School Achievement of Primary Education Pupils in Parents’ Reflection

Abstract

In the school environment, pupils’ achievement represents a specific result of their work at school. Nowadays, it is commonly expressed in terms of grades intended to indicate pupils’ academic success. The main research instrument was a Focus Group based on active group interaction. The participants were parents of students of a younger school age (n = 12). The collected data were analysed by using the software Ethnograph 6.0. We displayed the research results through text tables which revealed each participant’s statements, thus clearly summarising the research findings. The research results showed that the concept of school achievement represents the primary indicator of pupils’ success. Parents perceive their children’s behaviour and activity in class, or the fulfilment of school duties in the context of home preparation, as other indicators of school achievement. Parents’ perception of their children’s achievement is determined by the tendency of society and teachers to express pupils’ achievement in ‘numbers’, i.e., grades, and to see them as criteria for school success. From the parents’ point of view, school achievement is an indicator of a child’s performance and is a strong predictor of their future, which explains why parents perceive achievement through this point of view.