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NAVIGATING INDEPENDENCE: UNVEILING THE BOARDING LIFE

JOURNEY AND ITS EMPOWERING EFFECT ON 3RD YEAR STUDENTS AT
ISU-ILAGAN CAMPUS

A Research Proposal Project Presented to Mark Gil T. Gañgan, Faculty of

Information and Communication Technology Department
Isabela State University, City of Ilagan, Isabela

In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements for the Subject

IT INST3 – Data Science Analytics

By:

BERNARDINO, DAVE AIVAN S.

GARCIA, KYLA MAE G.
MACALINGO, MARKJOSHUA

January 2024
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ABSTRACT

Living in a boarding house often presents a unique blend of challenges and

opportunities for students, particularly in terms of fostering their self-reliance. This study

delves into the lived experiences of third-year students at ISU-Ilagan Campus residing in

boarding houses to illuminate the impact of this arrangement on their personal

development. Utilizing in-depth interviews and narrative analysis, we explore how

students navigate the realities of independent living, managing chores, finances, and

academic responsibilities. The study sheds light on the diverse challenges they encounter,

such as homesickness and adapting to new environments, while also highlighting the

opportunities for growth, including enhanced time management, responsibility, and

decision-making skills.
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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Staying in a boarding house is necessary for some students because they live far

away from school. It helps them to save money, time, and effort as it also gives them

access to the updates of the happening in their school and gives them the experience of

independence as the main managers of their time along with the management of their

expenses and needs.

However, living without the moral support and physical care of family especially

for someone who was used to be supervised and guided by parents takes a lot of courage.

Being independent means being able to take care of your own needs, to make and assume

responsibility for your decisions alone and not being supported by others physically,

financially etc. which cause someone or a student to live out of his/her comfort zone

adjusting to different situations and kind of environment. Thus, this surely has an impact

to an individual.

Boarding school students quickly learns to do domestics chores, became expert in

managing their time, money, and resources. They quickly mature, tend to be independent,

and successful in life. They also associate with people with other, cultures and

personalities (Marine Military Academy,2018).

Moreover, Johnsons (2012) explains that students staying in boarding houses or

boarding schools not only learn so much of life but they also tend to widen their
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experiences and flex their personality as they have to live with people with different

cultures and personality along with their respect to the rules and regulations set by the

boarding house where they are in leading them to the authentic experience of

independence and self-reliance as they have to manage their time and juggle their school

responsibilities without physical help coming from their family.

According to The Chinese University of Hong Kong which conducted a research

about the consequences of living at boarding for students in rural China from multiple

dimensions in 2012. The study found out that boarding students are exposed to learn

different things that is beneficial for their schooling such as waking up early, cooking

their own food which gives them a real experience of taking their responsibility on their

own.

Brilliantes, Aga, Tipace, Adegue, Perez, Aya-Ay, Sagarino, (2012) reveal that it

was observed in Davao City, staying in boarding houses contribute significantly in the

personal, social, academic and emotional growth of students and even among individuals

who are not student boarders as they are exposed to people with different personality and

have to live with the rules making them manager and balance their time both with their

social life and academics.

These instances urge the researchers to see the extent or the impact of staying in

boarding houses or boarding school on the independence or self- reliance of students and

also discover and explore and study the many challenges that occur in their lives as they

stay in boarding houses and its contribution to their development of self- reliance.
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Objective of the Study

General Objective

To explore the impact of boarding house living on the self-reliance development

of third-year students at ISU-Ilagan Campus. Through in-depth interviews and narrative

analysis, the study aims to understand how boarding life influences independence,

responsibility, and self-management skills, providing insights into the role of boarding

houses in shaping young adults' personal growth.

Specific Objectives

1. To analyze the various dimensions of impact on students' lives.

2. To identify the different reasons of the respondents in staying in boarding houses.

3. To describe the changes experienced by the respondents in staying in boarding

houses.

4. To identify the contributions of staying in boarding house in relation to the

respondents’ self-reliance or independence.

Scope and Limitation

The researchers limited this study on the experiences of boarders and its impact

on the self-reliance of the students of Isabela State University – Ilagan Campus which

involves few numbers of students who are staying in boarding houses who will be

interviewed and answers will be interpreted.

