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Ups and Downs of Life: Factors affecting the motivation of First Year College
Students of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy for the Academic
Year 2018-2019

Preprint · May 2019

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36665.62561

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 Ups and Downs of Life: Factors affecting the motivation of First Year College Students of

the UST- Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy for the Academic Year 2018-2019

By Danielle Anne B. Garcia

Abstract

The study aims to identify which among the following factors – family, friends, religious

faith, hobbies, and special someone, helps the students the most in order to keep going despite the

challenges that life has to offer. The study has been done by conducting a survey under the

descriptive research design. Furthermore, mixed method was employed, and voluntary response

sampling was used in gathering the data from the participants. The survey was open to all 140

students enrolled under the Theology 2: The Christian Vision of Marriage and Family class of

Asst. Prof. Noel Asiones however, only 68 students were able to explain their sides on the

comments section. Some respondents also chose more than one answer on the given poll. The

results of the survey reflect that family helps students the most in coping up with the challenges of

life, followed by religious faith and friends respectively.

Keywords: family, religious faith, friends, motivation, life

Introduction

Life is not all about flowers, butterflies, success, and happiness. Life also entails

challenges, downfalls, heartbreaks which may help us become stronger in the future. It has been

years ever since the K to 12 program started in the Philippines and recently, the full implementation

of the program started as the pioneering batch already entered the tertiary level. As we all know,

everything is hard at the beginning and some things do not perform perfectly on the first try.

The transition from the basic education curriculum to the current curriculum may be

viewed as somehow inefficient at the time being as some flaws were just being discovered lately.

Furthermore, the adjustment period for the current first year college students may be viewed as

"shorter" and "harder" than the previous batch as their lessons were already meant for higher levels

and their foundation for some of their courses was not strong enough due to time constraints.

Various factors may affect the motivation of the students in choosing to keep going with their

lives, such as family, religious faith, and friends. According to Joyce Epstein, school and family

are interrelated. She stated that there is this theory called "overlapping spheres of influence" in

which there are some educators who still think that they could only do their job if the family

members of their students would do their jobs, while some families still think that their only duty

is to raise the child and it is the educator's job to educate it. However, on the neutral side, there are

still educators and parents who think that they should work together in order to build a better future

for the child.

On the other hand, friends also play a huge role in motivating a person to keep going. Early

adolescence reflects a time characterized by an increasing dependence on peers in order to maintain

positive perceptions (Steinberg, 1990). When it comes to students, it is their friends that can

understand every bit of hardships that a person is experiencing for they are on the same level. It is
their friends who usually helps them when it comes to their school works and most of the time,

they share the same struggles together. Lastly, religious faith could play a huge role in our daily

lives. Religious involvement may change the nature or priority of people’s motives (Greeley 1997;

Wilson and Janoski 1995). It is our faith in God that keeps us going no matter how much we

wanted to give up.

Thus, support systems are essential in helping a student to cope up in the demands of life.

Their role is to motivate, encourage, and listen to the problems that a student may share to them

so that they can formulate advises on how he/she can cope up on what he/she is currently

experiencing. These support systems enable a person to feel that he/she is not alone in his/her

battles and that he/she will always have someone to whom he/she could always run to.

Statement of the Problem

Facing challenges and inevitable downfalls are normal part of life. In line with this,

adjustment to college life is one of the challenges that freshmen students face. The researcher

would like to determine the factors affecting the motivation of first year college students of the

UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy for the academic year 2018-2019.

More specifically, the researcher would like to ask the following questions:

1. What are the factors that contribute in increasing the motivation of students?

2. How important do support systems are in facing the challenges of life?

3. How do family, friends, and religious faith help students in facing the challenges of life?

Significance of the Study

The study is focused on the factors that may affect the motivation of the students to keep

going despite the challenges that life has to offer. The study aims to identify the factors that may
contribute in increasing the motivation of students to keep going. Identifying these factors may

help students in coping up to the challenges and downfalls that they are currently experiencing and

may experience in the future. Furthermore, it will raise awareness to the people around them on

how to handle and motivate them when the time comes that they feel like giving up and

demotivated.

To the family:

Family is one of the most important factors in one's life. It contributes a lot in shaping the

views and perspectives of an individual. The study will provide insights about how support from

the family may help students in staying motivated on what they do.

