Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is considered very important for not only the development of the

individuals, but also for the progress of community and nation. Education has crucial part

in instilling the children proper attitudes, values and aspirations as well as gaining

knowledge and skills that will help them achieve their maximum self-realization.

As stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XIV, Section I that: The State

shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and

shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.”

In schools, there are numerous factors that influence the academic performance

of the students. While there can be number of factors involved, financial crisis is still the

primary reason why students take part-time (or full-time) jobs. The poverty stricken

individuals primarily look for job to alleviate their conditions of poverty.

In the Philippines, there’s a lot of students who work while studying. The life of a

Filipino family here is not as easy as we all know. There’s a lot of struggle and hard work

before you can support your family needs especially if all your children are going to

school. That’s why many students will force to work because the family cannot support

them financially for their needs.

The life of a Filipino student who works for their needs and other expenses is not

easy. It takes a lot of courage, strength and positivity before they can be called a working

student. They need to manage and balance their schedule for them to work while study.

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Over the years, the concept of “work-study balance” has been an ongoing struggle for

working students (Nucuum, 2018).

So far, researches on the jobs among students have largely been conducted at

different schools. The trend of jobs among college students has been increasing rapidly.

In short, the term that suits this trend is “Earn and Learn” policy. With an increase in the

number of students taking jobs outside school, its effect on students’ academic

performance has been questioned by many researchers (Green, 1987).

Furr and Elling (2000) suggests that there are many reasons why students take a

job. Students have many reasons to work outside the school. First, there are some

children who get engaged in some kind of employment so that they can contribute to

family income or to support their needs. These may include their everyday needs such as

food, shelter, clothing and support for their education. Students who are engaged in a job

have to carry out their duties and responsibilities both as students or “workers”, hence,

they are unable to develop much of their time towards studies and meet their academic

requirements. Running from school to work and juggling academic requirements and

side-hustles while keeping your family, social or love-life is truly a daunting task.

Second, student’s involvement in jobs has positive impact to develop career-

related skills. It is hands-on experience that cannot be gained in the classroom alone.

Whatever the reasons the students have in taking jobs, there is a popular belief that

students with job do not tend to have higher academic performance, because their focus

time of study has been divided with their working time or worst they have to absent from

their classes. Better academic achievement only can be achieved by students who spend

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more time on academic related activities outside of class (i.e. reading the books,

completing assignments, studying and preparing reports) (Sarah & Hudson, 2005).

In the Philippines, mostly college students who are 18 years of age and above are

part-time working. It is because they are already allowed to work. But nowadays, even

high school students are already working because of poverty.

Working youths from 15 to 18 years can be employed without securing certification

or work permits from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Acting Labor

Secretary Arturo L. Sodusta said that the issuance of a DOLE certificate to youth aged

15 to below 18 years prior to employment is not required by the law. He cited the Labor

Code of the Philippines and Republic Act 9231 (An Act providing for the Elimination of the

Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Special Protection for the Working Child).

Implementing R.A. 9231 (Amending R.A. 7610). The said law and order, he said do not

prohibit youths from working without the necessary employment permit from the agency.

Sodusta added that employment of young persons 15 to below 18 years maybe allowed

subject to conditions and prohibitions in R.A. 9231 and the Labor Code. What is

prohibited, Sodusta said is if the youths are required to work more than the mandated

eight (8) hours a day, beyond (40) hours a week as well as working at night, since the law

states that “no child 15 years of age but below 18 shall be allowed to work between ten

o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning of the following day (GMA News,

2018).

As a researcher, the main purpose of this study is to find out the struggles of

working students in improving their academic performance. By understanding the

situation of these students, students will be responsive and it could help them to pursue

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a better academic performance in school. That working while studying is not a hindrance

for them to have failing grades and it’s not a reason to be inactive in performing in school.

Statement of the Problem

This study will attempt to discover the plight of working students and their struggles

in improving their academic performance in Allen National High School.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Sex

1.3 Sibling position

1.4 Parents educational attainment;

1.5 Family’s socio-economic status; and

1.5 Family monthly income

2. What is the academic performance of the students in terms of:

2.1 Class participation

2.2 Performance Task

2.3 Comprehension

3. How do the working students improve their academic performance and handle their

time to meet the school requirements?

