Chapter I

1.1 Introduction and Background of the Study

Decision making requires a define choice between two or more alternatives course of

actions that are available. There are times in everyone’s lives where decisions have to be made. It

is one of the most important aspects in life and work because of its strong link to success and

effectiveness. Choosing a strand is one of the most life-altering decisions that an individual can

make, and choosing the right strand is a stressful process for upcoming Senior High School

students. It can be a task, which needs decision to be made or a difficult situation involving

several issues for decision making. “Making a decision implies that there are alternatives choices

to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as

possible but to choose the one that best fits with our goals, objectives, desired, values, and so

on.” (Harris, 1980)

For every student choosing the best strand can be a difficult decision as well as thinking about

their future career. Some students know exactly which course to pursue while others do not

know. Career can be defined by the total pattern of one’s activities held during a person’s

lifetime. It can also be determine the individual personally because it describes who the person

is. Therefore, choosing an appropriate career is very important for every individual (NCDA,

2003) as this help to determine their future. The advent of information technology, the

emergence of post industrial revolution and job competition career choice turn out to be a

complex science. Throughout the journey, it is believed that students determine their career

choices based on several factors. According to Kerka (2000), student career choice is influenced

by the availability of information, cultural identity, finance, globalization, interests, personality,

role model, self-concept, social support and socialization while for Bandura et al (2001) an

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individual’s career choice is influenced by their educational attainment, the context in which they

lived in, their personal aptitudes and social contacts. Moreover, Perrone et al., (2001)find the role

model supportiveness and quality of relationship to contribute to career choice of students, posits

that individual career choice influenced by their educational choices, income, some follow their

parent careers , other opt to follow their passion regardless of the income obtained while others

consider the extrinisic factors or intrinisic factors Hewitt (2010).

Graduating students from secondary schools may not have solid decision on where to go

in senior high and what strand they may possibly take. They are planning to enter senior high

without clear idea of what career to pursue for their future (Ramirez &Dizon, 2014). They may

sometimes consider the people and the information they received within their environment.

There are several factors that may affect the decision of students and parents, where it can be a

good source of insight for private higher education institutions to offer quality services that will

suit to the needs, expectations and demands of the community, with the curricular offerings of

private colleges and universities which are almost identical programs makes diversification very

difficult (Vaz&Mansori, 2013). The decision on good career choice and school sometimes

depend on how the way students perceive the world and their future. Some of them may not have

enough knowledge and consciousness about how they should process information from personal,

social, economic, political, spiritual and environmental aspects of putting into context and

realization of having a successful profession. Pafili and Mylonakis (2011) “emphasized that in

coming up with the right decision of what profession to take, students can properly utilize their

skills and knowledge to gain proper experience who could contribute to the development and

welfare of the society” but Koni, Zainal, and Ibrahim (2012) “noted that some studies show that

not all students who enter a university have the intention to obtain the degree.” This study is

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more on preventive rather than a corrective action on the problems or consequences that may

occur when the implementation of K-12 in the Philippines will reach in 2016 wherein no first

year students will enroll in college. They provide possible options and the opportunities to be

well oriented and informed of the program offerings that would make them excel and

successful.Senior high school (SHS) refers to Grades 11 and 12, the last two years of the K-12

program that DepEd has been implementing since 2012. Students begin to study in SHS the

subjects that will introduce them to their preferred career path. To further explain: Under

Republic Act No. 10533 (Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013), you will have to complete

Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 6 (elementary), Grades 7 to 10 (junior high school) and Grades 11 to

12 (senior high school)—in all 13 years—before you can receive a high school diploma.

