Sample Research Paper PDF
Sample Research Paper PDF
Sample Research Paper PDF
A Concept Paper
Submitted by
Rika Anne Warell R. Jarales
MA Sociology – 1
Submitted to
Dr. Edvilla Talaroc
Qualitative Research Methofs
12 October 2018
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
INTRODUCTION
The K-12 curriculum has been mandatory in most parts of the world,
aside from several countries, including the Philippines, being one of the countries left in
Asia that has only started applying the system to the educational institution. This is one
of the things that hinders the country from being further globalized and globally-
competitive (Macorol, 2016). Thus, since its full implementation in most schools and
universities all over the country in 2014, there has been an additional two years in the
program, which means that education starts from kinder all the way to Grade 12, instead
of until Grade 6 then four years in High School. With the new curriculum, there has been
difficulties and challenges faced by the Department of Education in terms of the training
and addition of effective teachers, the sustainability of the program, and the behaviors of
the students that are well affected by the curriculum shift (Sergio, 2011).
Moreover, the recently implemented senior high school (SHS) program has
brought an uproar to the students and parents affected by it. The senior high school students are
to choose the strands they wish to go into. In turn, these strands should enable the students to be
college-ready and even job-ready. The students should be able to decide better the course they
will be taking up in college (Bigcas, 2016). Furthermore, it should help the senior high school
graduates to match with their jobs after graduation or after college (Canezo, 2016).
For the first batch of senior high school students, there are several advantages and
disadvantages of the program, which is furthered when the experimental batch were enrolled in
college. One example would be the experiences of the students who deviated from their strands and
took up a course that is not aligned to their strands. For instance, a graduate of the ABM strand
would have wanted to take up Engineering, but several factors did not let him be under
the STEM strand. Penedilla & Rosaldo (2017) mentioned that there are evident
inconsistencies in the students’ career paths from their senior high school tracks. Hence,
there would always be a challenge and a variety in the experiences of the students in the
first few years of the transitioning stages in the Philippine educational system, especially
between the students who enroll in courses that are not vertically-aligned to their strands
and those who enroll in their strands’ corresponding courses. Several factors would have
contributed to the placement of the students in senior high school strands, as well as their
course preferences for college. Moreover, this is where the impact and effectiveness of
the senior high school program to the students can be seen and assessed in terms of
are vertically-aligned with their strands. However, there are some students who tend to
choose a different path for college, or were not able to choose what their strand in senior
high school should be in the first place. Hence, this study intends to describe the
academic performance of the deviate first year college students in accordance with
contributing factors behind their strand placement and course preference. The following
1. What is the academic performance of the deviate first year college students of Xavier
University?
2. What is the academic performance of the deviate students on their major subjects in
3. What are the lessons in senior high school that contributed to the courses of the
deviate students?
4. What are the factors that led to the deviate students to be placed in their strands in
5. What are the factors that contributed to the course preference of the deviate students?
OBJECTIVES
1. To evaluate the academic performance of the deviate students in their first year in
2. To assess the performance of the deviate students on their major subjects in their first
3. To describe the lessons in senior high school that contributed to the courses of the
deviate students;
4. To identify the factors that led to the placement of the deviate students in the senior
5. To determine the factors that contributed to course preference of the deviate students in
college.
HYPOTHESIS
Graduates of the senior high school program who do not enroll in courses
that are vertically-aligned to their strands do not perform well in their academics in
college.
to look at the study is Talcott Parsons’ Theory of Action. In the theory, it explained how
goal, there are the means, conditions, and normative standards to go through (Wallace &
Wolf, 1995).
In Figure 1.0, the theory is shown in an orderly manner, wherein the actor
needs to undergo the “situation” involving the means or the resources, and the conditions
or the obstacles that come up along the way. These two are managed by the normative
Fi
gur
e1.
0Theor
eti
calFr
amewor
koft
heSt
udy:Pa
rsons
’Theor
yofAc
tion
For a regular college student who has undergone the Senior High School
program, the goal would normally be to have a good academic performance in the course that
is aligned to his strand, showing the impact of the program on his college performance. In
contrast, Figure 2.0 shows that the college journey of the deviate student, or the student that
did not enroll in the courses that is aligned to his strand, has a different situation than that of a
Fi
gur
e2.
