CHAPTER I

PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

The classroom is every students’ second home. This is the environment where

cognitive learning takes place. It is truly important to foster and cultivate an environment

that escalates learning. Evolving a quality classroom environment that is conducive to

learning is an operation that necessitates most especially a healthful and salutary

environment.

Felman (2018) defined asthma as a chronic inflammatory lung disease

characterized by recurrent episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest

tightness; these episodes are also known as exacerbations or attacks. The severity of

exacerbations can range from mild to life threatening. Both the frequency and severity of

asthma symptoms can be reduced by the use of medications and by reducing exposure

to the environmental triggers of asthma attacks. Because so much evidence points to

environmental factors as triggers of the exuberant immune response, there has been

much attention to identifying specific environmental factors that are most responsible for

provoking asthma and developing strategies to minimize relevant exposures. Indeed,

avoidance of environmental factors that provoke asthma, where feasible, is a logical way

to improve asthma-related health and to minimize the need for long-term use of asthma

medications.
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Approximately 7 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S. have asthma and

low-income and minority children suffer a greater burden of the disease. Asthma is the

most common cause of disability among children in the U.S. and is the leading cause of

school absences due to chronic disease. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment,

as well as increased attention to prevention, asthma prevalence has been rising for

several decades impacting nearly 1 out of 10 children in 2011. Children with asthma

missed 3 times more school days and had a 1.7 times increased risk of suffering from a

learning disability as compared to children without asthma (U.S. National Interview

Survey 2015).

Asthma is the most common chronic condition among children. Additionally,

asthma is the cause of 36,000 absences from school every day. The changes in

temperature can be a serious problem for children with asthma. In the Philippines,

according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010, 58.3 percent of

children with current asthma had at least one asthma attack in the previous 12 months,

showing that the condition is not as well managed as it could be.

Therefore, asthma is one of the major diseases that impacts to children. In this

case the child who is diagnosed with asthma must have a clean and comfortable

environment, in home and in school. A student who has asthma should be in a conducive

classroom setting where they are safe and will not trigger their asthma. The environment

is one of the factors that causes asthma that is why it is truly important to have an

environment that is guarded and congenial especially to those students who needs

double care.
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In view to this, the investigators would like to know the experiences of SHS

asthmatic students in the context of classroom setting.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know the experiences of the senior high school asthmatic students.

Specifically, this will answer the question:

What are the views of the Senior High School asthmatic students towards

conduciveness of classroom setting?

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study may enlighten the beneficiaries about experiences of

SHS asthmatic students in the context of classroom setting. The study enumerates what

are the experiences of SHS asthmatic students in the context of classroom setting. The

findings will be specifically of significance to the following:

The School Administrators. The result may serve as a guide in improving the

facilities for a better learning environment for students. The study will be a basis to the

school administrator to give some consideration to all students who experience asthma.

The Teachers. The result may serve as basis to give some asthmatic students a

priority so that they cannot experience asthma attacks when they are in school. This study

may serve as their guide of what are the experiences that asthmatic students encounter

so that they can avoid things that trigger the student’s illness.

The Students. The result may give students an awareness to know what are the

precautions that asthmatic students need to avoid and how to deal with it.
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Asthmatic Students. The study will help them to know the experiences of their

peers who are also diagnosed with asthma in the context of classroom setting. This will

also serve as a guide to them to be aware how classroom environment affect other

asthmatic students.

The Parents. The result may serve as their guide to know if the school they choose

for their children really focuses not only on quality education but also the health of their

children. The study would be a basis to the parents to choose a best school that fits for

their children.

Scope and Delimitation

The extent of this study focuses on the experiences of Senior High School

Asthmatic Students in the Context of Classroom Setting. This study is only limited to those

Senior High School Students who are diagnosed with asthma and their experiences with

the environment in their classroom setting. This Study is confined to the Grade 11 and

12 students of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University in School Year 2019 to 2020.

Definition of Terms

For better understanding of this study, the following terms in this study are defined

both conceptually and operationally:

Classroom Environment. De Lisi (2001) said that a classroom environment refers

to the general and overall climate and atmosphere of a classroom. Operationally, the

participants will share their experiences on asthma in the context classroom setting.

Asthma. It is an incurable illness of the airways. The disease causes inflammation

and narrowing inside the lung, restricting air supply. The symptoms of asthma often
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present in periodic attacks or episodes of tightness in the chest, wheezing,

breathlessness, and coughing (Sullivan, 2018).

Operationally, they will be interviewing the participants who are diagnosed with asthma

to share their experiences in the context classroom setting.

Experience. The experience of the learner occupies central place in all

consideration of teaching and learning. This experience contain earlier events in the life

of the learner implemented by the teachers or the facilitators (Pettman JL, 1996).

Operationally, the investigators will be using the experiences of the Senior High School

students to make a conclusion according to their classroom environment.

Students. Students are learners from an educational institution and interact with

educational experts. A person who would engage and deepen their learning journey (Mac

Carthy, 2015). Operationally, the students with will be the respondents of the study. The

investigators wants to know their views in the context of classroom setting.