4. What intervention program may be proposed to improve the academic performance of

the working students?

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Objectives of the Study

The present study will be intended to determine the struggles of Grade 9-12

working students in Allen National High School in improving their academic performance.

Specifically, this study sought to:

1. determine the socio-demographic profile of the students in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Sex;

1.3 Sibling position;

1.4 Parents educational attainment;

1.5 Family’s socio- economic status; and

1.5 Monthly family income

2. determine the performance of the working students as perceived by themselves as

regard to:

2.1 class participation

2.2 performance task

2.3 comprehension

3. determine the study habits of working students in order to improve their academic

performance and handle their time to meet the school requirements

4. identify what intervention program may be proposed to improve the academic

performance of the working students

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Significance of the Study

This study will focus on the struggles of Grade 9-12 working students in improving

their academic performance in Allen National High School. Accordingly, the following

groups of individuals and institutions will be benefited by the study.

Students. The students, especially the Grade 9-12, would be able to realize how

their job affects their academic performance. This will also serve as a source of

information as to how they will be able to improve their academic performance while

working. This study will also help other students to understand the situation of their

classmates who work and study.

Teachers. This study will help the teachers especially the class advisers to have

better understanding of the situations of their students in class in order for them to provide

with alternative tasks and academic measures that will not sacrifice effectiveness of

teaching methods and the quality of learning, whenever conflicts between work and

studies arise.

Educational Administrators- The findings of this study will help the present

administrators in revising, enriching, modifying and strengthening the curricula to meet

the needs of these students. It will guide them to come up with the scheme to help

students who cannot attend the school because of their jobs.

Guidance Counselors- It will help them find ways on how to counsel and guide

students who are found to be burdened with problems because of financial limitations.

Parents- The result of this study will give significant information to the parents in

having an awareness of the effects it may bring to their children who are working

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especially that most of the respondents are below 18 years of age so that a necessary

adjustment will be adopted by them for their children to perform well in their academics.

Future researchers- Accurate and comprehensive information is vital in the field

of research. Availability of quality reference materials is essential to help researchers who

conduct further study by means of the findings from this research.

Local Government Units- This study will be of great help to analyze the real

situations of the youth today in their locality: their needs, aspirations and constraints so

that officials and social workers can target and better address the problems they face and

craft value-for-money solutions, measures and youth investment options

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study will be conducted among Grade 9-12 High School students of Allen

National High School who are working. This will be conducted within the school year

2019-2020. The study will focus on the struggles of working students in improving their

academic performance and the intervention program that will be proposed to improve

their performance. The parents’ educational attainment, family’s social status and monthly

income are considered as limitations of the study.

In every endeavor, uniqueness will be observed in order to allow freshness and

originality of the work which is attributed to the complexity of human being. It is from this

perspective that the researcher will also include the teacher factor, since one of the

researcher’s target is to provide alternative tasks and academic measures that will

improve the academic performance of the students.

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 Due to time constraints and economic limitations, the researcher purposively

choose to limit this study on the above mentioned Grade Levels and school. This study

is not an attempt to include the entire high schools students in Allen.

Theoretical Framework

In this study, the researcher will briefly introduce the main theories found in multiple

disciplines, providing support for a relationship between student job and later educational

outcomes. According to Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), student job can be a

complement to education due to the additional skills and knowledge obtained while

working. There are several reasons why student work may lead to such an increase in

human capital. First, student job enables the acquisition of new general and transferable

skills such as work values, communication skills and a sense of time management

(Buscha, Maurel, Page & Speckesser, 2012; Rothstein, 2007; Staff & Mortimer, 2007).

Second, combining study and work may offer students the opportunity to apply in practice

what they have learned in school (Geel & Backes-Gellner, 2012; Hotz et al, 2002). Third,

student job may increase students’ future-orientedness and thereby motivate students to

work harder in school in order to achieve a certain career goal (Oettinger, 1999; Rothstein,

2007).

