Abstract

Education at secondary and higher secondary levels serves a crucial role in helping students create their careers. However, the role of the teachers is crucial in the growth of new future professionals. This study investigated the self-awareness role in inspiring upper secondary school teachers and students in Pakistan. This study used a qualitative approach and interviews were used to gather the data to grasp the opinions of (6 males and 6 females = 12) secondary and higher secondary teachers at six different institutions. This study has identified the factors: lack of logistic support, extensive use of mobile phones, discrimination based on abilities and rote learning affecting the Pakistani secondary students’ goal achievement performance and self-worth. With an adequate supply of logistics, training to use technological aids for productive purposes and individual support can help to overcome the problems to help students excel in education.

Key Words

L2 Learning, Self-Worth, Lack of Concentration, Classroom Logistics, and Goal Performance Achievement

Introduction

This study focuses to provide light on the quality of secondary school education in Pakistan teaching L2, the academic goal achievement performance of students, and the sense of confidence their teachers and students have in their abilities. Self-worth is the ability of students or teachers to learn or teach by realising their abilities to trust themselves. At the same time, goal performance achievement is the strength resulting from self-worth and is a coping mechanism to build teaching and learning abilities and capacity. According to Asrar-ul-Haq, Anwar and Hassan (2017), many factors contribute to students’ lack of goal achievement and hinder them from obtaining excellent academic achievement, teachers’ and students’ self-worth and academic goal achievement performance are strongly associated. According to Aziz and Quraishi (2017), the self-worth of teachers is critical to assisting students who are losing goal performance for a variety of reasons, including a lack of resources like buildings, water, and energy in the learning environment, and excessive mobile phones usage, more reliance on tuition and less focus in the class all of which have a negative impact on students’ goal performance and, thus, their academic achievement is affected at the higher secondary level in Pakistan.




Background of the Study

In order to attain high academic achievement of education in Pakistan at the upper secondary level, this study identifies the elements that lower students’ self-worth in attaining academic success in second language learning. It also concentrates on instructors’ self-awareness, which helps to enhance students' enterprising drive. It is essential to comprehend how students lose goal performance or enterprising mindset at the upper secondary level of education and how teachers in Pakistan inspire students via self-awareness. Higher secondary education is regarded in Pakistan as te cornerstone for a knowledge economy that is pursued beyond the secondary level. According to Cetin (2015), typically, students at this level of education range in age from 17 to 23. According to Bartimote-Aufflick et al. (2016), the higher education system in Pakistan is organised into two main sectors: affiliated colleges and institutions that give university degrees. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is in charge of allocating funding to universities or the academic community for the research and development required to support teachers in raising educational standards for students. At the secondary level Provincial Education Departments, Education Boards work to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in schools and colleges. Schools and colleges are regarded the nurseries for higher education, so students' goal achievement and self-worth are equally important. To better understand the factors affecting these areas the researchers have undertaken to explore these areas in schools and colleges in Pakistan.




Research Objective and Question

The given study is conducted to identify the factors that negatively influence students’ goal achievement performance and self-worth at the secondary and higher secondary level in Pakistan.

1. What factors affect students' goal achievement performance and self-worth at the secondary and higher secondary level in Pakistan?

Literature Review

Martin Covington's (2000) self-worth theory asserts that students naturally tend to develop and sustain a positive self-perception, sense of self-worth, or assessment of their own worth as individuals. According to Covington (1984), its important assertion is that one's sense of worth depends heavily on one's accomplishments. As a result, it precisely associates capability- and value-related concepts to motivate students' academic achievement performances. The relationship between expectations and the belief that one can achieve a particular objective is the primary focus of self-worth theory. The following paragraphs will highlight the theory of Self-worth and its relationship with students’ goal achievement.

