PILAR COLLEGE OF ZAMBOANGA CITY, INC.

R.T. Lim Blvd., Zamboanga City

Basic Education Department

PAASCU Accredited Level III

S.Y. 2019-2020

Perspective of Grade 11 Transfer Students

to their Current School According to

its Performance

Soliman, Farah

Hatab, Napisa

Poliquit, Denise Elizabeth

Bismar, Nazim

Barang, Hadzralyn

REASEARCHERS

Ms. Kimberly Donna Manuel

PRACTICAL RESEARCH ADVISER

 CHAPTER I

Introduction

Background of the Study

Most students that are going to start their years in the Senior High school department

seek to acquire their academic needs to a new and separate establishment during their time of

enrollment. In accordance to a statement in an article by Moldoff (n.d.), “There are many

good reasons motivating students to transfer, necessitating questions about timing, how to

transfer prior course work, the impact on time and cost of completion”, wherein the choice of

moving to another institution will then make a student known as a “transferee”.

Entering a brand new atmosphere will most likely lead the transfer students on

comparing their current school to their previous one. Each of their varying opinions may be

in a form of constructive or destructive criticism and can each be subcategorized as either

positive or negative. Whichever opinion comes to hand, each and every data that are

stipulated by the transfer students can heavily help their current school on the factors that the

establishment should improve on or should maintain as long as these opinions are appropriate

to a certain issue. Specific groups of students can mostly get their opinions about their

educational status neglected, especially those who have newly enrolled on a certain school.

Every action has its equal opposite reaction, and thus this issue can also lead the school to

missing out on so many components that could aid its current performance that it has been

giving to every student in their facility.

The researchers have formulated the study in order to not only receive data and

analyze them, but also to create and carefully construct a mutually beneficial bond between

the transferees and their present school. By having the desired information collected, the
transfer students can have their opinions and voices heard, and the institute can identify the

different areas that it should work on.

Review of Related Literature

Common Transfer Concerns

Transfer students, though coming from diverse backgrounds, tend to have certain common

characteristics. Transfer students vary in numerous ways including demographics,

educational history, challenges faced, preferences, and experiences. These students usually

move for adverse reasons and tend to bring their previous problems with them (Tucker et al.,

1998). They are at greater risk of failure than non-transfer students (Black, 2006; Fisher et al.,

2002; Kerbow et al., 2003; Rumberger et al., 1999; Rumberger & Palardy, 2005).

Some schools provide significant resources to support these at-risk students while other

schools do not (Kerbow, 1996; Kerbow et al., 2003). One would expect that transfer student

support contributes to higher success rates academically and socially, two inter-related and

vital aspects in the life of these mobile adolescents (Fisher et. Al., 2002; South & Haynie,

2004). However, in highlighting aggregate transfer group statistics, few studies address how

the individual student perceives his or her transfer experience (Rhodes, 2008; Rumberger et

al., 1999).

Broad Learning Environment

According to Swanson and Schneider (1999), a change of schools can afford an important

opportunity to improve the quality of a student’s education even if it may cause disruption. In
particular, a different school may provide a new learning environment that conforms more

closely to a family’s educational values and expectations or better accommodates the

academic needs of a specific student. By offering more challenging or individualized

instruction, a diverse curriculum, a safer or more supportive environment, or greater

opportunities for involvement in extracurricular activities, a new school may promote

positive educational outcomes. (p. 56)

Tucker, Marx and Long (1998) agree and indicated that although these changes may seem

favorable, they nevertheless affect the transferring student in countless ways. It is the change,

whether for positive or negative reasons, that is at the core of the concern for the student as

well as the family and the school personnel.

Orientation Programs

Transfer students are frequently neglected in orientation programs that would serve to

introduce them to important support services on campus (Gordon, 1992). Orientation

programs are an essential part of helping incoming students successfully transition to their

new college environment. Over 96% of colleges and universities report having used

orientation programs to help students’ transition (Mayhew, Vanderlinden, & Kin, 2010).

Other research showed that over 80% of institutions in the United States offer 1-3 day long

programs often scattered over the summer months prior to fall term (Greenfield et al., 2013).

Glennon (2012) recommended the development of specialized orientation programs for

transfer students. The goal of orientation programs is to help students and families transition;

and the activities included should help build a sense of community, distribute information,

and define campus culture (Greenfield et al., 2013). A positive first experience at a college or
university sets the tone for the remainder of a student’s time at that institution (Helm, 1999).