0Conc
ept
ualFr
amewor
koft
heSt
udy
The conceptual framework illustrates that the actor is the deviate student/s,
and their goal is to have a good academic performance in college, based on the impact of
the senior high school program. However, the situation calls for means such as factors
that affected their placements in senior high school and their course preference for
college, and passing the entrance exams for college. It also has conditions, which are the
different learnings that were acquired from the senior high school program, and the
preparatory courses that should be taken before enrolling in a different course. The
normative standard that makes the goal achievable is to pass all the subjects in the course.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
In order to have a better understanding of the terms used in the study, the
Deviate Students. These are the first-year college students that took up
different courses that are not aligned to their strands in senior high school; also referred to
deviate students in their major and minor subjects in college; No failure marks in major
subjects, and no failure due to absences for both major and minor subjects.
Senior High School Lessons. This pertains to the different lessons and
subjects undertaken in the senior high school program under specific strands.
placement of the deviate students in senior high school strands and the factors that
affected their course preference in college; the reasons of the deviate students for
program, especially on the deviate students. Hence, it should have a well-arranged and
well-managed system that helps the students decide and prepare for the life ahead of
them. Moreover, the students of the new curriculum may possibly still have plenty of
The students of the new curriculum, so that they may be able to discern
well the strands and tracks that they aim to enroll in, and the courses in college and future
of preparing the students for placement and entrance exams, making better curricula and
training teachers better for the preparation of the students in college, and having the
facilities for the students to learn, for the Philippines to have an effective and globalized
educational institution.
The faculty and administration staff among the different high schools
and colleges in the country, that they may provide better placement systems, training,
The study is limited to the pioneering batch of senior high school students
who have enrolled in Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan for college. However, it is
not limited to students of Xavier University Senior High School only, and thus, graduates
from other Senior High School from the school year 2016 – 2017 are considered, for as
long as these students enrolled in college at Xavier University. Moreover, the study
includes all strands of the Senior High School program—ABM, GAS, HUMSS, STEM,
and TECVOC. It also entails all college courses offered in Xavier University from the
CHAPTER II
This chapter presents the studies and literature that are related and relevant
to the topic presented in the study. This includes topics on the K-12 curriculum, the
Senior High School program, factors behind course preferences and the college
admissions in Xavier University in 2018.
platform to reform the Philippine educational system, saying that those who can afford
fourteen years of education are those who are succeeding in life, in comparison to those
public school students who cannot afford it. The Philippine educational system has always
been a six-year elementary and four-year high school education, having a total of only ten
years of basic education (Crisol & Alamillo, 2014). Thus, he urged for the implementation of
the K-12 system to give chance to the students from public schools to have at least 12 years
of education that would give everyone equal chances of success (Senate of the Philippines,
2010). With this system, Grade 12 graduates would be able to apply for jobs even without
Since 2012, the K-12 system became a part of the curriculum in the
schools and universities in the Philippines. Being one of the few remaining countries that
has only started the K-12 system, many of the students and teachers alike have had
The K-12 system aims to enhance the skills and competency of the students,
given the additional year levels of education, and to prepare the products of the system to
further studies and employment. The “K” stands for Kindergarten, and the “12” stands for the
next twelve years of education, consisting of elementary, junior high school, and finally,
2016). After the 12 years of basic education, the students will be able to proceed to look
for employment, or they may also opt to advance their learnings and proceed to the
wherein the students are placed according to tracks and strands. The program serves as an
“entry point” for college, since most students from the Philippines would opt for the
academic track that will enhance their education and prepare them for college courses. In
one study, half of the students chose the academic track and only 3% chose the technical-
vocational track (Sarmiento & Orale, 2016). According to the Department of Education’s
enrolment data in 2016, 60.6% of the senior high school students in the Philippines chose
the academic track, in comparison to the 39% who chose the technical-vocation track. In
addition, the senior high school curriculum enables the students to choose well and ahead
what they want to do in life, whether or not they want to proceed to college or find work
immediately after. The K-12 system was duly implemented to increase the employment
rates in the Philippines, since one of the reasons for unemployment rate in the country is
job mismatch.