In order to succeed in English classes, students are naturally provoked to safeguard their self-esteem by keeping confidence in their language competence. The most significant cause is that students in our culture are commonly regarded as deserving based on their ability to complete second language tasks. Despite the contributions of the Multiple Intelligence Theory to education, sadly, language is viewed as predicting students' complete proficiency to learn. Schools value and evaluate competencies in terms of ability, competence, intelligence, and accomplishment in the context of achievement. According to Covington (1984), students' self-image of capability becomes foremost and plays a part in their sense of self-value. Therefore, it is comprehensible wherefore students frequently misunderstand worth. According to Covington and Mueller (2001), many students develop the belief that they are only as good as what they accomplish and that failing makes them worthless of others' acceptance because of this tendency. According to Covington (1992), from this perspective, the self-worth theory says that students' goals, whether they are performance-oriented or performance-avoidant, are a lifelong effort to build and keep a sense of self-value in a civilization that standards capability and achievement. Nevertheless, self-value ought to be more about appreciating one's intrinsic value as an individual than it should be about measuring one's ability in relation to others. According to Covington (1998), “school achievement is the best understood in terms of maintaining a positive self-image of one's ability, especially when risking competitive failure" (p. 78). It is important to keep in mind that "the disclosure of incompetency" emphasizes feelings of worthlessness in the self-worth model (Covington, 1984, p. 8). This point of view should be specially considered by teachers when planning their daily class activities.

Covington's interrelationship of human worth and success makes it clear that we acquire a perspective based on achievement and ability. According to Covington (1984), many schoolchildren view these factors as a significant value, and this perspective is likely to persist into adulthood. According to Covington and Beery (1976), self-worth theory makes it possible to comprehend the degree to which every student is motivated to "achieve success" and "avoid failure". In self-worth theory, the difference between "approaching success" and "avoiding failure" is crucial to comprehending students' incentives. 

Figure 1

Covington's Self-worth Theory of Achievement Motivation (Source:  Covington & Mueller, 2001, p.168)



According to Covington and Mueller (2001), the students are divided into various groups.

One group includes students with a focus on success (mastery goal) and the other group is success-oriented students who are highly intrinsically motivated, according to self-worth theory. According to Atkinson (1957), students with objectives interpret achievement as the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, intellectual development, and capability, with the chance of failure strictly weighing against the likelihood of success. Performance-oriented (mastery-oriented) students’ standard skill as an instrument for mastering personally meaningful goals, regardless of others' accomplishments, and they prefer to think that failing despite exerting effort does not essentially indicate unskillfulness. It could purely mean employing incorrect tactics.

Students who fall into one of the other three categories are referred to as being performance oriented. For them, success—and, consequently, their sense of self-worth—are defined as performing better than other students. According to Covington and Mueller (2001), their primary concern when learning is demonstrating competence and not appearing less capable than their fellows. As a result, they are highly driven to keep away from failure or appear to lack ability. According to Eccles and Wigfield (2002), success-oriented students avoid tactics like procrastination, making excuses, avoiding difficult tasks, and most importantly, not making effort. As a result, in the absence of all these external aspects, students become extrinsically stimulated, compromising their inherent inspiration to learn.

Students may also tend to maintain one's sense of self-worth, make excuses for not doing homework or procrastinate (study the night before the exam, postpone it until the last minute) and even set goals that are hard to reach or impossible. According to Covington and Omelich (1979), accepting students who fail: Students who admit failure despair trying to prove their abilities and uphold their self-worth and accept failure. In conclusion, not neither they attempt to avoid failure nor approach success. Students blame themselves for their failure because of their low ability and attribute their failure to their deficiency of skill (an internal and stable factor = entity view). They also accuse uncontrollable external factors of successful outcomes. It indicates that effort is merely ineffective.

As a result, students who accept failure share characteristics with those who have learned vulnerability—individuals who may be proficient in academic accomplishment but believe their energies are pointless. They do not want to learn because they think their failures in the past were because they weren't good enough. According to Covington and Omelich (1985), positive reinforcement for achievements does not exert with these students, making it difficult to motivate and convince them that in future they can succeed. In the next section of the study, there will be some reflection on the state of education in Pakistan that affect the self-worth and goal accomplishment of the students.

