Western Mindanao State University

Diplahan External Studies Unit

Poblacion, Diplahan Zamboanga Sibugay

Perseverance Leading to Success

Marchelle T. Solis

Genevie Sumanting

Lucinda Capote

Joesamel Ybañez

March 2019
 Perseverance Leading to Success

A Research

Presented to

Roland D. Agraviador

Instructor

English III

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Elementary Education

Major in General Education

By:

Marchelle T. Solis

Genevie Sumanting

Lucinda Capote

Joesamel Ybañez

March 2019
 ABSTRACT

Perseverance Leading to Success

Researchers

Marchelle T. Solis

Genevie Sumanting

Lucinda Capote

Joesamel Ybañez

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe motivational factors that
increased open distance learning (ODL) students’ capacity to successfully graduate. We used
a descriptive qualitative research approach to collect and analyze data—hence, data collection
through audio-recorded open-ended semi-structured interviews helped to maintain accurate
accounts of data. We presented data through themed reporting enhanced by direct quotes
from participants. Our research broadly concluded that once participants registered to study,
perceived attention from various social angles created immense motivational factors ranging
from institution motivators, personal factors, and social-generated motivators such as fear of
what society would think of them all motivated them to persist and graduate with proposed
credentials.
 Acknowledgement

The accomplishment of this work will not be possible without the help of different
individual who contribute much in this success.
First, we would like to thank our family and friends for all their support throughout all
our academic endeavors.
. Second, to our instructor Mr. Roland Agraviador for his guidance and encouragement
throughout the many revisions of this project.
Finally, the most important of all, to our Almighty God, the ultimate source of
strength and wisdom for without him everything is impossible.
Thank you all for pushing us to our very limits as well as providing us the opportunity
to excel. We could not have done any of this without you all.

The Researchers
 Chapter I
Introduction
Background of the Study
Perseverance: Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in
achieving success. Perseverance is an essential element when you need to achieve a high
level of success. It is a great tool to use, and it doesn’t require any college education or
training. It comes naturally and requires a strong will.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is or how long it takes you to reach that goal. The
chances of your success depend largely on your willingness to persist and persevere.

If you truly want something, but you quit, you’ll never know if it would’ve come true
for you. All it takes is one “yes” for your dreams to become a reality. Don’t stop trying.

Perseverance means, to go on no matter what is in the way, to remain steadfast in

accomplishing the difficult task

Perseverance is a very important character trait for you to be successful in life. It

means determination at working hard regardless of any odds or obstacles that may exist. It is
to insist and to be firm on getting something done and not giving up.

In life we will not always have things going our way all the time, sometimes we will
falter or fail at completing a task or getting what we want. However, by persevering and
sticking to the task we will eventually overcome and be successful.

In fact, perseverance is a great tool to use and it requires neither a college education
nor a training of any kind.

You may be active, but it doesn’t mean that you move forward. If you don’t move
forward, you will not achieve success. Remember when you learned to ride a bike. Most of us
made many attempts to obtain the skills of riding a bicycle, but we showed perseverance,
which led us to success, and we learned to do it.

The key way to develop perseverance is to take small steps which result in small
achievements. Small achievements lead to a big success. Think about creating a puzzle: you
add piece by piece and finally get the final image.
 Persistence usually means learning something new in order to achieve the main goal.
Always invest in your knowledge as it will assist you in moving forward and exploring new
areas to succeed in. The path to success can’t exist without failures. The most important thing
is to learn from these failures and to continue moving forward. Do not give up. Take the
necessary lesson, and move on toward success. The key to success in any field is to continue
making efforts to achieve your goal even if you haven’t managed to do it on the first attempt.

Conceptual Framework

This study to help you to master the skill of patience, here are some other perks of
perseverance:

The diagram below shows the relation between Independent Variable and Dependent
Variable. The Independent Variable is represented perseverance; The Dependent Variable is
the Academic Performance of pupils. It is also implies that the moderating variable affect
both independent variables.

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Perseverance
Leading to Success

Figure 1. Conceptual Paradigm of the study

Statement of the Problem

This study is opted to find the value in hard work and perseverance shows through in
your personal growth, the growth you spark in others, and the things you eventually—
sometimes over a long period of time—achieve. Gather—and appreciate—the ‘flecks’ of
gold that show up in your life.

Specifically the study seeks to answers the following research questions:

1.How has perseverance affected your work?

2. Why is hard work important to you?

 3. Why is perseverance an essential human quality?

Significant of the Study

The findings of this study will provide information to the following. Perseverance is a
very important character trait for you to be successful in life. It means determination at
working hard regardless of any odds or obstacles that may exist. It is to insist and to be firm
on getting something done and not giving up.

Operational Definition of terms

Perseverance - persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving

success

Determination - is the quality that you show when you have decided to do something and
you will not let anything stop you.

Success - is the achievement of a high position in a particular field, for example in business
or politics.

Telephone - with access to a cellular radio system so it can be used over a wide area, without
a physical connection to a network.

