Factors Influencing Students Choice for a Senior High School Academic Tack

Submitted By:

Bustamante, Chinice
Marpuri, Ela Mae
Mandasoc, Kendra
Castillo, Denise
Hidalgo, Kathleen
Reotan, Meryll
Aspe, Stephanie

BSFSIM – I1
Introduction

Choosing and deciding on something have consequences. The results of what you have

chosen can either help you, it will hinder you in the future. It is also the same with the course that

you will have to decide. In choosing a course, there are a lot of factors that the student must

consider. According to Boyer (1987), “in taking a course, one of the life’s major decision is being

made. A lot of time, money, and effort will be involved. The shape and excellence of the student’s

life may rest on the result.” In choosing a junior, senior academic track, a student should take a

risk. F. Yates, Veinotte, & Patalano (2003) define a decision as “…a commitment to a course of

action that is intended to produce a satisfying state of affairs.” A student will choose a course

which he/she will be studying throughout his/her college years, and decision-making should take

part and should not take for granted. The decision of which course to take is one of the farthest

decisions for a student especially those who are graduating High school students.

Education, according to human rights activists, is a right not a privilege. This means that

every child of school going age in the present era needs to be given the opportunity to access

education, particularly formal education, particularly formal education. Education therefore refers

to the procedures and practices that leads to an improvement in the quality of individual, enhanced

performance and improved social conditions as a whole. According to Omane-Akuamoah et-el

(2004), education helps develop and encourage desirable traits in the individual which are socially

approved and also nurtures the individual’s intellectual abilities.

Student’s career success can attain if proper guidance is in choosing the right track in senior

high school, suited to student’s personality, ability, and intellect. Helping students chooses the

career that suits them can be done by integrating career plan with the curriculum so that students

can make good decisions in what course to take in college. A collaborative effort of the school
administrations, guidance counselor and parents should also be made to come up with a better

career plan for every individual student.

Factors that has the greatest Influence on

Student’s Decision in Choosing a Senior
High School Academic Track

Academic experience

Educational aspirations/expectations
Senior High School Academic Track
Advise and advice of Others

Friends/peer influence

Family Background

Figure1. A Schematic diagram showing the relationship between the independent and dependent
variable.
Statement of the Problem

This study is to determine the different factors influencing the students in choosing a course

in the secondary level of Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Elias Angeles Str., Naga City.

Specifically, it answered the following question:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of

2. What factor has the greatest influence on the grade 10 students in choosing an academic

track
i. Academic Experience;

ii. Educational Aspiration/ Expectation;

iii. Advice and advise of Others;

iv. Friends/ Peer

v. Family

3. What is the academic track of choice of students of senior high school?

4. What recommendation can be proposed from the study?

Theoretical Framework

The study is anchored on the theory of Donald Super which focuses on the development of
life roles over the life span with emphasis on inter role congruence. His vocational concept as a
part of self-concept is formed, it is the driving force that establishes a career pattern one will follow
through life. Vocational developmental tasks are derived from vocational stages which provides
framework for vocational behaviour and attitudes.
VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

A. Growth (birth-age 14 or 15), characterized by development of capacity, attitudes, interests,

and needs associated with self-concepts;
B. Explanatory (ages 15-24), characterized by a tentative phase in which choices are narrowed
but not finalized;
C. Establishment (ages 25-44), characterized by trial and stabilization through work
experiences;
D. Maintenance (ages 45-64), characterized by a continual adjustment process to improve
working position and situation; and
E. Decline (ages 65+), characterized by preretirement considerations, reduced work output,
and eventual retirement.

The crystallization task (ages 14-18) is forming a preferred career plan and considering how it
might be implemented. Pertinent information is studied with the goal of becoming more aware of
the preferred choice and the wisdom of preference. The specification task (ages 18-21) follows in
which the individual feels the need to specify the career plan through more specific resources
and explicit awareness of cogent variables of the preferred choice. The implementation task
(ages 21-24) is accomplished by the completion of training and entry into the career and
develops a feeling of security in career position. The stabilization (ages 24-35) is reached when
the individual is firmly established in a career and develops a feeling of security in career
position. Finally, the consolidation task (35+) follows with advancement and seniority in a
career. Super also identified six dimensions that he thought were relevant and appropriate for
adolescents:

i. Orientation to Vocational Choice (an attitudinal dimension determining whether the

individual is concerned with the eventual vocational choice to be made);
ii. Information and planning (a competence dimension concerning specificity of information
individuals have concerning future career decisions and past planning accomplished);
iii. Consistency of Vocational Preferences (individuals’ consistency of preferences);
iv. Crystallization of Traits (individual progress toward forming a self-concept);
 v. Vocational Independence (independence of work experience);
vi. Wisdom of Vocational Preferences (dimension concerned with individuals ability to
make realistic preferences consistent with personal tasks.)

This theory is found to be appropriate because of its stressfulness in terms of developing a

career plan that will guide the individual in choosing a career in academic tack and college. Also,
Super’s six-dimension is appropriate for adolescent is truly applicable because senior high school
students are fall under this category.