Pakistan has an extremely low total literacy rate, with males having a literacy rate of 69% and females having a literacy rate of 45% (Hayat et al., 2018). Compared to rural regions, urban areas have a greater literacy rate (74%). Therefore, it is evident that teachers significantly impact pupils’ self-awareness. According to Hussain’s (2018) study, teachers at Pakistan’s higher secondary schools are responsible for improving the current learning environment. Contrarily, it was suggested in a study that several factors contribute to students’ decreased goal achievement performance levels (Iqbal, Summayya & Ata, 2018). 

According to an economic survey of Pakistan (2016) “Education lays the foundation of a developed and progressive society. It empowers and creates ability among the individuals and societies to utilize their human capabilities and builds a strong correlation with socioeconomic development. In this regard, the development of widely accessible quality and equitable education system is a critical requirement" (pp. 2-23). In another study conducted by Noreen and Mujahid (2015),  “Education sector in Sindh is facing a number of challenges in the form of low levels of school enrolments, high dropout rates especially at the primary and the secondary levels and particularly for the girls in the rural areas, poor quality of teaching and learning, teacher absenteeism, shortage of trend and qualified teachers-especially females, poor management and supervision structure, gender and rural-urban imbalances, the inappropriateness of curricula and pedagogy, lack of vision in community participation process and financial regularities" (pp, 60-67). 

 "Sindh's school infrastructure score is 54%. Only 48% of the primary schools have electricity facilities, 58% of schools have drinking water, 64% have toilets, 65%, have a boundary wall, and importantly only 35% of school buildings have been found in satisfactory condition. KPK provincial government school infrastructure scores 90%. Eighty-seven per cent of primary schools have electricity, water is ensured in 89% of schools, 95% of schools have toilet facilities, 95% of schools have boundary walls, and 87% of the school buildings are in satisfactory condition. In the province of Punjab, the school infrastructure score is 89%. Eighty-nine per cent of the primary schools have electricity, 98% have drinking water availability, 97% have toilet facility, 93% of school buildings have boundary walls, and 68% of schools' buildings are in good condition" (The Alif Ailaan report, 2017)

According to the literature review above, the substandard nature of the education students receive in upper secondary school lowers their enterprising mindset levels. According to the research by Khokhar and Javaid (2016), the key factors contributing to the low levels of enterprising mindset and poor academic quality shown by Pakistani students include inconsistent policy and a lack of resources. When insufficient resources are available in the classroom, students’ enterprising mindset levels tend to drop. 

Figure 2

Detail of Gender-based Literacy Rate According to the Provincial Division in Pakistan

Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Labour force survey (2017-2018)

Table 1. Comparison of Educational Expenditures from Primary to Secondary Level in Countries in Asian Region

Country	Literacy rate adult %age 15 year and older(2006-16)	Youth %age 15-24 years old		Population with some secondary education %ages 25 years & older (2006-17)	Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) 2012-17				Primary School Dropout rate (2007-2016)	Public Expenditure on education(%age of GDP) (2012-2017	Human Development Index (HDI) Ran
		Female (2006-16)	Male (2006-16)		Pre-primary	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
	SDG 4.6			SDG 4.2	SDG 4.1		SDG 4.3
Iran	84.7	97.7	98.2	68.5	51	109	89	96	2.5	3.4	60
Sri lanka	91.2	98.6	97.7	82.8	94	102	98	19	1.6	3.5	76
Maldives	98.6	99.4	99.1	47.1	99	102	n/a	14	17.8	4.3	101
India	69.3	81.8	90.0	51.6	13	115	75	27	9.8	3.8	130
Bhutan	57.0	84.5	90.4	9.6	25	95	84	11	21.1	7.4	134
Bangladesh	72.8	93.5	90.9	45.5	34	119	69	17	33.8	2.5	136
Nepal	59.6	80.2	89.9	34.6	86	134	71	12	26.5	3.7	149
Pakistan	57.0	65.5	79.8	37.3	72	98	46	10	22.7	2.8	150
Afghanistan	31.7	32.1	61.9	25.1	n/a	105	55	8	n/a	3.2	168

