1), pp.7-33.
Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R. and Dauber, S.L., 1996. Children in motion: School transfers
and elementary school performance. The Journal of Educational Research, 90(1), pp.3-
12.
Alvermann, D.E., Moon, J.S. and Hagood, M.C., 1999. Popular Culture in the Classroom:
Teaching and Researching Critical Media Literacy. Literacy Studies Series. International
Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139; Web
site: http://www. reading. org.
Bhattacharyya, K. D., 2009. Research Methodology. Excel Books India.
Calderhead, J. and Robson, M., 1991. Images of teaching: Student teachers' early conceptions of
classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher education, 7(1), pp.1-8.
Cotton, K., 1996. School size, school climate, and student performance.
Cummins, J., 1986. Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention. Harvard
educational review, 56(1), pp.18-37.
Daniel, S. P. and Sam, G. A., 2011. Research Methodology. Gyan Publishing House.
Dauber, S.L. and Epstein, J.L., 1993. Parents’ attitudes and practices of involvement in inner-city
elementary and middle schools. Families and schools in a pluralistic society, pp.53-71.
Fiegen, M. A., 2010. Systematic review of research methods: the case of business instruction.
Reference Services Review. 38(3). pp.385–397.
Flick, U., 2011. Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner's Guide to Doing a Research
Project. SAGE.
Fuchs, L.S. and Fuchs, D., 2007. A model for implementing responsiveness to intervention.
Teaching Exceptional Children, 39(5), pp.14-20.
Goddard, W. and Melville, S., 2004. Research Methodology: An Introduction. Juta and Company
Ltd.
Hargreaves, D.H., 1994. The new professionalism: The synthesis of professional and institutional
9 | P a g e

development. Teaching and teacher education, 10(4), pp.423-438.
Harlen, W., 1985. Teaching and Learning Primary Science. Teachers College Press, 1234
Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027.
Hill, F.M., 1995. Managing service quality in higher education: the role of the student as primary
consumer. Quality assurance in education, 3(3), pp.10-21.
Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Battiato, A.C., Walker, J.M., Reed, R.P., DeJong, J.M. and Jones, K.P.,
2001. Parental involvement in homework. Educational psychologist, 36(3), pp.195-209.
Ing, C. and et.al, 2012. Long-term differences in language and cognitive function after childhood
exposure to anesthesia. Pediatrics. 130(3). pp.e476-e485.
Kriz, A., Gummesson, E. and Quazi, A., 2013. Methodology meets culture: Relational and
Guanxi-oriented research in China. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management.
Kumar, R., 2014. Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. SAGE.
Lareau, A., 2000. Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary
education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Li, S., Zhao, Y. Y. and Chen, X. P., 2012. Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction of
Flavonoids from Propolis by Response Surface Methodology [J]. Food Science. 18.
pp.028.
Linnenbrink, E.A. and Pintrich, P.R., 2002. Motivation as an enabler for academic success.
School Psychology Review, 31(3), p.313.
Martin, S. C. and Guerin, A. D., 2006. Using research to inform design solutions. Journal of
Facilities Management. 4(3). pp.167–180.
McMillan, J. H. and Schumacher, S., 2014. Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry.
Pearson Higher Ed.
Meece, J.L., Anderman, E.M. and Anderman, L.H., 2006. Classroom goal structure, student
motivation, and academic achievement. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 57, pp.487-503.
Mercer, C.D. and Mercer, A.R., 1989. Teaching students with learning problems. Merrill
Publishing Co.
Moyles, J., Georgeson, J. and Payler, J., 2011. Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning: In
Early Years and Primary Education. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Pintrich, P.R. and De Groot, E.V., 1990. Motivational and self-regulated learning components of
classroom academic performance. Journal of educational psychology, 82(1), p.33.
10 | P a g e

Sobh, R. and Perry, C., 2006. Research design and data analysis in realism research. European
Journal of Marketing. 40(11/12). pp.1194–1209.
Sunil, N. and et.al, 2014. Research Article Phenotypic Diversity and Genetic Variation within a
Collection of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Germplasm from Peninsular India. Electronic
Journal of Plant Breeding. 5(4). pp.743-751.
Vaivio, J., 2008. Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential.
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management. 5(1). pp.64–86.
Vernon, P. E., Adamson, G. and Vernon, D. F., 2013. The Psychology and Education of Gifted
Children (Psychology Revivals). Routledge.
Whiteley, M. A. and Whiteley, J., 2006. The familiarization study in qualitative research: from
theory to practice. Qualitative Research Journal. 6(1). pp.69–85.
Ye, C. L. and Lai, Y. F., 2012. Supercritical CO2 extraction optimization of onion oil using
response surface methodology. Chemical Engineering & Technology. 35(4). pp. 646-652.
Online
Harrison, A., 2010. Nearly 1000 primary schools fail to meet the targets. [Online]. Available
Through: <http://www.bbc.com/news/education-11974025>. [Accessed on 13th January
2016].
Pettinger, T., 2014. UK Government spending- real and as % of GDP. [Online]. Available
Through: <http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5326/economics/government-spending/>.
[Accessed on 13th January 2016].
11 | P a g e

12 | P a g e