Moreover, the Department of Education has mandated that only senior high
school graduates will be admitted to college. As aforementioned, the senior high school
curriculum has prepared specializations or tracks that the students will be able to choose
from. According to Abarro (2016), the tracks offered are the Academic track, which includes
Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) strand, Humanities and Social Sciences
(HUMSS) strand, and the General Academic (GAS) strand. Another track is the Technical-
Communication Technology (ICT), Agri-Fishery (AF), and Industrial Arts (IA). The
Sports track will enable the students to prepare for sports-related professions, and the
Design and Arts track will prepare the students for professions and employment involving
the arts.
Philippines, most especially to the batches to come in the next ten years. The reason
behind this is first of all, education and learning is never ending, and its sole purpose is to
be able to gain knowledge and learn. Secondly, beyond that, sufficient, and even more
education, leads to opportunity and employment (Bacarra, 2016). With the Philippines
being a country imposed on poverty, education becomes a great means of finding job
opportunities and success in life. Furthermore, the previous curriculum of only 10 years
of education was weak in a sense that the Philippines was never that globally competent.
The global education standard is, in fact, 12 years. When Filipinos from the past 10-year
curriculum continue their studies abroad, they will be asked to undergo senior high
system are allowed to seek for employment immediately, or proceed to college, since,
But regardless of its benefits, there are many complications with regard to the
students being unable to choose the strands and course preference. Prior to the full
implementation of the senior high school program, teachers are supposedly trained to give
sufficient learnings to their senior high school students. Schools should have already prepared
their curriculum and hired their teachers that would qualify to train students in the specific
implement all the tracks and strands mandated in the senior high school program, and
teachers have not been thoroughly trained for the subjects they ought to teach.
Additionally, there have been difficulty in hiring teachers that would be able to teach, as
well as there is a lack of budget to pay the salaries of newly hired teachers and teachers
these play an important role throughout their journey in senior high school. According to
Abarro (2016), the tracks that are chosen by the students are aligned with their career
choices for the future. The career choice of the students should already be pondered on
ahead of time in order for them to decide what track and strand, and course to take in
senior high and in college, if ever they opt to proceed. Moreover, the senior high
curriculum was designed to allow the students to develop their competencies and skills
alongside their interests (Calderon, 2014). The career paths in the K-12 program began in
junior high school, wherein core learning areas and livelihood courses are presented to
the students. In grades 9 and 10, the students’ learnings will be based off their
preferences, so that prior to their enrolment in senior high school, they will already be
able to identify their track and strand choices (Sarmiento & Orale, 2016).
college, aside from the General Academic Strand (GAS), which is designed to give broad
major subjects for students who have not yet decided their career paths at all. However,
other students who have decided their tracks and strands in senior high school may also
lead to choosing a different career path and course preference once they reach college.
Others may also have been enrolled in their particular strands and tracks due to the
availability and unavailability of the offerings in their schools. Others are unable to enroll
assessments that hinder them to do so. In a study by Magno & Piosang (2016), it was
mentioned that the students need to have indicators including aptitude, interest, and
cognitive capability that will match and determine the tracks that are appropriate for
them. Hence, if the students do not pass the assessments on the aforementioned
indicators, then they will not be able to take the track they are interested in. In some
schools in the Philippines, entrance exams were given to the enrollees of the senior high
school program, and each strand has a corresponding score that needs to be reached in
order to be enrolled in the desired strand. Thus, some students were unable to take the
“choose” the course and career path of the students when they reach college and apply for
jobs. Moreover, students tend to choose a course for college solely based on a variety of
factors. A study conducted by Sabir, et al. (2013) showed that students from Engineering and
Business courses chose their particular courses mainly out of personal interest and loyalty to
Another study by Penedilla & Rosaldo (2017) on the senior high school
students in Tacloban City, Philippines, showed that the students’ career choices do not
significantly match with their strands. Hence, they were enrolled in strands that are
insufficient in training them for their chosen career paths. It was also discovered as well
that the students’ course preference depended on the means available for them to study
the course, their personal choice, and their parents’ choice. The course offerings of the
university they opt to be enrolled in is also a factor that affects their course choice for
college, especially since most of the students would rather enroll in familiar
since the senior high school program implementation, Grade 12 graduates are eligible to
proceed to college irrespective of their tracks and strands in senior high school, for as
long as they submit the requirements in the educational institution they enroll in (CHED,
2017).