Source: Human Development Indicator and Indices: 2018

 




According to the data presented above, the foundation of Early Childhood Education (ECE) is Pre-Primary education. Preparatory (or Katchi) classes are designed for children aged 3 to 4. Pre-primary enrollment rose to 12,273.1 thousand in 2017-18 from 11,436.6 thousand in 2016-17, representing a 7.3% increase at the national level. In 2018-19, enrollment is expected to rise by 6.4%, from 12,273.1 thousand to 13,063.3 thousand. Primary Education (Classes I-V) in 2017-2018, the nation had a total of 172.2 thousand primary schools that were in operation and had 519.0 thousand teachers. The number of students enrolled in these schools increased by 5.5% from the previous year to 22.9 million. In 2018-19, it is anticipated that this number will rise to 23.9 million, or 4.4%. Middle Education (Classes VI-VIII) in 2017-2018, there were 46.8 thousand middle schools in the country, with 438.6 thousand teachers and a total of 7.3 million students, representing a 4.3% increase over the 2016-17 enrollment level. In 2018-19, it is anticipated that this enrollment will rise by an additional 3.7% to 7.6 million. Secondary and High School Education (Classes IX-X) between 2017 and 2018, the nation had 30.9 thousand high schools and 556.6 thousand teachers. With 3.9 million students enrolled in high school, enrollment is up 7.4 per cent from 3.6 million between 2016 and 2017. The number of students enrolled in high school is expected to rise by 6.6% to 4.1 million between 2018 and 2019. Higher Secondary/Inter Colleges (Classes XI-XII)  In 2017-2018, the country had a total of 5.2 thousand higher secondary/inter colleges with a teacher population of 121.9 thousand. The total number of students enrolled in these schools, 1.75 million, is a healthy 9.8% increase from 2016–2017. In 2018-19, this enrollment is expected to increase by another 5.0 per cent, to 1.84 million.

 

Budgeting and Expenditure on Education in Pakistan

Education expenditures were estimated to be 2.4% of GDP in 2017-18, up from 2.2% in 2016-17. As previously stated, the government is committed to increasing education funding and ensuring that it is appropriate. Since 2013-2014, education expenditures have been steadily rising, as shown in Table 1.  In 2017-2018, education-related expenditures increased by 18.6% to Rs 829.2 billion. Education is also receiving a significant portion of the Annual Development Plans (ADPs) funded by the provincial governments. As compared to Rs 260.6 billion in 2016-17, Punjab spent Rs 340.8 billion in 2017-18, a significant 30.8 per cent increase. Also, Sindh spent Rs 166.0 billion in 2017-18, an increase of 13.16 per cent, up from Rs 146.7 billion in 2016-17. In a similar vein, education expenditures in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa increased from Rs 47.7 billion in 2016-17 to Rs 52.8 billion in 2017-18, respectively, and increased from Rs 136.1 billion to Rs 142.6 billion.

Figure 3

Pakistan Rural Support Programme (PRSP) Expenditure details

Source: PRSP Budgetary Expenditures, External Finance Policy Wing, Finance Division, Islamabad