Another theory adopted for the research is David Tiedeman’s5 self-development

approach to career (Career development: Crisis and Growth, 1970). He believes that evolving
ego-identity is of central importance in the career development process. He referred to the
evolving self-in-situation from the earliest awareness of self to point at which individual
becomes capable of evaluating experiences, anticipating, and imagining future goals, and storing
experiences in memory for future reference with his context of Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial
crises. Self-in-situation, self-in-world and the orientation of work evolve as one resolves the
psychosocial crises of life. He therefore conceptualized a paradigm for problem-solving as the
mechanism of career decision making. His paradigm covers four aspects of anticipation or
preoccupation (exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification) and three aspects of
implementation of adjustment (induction, reformation, and integration).

ASPECTS OF ANTICIPATION, PREOCCUPATION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND

ADJUSTMENT

Aspects of Characteristics Aspects of Characteristics

Anticipation or Implementation
Preoccupation
Exploration 1. Thinking is rather temporary Induction 1. This period begins
and evanescent in nature. the social interaction
2. There is consideration and experience with
reconsideration of possible career identification.
courses of action. 2. There is a further
3. Through imagination, one identification of self
experiences numerous and defense of self
 activities by relating feelings within the career
of self within certain social system.
structures or premises. 3. As acceptance, is
4. There is searching through experienced within
projection into tentative the career, part of self
goals. is merged with the
5. There is focus on future accepting group.
behavior with alternative 4. There is further
courses of action. progression of
6. There is reflection upon individualized goal
aspirations, abilities, interests, but within the
and future societal framework of the
implications related to career totality of a career
choice. concerning social
purpose.
Crystallization 1. There is a continue Reformation 1. The career group
assessment of alternatives. offers
2. Fewer alternatives are under acknowledgement of
consideration. acceptance as a group
3. There is an emergence of member.
tentative choices. 2. There is assertive
4. Tentative choices may be action on the part of
reevaluated in the process of the individual the
valuing and ordering. career group and
5. Goals become more definite outside the career
and formed but are not group, spawned by
irreversible. the newfound
6. There is a definite more conditions.
toward stability of thought. 3. Assertive action takes
the form of
convincing other to
conform to the self-
view held by the
individual and toward
greater acceptance of
modified goals.
Choice 1. A definite goal is chosen Integration 1. A compromise of
2. There is focus on the intentions of goal is
particular behavior necessary achieved by the
to reach the chosen goal. individuals as he or
she interacts with the
career group.
2. Objectivity of self
and the career group
is attained.
3. Identification of a
working member
within a total system
of the career field
emerges.
 4. Satisfaction of a
committed cause or
action is at least
temporarily attained.
Clarification 1. This period is marked
by further
clarification of self in
the chosen position.
2. Further consideration
of the anticipated
position lessens the
doubts of the career
decision.
3. A stronger conviction
about the career
decision is
developed.
4. This ends the
anticipatory or
preoccupation stage.

Tiedeman stressed out why individual change their courses of action because of external
factors because of external forces (such as the call of the armed forces, an economic crisis, the
work setting itself) or by broad psychological drives (such as unmet needs, changing aspirations,
role diffusion). According to the prescribed sequence, a new decision unfolds and must be made,
beginning with exploration and eventually reaching integration. If integration is not reached once
again, the individual may adapt to a career environment or may simply withdraw and begin a
new search for eventual integration.

Conceptual Framework

Future-tension can be surpassing if individual has a preparation to overcome it. Career

preparedness will help the student become more effective and successful in life with his chosen
job.

Childhood aspiration has a major role on individual’s striving force. As they grow older,
the more they want, the more they will strive to get it. But external factors (environment and
society) and internal factors (self-crisis and family) changes their aspirations in life. Such as
when a child wants to be a nurse to cure a patient in his illness but because of her interest like
drawing and painting changes his aspirations. His interest got more concentrated so she will take
a course which is suitable for it. Some graduated high-school students gradually stop in pursuing
their college career. Financial sustainability plays a major role in alterations of career life. They
need to work in order to sustain their studies, as wells as to help their family about expenses and
earlier exposure to a company. Choosing academic track, then can be conceptualized as a process
of decision-making. It also involves a series of prime factors such as the socio-demographic
profile (sex, age, parents educational attainment, parents occupation, size of income, and sibling
position).

Likewise, it will identify the top three expressed career choices, preferences for the career
choice such as childhood aspirations, family / relatives, peer /friends, interest and specialization,
values, in-demand jobs, and school counselor; their anticipated problems encountered and how
these problems affect the students in making their career preferences; and sibling position.

Scope and Delimitation

This study deals with the factors influencing students in choosing junior, senior academic
track at Universidad de Sta. Isabel High School. The study was focused on the grade 10 students
in Basic Education Department who are having a hard time deciding on what tack to take.

The data will be gather using the questionnaire on the factors influencing student choice
for a senior high academic track. This examination will be given to 150 respondents of grade 10
students in Universidad de Sta. Isabel High School.