Abstract/Summary

This thesis explores Jamaican students’ understanding of the traditional meanings of academic performance and academic success and how they have made sense of their knowledge to determine how they believe society should define these concepts. It investigates the rationale behind the high number of secondary students’ academic failings and its impact on students. The study explores students’ perceptions of academic performance and academic success using a social constructionism approach underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm. The data was collected from twelve rural Jamaican secondary students from a school in the north-eastern section of the island, male and female, between the ages of 15 and 16 years. The information was collected through photographs from photovoice, audio journals, one-on-one interviews, and focus group discussions. Focused coding was used to analyze the data and identify key themes that reflected participants' perspectives. Using Social Constructionism theory supported by a compatible interpretivist paradigm, the study concluded that these students’ understanding of the traditional meanings of academic performance and academic performance success aligns with the socially accepted interpretation. These secondary students have interpreted their understanding of these traditional meanings as stereotyping labels that adversely impact some students’ academic performance output and their subsequent academic success. To address this phenomenon, they identified three different alternatives to how society could define the terms. The study contributes to knowledge by demonstrating the usefulness of photo voice and audio journals research media as platforms to access Jamaican secondary students' voice. The research methods used in the study provided students challenged in communicating through written words the opportunity to voice their perspectives on the research questions through photographs and, interestingly, in Jamaican Creole for those who used audio recordings. Additionally, the study provides a unique opportunity to hear a sample of the cohort of Jamaican secondary students, traditionally considered poor academic performers and to whom low or no expectations of academic success are ascribed, their perspectives as shaped by their lived experiences as formed within their social spaces. These critical perceptions could provide insight into addressing the high levels of poor academic performance and low academic success rates amongst a significant percentage of Jamaican secondary students.