Miller (2013) recommended that transfer students have a required transfer student orientation

to increase their chance of success at the institution by understanding the policies and

services offered.

There are numerous recommendations in the literature for improving or creating successful

orientation programs for transfer students. Students often benefit from small group settings

during orientation sessions (Lester, 2006). Institutions with a large group of incoming

students should hold as many orientation options as possible to keep the number of

participants in sessions low. Orientation programs are most effective when multiple

departments are involved, they are well planned, and when the mission and vision of the

institution are discussed (Greenfield et al., 2013). Sessions should include academic

information, general information about the school, programs to aid in social adjustment,

testing, advising, and programming to assist with transitions (Roof & Cawthon, 2004).

Transfer Student Capital Accumulation

According to Rosenberg (2016), students in the Kentucky Community and Technical College

System (KCTCS) completed a survey about their intent to transfer and a number of aspects

related to the accumulation of transfer student capital. Results suggest that reported intent to

transfer decreases with a student’s age. However, participating in actions through which

transfer student capital is accumulated had a more proximal effect on reported intent to

transfer. Additionally, many of the demographic characteristics associated with so-called at-

risk students: first generation status, racial/ethnic background, family structure, etc., were

shown to be statistically insignificant on a student’s intent to transfer in comparison to the

accumulation of transfer student capital. Results suggest that the benefits of institutional
interventions stem from the proximity of transfer student capital-building activities to a

student, rather than the characteristics of the particular group being served. Based on these

results, data-driven suggestions are provided for improving delivery of transfer services.

Transferring Schools Causing Anxiety

An organization entitled as the National Institute of Health (2014), pondered upon which

students are most at risk of experiencing a high school transfer. Research suggests that

students who are disadvantaged with respect to family and academic background are more

likely to transfer than more advantaged peers. For example, students with more disruptive

families have more chances of transferring than the students that have a good one, and also

research suggest that students from Catholic schools and urban schools are most likely to

transfer than the others. Transfer students, however, are not a homogenous group, and

important differences are also likely to exist among this group of students before they

transfer. It seems probable that the circumstances surrounding a transfer that occurs during

the middle of the academic year might be riskier than those in which the transfer student

remains in the sending school throughout the entire school year. Psychology says that

transferring schools can often cause a student to get more anxiety for they do not really have

anybody to hang out with and talk to during their time in school.

School Compliance Regarding Students’ Opinions

As attested in an article by a teacher named Ssenyonga (2010), the school he has been

working under had formulated various ways on how they can gather each student’s opinions

and suggestions to help aid the establishment on knowing their performance and gathering a
variety of ideas from students. One of the ways they have constructed is a suggestion box that

is open for any who is interested. A suggestion box is one of the most democratic

installations any institution can have. It offers students an opportunity to air out their views,

suggestions, complaints or any other information they deem necessary for the school

administration. It also offers its users the benefit of anonymity; this ensures that the message

rather than the messenger is pursued. Many a time, the crux of a message is lost when

attention is wrongly focused on the messenger.

The suggestion box can also help students to address general problems they face. If hundreds

of them can write and fill the box, they are in a better position to demand for a response from

the school administration. This is much better than students suffering in silence and resorting

to destructive measures like strikes. The school administration should also have the wisdom

to regularly check the suggestion box and where possible, address the student’s concerns. The

suggestion box is therefore a good mechanism of keeping a tab on the mood of the student

population thus averting disastrous situations.

Every school in Rwanda should have a suggestion box and students should be clearly

sensitized on its importance as far as their welfare is concerned. In line with this, the next

time school inspectors are doing their rounds they should at least inquire about this facility. In

this way, both the students and the administration can benefit from it.

Transfer Students Mobility

Mobility can be very disruptive for adolescents because of their strong reliance on their peers

(Norford & Medway, 2002). A major focus of the group was socialization. The hope was that
the group would provide an opportunity for new students to meet each other and share their

experiences of being new.

Research has shown that there is considerable evidence suggesting that students who lack

adequate supportive relationships are at risk for experiencing greater stress compared to

students who do have adequate supportive relationships (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Peer

interactions, (meeting people their own age) is one of the most commonly expressed needs of

new students (Cornille et al., 1983). Research has also indicated that new students have been

found to have poorer friendship qualities and fewer peer contacts than non-mobile students

(Vernberg, 1990).

