Chapter 2

I. Preamble

The apparent favor over Western culture is becoming more visible in the Philippines today, and
with influence from the Western mindset dominating the way of thinking through trending or
Popular culture, there is a possibility that the rate of colonial mentality will not decrease in the
coming years. The existence of colonial mentality poses several threats towards the Philippines
and the Filipinos. One of these threats, as stated by Gabornes (2013), poses that colonial
mentality is responsible for the decline of the country and its economy. Colonial mentality also
disregards and undervalues the presence of Filipino related articles but embraces and openly
entertains the entrance of foreign related articles, as preconceived that anything foreign is
immediately better than its local counterparts. Overall, the complications caused by colonial
mentality not only affects the demand of locally produced products, but also the livelihoods of
local producers.

This research seeks to answer the effects of colonial mentality on local consumers. It aims to
assess whether it truly exists within different age groups and its relevance in the community.
Lastly, it seeks to answer its role in affecting the decision making process in consumerism. The
overall research is guided by the following questions:

- Why do Filipinos prefer imported goods over local ones?

- Has colonial mentality been affecting one’s preferences?
- Are local product’s qualities significantly inferior to others in terms of quality?
- Are these foreign competitors affecting local businesses?
- Given the data uncovered, how can the population contribute in maintaining our cultural
identities?

This chapter of the research will be covering the research method, respondents and the sample of
the study, research instruments, data collection procedure, and the data analysis procedure.
 II. Research Method

This portion of the chapter will highlight the methodology applied to this research, how it was
approached and why it was the method opted for. Since the research aims to question as to the
possible factors that could influence a buyer’s decision, a qualitative case study approach was the
method used in order to aid in: analyzing a buyer’s habits in purchasing multiple products,
possible qualities a buyer is looking for in a certain product, and the usual products a buyer
purchases in the market.

The research’s aim is to address any of the possible biases a buyer may have and if there truly is
a link of the overexposure of Western influence in these decisions.

The researchers will also be referencing other previously completed researches in order to aid in
the examination of an average Filipino mindset regarding their separate views on colonial
mentality. The researches that were looked through proved to be worthy and thought provoking
pieces of work that have inspired the researchers to further their studies.

After following this particular method, the collected data was analyzed thoroughly by the
researchers. These collected data was also compared with the previously done researches of
Ashley Decena and Francecsa Mateo. The collected data also served as a basis in drawing
conclusions.

The case study used was more focused on the cause and effect of a specific issue, which aids
researchers in understanding how the effects of colonial mentality on local products is felt.
Neither an ethnographic nor historical research was opted for. An ethnographic research was not
utilized since it would require immersion, which would be quite time consuming. On the other
hand, a historical research is redundant for this research since the focus of this research will not
be analyzing past events.
Two methods were chosen to gather information for the case study which were: handing out
surveys to the Grade 10 and Grade 12 students, and conducting interviews with teachers who
teach business related subjects from Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus. The interviews that
were conducted for the teachers were semi-structured in order to give freedom and flexibility in
gathering the required information that cannot be found from the questions limited from the
interview guide. The use of open-ended questions will be utilized in order to gain better
responses from the teachers.

For the interviews, the method of heterogeneous sampling was utilized in selecting the
participants. With this, the researchers were able to choose 3 teachers who teach business related
subjects to give their views on the matter. These 3 teachers will be able to give the researchers
their experiences, thoughts and emotions regarding the effect of colonial mentality.

For the survey, the Grade 10 and Grade 12 students will be given surveys to answer where
respondents will be able to select their subjective answer among the choices located in the paper.

The detailed process will be explained in further parts of this chapter.

III. Respondents and Sample of the Study

The main sampling method chosen by the researchers was heterogeneous sampling method for
the students. This sampling technique has a population that contains different kinds of people
with different values in order to get different results from each one (Stephanie, 2016). It was the
approach opted for in order to analyze the possible varying views of the students of the different
departments of Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus. The other technique that was applied was
simple random sampling. Simple random sampling is a sampling method where you randomly
select a subset of individuals from a larger population and randomly select an individual from
your selected subset (Hayes, A. 2019). This particular method was employed to avoid inflicting
any type of confusion in collecting data. It was also employed to avoid selecting any biases in the
form of possibly selecting people the researches are already familiar with, in order to broaden
our findings. These sampling techniques were specifically chosen since it was the most
convenient and feasible way of gathering the desired data. It proved to be an efficient way of
collecting data since all of the selected respondents either studies or works in Sacred Heart
School - Hijas de Jesus.