Patience - is a person's ability to wait something out or endure something tedious, without
getting riled up.
 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

According to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2009),

the way students view effort and ability differs across countries. In the United States, the
culture dictates that “ability is a direct precursor to performance” (Department of Education
and Early Childhood Development, 2009, p.2). If one has the skills, one will do well on the
test. If one does not do well on the test, it is because one has low ability. However, in Asian
countries like China and Japan, students see errors as an indicator of information that still
needs to be learned, and will be learned through “effort and persistence” (Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009, p.2). These countries view effort over
ability; anything is attainable if one perseveres and puts in enough effort. These students
work on a problem until they find the answer- they do not give up.
Research shows that if a student is taught the concept of perseverance in the
classroom, it can impact their academic mindset. It allows students to believe in the
statements: (1) I can succeed at this; (2) My ability and competence grow with my effort; (3)
Change is inevitable for success; (4) This work is in line with my interests, values, or goals;
and (5) I belong in this academic community (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2013), “when students have strong self-
efficacy and high expectations for success, they are more likely to persevere in the face of
challenge (Bandura, 1997; Schunk & Pajares, 2009 in U.S. Department of Education). If
students believe in their abilities, they are able to handle challenges in which they do not have
previous experience. Understanding that they have a “growth mindset” is important for
students, as they can recognize that their abilities are moldable and not fixed (Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009, p.2). According to the Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development (2009), “students with growth mindsets are
more likely to persist” (p.2). In addition, if students understand that they have to be
challenged in order to be successful, students are more likely to persevere when faced with
difficult problems. If students can connect their work in which they are persevering to their
interests, values, or goals they understand the importance of persevering much more. If
students work together to persevere they feel a stronger sense of belonging in their
classrooms and their school and with those relationships that form at those locations.
As teachers begin to understand the importance of perseverance in the classroom, the
question becomes “How do we teach perseverance in the classroom?” According to the U.S.
Department of Education (2009), “students need opportunities to take on ‘optimally
challenging’ goals that, to the student, are worthy of pursuit” (p.77). Goals that allow the
student to be challenged appropriately and connect to their interests provide the best
opportunity. In addition, “students need a rigorous and supportive environment to accomplish
these goals and/or develop critical psychological resources” (U.S. Department of Education,
2013, p.77). When students have these resources they are better able to persevere when
solving difficult problems.
When teaching perseverance to students, it is important that the teacher models the
behavior in class on a consistent basis. Students should understand that if they do not first get
a problem that they should continue working with solutions until they achieve success. Not
losing patience from the teacher’s perspective is important, as well as not losing patience
from the student’s perspective (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development,
2009). Other ways to encourage persistence is to have students learn an instrument or a new
sport, where having dedication to learning a new skill is important. The most important
concept that students can take away from class and apply to their own lives is that “hard work
[is] a natural part of learning, and failure [is] not a lack of ability, but a sign that there is yet
more to be learned” (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009,
p.2).
Measuring perseverance. Self-reflection is a vital aspect to any teacher’s professional
development. There are many ways that a teacher can measure their students’ perseverance
growth. One way is to have students self-report. The teacher can create a survey which asks
the students to answer questions about “their perceptions, attitudes, goals, emotions, beliefs,
etc.” (U.S. Department of Education, 2013, p. ix). The benefits of self-reporting are that the
students get to evaluate their own growth and the data is easy to collect. However, the
disadvantages are that younger elementary students may not be capable of completing a self-
reporting questionnaire accurately (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
A second method of assessment is informant reports. These reports are “made by
teachers, parents, or other observers” (U.S. Department of Education, 2013, p. ix). The
advantages of informant reports are that someone other than the student is evaluating their
growth. However, the disadvantage is that these reports can take a lot of time and man power
to complete for an entire class of students (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
School records are a third way for teachers to track perseverance growth. Teachers
can look at attendance, grades, test scores, and discipline problems to see how perseverance
has impacted those aspects. The advantages of school records are that you can look at a
student’s growth over time easily. The disadvantage is that it is hard to see the little details
about their growth from a school record (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
Finally, the last way a teacher can measure perseverance is through a behavioral task
performance. A behavioral task performance “measures within digital learning environments
and can capture indicators of persistence or giving up” (U.S. Department of Education, 2013,
p. x). This method is unparalleled in its ability to personalize learning. However, this is a
relatively new resource and it is hard to implement (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
If students are taught perseverance through mathematics problem solving strategies,
they can see firsthand the effects that perseverance has on their learning. They will
understand that trying different strategies, having patience, and not giving up are skills that
they need in order to be successful. According to Keller (1990), “problem solving enables
creativity by utilizing more than one concept and more than one strategy toward any given
problem” (p.11). Students can begin to see that they can be creative in math, just like other
aspects of their lives. They will begin to understand that intelligence isn’t the only factor in
determining success; your ability to use your intelligence and skills when faced with a
difficult problem determines success. Once given the strategies necessary to solve math
problems, students will understand how perseverance helps them solve problems and aids in
their ability to show mastery of Common Core math standards.
From the information collected, key insights emerged. One such insight was the
information collected from the Honda Motor Company case study: Problem solving skills
must be taught; they are not learned. Another insight was regarding the mindset students have
regarding failure in the United States compared to other countries. Students in the United
States need to be taught that failing just shows what else needs to be not learned, not that they
do not understand something. Teachers need to teach effort over ability. If problem solving
skills are directly taught and the mindset of students is changed to value effort and
perseverance, students will be able to solve math problems more successfully. In order for
this to happen, students must be taught problem solving strategies directly. There are many
problem solving strategies that have proven to be successful, like drawing a picture/making a
model, writing an equation, or making a table. Teaching these strategies will give the students
the tools they need to continue to try to solve a problem, even if the first attempt is not
successful; essentially, it will help students learn to persevere in any academic situation.