On the other hand, building on the Theory of the Allocation of Time (Becker, 1965),

the Zero-Sum Theory suggests that student job and education are substitutes. It is argued

that student job strongly constrains students’ use of time: time spent working crowds out

time spent on activities that enhance academic performance (i.e. studying, doing

8
homework and attending classes; Bozick , 2007: Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2009; 2012). As

the reduced time spent on the latter activities subsequently worsens academic

performance (Arulampalam, Naylor & Smith, 2012; Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2004;

2008), student job may have a detrimental effect on educational attainment.

Another theory is the Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory which defines

four types of systems that contains roles, norms and rules which shape development. The

systems include a microsystem, mesosytem, exosystem and macrosystem. The

microsystem is the family, classroom or systems in the intermediate environment in which

a person is operating. The mesosystem is two Microsystems interacting, such as the

connection between a child’s home and school. The exosystem is an environment in

which an individual is directly involved and is external to his experience, yet it affects him

anyway i,e, a child’s parent’s workplace. The macrosystem is the larger cultural context.

This theory attempts to explain the differences in individual’s knowledge,

development, and competencies through the support, guidance and structure of the

society in which they live. According to Brofenbenner, the interactions between a number

of overlapping ecosystems affect a person significantly. The family, classrooms or

neighborhoods are called the microsystem, which is the primary unit around a child

influencing his/her development directly from these sources. As two microsystem begin

to work together, i.e. teacher and parent working together to educate a child, t happens

through the mesosytem. As external factors not directly related to the child influence

his/her development, this ecosystem impacts the child’s development by interacting and

changing its microsystem. Finally, the society and the culture in which children are raised

is the underlying influence to all systems and this is the macrosystem. (A. Ahuja, 2011).

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Conceptual Framework

This study will be guided by the Coombs Systems Approach utilizing the input,

processes and output model. The first frame refers to the input which includes the working

students as respondents of the study described in terms of age, sex, siblings position,

parents educational attainment, monthly family income and academic performance.

The second frame refers to the construction and validation of questionnaires on

the level of academic performance of working students. Data gathering, analysis and

interpretation of the data. The third frame refers to the output of the study which is a plan

of action to improve the academic performance of the working students in Allen National

High School. The line from output frame connecting process and input presents feedback.

It indicates that whatever will be the output or the response may get, this means that there

is a continuous process.

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Paradigm

Input Process Output

Socio-demographic
profile of the
respondents

 Age
 Sex
 Sibling
Position
 Parents  Construction
Educational and Validation
Attainment of
 Family’s Questionnaire
socio- Checklist
economic Plan of Action to
 Administration
status Improve the
of the
 Family’s Academic
Questionnaire
monthly Performance of the
Checklist
income Working Students
 Data
Academic Gathering
Performance  Analysis and
Interpretation
 Class of Data
Participation
 Performance
Task
 Comprehensi
on

Study habits to
improve academic
performance

Feedback

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Definition of Terms

To facilitate understanding of this piece of work, the following terms are herein

defined conceptually and operationally.

Age. Conceptually, it is the amount of time that has elapsed. (Good V. Carte,

Dictionary of Education, 1959) Operationally, it refers to the actual age of the student-

respondents.

Sex. Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the gender of the students, either

male or female.

Sibling Position. Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the sibling position of

the respondent in the family.

Parents Educational Attainment. Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the

highest level of education attained by the parents of the respondent.

Family Socio-Economic Status. Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the

social standing of the students-respondents’ families. (Fe Arandia, 2003).

Family Monthly Income. Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the amount of

money earned by the mother or father or both every month.

Academic Performance- Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the scores and

grades or outcome earned by the respondents as reflected in the outputs, portfolio or

permanent records of grades of the respondents.

Education- is the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge,

skills, values beliefs and habits.

Job- Conceptually and operationally, it refers to the task or piece of work,

especially one that is paid

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 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The research study cited books, articles and laws, which are relevant to the

present investigation. It is composed of related literature, both local and foreign, which

contain facts and information on the research problem at hand. It also provides

explanations and logical connections between previous research and present work.

According to Lauren E. Watanabe, as money and resources become scarcer for

high school students, jobs become more of a necessity rather than an after school activity.