Students’ Lack of Concentration and Learning Deficit
With the advent of technology and social media platforms in the upper secondary school system, excessive use of mobile phones is the factor that is diminishing students’ enterprising mindset and feelings of self-awareness. According to a study conducted by Moghavvemi et al. (2017), a significant number of young students spend a large amount of time talking with their close friends and family members. As a result, these students frequently use their mobile devices, which hinders their capacity to learn in a traditional setting. Hayat et al. (2018) conducted a survey in support of their assertion that if a student’s usage of excessive use of mobile phones reaches a specific level, it would have a detrimental influence on the academic pursuit they are pursuing. Hayat et al. (2018) found a direct correlation between the excessive use of mobile phones usage and successful academic performance. The research found that most of the time spent on Facebook by students enrolled in higher secondary education was spent on leisure, relaxation, and filling time (Moghavvemi et al., 2017). The research also highlighted the pathways by which students’ self-worth is being lowered due to their use of social media. Because of their use of Facebook, they are becoming more unable to perform academically, and the amount of time they spend on Facebook affects their schedule (Nausheen, 2016). There is a negative impact on the student's academic performance because 90 per cent of college students in Pakistan use social networking sites (Moghavvemi et al., 2017).
According to Tariq et al. (2017), school-going students' use of mobile phones for a longer period is causing behavioural and psychological problems in the age group of 5-16 years. A study was done by Subaa et al. (2013), on mobile phone usage patterns and anxiety. It was determined that approximately 34.5% of students had ringxiety and used their phones only in restricted settings like classrooms (99%) and libraries (60%). These students claimed that their study was hindered. Medical students' use of mobile phones appeared to be a problem. According to Amna Baig (n.d) an anthropologist and researcher at Qaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, addiction to communication technology has become a growing problem in Pakistan in recent years. Numerous histories of patients whose lives were shattered by an overwhelming compulsion to use mobile phones can be reported by psychiatrists. Pakistan was included in a study titled "Mental Health Issues Related to the Use of Internet and Mobile Phones in the Developing Countries. "The author of this article claims that parents in Karachi, Pakistan, brought a dozen young girls to his clinic because they were addicted to their phones. The majority of these girls had poor grades, were reported to be absent from classes, and spent the majority of their time texting or chatting with their friends, most of whom were attending high schools. These girls were irritable, unruly, and frequently talked on the phone all night. Precocious sexual activities and antisocial behaviours like stealing money, talking on the phone, and roaming around with their boyfriends during school and college hours were common among these girls. According to his study, they went to the emergency room when they were in a state of acute distress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts because they used their phones too much.


Goal Achievement Performance
The concept of academic achievement in the Pakistani context was introduced in the research by Shafiq and Rana (2016). It has risen in significance due to its relation to students’ learning and instructors’ efficacy in enhancing educational standards. Shafiq and Rana’s work was published in 2016. Teachers at the upper secondary level in Pakistan can boost young pupils’ self-confidence and self-awareness, particularly in students who are getting diplomas, undergraduate students, and certificates. This is especially true for students working toward getting those levels of education. According to the research conducted by Shahid, Jabeen, and Ansari (2016), the critical element that contributes to a decrease in academic accomplishment is a loss of interest on the part of young people. The method by which teachers help students become more motivated is by affecting how those students think; for example, by supporting younger students in learning how to manage their stress. According to the research discussed earlier, students suffer stress because there are not enough resources available to them. According to Shahzad and Naureen (2017), it is the responsibility of teachers to persuade administrators that increase students' enterprising mindset by providing them with a physical environment that would benefit the learners in acquiring the skills, and management should investigate this matter.


Goal Setting and Learning Progress
According to the findings of research conducted the frequent practices of instructors have a substantial influence on evaluating students’ learning progress, the problems they confront, and the outcomes (Asrar-ul-Haq, Anwar, & Hassan, 2017). It is the responsibility of instructors to define the objectives for their students by giving continuous feedback to their pupils. To instil in their students a sense of self-assurance about their academic potential, teachers in secondary schools develop concrete objectives and plans of action. Curriculum construction, research, and development across the learning cycle can be improved by instructors. According to Aziz and Quraishi (2017), students might also be acknowledged by their teachers for their efforts and consistency. Because praise is a motivating approach to helping students as they go through their educational process and praise is a motivating tool too to support students in their educational process, and instructors can improve the students’ self-worth by offering them feedback.

Methodology

The philosophy of research used in this research, an interpretative method, is the foundation of the research. This sort of philosophy is preferred because it uses secondary sources to give explanatory information, making an interpretative approach effective. According to Hammarberg, Kirkman and de Lacey (2016), this method enables a researcher to fully participate in the research process to get the results and meet research goals. In this study, an interpretative technique was used to present data from earlier research projects and interviews using qualitative approaches. Analysing data may also assist in adding a more precise understanding.