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Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following:

Students. This study will benefit them especially the ones staying in boarding houses and

the ones who are planning to live in boarding houses or go to boarding school as they will

be informed about its impact on the self- reliance of the ones who lived and are still

living in boarding house as they will be informed will make them realize to the real score

of living in boarding houses.

Landlord/Landlady. This study will inform them about their contribution to the self –

reliance of the students being the prime guardians of the students living under their care

and supervision. Thus, the extent of their responsibility will also be revealed as the study

will progress

Teachers. The study will help them understand the students’ lives living independently in

boarding houses based from the experiences of the students as the study will progress.

Parents. The result of this study will inform the parents and enlighten them about the

impact and extent of staying in boarding houses to self- reliance and also their significant

part and contribution to the achievement of self-reliance among their children in which

they have decided to stay in boarding houses or enrolled in a boarding school.

Definition of Term

Self-Reliance - the Reliance on one’s own effort and ability.

Boarders - is someone who rent a room in someone’s house. It can be a student who live

and studies away from home at a boarding school.

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Independent - not requiring or relying on something else.

Time management - is the process of planning and exercising

conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness,

efficiency, and productivity.

Boarding House - is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodgers rent one or

more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks,

months, and years.

Peers - a person of the same age, status, or ability as another specified person.

Homesick - is the distress caused by being away from home.

Fish Method - is a random sampling technique in which someone picked randomly from

a bowl in which name from what they collected.

Frugal - sparing or economical with regard to money or food.

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Chapter II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies that will provide reliable

sources about the topic of the lived experiences of boarders and its impact to self-

reliance.

Literature Review

Impacts of Staying in Boarding House

There are various effects of staying in a boarding house to a student. Some claim

that it has positive impact to an individual, while others claim too, that it doesn’t have

something to do with towards the development of an individual.

Staying in a boarding house is significantly higher adaptive motivation lowers

school absenteeism. This means that that they are more progressive in academic and in

personal well-being (Goodwin, 2016).

According to the Marine Military Academy (2018), students in boarding school

learn to appreciate and respect the differences in one another and they develop or create

friendship with their co-boarders. They also learn how to perform many domestic chores

and do school works by themselves. They become experts at managing their time

especially managing their allowance and they mature quickly because of the nature while

staying in a boarding house and tend to be very independent in their lives. They also learn

how to value the hard work of their parent and they develop more of their character.
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Furthermore, students learn to become self-dependent when they live away from

their parents compare to the students who live with their parents. They are nurtured in a

secure environment and they don’t have the opportunity to be themselves. As a result,

they become bold and fearless and they’re ready to face any undesirable situation alone.

They give extra care to themselves because they know that no one will be there to give

comfort and to lend a hand. And boarders are train to make their own decision.

As student stay in boarding house student learn good habits that affects their

everyday routine. Sleeping on time and waking up early is one of good habits that student

can learn. This habits will help them grow more and learn to manage themselves.

Moreover, student are oblige to follow rules and regulation in boarding houses (Lifestyle

Lounge, 2015).

According to Kenedy (2009), you will learn to be responsible for yourself. Taking

a lot of little steps towards maturity is one of the intangibles of staying in a boarding

house. You have to learn to get along with others because it is a community. You learn to

be responsible for your actions because you are bound by an honor or discipline code of

some kind. The lesson in life learned of staying in a boarding house will lay a solid

foundation for adulthood.

On the other hand, there are also negative effects of staying in a boarding house.

Staying in a boarding house can be challenging for a student to regulate to boarding

school due to the fact that they have been positioned in absolutely new environment with

unfamiliar people and circumstances. Time spent with household and friends from home

become limited, which can make the transition seems harder. Students always have
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difficulty juggling the rules of the boarding house and school expectations and

responsibilities (Johnston, 2018).

As stated by Lamaison (2015), staying at a boarding house means spending away

from one’s comfort zone which sometimes cause students’ trauma because there’s no

emotional comforts at boarding school. Students cannot get personal attention like care,

concern or pampering in which students find it very hard to adjust in the boarding house

life.

Thus, when students left their comfort zones which is their home they feel is the

feeling loneliness and uncared especially so when their parents told them to stay in

boarding houses. Due to this, bond and even relationship between parent and child is not

developed through time for some which can have a long term effect to a person’s life.