Any changes to student’s routines will lead to changes in academics, whether they are

positive or negative. Though the research results were not always consistent, it was a

common theme that the more hours worked led to decreased academic performance, but

that working in general did not necessarily have a negative effect on grades.

Student job is the norm for a large number of youths in many OECD countries,

both in secondary and tertiary education (Beerkens, Magi & Lill, 2011; Marsh & Kietman,

2005). One important reason why many students combine study and work is that it

provides them with an income, which may help them to satisfy their consumption

aspirations (Baert, Rotsaert, Verhaest & OMey, 2016; Watts & Pickering, 2000). However,

research in multiple disciplines has shown that the effect of student’s decisions may go

beyond the short term. For example, from the broad field of sociology, several studies

show that student job is correlated with problem behavior among youths, such as alcohol

use, delinquency and drug use (McMorris & Uggen, 2000; Safron, Schulenberg &

Bachman, 2001; Steinberg, Fegley & Dornbusch, 1993).

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 One aspect of student of student employment has been investigated across

various discipline sin the social and behavioral sciences: its impact on educational

engagement and performance (Bachman, Staff, O’Malley, Schulenberg & Freedman-

Doan, 2011). The central position of these outcomes in the academic literature on the

impact of student labor supply decisions on later outcomes in youth is not surprising. First,

it is highly relevant to examine the effect of student job on educational attainment since

the trade-off between starting a student job and using his time for studying is a decision

every adolescent has to make (Bozick, 2007; Trivent, 2014). Second, if student job affects

educational attainment, it indirectly affects all later outcomes in life that are (partly)

determined by his attainment (i.e. labor market success, wealth and happiness) (Blundell,

Dearden, Meghir & Sianesi, 1999; Chiswick, Lee & Miller, 2003). For these reasons, the

impact of student job on educational attainment is also highly relevant from a policy point

of view. Policymakers should take this potential impact into account when making

decisions about whether to encourage (particular forms) of student job.

According to the Case of Ireland stated by McCoy and Smyth (2007) explored the

nature and implications of secondary student’s participation in paid jobs in Ireland. It

examined whether engaging in jobs while in secondary schools has an impact on

educational outcomes- school drop-out and examination performance. The study adopted

the ‘propensity score matching’ technique, which aimed to examine the effect of student

job on a particular outcome to make sure that the difference in results for non-working

and working students are not overly estimate. The study also considered other

characteristics, such as attitudes towards schools or involvement in social activities in

matching the subject groups with variables.

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 The study found out that the level of student job in Ireland has increased in recent

years in proportion to an increase allotment for working hours. Results also showed that

working student show less motivation towards education and school life. They tend to

have less school satisfaction, lower school attendance and were more prone to being

reprimanded by their teachers posing negative interaction and involvement with the class.

In terms of school drop-outs, the study’s findings Irish context were in line with

those findings from the USA and Australia which presented that student job, particularly

those involving longer hours, leads to increasing rate of school drop-outs as working

students tend to draw away from studies because of the job . The examination results

were also considered in the study and showed that regardless of time allotment for

studying and working, and the students’ attitudes to school, working students achieve

lower grades than non-working students. To summarize the findings of the study, it can

be said that student job, particularly that involving long hours , reduces the amount of time

available for schoolwork and leads to underperformance among student and increased

school drop-outs.

Young and immature students tend to find it difficult to manage working hours and

study than older students (Barone 1993). Therefore, age also pays an important role in

the student’s decisions.

A March 2009 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that students with

part-time work reduce the time spent on homework, sleeping and socialization by 84%.

According to researchers Barling, Rogers and Kelloway, “Labor force participation by high

school students, especially more than 20 hours of part time work per week , is linked to

15
poorer school performance, increased drug and alcohol use, decreased family contacts

and cynical attitudes toward work.

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 Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY AND SOURCE OF DATA

This chapter presents the description of the research methods to be used,

respondents of the study, the instruments to be used, the procedures and sources of data

to be utilized in analyzing the data gathered.

Research Locale

The researcher choose the Allen National High School to be the locale of her study.