Qualitative data collection is the chosen method for this research. This method of data collection helps to acquire research from published papers and internet data, and it has a collection of benefits, including the method to give in-depth and extensive research, the ability to foster openness, and the ability to cover a broad range of research topics (Glesne, 2016). Interviews were used to gather data for this study because they made it possible to grasp the opinions of six upper-secondary teachers from six different institutions. It makes it easier for a researcher to cover the goals of the research issue and relevant ideas.

According to Hammarberg, Kirkman and de Lacey (2016), the data analysis component aids in data analysis by considering desirable outcomes. Because the research is qualitative, it lacks primary data facts, although this deficiency has been reduced using a consistent comparative data analysis technique to provide positive findings (Glesne, 2016). 




Interview Analysis

The interviews were conducted with six respondents (teachers of 6 different institutions) based on the following questions.




How would you Define Self-worth in the Academic Setting?

All of the teachers were very clear in their responses to the question, and they highlighted the efforts made by the students to be considered important in the class, among friends and sustain their grades. According to the teachers, self-worth is the self-esteem and the belief of the learners in themselves.




To What Extent your Students are Confident to Achieve their Goals?

Out of six teachers, only two were of the opinion that the majority of the students during the academic year struggle strongly believe what they were doing will bring them the results and the other four teachers were of the opinion that the confidence of the students is like a roller coaster ride sometimes they have a dip in their moral but other times when they score high it goes up.




What Strategies do Students Use to Sustain their Self-worth and Goal Achievement?

All teachers quoted that students take help from parents, tutors, and notes and use internet resources to achieve high scores on their tests. They participate well and love to work in groups. Working in groups and teams help them to be more related and integrated with the class. They do not want to be failed in their tests and do efforts to achieve their goals.




How would You Use Technology to Sustain Students’ Interests and Self-worth?

Out of the six teachers, four said that technology might help them increase their technology of self-worth since it offers a range of ways to learn about teaching concepts, better them, and immediately deal with issues arising from various low ideas. According to two teachers, self-worth may be increased by looking at technology and using their assistance, but most teachers in educational institutions do not currently adhere to this practice.




To What Extent do Teachers have an Influence on the Students to Improve their Trait of Self-worth?

According to the data, most teachers are interested in acquiring new teaching methodologies to raise their self-confidence levels; yet their current practices are inadequate. Two of the six teachers being investigated have provided statements indicating that their teachers have the essential self-worth to transfer the relevant information to the suitable candidate. While four of them said that the self-worth of their teachers could be improved and that strong talent does not support them, the remaining two did not express this sentiment.




What are the Main Factors Contributing to Low Goal Achievement in Classroom Teaching?

This inquiry aimed to determine the factors that contribute to the increase of instructors’ feeling of self-worth and analyse how such factors motivate teachers. Two of the six teachers said that if they were rewarded with rewards and incentives for their excellent work, it would increase the enterprising mindset among their teachers. However, three of them said that the leaders' backing and an open work environment were necessary conditions for teachers to feel motivated. Only one of the instructors believed that factors such as learning settings, incentives, recognitions, and working environments all affected students' enterprising mindset levels.




What are Important Steps the Institutions Should be Taking to Increase the Self-worth of Teachers?

According to the feedback, three teachers said that to improve their overall performance, they need psychological feedback from their administration. They said that if comments helped them find solutions to their problems, they would experience an increase in their sense of autonomy. However, three of them suggested that the institution's administration should enhance the awards and recognition that are offered, in addition to increasing the use of technology in the classroom, to assist them in becoming better teachers. They believed that exposing them to novel concepts and strategies, technology would assist them in developing into more effective teachers.




To What Extent the Institutions are Promoting and Safeguarding the Self-worth of the Teachers and the Learners?