To the youth:

Adjustment to college life may not be easy at first. Struggles with regards to studies

are normal, especially during the freshman year. In line with this, the study will provide some

recommendations on how to handle the challenges that one may encounter with regards to his/her

studies and on how to cope up whenever he/she feels demotivated and feels like giving up.

To my blockmates:

College is not like High School in which you can be with the same set of classmates

every academic year. Your blockmates will be the ones who will be with you for the entire semester

and with them, you will experience the same joys and challenges, especially with regards to your

academics. The study will help students in understanding the challenges that one is experiencing

and through this, he/she will be able to know the right thing to do in motivating the other. Thus,

this study contributes in helping one another to get through the challenges that their block is

experiencing.
Methodology

A. Design and Method

The study used a descriptive research design because the participants who answered

the survey were in an uncontrolled environment. Furthermore, the research methodology

that was used in gathering information was mixed method which is a combination of both

quantitative and qualitative method. On the given poll, the respondents selected their

answer as to which among the given options help them the most to keep going and

afterwards were explained by them on the comments section.

B. Population

The respondents were first year college students of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo

College of Accountancy for the second semester of the academic year 2018-2019. There

were 68 students currently enrolled in Theology 2: The Christian Vision of Marriage and

Family under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Noel Asiones who participated in answering

the open-ended question after the poll.

C. Sampling

Voluntary response sampling was used in the study. All of the members of the

group have an equal chance of participating in the survey however, the respondents have

the freedom whether or not to participate in the said survey and interview.

D. Data-gathering tool

A combination of survey method and open-ended question were used in gathering

the data from the respondents.

 E. Treatment of Data

The data generated on the said poll were used to determine which among the

following options, such as family, religious faith, friends, hobbies, special someone, and

others, help the students the most to keep going. The results generated on the poll were

then accompanied by explanations by the respondents found on the comments section. The

data were analyzed by grouping the responses of the respondents based on two

demographic profiles: their gender and their section.

Results and Findings

A. Profile of the Respondents

Section Female Male Total

1A7 25 14 39

1A14 21 13 34

1A21 31 7 38

Total 77 34 111

Table 1: Profile of the respondents

The respondents were first year college students of the University of Santo Tomas –

Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy who are currently enrolled in Theology 2: The

Christian Vision of Marriage and Family class under the supervision of Mr. Noel Asiones. The

respondents were from three different sections, namely 1A7, 1A14, and 1A21. The majority of the

respondents came from 1A7 with 39 respondents, followed by 1A21 with 38 respondents, and 34

respondents from 1A14. Out of the total respondents, 77 were female while the remaining 34 were

male.
B. Numerical Data

Female Male Total

Factors
Number % Number %

Family 63 70.79 26 29.21 89

Religious Faith 32 76.19 10 23.81 42

Friends 16 59.26 11 40.74 27

Others 4 44.44 5 55.56 9

Hobbies 3 37.50 5 62.50 8

Special Someone 2 50 2 50 4

Table 2: Respondents’ view on who helps them to keep going despite the challenges of life

Life is not all about roses and butterflies. We may encounter a lot of challenges and

hardships along the way and sometimes, we are not capable of facing these challenges alone. The

study is mainly about the ups and downs of life and what motivates the first year students of the

UST- Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy who are currently enrolled in Theology 2 class

under the supervision of Mr. Noel Asiones to continue to keep going.

A total of 111 students were able to participate in the survey and some of them decided to

choose more than one answer from the given choices. The respondents were asked about which

among their family, religious faith, and friends help them the most in order to keep going. They

may choose more than one from the given options while some added some factors from the given

choices such as hobbies, special someone, and others. Among the given choices, Family got the

top post with 89 votes – 63 or 70.79% of it were female while the remaining 26 or 29.21% were

male. The Religious Faith got the second post with 42 votes, in which 76.19% or 32 respondents

were female while the remaining 23.81% or 10 respondents were male. The third spot was
occupied by Friends with 27 votes, 16 votes or 59.26% of it were female while the remaining

40.74% or 11 votes were male. Others, Hobbies, and Special Someone got 9, 8, and 4 votes

respectively. Moreover, among the respondents, 68 were able to express their thoughts in the

comments section.