Students cannot be forced to spend two more years in school, but if they stop at Grade10, they

will only receive a JHS certificate, not a high school diploma. Manila, Philippines – President

Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday, May 15, signed the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013

into law, more commonly known as the K-12 program. This adds two years to the basic

education system in an effort to further prepare students for the world ahead. In a speech by

President Aquino on the signing of the K-12 law, he noted the strengths of implementing the K-

12 law, including the implementation of universal kindergarten in public and private schools and

other initiatives for basic education up to junior high school. “Tinitiyak nating sapat at kapaki-

pakinabang ang kasanayang naibabahagi sa atingmga mag-aaral (We ensure the what is taught

and imparted to students is adequate and beneficial to them),” Aquino said. Of having a senior

high school track in the academe, Aquino added, “Sa pagkakaroon naman ng senior high school

kung saan makakapili ang kabataang Pilipino ng specialized tracks para sa akademya, technical

education, at sports and arts, ginagarantiya nating talagang handasilang humakbang para abutin

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ang kanilang mga mithiin.” (Having senior high school years, where the Philippine youth can

choose specialized tracks in academics, technical education, and sports and arts, guarantees that

they are ready to move forward to reach for their dreams.) The government said it was building

tens of thousands of new classrooms, hiring nearly 18,000 teachers, and printing tens of millions

of textbooks this year to implement the program nationwide. The education department budget

has been raised to P232 billion this year, up 44 percent from 2010 levels, largely to pay for the

extra services, Aquino said. Schools operated by the private sector must also begin implementing

the reforms in the next school year, which starts in June. Another major part of the reforms will

be to teach in native languages from kindergarten until the third year of primary school. The

language of instruction will then gradually shift to English from grades four to six in primary

school. Subjects will then be taught in English throughout high school. K to 12 also involved a

new feature, the spiral curriculum. The spiral approach is a technique often used in teaching

where first the basic facts of a subject are learned, without worrying about details. Then as

learning progresses, more and more details are introduced, while at the same time they are

related to the basics which are reemphasized many times to help enter them into long-term

memory. A sequencing strategy to expose the learners to a wide variety of concepts/topics , skills

and attitudes that are deemed of “continual concern of everyone “until they are mastered. A

spiral curriculum design is one in which “key concepts are presented repeatedly throughout the

curriculum, but with deepening layers of complexity.” In the spiral progression approach, the

first basic facts of a subject are learned without worrying about details. In spiral teaching, teacher

moves upward but keeps returning to the fundamentals. One should always remember that one

keeps moving upward, but keeps returning to the fundamentals through reviews but adding more.

With this procedure, two purposes are served: 1. The previously learned concept is reviewed

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hence improving its retention 2. The topic may be progressively elaborated when it is

reintroduced leading to a broadened understanding and transfer of learning. It is a curriculum

design tool which will help develop concrete and practical thinking-centered lessons that make

students performances of understanding explicit, it may be used to structure an entire project

which can readily fit into the regular curriculum and can help design thinking centered lessons.

The learner-centered approach is characterized by: Learn with focus on the learners, and learning

in a real situation as the teachers facilitate their students to learn from experience, activities and

work, leading to the development of learners in all aspects physical, mental, emotional, social

and intellectual.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study aims for the grade 10 students regarding to the K to 12 academic programs

and their opinion about its implementation. Specifically it answers the following questions:

1. Are these factors affects the students in choosing their preferred track for senior high

school? In terms of:

1.1. Personal;

1.2. Family

1.3. Social

1.4. Media

1.5. Aptitude

2. What is the basis of the students towards decision-making?

3. What among these factors most impact their decision?

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 4. What among these factor least affect their decision?

1.3 Scope and Delimitation

The study was only limited to the Grade 10 students of the Saint Jerome Emiliani School.

This study mainly focused on the factors such as Parental Influence, Peer Influence, Personality,

Media, Interests, Social, and Opportunity. There may be more factors however; those would not

be within this study.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The learner must choose the right strand for them to have a success. Learning is not about

studying but enjoying it to achieving it. This study can give a big help to the grade 10 student of

Saint Jerome Emiliani School in choosing what the right tract is for them becoming a senior

students.

With this study the student will recognize that on their age they must have stable mind to

determine what course they are going to choose, it is not about the distance of the school, the

availability of the coarse or low tuition to offer instead they must choose the course which is fit

to them so they don’t have regrets in their entire life.

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