EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RELATION TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The present study aims to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school students. In this survey study, the investigators used stratified random sampling technique for selecting the sample from the population. The stratification was done on the basis of gender and locality of students. The sample consists of 350 higher secondary school students from ten schools in Thanjavur District, TamilNadu, India. The tools used for the present study were Adjustment Inventory developed by A.K.P. Sinha and R.P. Singh (2007) and academic achievement constructed by the investigator. The statistical techniques used for analyzing the data for the present study was Karl Pearson's product moment co-efficient of correlation. The finding shows that, there is a significant relationship between emotional, social, educational adjustment of higher secondary school students in relation to academic achievement.


INTRODUCTION
The school is the major socialization institution for any child. It is the child's first contact with the world outside the house. For nearly 12 years, a child spends 5 to 7 hours a day in the school. School is one of the most important foundation pillars on which the child's personality develops. Children learn proficiencies in various abilities l i ke l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s a n d h o m e w o r k, s o c i a l communications, handling emotion, and the management of day-to-day interactions at home and school (Raju & Rahamtulla, 2007).
In reality, the growing child is dependent on the immediate environment, i.e. the house and the school meet his growth needs. The concern, therefore extends to how the school facilities can be enhanced and improved to meet the growth needs of the children. Every individual from the time he or she steps out of the family and goes to school makes a long series of adjustments between the whole unique personality and the environment. The ardent desire of each boy and girl to become an individual person having a healthy physique, a growing intellectual ability, a greater degree of emotional poise and increased participation in social groups, such characteristics enhance one's personality (Singh, Tripathi & Mahato, 2014). Even parents, teachers and other significant members of the society to which the person belongs will encourage this desire. According to C.V. Good (1959), Adjustment is the process of finding and adopting modes of behaviour suitable to the environment or the changes in the environment (Mangal, 2002, p.490). It is the process by which a living organism maintains a balance between its needs and the circumstances that influence the satisfaction of these needs. Thus Adjustment influences the achievement and personality development of the students in school.

Review of Related Studies
Verma and Kumari (2016) studied the academic achievement of children at the elementary stage in relation to their adjustment. The findings of the study revealed that, a significant relationship exists between adjustment and academic achievement of elementary school students. It was also found that, a significant relationship exists between adjustment and academic achievement of both male and female elementary school students. It was found that, the adjustment of elementary school students is affected by gender. Nidhi and Kermane (2015) studied the adjustment problems of college students in relation to gender, socioeconomic status and academic achievement. The findings of the study showed that, there was no significant difference found in adjustment problems of high academic achievement students and low academic achievement students. There exists a negative relationship between adjustment problems and achievement.
Gill (2014) investigated a study on educational, social and emotional adjustment of boys and girls of visual handicapped students of a special school at Faridabad.
The findings show that, there was no significant difference between educational adjustments of the special school students belonging to boys and girls. There was no significant difference between social adjustments of the Special. There was no significant difference between the emotional adjustments of special school students belonging to boys and girls. Yellaiah (2012) found that, adjustment and academic achievement cause significant difference between male and female student. Government and private school students and rural and urban school students do not cause a difference between adjustment and academic achievement. It is also found that, there is a low positive relationship between adjustment and academic achievement. Surekha (2008) points out that, a significant positive, high correlation exists between academic achievement and adjustment.

Significance of the Study
Adjustment can be interpreted as both process and the outcome of that process in the form of some attainment or achievement. When a poor child studies under the street light owing to no electricity at his home, he is said to be in the process of adjustment. What he attains in terms of success in his examination or the fulfillment of his ambition or pride in his achievement is the result of his self and the environment. According to Darwin's theory of evolution, those species which adapted successfully to the demands of living, survived and multiplied while others died out. So, the students who can adapt or adjust to the needs of changing conditions can achieve high, while others lead miserable lives or prove as a menace to the society (Tambawal, 2010). So, the students should change or modify themselves in some way or the other to fit into or accommodate themselves to their environment.
But this present generation students lack the tendency of adjustment and they don't know the value or importance of adjustment with themselves and their environment.
There is a need for the study of adjustment level of the students under these circumstances. Hence, the researchers have decided to analyse these adjusment levels in this study.

· Adjustment
Adjustment is the process by which a living organism maintains a balance between the needs and the circumstances. Kulshrestha (1979) explained that, the adjustment process is a way in which the Individual attempts to deal with stress, tensions, conflicts, etc., and meet his or her needs. In this process, the individual also make efforts to maintain harmonious relationship with the environment. L.F. Shaffer (1961) explained that, adjustment is the process by which a living organism maintains a balance between its needs and the circumstances that influence the satisfaction of these needs.

· Emotional Adjustment
It refers to an individual's adaptation in emotional relationships within and with other people, both inside and outside the school, as reflected in the individual's attitudes and behaviour.

· Social Adjustment
It refers to an individual's adaptation in social relationships with other people, both inside and outside the school, as reflected in the individual's attitudes and behaviour.

· Academic Achievement
Academic Achievement is the performance in school in a standardized series of educational tests. The term is more generally used to describe performance in the subjects of the curriculum. It refers to the marks scored in the Quarterly test that is designed and administered to the sample of students by the investigator himself.

· Higher Secondary School Students
Higher Secondary School Students are those students who are studying in standard XI and XII in the higher secondary school students in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu, India.
Objectives · To find out whether there is any significant relationship between emotional, social adjustments and adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school students.
· To find out whether there is any significant relationship between emotional, social adjustments and adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school boys.
· To find out whether there is any significant relationship between emotional, social adjustments and adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school girls.
· To find out whether there is any significant relationship between emotional, social adjustments and adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school rural area students.
· To find out whether there is any significant relationship between emotional, social adjustments and adjustment and academic achievement of higher secondary school urban area students.   Limitations · This study was limited to 10 higher secondary school students in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.

Null Hypotheses
· Students from government, government aided and self-financed higher secondary schools were only included in this study.
· The survey method was employed and the questionnaires were used to collect the data.