D. Discussion

From the given data above, it is evident that family is the most influential factor when it

comes to motivating students in order to keep going despite the challenges of life. Diane, not her

real name, shared that her parents motivate her the most to keep going. Whenever she feels tired

or hopeless, she always looks back on her parents’ sacrifices and reminds herself that her sufferings

are incomparable to their sacrifices just to sustain her needs. The result also shows how family-

oriented the Filipinos are. Despite the challenges that we face individually in our everyday lives,

we still think about the sacrifices of the people dear to us and we never fail to recognize their

efforts in order to help us make our lives easier.

Religious faith got the second highest vote from the above data. Living in a country where

the majority of the population is a Roman Catholic, it is evident that our faith in God helps us a lot

when it comes to coping up with the demands of life. Furthermore, studying in a Catholic

university contributed in instilling Christian values to us. Another respondent, Maria (not her real

name), shared that her motivation to keep going is God. According to her, whenever she prays, she

says a lot of things that have been stuck to her mind and cry to Him and every time she cries, He

always gives her a reason to keep going and to look forward to. Our faith in God will never fail

us, regardless if the world let us down. This entails that the saying “To see is to believe” is not

always true because we have always believed that God is always there for us even though we
cannot see Him. Believing in His existence and trusting Him in every action that we are about to

take can help us in facing the challenges the world has to offer.

Friends got the third highest vote in the poll, garnering 27 votes. As a student, it is

undeniably true that we spend more time with our friends than with our family. During school

days, it is our friends that we usually share our problems with – especially with regards to

academics. Angela, not her real name, also shared that aside from her family and her religious

faith, her friends help her to keep going. She said that her friends keep her sane and as a student,

they can relate to her. They can understand what she is going through and they assure her that she

will not be alone in facing the hardships of college life and they will always be there to support

each other. From this, we can say that having someone who shares the same struggles with you

may help you in order to keep going despite the challenges of life because they are the ones who

will understand you the most.

On the other hand, there are some students who answered others in the poll while some

students opt to put additional options such as hobbies and special someone. From here, we can say

that various factors may help a student in order to keep motivated despite the struggles and

challenges that life has to offer.

C. Delimitation and Limitations of the Study

Various conflicts and issues may arise when it comes to marriage and family, however, this study

focused on the motivating factors that help students in order to keep going despite the challenges

that we encounter in our day-to-day lives. The study aims to determine the factors that contribute

in increasing the motivation of students and the importance of support systems in facing the

challenges of life. The study only covered first year college students who are currently enrolled in
Theology 2 under the supervision of Mr. Noel Asiones at the UST- Alfredo M. Velayo College of

Accountancy for the second term of the academic year 2018-2019.

The study could have been more comprehensive if it covered all first year college students

who are currently enrolled in Theology 2 at the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy

at the current academic year which would have catered more data for analysis. Furthermore, the

mode of answering the survey and interview was voluntary in which some of the students opt not

to participate in the said research. Lastly, the study to be more comprehensive and far-reaching

would require more time as the response of the respondents were influenced by the condition

he/she is currently in.

D. Conclusion and Research Direction

From the results above, we can conclude that family helps the student to be motivated and inspires

them to keep going despite the challenges of life. It is indeed the strongest foundation that a person

may have from birth until his very last breath. Our family will never leave us despite our flaws,

imperfections, negative attitudes, and our failures in life. They are the ones who will be with us

through thick and thin, even on the day that everyone around us leaves us. Furthermore, we must

also keep in mind that our religious faith and our friends will help us to keep intact every time the

world tries to destroy us. The study is intended to enlighten the future readers and researchers

about how the different support systems may contribute in helping a person to continue living

his/her life and to never give up despite the challenges that he/she is experiencing. The study may

be used for future researches in order to formulate more ways in order to lessen the negative effects

that may arise when a person feels helpless and demotivated to go on with his/her life.
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Becker, B. E., & Luthar, S. S. (2002). Social-emotional factors affecting achievement outcomes

among disadvantaged students: Closing the achievement gap. Educational

psychologist, 37(4), 197-214.

Dennis, J. M., Phinney, J. S., & Chuateco, L. I. (2005). The role of motivation, parental support,

and peer support in the academic success of ethnic minority first-generation college

students. Journal of college student development, 46(3), 223-236.

Epstein, J. L. (2010). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi

Delta Kappan, 92(3), 81-96.

Hill, P. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2008). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of

religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research.

Ozorak, E. W. (2003). Love of God and neighbor: Religion and volunteer service among college

students. Review of religious research, 285-299.

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