The test will be conducted in the mentioned institution.

Specifically, the test will be conducted inside the classroom of the respondents,

during their vacant time to avoid interruption of classes and to assure the readiness of the

students to take the test.

The Respondents

The respondents of this study are the Grade 9-12 high school students who are

working. They will be asked to accomplish the questionnaire on their socio-demographic

profile which includes the following: age, sex, parents educational attainment, family’s

socio-economic status and family monthly income.

They will also be provided with another set of questionnaire to measure their

academic performance in terms of their class participation, performance task and

comprehension. Their academic performance will be identified through their outputs,

portfolio, class records or permanent records of grades.

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Research Design

The researcher will use the descriptive method. This method of research

emphasizes the present status of the people which describes a current situation,

determines a situation and determines the nature of prevailing conditions of practices and

seek accurate description of activities, objects, persons and processes.

To obtain facts about existing condition or detect significant relationship between

current phenomena, there is a need for interpreting the meaning of the data gathered.

It will aim to determine the struggles in improving the academic performance of the

working students in Allen National High School. The researcher will use this method

because it can describe the existing occurrence concerning the academic performance

of the working students in Allen National High School.

Descriptive research method describes the research of statistics. It is logical and

primary focuses on numeric data. According to Almorin (2007) Descriptive research

focuses on the present condition. The purpose is to find new truth that may have different

forms such as increase quantity of knowledge, an increase insight into factors which are

operating, the discovery of a new causal relationship and more accurate formulation of

the problem.

This research is also cross-sectional because of limited time. This research is a

study of a particular phenomenon (or phenomena) at a particular time. Accordingly, cross-

sectional studies often employ the survey strategy and they may be seeking to describe

the incidence of a phenomenon or to compare factors in different organizations.

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Research Instruments

To obtain the academic performance of the students, output, portfolios or

permanent records of grades will be used. In these records are the data about the grades

from the different subjects prescribed in every curriculum year from grade 9 to grade 12,

periodic rating, the average in every subject, quizzes and examinations results, the

performance task outputs, the remarks “passed” or “failed” and the credits they earned in

a particular subject. It also the days that the student attended school in every curriculum

year.

The data on socio-demographic profile of the respondents will be obtained using

researcher-made questionnaires. The questionnaire is in the form of set of questions. In

the formulation of questionnaire items, the researcher will use a simple and clear

language to enable the respondents understand and answer the questions adequately.

Part One is comprised of the socio-demographic profile of the students-

respondents which included the general information, This part contains the respondents’

age, sex, sibling position, parents’ educational attainment, family’s socio-economic status

and monthly family income. Part Two is a set of different questions related to their working

and academic performance. For Part Two, an interview technique will be used. Interview

is one of the techniques used in qualitative research to collect data from a person or more

by directly or indirectly asking some questions to them which correlate to research topic

(Sowel, 2001).

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Validation of the Instrument

In testing the validity of the instruments, an interview technique and set os

questions will be presented to the teachers and head teachers of Allen National High

School. The panel of experts will be consulted in revised of the research paper for the

improvement of the studies.

Population and Sampling

The researcher will use complete enumeration in determining the population of this

study since this focused only in Allen National High School. However, only 30

respondents will be given the instruments.

In this research, purposive sampling will be utilized because respondents recruited

as sample for this research are working students. Purposive sampling is composed of

individuals or groups that provide information about issues of central importance to the

purpose of the research (Sowel, 2001).

Data Gathering Procedure

In order to answer the problems stated, the researcher will use the survey

questionnaire to gather necessary data from Grade 9-12 students of Allen National High

School. The researcher will ask permission from the principal down to the class advisers

to conduct the study. In order for the researcher to identify the students who are working,

the researcher will ask the class advisers or the whole who among their students are

working. The questionnaires on personal demographic profile of the students as well as

20
the instrument to determine their academic performance will be distributed to the

respondents. The outputs, portfolios, class records and permanent records will be used

to find out the performance of the students in terms of class participation, performance

task and comprehension.The researcher will personally distribute the research

instruments and explain to the respondents all the items to be answered in the

questionnaire.

21