In feedback to the question that was just asked, five out of the six teachers who were polled said they were completely dissatisfied with how they were managed. They said that the institute’s technical technology and motivating aspects are seriously deficient and that they have very few resources to increase their level of self-awareness. In addition, they noted that the institute’s leadership is not incredibly supportive. One instructor said that she was only moderately pleased with the aid that the management provided in terms of the incentives and enterprising aspects. The overwhelming majority of responses are of the opinion that management was unable to give sufficient assistance.




Analysis and Interpretation of the Past Studies in Pakistan

A discussion in the part devoted to the literature review presented an overview of the many factors that result in lower levels of academic accomplishment among students enrolled in Pakistan’s upper secondary education levels. In Pakistan, the province of Sindh has a record low level of education in comparison with the Punjab, KPK, and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan as shown by the statistical data in Table 01. (Bartimote-Aufflick et al., 2016). Some reasons for this are that educational settings suffer from a shortage of water supplies, buildings, and electricity. The poor status of the environment at the upper secondary level in Pakistan gives rise to the suggestion that instructors at this level should take whatever actions are required to enhance the academic standards of the students who are enrolled at this level. It has been observed that what drives educators to raise educational standards at the upper secondary level is their sense of success as teachers (Cetin, 2015).

According to the findings of a study conducted by Hayat et al. (2018), lecturers at colleges are obligated to share significant knowledge with their students because they are the only people who can motivate students to achieve high levels of success. This would be advantageous for students or learners in their future careers, such as when looking for work. According to the discussion presented earlier, attaining a high level of education is necessary to enhance the quality of education provided to students in Pakistan’s upper secondary schools and in the Sindh province in particular (Hussain, 2018). The discussion of the study reveals that Pakistan’s upper secondary education has a low literacy rate and this substantial issue may be attributed to several different factors. The most probable reasons for this issue are the widespread use of excessive use of mobile phones and a dearth of physical infrastructure (buildings). According to Iqbal, Summayya and Ata (2018), it may also be determined from table 01 that students in all of Pakistan’s provinces, including Sindh, Punjab, KPK, and Balochistan, do not have access to higher education.

The disparities in the levels of education beyond high school that exist in the various provinces of the country imply that students need to be encouraged to improve their sense of self-awareness. This assertion is supported by an examination of a research study by Khokhar and Javaid (2016). The findings of the study showed that the researchers presented a compelling argument that self-worth may be described as the belief that one has in one’s talents and abilities and that teachers have the potential to assist students in believing in their capabilities. In a similar line, the study conducted by Maraghi et al. (2018) revealed that even while instructors should explore their students to increase their students’ sense of self-awareness, it is required to do so. According to Moghavvem et al. (2017), studies have shown that an individual’s zones of accomplishment may be broken down into three distinct categories: the comfort zone, the panic zone, and the stretch zone. Teachers need to understand all four zones so that they may better assist students in escaping the panic zone. Teachers can enhance students’ sense of self-worth by keeping them in the stretch zone. However, the students themselves must perform or participate in certain activities first (Nausheen, 2016). Teachers may enhance their young pupils’ enterprising mindset by providing them with an explanation of the following tactics used in higher secondary education. Students may benefit from these tactics or steps to set benchmark targets, overcome challenges without giving up, respond to criticism constructively, approach goals without panicking or getting too stressed, and absorb criticism positively (Shafiq and Rana, 2016).

In addition, there is a general lack of building availability in Pakistan’s high institutions and higher secondary institutes availability in higher secondary education throughout the country. According to the research findings, male students are more likely to experience this difficulty than female students, with the ratio of male students experiencing it is 90.3 to 94.7 for female students. (Statistics Yearbook 2016,). According to Shahid, Jabeen, and Ansari (2016), these statistical facts, male students’ educational level is rapidly deteriorating, and they need further assistance from college professors and education instructors at all levels. These are the elements contributing to a decline in both the elevated level of education and the academic success of students enrolled in higher secondary education. According to Asrar-ul-Haq, Anwar and Hassan (2017), another aspect, the use of social media, is discussed in the literature study conducted for this research. Numerous studies have shown that young people’s participation in excessive use of mobile phone platforms might have a negative impact on their research and impede them from reaching their full academic potential (Aziz & Quraishi, 2017; Hayat et al., 2018).

