Life Satisfaction and its Impact on Student Performance

This study attempted to prove that there exists a significant correlation between overall life satisfaction as manifested in six (6) domains, namely general life occupation, physical health, social relations/support, finances, and daily activities on one hand, and student performance as manifested in two (2) elements, namely goal attainment and academic achievement on the other hand. Employing the descriptive (survey) method with the aid of a modified version of the Wisconsin Quality of Life Index (W-QLI) and using the Slovin formula with a margin of error of 0.05, the current study collected data from 344 grade 12 students enrolled for the school year 2019-2020 at the University of Makati. The modified questionnaire culled background information, then requested respondents to rate their life satisfaction, identify their life goals and their academic goals, and rate all on a seven-point scale. Next, respondents were asked their grade point average, the number of subjects passed, the number of subjects failed, and to rate their satisfaction with these parameters. To test consistency, Cronbach’s alpha (α) was used, while Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (ϱ) was used to measure the correlation among the variables. The results revealed that respondents were a little satisfied in composite, and across all domains, except for the domain of daily activities, which showed that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. In the same vein, the respondents found all domains as very important. The results likewise revealed that respondents were moderately satisfied with the attainment level of their life goals, as well as in the attainment level of their academic goals. Additionally, the goals which they set for themselves, whether life goals or academic goals, were considered by respondents as very important. Nevertheless, the results revealed that on the whole, there is no significant correlation between life satisfaction and student performance. While a relationship was found between satisfaction with physical health and student performance, the correlation is too low to be appreciated. The same is true for the correlation between the importance of occupation and student performance, and the correlation between the importance of daily activities and student performance. In both these domains, a correlation was established, but not significant enough to be conclusive. In any event, it is apparent that life satisfaction and student performance are independent, and not at all predictive, of each other. Hence, student performance may be influenced by other factors.