The respondents chosen belong to the Grade 10 and Grade 12 batch. On the other hand, the
researchers specifically chose 3 teachers who teach business related subjects. The selected
respondents of this study were 30 students from the Tenth Grade of the Junior High Department,
15 students from the Twelfth Grade who are in the Senior High Department, and 3 teachers from
the Senior High Faculty. Respondents ranged from the ages of 15-30, consisting both male and
female students. Students from the Tenth Grade were selected from all the different sections.
Meanwhile, the selected students from the Twelfth Grade consists of students from the strands
offered by the institution (ABM and STEM).

The amount of respondents was large in order to minimize the margin of error. This was also the
case to allow the researchers to properly generate a more accurate conclusion from the data that
was gathered. While the sample size is considerably large, the researchers made sure to properly
gather the desired data from a manageable sum of students while avoiding any errors in
compiling them.

In order to conduct the surveys provided by the researchers, these had to be conducted in the
classrooms of the Tenth Graders. Surveys will be printed in scratch papers in order to practice
recycling and to avoid abusive use of clean and brand new paper. Each member of the research
group was assigned to different classrooms of the Tenth Grade. As for the Twelfth Grade, a
survey was conducted via Google Forms that was sent to the randomly picked respondents
through their emails for the survey. A separate session was done for the interviewing of the three
different teachers, where they were asked about their views on the matter. These were done in
three different school days during dismissal time. Each of these interviews were conducted in the
Saint Peter Faber Lounge which is also located in the Senior High building.
The process of gaining the approval of the respondents were done through a letter addressed to
Mme. Rosalie Idulsa asking her permission to conduct a survey for the Grade 10 students. To
gain the approval of the teachers from the Senior High Department, the researchers politely
asked them if the respondents could be able to conduct a short interview during specific
dismissal times.

IV. Research Instruments

The instruments utilized in this research were individual interviews and surveys (physical and
online). These interviews followed a semi-structured format where the respondents were able to
answer the questions with their experiences whilst providing their own separate views and
opinions regarding the matter.

These interviews intended to shed light on how mature and suitable people can provide this
research more data regarding the matter. These three teachers were specifically chosen since they
potentially may have had first hand experience encountering the effect of colonial mentality,
considering the subjects they respectively teach. Additionally, the researchers saw it fit to
interview the respective teachers since they may be able to shed a light and provide more
grounded and concrete examples of the effects of colonial mentality in the Philippines.

During the interviews, the respondents were asked these series of questions as listed below:
1) Do you believe that the colonial mentality is still present in the Philippines?
2) Is there an effect on how the overexposure of a different culture can affect your
preference?
3) What kind of local product do you think can aid in the revitalization of local goods?

V. Data Collection Procedure

Upon receiving a schedule for the interview to take place, the researchers conducted a detailed
group discussion with the teachers at the Saint Peter Faber Lounge. This group discussion was
conducted on November 11 to 13 during the Senior High School’s dismissal time. Each of the
respondents were given separate consent forms. The researchers also promised to conceal the
identity of all the teachers who had partaken in the interview.

To ensure an efficient interview, two members of the research group acted as the interviewers
and the remaining two members were merely observers of the entire period. The two observers
noted the significant details said by the teachers on their laptops. A voice recorder was also
utilized with the permission of the respondents. This was utilized in order to ensure every bit of
detail was recorded.

As for the surveying, once the permission letter was approved, the researchers headed to the
respective classrooms of the Tenth Graders to hand out the survey forms. As soon as they had
completed filling out their forms, the researchers collected the forms and placed it in a secure
white envelope and labeled their respective classes.

VI. Data Analysis Procedure

The Data Analysis Procedure is classified into two parts: survey analysis and interview analysis.

The first classification is coded as “Survey Analysis”, where the researchers begin to carefully
read the answers of the chosen Grade 10 respondents. The surveys were examined, categorized
and summarized by the researchers in order to avoid confusion and redundancy of answers. The
researchers will begin to interpret the information categorized so that the researchers can validate
the answers. Once the surveys have gone through interpretation, the researchers will examine the
surveys once again and will be used for the presentation of findings.

The second classification is coded as “Interview Analysis”, where the researchers begin to play
and listen to the various voice recordings as the researchers will take down notes on the
necessary and important information. After the voice recordings have been played, the
researchers will replay the voice recordings to review the notes being written and avoid any
misinformation. The researchers begin to categorize and create summaries in order to avoid
confusion and redundancy of answers. The information gathered will be analyzed and interpreted
by the researchers in order to come up with possible implications. Once the researchers have
come up with the possible implications, the information gathered will be used for the
presentation of findings.