According to the findings of research conducted by Asrar-ul-Haq, Anwar, and Hassan (2017), the use of excessive use of mobile phones has a negative impact on academic performance or achievement. Therefore, it is the responsibility of teachers to increase awareness about this issue among young students, who increasingly look to excessive use of mobile phones for aid in almost all spheres of life. To relieve stress, many young people, both boys and girls, play video games on excessive use of mobile phone websites like Facebook (Aziz & Quraishi, 2017). This behaviour may negatively affect their health, which reduces their ability to improve their academic performance on both a mental and physical level. Teachers can educate their students about the consequences of cyberbullying, including the possibility of a loss of self-worth in the short or long term. If any of the students are targeted by cybercriminals, it has the potential to have a detrimental effect on their physical well-being. Students’ ability to communicate effectively is suffering as a direct consequence of the increased amount of time they spend on social media, which is especially noticeable at the postsecondary level of education (Bartimote-Aufflick et al., 2016).

Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis was executed in such a method that it has analysed qualitative data firmly to recognize the topic ideas and main themes. Determining factors which affect the enterprising drive, self-awareness, and academic achievement of students at the higher secondary level of education in Pakistan are the main themes of this study, and these factors include.

1. Lack of infrastructure in schools a contributing factor towards students’ low self-worth, 

2. Excessive use of mobile phones and its negative interconnection with the performance of students. 

3. Lack of differentiation: Students differ in their abilities but teachers use one stick to measure all. 

4. Logistic practices and efforts of teachers to improve the enterprising mindset level of students are the second major theme of this research, for example, teachers are accountable to detect students’ attitudes and study practice, for the students at higher secondary level education system teachers are required to design their teaching methods to engage and promote their self-worth regardless their performance in the subject assessments. 

Conclusion

This research study investigated the factors influencing the self-worth and goal achievement of Pakistani students in upper secondary schools. These elements include a lack of resources and students' less concentration in the classrooms due to the use of phones among school and college students. For educators to encourage mastery-oriented behaviour, they must recognize students who are either failure-averse or failure-accepting. It is clear from the theoretical findings that teachers should assist students in setting appropriate objectives and acquiring acquaintance and proficiencies:

1 Don't make a comparison between students or allow them to make such comparisons, specifically when it comes to determining who is mathematically gifted and who isn't (the story regarding Isaac Newton's poor math scores at school is supportive here);

2. Use the Sophia Kovalevskays story to illustrate that competence is not solely determined by gender or genetics; rather, it is dependent on effective work using the appropriate cognitive strategies.

3. Describe efficient mental strategies to the students.

4. Collaborate with parents who must not instil damaging or incorrect thoughts in their kids' minds

5. Gradually increasing the difficulty level by providing appropriate doable practice.

Pakistan is a developing nation that depends on its youth for skilled professionals. In a knowledge-based economy, students with professional degrees may contribute significantly to the gross domestic product. Higher secondary education is seen as a turning point in students’ academic careers; if they are inefficient and waste time on social media, irreparable harm will be done to Pakistani society, and the college dropout rate may increase. Government authorities, school and college students, teachers, and parents must implement mandatory changes to upper secondary teaching and learning to grab students and use technology for their academic and professional development. It may be gathered from the discussion of this research and the results of the interviews that teachers may play a key influence in this area. They may educate their students in a way that compels them to improve their self-worth. The research provides examples such as educating students about the possible detrimental impacts of excessive use of mobile phones on their academic performance and describing the different activities they should take to set goals and satisfy benchmarks. In addition to investing in teachers, the government of Pakistan should spend on students’ secondary education. It should, for instance, invest in the infrastructure of schools and colleges and maintain suitable facilities for students to attract them to their learning institutions and assist them in acquiring the academic information that would enable them to succeed in school and life. 

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