Mobility is usually thought to have many negative and long-term impacts on student’s well

being and academic performance. However, there is evidence to show that mobility may not

be as stressful for students as many people have come to believe (Medway, 1995). This was

indicated by the survey results in that the results of the pre-group survey were higher than

expected. This could be explained by the findings in some research indicating that students

who move frequently may have an easier time accepting the move and are better able to cope

with a move (Strother & Harvill, 1986). Research has shown that students who were well

adjusted before a move, tended to be so after a move and those who were not well adjusted

before a move tended to continue to have difficulties (Medway, 1995).

Awareness of Transferees about Their School and its Requirements

In accordance to an article by Tobolowsky and Cox (2012), they found that transfer students

who knew about the requirements at their new institution were more likely to succeed than

those who were not aware. Participants mentioned that they thought a welcome packet would
be helpful to assist them in understanding more about the systems at the institution and learn

who they need to talk to in order to address their concerns. Effective institutional

communication is key to the success of transfer students. One of the gaps in the literature on

transfer students is how they utilize institutional support services to assist them with the

challenges they face when transferring.

However, Aheron (2009) did find in one study that transfer students indicated a lack of

awareness about services offered by the institution. This is consistent with the findings from

this study, since students were only aware of a few student support services on campus and in

most cases had not even utilized these services. They also mentioned both positive and

negative experiences in using these services.

Transfer Students and Their Adaption to School Environment

According to Dr. Chandel, Payal Kanwar, Jain, Kusum & Lakhani, Palak K. (2017), school

adjustment is the process of adapting to the role of being a student and to various aspects of

the school environment. Failure to adjust can lead to mental health issues and school refusal

or school dropout and may require school counseling. The present study focuses on school

adjustment, motivation and academic achievement among school students face many

adjustments in school. From year to year, there are changes in teachers, classrooms, school

and class rules and procedures, performance expectations, the difficulty of the work, and

peers. Their successes in negotiating these challenges predict academic achievement. If a

child is well adjusted to his environment, then he or she will be motivated to excel in the

activities assigned during school, and it leads to academic achievement. Academic

achievement is greatly based upon adjusting abilities of children. An individual is not born

adjusted; it is his or her capabilities that make his or her adjusted in any environment.
Maladjustment leads to devastating lifelong impacts on the child’s personality. It is very

important to study and find out favorable and unfavorable situations which affect child’s

adjustment, motivation and gradually it leads to academic achievement. As school is the

foundation of our life, it should be strong enough to construct an empire in the future.

Correlation between Social Anxiety and Adjustment of Transferee

According to a study by Arjanggi & Kusumaningsih (2016), the research aims to analyze the

correlation between social anxiety and college adjustment. 436 undergraduate psychology

students of five universities in Central Java were involved in this study. All respondents

completed a questionnaire about student adjustment to college, and social anxiety scale.

Canonical correlation was conducted to analyze the data. The result showed that fear of

negative evaluation correlates with academic and personal-emotional adjustment, but not

with social adjustment and institutional adjustment, while social avoidance and distress

correlate with all of the dependent variables. This study suggests about the role of social

anxiety to college adjustment. These findings investigate further discussion about appropriate

intervention to address adjustment problems among college students.

Statement of the Problem

Each and every individual who has experienced being new to an atmosphere expects the best

out of it, especially when it holds and determines the future of a single person through

education. One values his/her own view on a certain issue specifically when it has a large

impact on the facility or the problem has been reoccurring and unsolved for quite some time.

If these opinions go disregarded, most people will feel left out and think that what they say
won’t make any difference and won’t be valued by society. When transfer students encounter

their new environment that they would be staying on for about a year, most of them would

expect that it would be better than their previous school. The researchers seek to gather their

opinions to aid the school’s different characteristics. The school will miss out on the different

things that they should improve on if this problem goes unheard. By gathering the data and

analyzing the evaluation of each Grade 11 transfer student, the school can identify what they

should work on and the transfer students can finally have their voice heard.