University Senior High School are automatically admitted into the university, but are
required to take the Readiness Test for College and Universities or RTCU which would
measure the performance of the students in senior high school. Comparatively, enrollees
who graduated in senior high schools outside Xavier University are still required to take
the RTCU to serve as their entrance exam. However, those who did not reach the 35-
percentile score in the RTCU are required to take another entrance exam or the Otis
Tabl
e1.
0Pol
ici
esf
orAdmi
ssi
ont
oBoar
dPr
ogr
ams
For the XUSHS graduates, they are automatically considered for non-
board courses, while non-XUSHS entrance exam re-takers are required to have at least a
23-percentile rank in the OLSAT. Moreover, students with strands that are vertically-
aligned with their desired courses that are under the board programs must fall under the
minimum entrance exam score of 60; ABM graduates may enroll in Accountancy, with a
minimum entrance exam score of 60; and any other strand graduates may be enrolled in
with a minimum score of 50 for the former three courses, and 60 for Agricultural
Engineering. Furthermore, if the enrollee is unable to meet the minimum score for his desired
course, he may be admitted for as long as he falls within the range of the “Conditionals.” For
“conditional” score must range from 50-59, while for the rest of the board programs, the
“conditional” score must fall between 40-49. All the mentioned criteria should be met
alongside the senior high school grades of 85 for Math, English, and Science. Interviews are
also required for all enrollees in Nursing, Real Estate Management, Education, Agriculture,
and Agricultural Engineering, while only the “conditionals” are compulsory to interviews
In the university, senior high school graduates with course choices that are
not vertically-aligned with their strands in senior high school must meet the requirements
of having at least a 50-percentile rank in the RTCU, Math, English, and Science grades of
at least 85, and interviews under their chosen programs. Moreover, these students also
fall under the “Conditionals” category. These students must not have failing grades in
their major subjects in their first year in college, otherwise they will be requested to shift
The “conditional” students who have a different course from their strand
are also highly encouraged to enroll in preparatory classes prior to their enrolment in
college in order to supplement their learnings and improve their performance in college,
given that these classes were not taught in their strands in senior high school. These are
Tabl
e2.
0Cr
iter
iaf
orNon-
Ver
tic
all
y-Al
ignedTr
acks
/St
rands
For enrollees in the Nursing program, the preparatory subjects needed before
college are Chemistry and Biology. For the Engineering courses, Physics and Calculus are
the preparatory subjects needed for Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics
Calculus for Chemical Engineering; and Calculus for Industrial Engineering. For the
Chemistry program, the preparatory subjects include Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus.
Lastly, for the Accountancy program, the preparatory subjects are Fundamentals of
Accounting 1 and 2, and Business Finance. As mentioned, these students should not fail their
processes and challenges than the students whose strands are already vertically-aligned
In the study, the “conditional” students are the deviate students, while the rest are the
non-deviate students. Moreover, there are yet to be studies that cover the impact of the
senior high school program on college entry and academic performance in the
Philippines.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods that will be used in the study. It includes
the research design, research environment, respondents and sampling procedure, data
gathering instruments and procedure, and validity and reliability of the instruments.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design of the study will be exploratory, due to the fact that
the researcher had little to no sources of studies that have been conducted on the same
topic in the Philippines. This is also because the first batch of students from the senior
high school curriculum have only recently graduated, and they are the first batch to enroll
in first year college since 2016. Hence, the exploratory research design will enable the
researchers and the readers to acquire new ideas, theories, and questions that will be
Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City. The campus is an eight-hectare area with fourteen
(14) buildings, wherein the respondents were sought in areas around the campus. The
university is one of the schools in the country that recently had new freshmen enrollees
The unit of analysis in the study will be the deviate students of Xavier
University. The population of the study will be all the college students of Xavier University,
which means the sampling frame will consist of all the first year college students of the
university. In order to gather the sample from the population, the method that the study will
specifically the snowballing sampling method. Snowball sampling pertains to the process
of finding respondents from uncommon populations (Naderifar, Goli, & Ghaljaie, 2017).
This will be used since the deviate students are difficult to identify on face value alone.
Key informants will be used in the study in order to find the respondents for the study.