According to Mwangi & Mbogo (2018), children that were sent to boarding at a

young age may cause some problem or challenges. They will experience social

challenges which they acquire that influence at school, if they spend a short time bonding

with their parents and spend a lot of time with their friends they might be influenced

negatively by their peers and if this is not controlled through monitor and supervision,

such kind of influenced might ruin their lives later in the future. Moreover, they also

claim that student who are sent to boarding school in a young age have higher chances to

mental disorder like stress or depression.

However, staying on a boarding house prepares students to an independent life as

they are given the freedom to run their daily chores and finances. It also gives them the

opportunity to learn to solve their problems on their own. They also are forced to come
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out of their shell, explore and meet many new individuals from countries and different

family background and culture that they never have even known existed as they learn to

immerse themselves in an environment and learn to live independently without their

parents around.

On the contrary, Aparna (2018) states that staying in a boarding school let the

student feel homesick. Boarder deny that they feel homesick for the sake of their family

and home. In adjusting the student normally do not take this regiment life of boarding

school. They find it hard to reconnect with their family after spending many months away

from home.

Moreover, most of the time, boarding houses fail to meet the safety of the students

due to lack of facilities that causes the boarders to be uncomfortable living in there which

put worries among parents. This could affect the students’ holistic well-being (Brilliantes

et al., 2012).

Reasons why students consider going to Boarding House

Being away from home or from your comfort is a great experience to learn how to

be independent in life, without the help of parents. One will learn the importance of

responsibility. From daily chores to solving problems and budgeting finances contribute

to independence and maturity.

As a student, challenging yourself in staying in the boarding house has always

been the same objective to many. It allows you to have higher goals and expectations to

yourself and learning and this will help you in the next chapters or stages of your life

(Elizalde, 2017).
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Moreover, the experience of going to the boarding schools is a memory that a

student will never forget. Living alone will go through your awkward stages in meeting

other people that one have never met, going through puberty without parents to ask to and

growing and maturing into independent young adult. Also, seeing and enjoying with your

friends every night when you sleeps and every morning when you wake up are just

experiences that provides good memories to someone and also to one’s growth (Elizalde,

2017).

Further, boarding schools helps one prepare in entering the college life providing

opportunities to work independently. Also, staying in a boarding houses will helps one to

relieve stress when facing difficulties, especially with families it helps them not to be

overwhelmed with the situation of their family (Elizalde, 2017).

As stated also by Clayton (2019), boarding school experiences prepare students

for University life and beyond. It gives support towards becoming the best version of

themselves.

In addition, Hodges, Sheffield, & Ralph, (2013) stated that most boarder normally

from cities, provinces and some board due to having parent being employed in oversea so

that they could able to provide of the boarder academic or in some way adapt due to

different family circumstances. Some parent from provinces noted they would not think

to send their children away to school, this decision so that children could have better

education for their children future success.

Some cases, few provinces have no primary school nearby so children were sent

to boarding to educate, enjoy and have freedom to relieve from family with complex
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problem like mental illness, physical disability, illness, drug or alcohol problems on other

hand some children may be cared by relatives or grandparent due to divorce, single

parenting and lack of person in their home making this significant for them to send their

children to boarding (Laiser & Makewa, 2016).

According to the (Brilliantes et al., 2012), there are many reasons why students

stay in a boarding house. Some reasons are because their home is very far from the

school, and because they need to stay in a boarding house to save money for their

transportation, and save their time as students need more time to do all their requirements

in school and also responsibilities. Other reasons includes parents’ decision to let their

children stay in boarding house for the mere reason of wanting their children learn the

value of independence at a young age.

Changes of staying in boarding house.

Staying in a boarding house always has influence to one’s life especially to the

development of someone’s independence.

Storker(2018) stated that boarding is not always for academic performances but

able to change to become independent, confident, knowledgeable individual through

allowing them to make their decision on their own making it a great experience for them.

Parent who send their children to boarding believe that this able to nurture to their true

potential. Boarding is great place communication between school and home and able to

participate pop up program. This open more opportunity to learn and to experience a

sense of community and cultural understanding to grow not just for academic and also

making them to be succeed in future career.