Scope and Delimitation

The research only intends to acquire Grade 11 transfer students instead of other participants

because of the 2 main factors they possess being their past and current statuses, and on

having limitations that the research can attain. The past and current statuses of the entitled

respondents are highly significant to the research because the research focuses on the

situation that transfer students are having with their current school, whether it’s excellent or it

needs better work and procedures of improving the ways of the facility. Other grade levels

weren’t chosen since most transferees are in the Grade 11, and this grade level is also

manageable for the researchers to acquire. As stated in the previous statement, this grade

level is far more reachable for the researchers than the others. The research critically

emphasizes on the evaluation of Grade 11 transfer students on the different factors that

generally affect the image and the performance that a school should maintain and furthermore

ameliorate. The results of the data presented by each participant will be analyzed to encounter

which factors should the school improve on and on which they excel its performance the

most. The research focuses on the results of each transferee’s assessment of the following

factors that represent the school to also voice out their lesser heard opinions. The research
also aims to furthermore strengthen and enhance the bond of each transfer student with the

school premises.

Research Sample

The respondents that will be needed for the research are Grade 11 transfer students. The

chosen participants are appointed to the research, since they have experienced the occurrence

of being educated in a different school in the past year. They are also selected for they have

been and are still going through the situation of being in a new learning environment. Instead

of other grade levels, Grade 11 is chosen since most students transfer to a new school starting

at the level that begins senior high school. In order to clarify, the research will not include all

transfer students to make it less broad, since a few of the transfer students came from schools

that don’t have a lot of other pupils that transferred to Pilar College with them.

Significance of the Study

The research is beneficial to not only the Grade 11 transfer students who are involved in the

study, but also to the wide range of transferees around the globe who can finally get access to

a research that complies to them. This research can allow them to voice their opinions about

their current school. The opinions of the transfer students are valuable to improve the school

progress since they can differentiate whether or not the current school excels from their

previous one.

The researchers can be able to determine on the factors that the facility needs to improve on.

The school is also able to find this study important since it allows them to see what they lack

on depending on the data given by the respondents overall.

This research can form and strengthen the bond of the transfer students to the school if this

study can be furthermore heard by the said establishment.

Definition of Terms

1.) Transfer Student

-A student who comes to a university or school after having begun his or her course of study

at a different university or school.

2.) Constructive Criticism

-Designed to point out your mistakes, but also show you where and how improvements can

be made.

3.) Destructive Criticism

-Often just thoughtlessness by another person, but it can also be deliberately malicious and

hurtful.

4.) Homogenous Group

-Placement of students of similar abilities into one classroom. It is more limited than the

range of abilities found in the heterogeneous classroom.

5.) Compliance

-The act or process of complying to a desire, demand, proposal, or regimen or to coercion.

6.) Mobility

-The ability to move between different levels in society or employment.

 CHAPTER II

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The researchers will conduct a qualitative research design while using the case study method.

They will execute a one-on-one interview on transfer students coming from different schools

for the reason that their aim is to produce knowledge about the transfer students' perspective

on the administration of their current school. The researchers will gather enough data from

the respondents to be able to fulfill the answers to the research questions that consider five (5)

factors which include the maintenance and cleanliness of the environment, the effectiveness

of teachers’ general ways of teaching, the cooperation with their fellow students, the

activities and programs provided by the school, and the regulation of the school’s rules as

stated in the handbook.

Research Locale

The research will be conducted inside the campus of Pilar College of Zamboanga City, Inc.,

specifically at the Pillar Building where the Grade 11 STEM classrooms are located.
 Pilar College of Zamboanga City Inc.
R.T. Lim Boulevard, Zamboanga City
Basic Education Department
PAASCU Accredited Level III
S.Y. 2019-2020

Good Morning/Afternoon,
Praise be Jesus and Mary!
We, the researchers from Grade 11 - Our Lady Of The Holy Rosary, would like to conduct a
research about “Perspective of Grade 11 Transfer Students to their Current School According
to its Performance” We would like to conduct an interview to the following questions:

1.) What do you think of the ways on how Pilar College manages itself compared to your
previous school? Is it better? It is worse? Or is it the same?
2.) What do you think of Pilar College in terms of its:
a.) Cleanliness
b.) Teachers and their Ways of Teaching
c.) Students
d.) Activities and Programs
e.) Rules and Regulations

Hoping for your response and participation. Thank you and God Bless!

Sincerely Yours,
Hadzralyn Barang
Napisa Hatab
Denise Poliquit
Farah Soliman
Nazim Bismar

________________________________________
Noted by Ms. Kimberly Donna Manuel