Herein, the key informant of the researcher will be someone from the Central Student
Government of Xavier University, and the researcher will be assisted in identifying who
The respondents are going to be chosen regardless of their senior high school
and current college course, for as long as the course deviates from their senior high school
strand. With this, a sample with at most 30 deviate students should be identified and gathered
by the researcher.
guide. One-on-one personal interviews and focus group discussion will be used by the
researcher to gather the data needed. Personal interviews will be for fast-paced interviews
with respondents who may be unavailable for focus group discussion, while the latter will
be used with respondents who are willing to allot time and to schedule their availability
with the researcher. The interview questions for both the one-on-one and focus group
discussions will entail the academic performances of the deviate students or the
respondents in their first year in college, after their two-year program in senior high
school. The questions will also cover their learnings from the program, and the factors
that affected their placements in their strands and factors that affected their course of
preference in college.
The respondents will be interviewed within the vicinity of the school campus,
so as not to disturb their activities outside the university. Prior to the interview proper, the
respondents will be asked to sign consent forms that contain the title and purpose of the
will gather the data through note-taking and audio recording the interview, again, with the
consent from the respondents. Moreover, follow-up questions from the interview guide
questions will be done for the researcher to obtain and clarify answers, thoughts, ideas,
questionnaire guide, will be verified through content validity and internal consistency.
Thus, the questions in the interview guide will be substantiated by experts on the topic.
Furthermore, since the procedure entails follow-ups for clarifications, verifying the
reliability of the instrument through internal consistency will enable the researchers to
identify items with similar answers, and continually use the same or similar questions for
REFERENCES
Abarro, J.O. (2016). Factors affecting career track and strand choices of grade 9 students
in the division of Antipolo and Rizal, Philippines. International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications, 6(6), 51-53. Retrieved from
www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0616/ijsrp-p5409.pdf
Abulencia, A. (2015). The unraveling of k-12 program as an education reform in the
Philippines. South-East Asian Journal for Youth, Sports & Health Education, 1(2),
229-240. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283084339
Bacarra, R.V. (2016). Why the k-12 program will benefit the Filipino youth. Inquirer.
Retrieved from http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/227819/why-the-k-12-program-will-
benefit-the-filipino-youth/
Bigcas, J. (2016). K-12 basic education curriculum: A mini critique of k-12 basic
education curriculum. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305388829_K-
12_Basic_Education_Curriculum
Calderon, M.T.F. (2014). A critique of k-12 Philippine education system. International
Journal of
Education and Research, 2(10), 541-550. Retrieved from
www.ijern.com/journal/2014/October-2014/42.pdf
Canezo, V.C. Jr. (2016). Awareness, preparedness and needs of the k to 12 senior high
school modeling implementation. International Journal of Education and
Research, 4(7), 327-324. Retrieved from www.ijern.com/journal/2016/July-
2016/26.pdf
Crisol, L.G.D., & Alamillo, J.B.L. (2014). A comparative study of the attitudes between the
students and teachers of two public elementary schools in northern Mindanao toward
the k
to 12 curriculum shift. Retrieved from
https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/conferences/dlsu_research_congress/2014/_pdf/proceedi
ngs/LLI -II-012-FT.pdf
Commission on Higher Education. (2017). Policy on the admission of senior high school
graduates to the higher education institutions effective academic year 2018-2019.
CHED Memorandum Order No. 105, Series of 2017. Retrieved from
https://ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CMO-No.-105-s.-2017-Policy-
on-the-Admission-of-Senior-High-School-Graduates-to-the-Higher-Education-
Institutions-Effective-Academic-Year-2018-2019.pdf
Cuthill, M. (2002). Exploratory research: Citizen participation, local government, and
sustainable development in Australia. Sustainable Development, 10, 79-89.
Department of Education. (2014). The k to 12 basic education program. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20140725194945/http://www.gov.ph/k-
12/#implementation
Hoppen, N., Rigoni, E.H., Klein, A.Z., & Ritter, A.M. (2016). A qualitative research
instrument to analyze organizational clusters’ competitiveness factors. Revista Base
(Administração e
Contabilidade) da UNISINOS, 13(1), 2-18. Retrieved from
http://www.redalyc.org/html/3372/337246237002/