Why Is My Child Struggling at School Despite Trying Hard?

Many factors can influence learning—cognitive, emotional, sensory, or environmental. Struggling doesn’t mean your child isn’t trying; it often means they need the right support.

Every parent, caregiver, or guardian wants the best for their child. Families support their children in many different ways: working extra hours to provide opportunities, ensuring children take their vitamins, buying additional books, enrolling them in extra classes, reading school newsletters, assisting with homework, and ensuring children attend school regularly.

Often, children mirror this effort. They attend school, complete their homework, and appear to try their best. Yet despite these efforts, the child may still not appear to be achieving academically as expected.

This situation can be confusing and deeply concerning for families.

Parents may communicate with teachers and schools to explore possible solutions. Additional support strategies may be implemented, individual support plans developed, and extra academic support offered. However, despite these efforts, the child may continue to struggle.

During this time, many parents begin to ask difficult questions:

• Where did I go wrong?

• What am I doing wrong?

• Are they really trying?

  
  

These concerns can lead to frustration and sometimes strain relationships within the family. However, it is important to remember that learning difficulties rarely arise from a single cause.

Understanding Barriers to Learning

Within the South African education system, difficulties in learning are often described in terms of barriers to learning. These barriers may arise from a variety of interacting factors related to the learner, the education system, or the broader social context (Landsberg, Krüger, & Swart, 2019).

Educational psychology recognises that learning occurs within a complex network of influences. An ecosystemic perspective emphasises that children’s development is shaped by interactions between the learner and multiple environments, including family, school, community, and broader societal systems (Donald, Lazarus, Hardman, & Moolla, 2020).

As a result, challenges at school may emerge from several possible areas.

Factors That May Affect a Child’s Learning

Biological and Developmental Factors

Some learners may experience developmental differences that influence how they process information, maintain attention, or regulate behaviour.

These differences may affect areas such as:

• attention and concentration

• executive functioning

• neurological development

  
  

Research in child assessment highlights that individual differences in cognitive development significantly influence how children approach learning tasks (Sattler, 2018).

Physical and Sensory Factors

Learning depends on how children receive information from their environment.

Difficulties may arise from:

• vision challenges

• hearing difficulties

• sensory processing differences

  
  

When sensory input is inconsistent or difficult to interpret, learners may struggle to access information presented in the classroom.

Cognitive and Learning Factors

Some learners experience challenges related to how information is processed, stored, and retrieved. These may include difficulties with:

• memory and processing speed

• language development

• perceptual and spatial abilities

• reading, writing, or mathematical skills

  
  

According to Sattler (2018), understanding a learner’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses can help identify the processes that support or hinder academic learning.

Emotional and Behavioural Factors

Emotional wellbeing plays an important role in learning. Anxiety, stress, trauma, or emotional regulation difficulties can affect concentration, motivation, and engagement in the classroom (Donald et al., 2020).

Children who are experiencing emotional distress may appear distracted, fatigued, or disengaged, even when they are trying their best.

Environmental and Contextual Factors

Learning also occurs within a broader social and educational environment.

Factors that may influence learning include:

• family stressors

• socio-economic challenges

• language barriers

• classroom expectations

• access to resources

  
  

South African research highlights that barriers to learning often emerge from the interaction between these contextual factors and the learner’s individual characteristics (Landsberg et al., 2019).

Understanding the Role of Assessment

When a child continues to struggle despite consistent effort and support, it may be helpful to gain a deeper understanding of their learning profile.

Psycho-educational assessments are designed to explore different aspects of a learner’s functioning, including:

• cognitive development

• academic achievement

• attention and concentration

• memory and information processing

• emotional functioning

• behavioural patterns

  
  

The goal of assessment is not to label children, but rather to understand their learning processes so that appropriate support strategies can be implemented (Sattler, 2018).

By identifying both strengths and areas of difficulty, assessments can guide teachers, parents, and professionals in developing interventions that support the learner more effectively.

The Role of Schools and the SIAS Process

Within the South African education system, schools are encouraged to identify and support learners who experience barriers to learning through the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) policy (Department of Basic Education, 2014).

Many schools have School-Based Support Teams (SBSTs) that work collaboratively with teachers and families to support learners who may require additional assistance.

The SBST may:

• review the learner’s academic progress

• consider classroom support strategies

• recommend additional interventions

• guide referrals for further professional assessment if necessary

  
  

The goal of this process is to ensure that learners receive appropriate and supportive interventions within their educational context.

Looking Beneath the Surface

When a child struggles academically despite trying hard, it does not necessarily mean that the child lacks motivation or effort.

Often, there are underlying factors affecting how the child processes information, manages classroom demands, or engages with learning tasks.

Understanding these factors can open the door to more compassionate, targeted, and effective support.

With the right guidance and support, children can build on their strengths, develop confidence, and engage more positively with their learning journey.

References

• Department of Basic Education. (2014). Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS). Pretoria: Government Printer.

• Donald, D., Lazarus, S., Hardman, J., & Moolla, N. (2020). Educational Psychology in Social Context (6th ed.). Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

• Landsberg, E., Krüger, D., & Swart, E. (2019). Addressing Barriers to Learning: A South African Perspective (4th ed.). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

• Sattler, J. M. (2018). Assessment of Children: Cognitive Foundations (6th ed.). San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler Publisher.

• Department of Education. (2001). Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. Pretoria: Government Printer.