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According to Hodges, Sheffield and Ralph(2013) being in a boarding house

positively influence character building perspective which include to be independent or to

move ahead from their dependence, tolerance to people and individuality, empowerment

and more opportunity. Through this, students will make positive outlook in their

experience and their responsibility to act more mature and to train them self-discipline in

their boarding houses will flourish.

Further, Behaghel, Chaisemartin, and Gurgand(2017) stated that boarders need to

adapt in their new environment and cope up with it. They need to change to able to have

better experience. To have time management is crucial in boarding school there they

experience challenges. They can able to improve academic due to longer study hour

making them able to be more knowledgeable. Boarder learn to take care of their well-

being.

According to Andrew Gillespie(2018) that boarding can let you a space to let

think and able to be yourself and think your own decision and to explore new and

wonderful thing to be yet discover it. It can place you can experience to social with

people. They can learn more in their academic material.

Dr. Kirk stated that boarding are warm, comfortable, welcoming and just like real

home. They experience to share their interest and experience and able bond with

themselves. She stated that one of the greatest strength of boarding is that they develop

with other and social is one aspect of having a great experience and help one to feel like

home.
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According to Pfeiffer, Pinquart and Krick(2016) that boarding school can cause

the students’ development in social relationship. Student from boarding let them

socialize with their friend/peers but it makes them spent less time with their parents at

homes due to the separation between them. The boarders develop more in social aspect

with people than in students who are not staying in boarding houses. They become more

independent from their parents and spend more time with friends and teachers. While

students are away from their parents, teachers are the one who act as their second parents

in school.

Staying in boarding school help them solve daily problem related to independent

and self-reliance. Boarding school is place where student build up their self-esteem due to

this Broader become more confident making them to do thing on their own and soon

learn how to transcend differences. In holistic development, boarders are exposed to do

multiple activities, since it is a school mandated, there is no issue of a having a habits in

academic performances. This let the boarders to be able to pursue their passion in

studying (Aparna, 2018).

On the other hand, Schaverien (2011) stated “Early boarding is a traumatic event

in the life of many young children and its psychological impact affects the core of the

personality. The sudden loss of attachment figures (parents, siblings, pets and toys) causes

the child to protect itself. For the first time in their life the child may be in a situation

where there is no intimate contact; no love. Even when not mistreated, being left in the

care of strangers is traumatic” due this can change the one experience making themselves

feel so lonely with people who they don’t know making them feel out of place.
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Moreover, Akiyama, Win, Maung, Ray, Sakisaka, Tanabe, Kobayashi, and

Jimba(2013) stated that boarding house have caused number of traumatic experience

among adolescent living in Thailand. Adolescent suffered anxiety, depression and some

mental health issue. Due to this many student staying in boarding have traumatic

experience and suffered this cause of poorer mental status making the student change in

their experience.

The contribution of staying in boarding house

According to Clamor (2013) living in boarding house make you feel homesick

feeling afraid and you have no place to go. But on the other hand, it let them to learn to

be able become independent. They can learn to able budget their money and time. Living

boarding teaches student to be responsible in doing chores, in homework and activity, and

budgeting money and time. It help to be open minded and able maximize their study

habit. Living alone let them be challenge to be responsible and to make wise decision.

This can contribute student to be more responsible and be independent.

Boarding schools for students is that it instills a strong sense of discipline in them.

And students are constantly in an atmosphere of studying so that they will never be

distracted towards academic success. Students are required to be independent and mold

them to be bold and fearless young adult. The boarding school impacts on students is

neither positive nor negative. Although it is definitely stronger on the positive but not for

every students. Boarding school challenges every student to learn the importance of

responsibility and students learn to lifelong friends and become an independent

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individual and for them to be prepared for college and university than their peers

(Luckley House School, 2009).

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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the gathering data, respondents, sampling, research

instrument and ethical consideration of the study.

Research Methodology

The data that will be collected from the students of Isabela State University –

Ilagan Campus regarding their lived experiences being a boarder and its impact to self-

reliance. The researchers will conduct an interview with a number of respondents who

was chosen through random sampling. The data that was collected from the respondents

will serve as the basis of analysis and interpretation of the phenomenon this research is

trying to pursue.