1

A QUANTITATIVE STUDY: EMPLOYMENT AS A CURRICULUM EXIT FOR

GRADE 12 HUMSS STUDENTS OF ASIAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

A Thesis Proposal
Presented to the
Faculty of the English Department
Asian College of Technology
Cebu City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for Practical Research II

by

CHRISTINA ALMAIZ
KRISTINE BONTILAO
ALEXA MAE DACLAN
JADE JUMAO-AS
BEVERLY LAPE
MICKEY MILANO
JURIS GWEN SALGADO
IVAN JAMES VALENZUELA

Ms. Miraglor C. Ouano, LPT

Research Teacher
December 2023
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title page 1
Table of Content 2

CHAPTERS

I. INTRODUCTION 3
a. Rationale of the Study 3
b. Theoretical Background 6
c. Conceptual Framework 13
d. Statement of the Problem 13
e. Null Hypothesis 14
f. Significance of the Study 14
g. Scope and Limitation 16
h. Definition of Terms 17

II. LITERATURE REVIEW 18

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 25

a. Research Design 25
b. Research Environment 25
c. Research Respondents 26
d. Research Instrument 26
e. Research Procedure 27
Data Gathering 27
Statistical Treatment of Data 27

REFERENCES 29
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CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

In educational institutions, students are categorized based on their year of

study to identify their academic progression and development (JL, 2023). A

system that encapsulates the role that serves as the foundation for basic

education and dissemination of essential competencies is termed “K-12” (Hanna,

2022). “K” stands for kindergarten, and “12” refers to the succeeding 12 years of

basic education. The K to 12 Program is described as providing children with

kindergarten and 12 years of essential education—6 years of primary education,

4 years of junior high school, and 2 years of senior high school (SHS) (The

Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 2020). In addition, by the end

of the program, SHS graduates should have a firm grasp of the following 21st-

century skills: (a) learning and innovation skills; (b) effective communication

skills; (c) information, media, and technology skills; and (d) life and career skills

that are in high demand as part of the international standards during the Fourth

Industrial Revolution. In the Philippines, the Senior High Curriculum falls under

the grades 11 and 12 in which students can ponder and choose their careers

based on aptitudes and interests through their desired senior high tracks. The

12th grade is the crucial stage for it is the year of exploration and innovation of
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capabilities that may shape the students’ future. The final year of high school

comes with numerous opportunities and changes as the learners embark on a

new chapter in pursuing their endeavors.

The term curriculum exit describes the doors of opportunity you'll use to

go where you're going after you leave. Its primary objective is to increase the

pupils' knowledge of what to do and where to go after senior high school

(Arimbay & Veloso, 2023). According to DepEd Memo No. 169, s., after acquiring

the necessary knowledge, abilities, and attitudes, learners have the option of

choosing one of four curriculum exits after graduation: higher education, middle-

level skill development, entrepreneurship, or employment (Cabral & Abanto,

2020). Aspirations and goals are typically present in young people, leading them

to strive harder for a decent career path and life. In most cases, students pursue

higher education as this offers them an environment where they can explore their

options and put a clear distinctive perspective on their decisions. Not only does

it provide a chance for preparation, but also opens up opportunities for high-

paying occupations and gives a better quality of life as they learn critical skills

and unlock financial security. On the other side of the coin, when students have

no choice but to lean on practicality and make ends meet for their needs,

employment is an alternative.

Certain gaps that had not yet been addressed and examined by relevant

research were discovered because many senior high school students were
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unsure and worried about their capacity to find employment, start a business on

their own, enroll in college, or enroll in higher vocational courses. As the

researchers had noted from earlier studies, the majority of senior high school

graduates continue their education by enrolling themselves in college. This study

aims to find out how HUMSS students at the Asian College of Technology would

like to choose employment and enter the labor force since the TVL track is

designed to prepare students for employment while the HUMSS strand, under

the Academic track, is designed to prepare students for college. The researchers

would respond to sets of questions about whether the respondents would choose

employment as a career path or a curriculum exit after graduating. The

researchers will also determine what would happen to the local economic

system, employment rate, and work culture based on the respondents'

responses regarding whether they would choose employment after graduating

from high school and taking into account how prepared these students are to

enter the workforce. However, considering that they are merely senior high

school graduates, employers' preferences, and the student's degree of

readiness for the workforce, they did not identify precise job roles that the

students would hold. With all the pressure and hurdles as they gear up for their

completion of study at the secondary level, the students weigh the opportunities

depending on their practicality or their passion. This research seeks to examine

the underlying factors and aspects that prompt them to proceed with the decision

of choosing or considering employment as a choice to sustain their necessities.

Moreover, this paper will provide a numerical overview of the data gathered and
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present an informative graph, with the end goal of highlighting the struggles

young learners face while attaining their aspirations and giving the educational

government agencies a gist of it.

Theoretical Background

This study is anchored mainly on the Social Cognitive Career Theory

(SCCT) of Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994). Supporting theories included

Developmental Self-Concept Theory by Donald E. Super (1954) and the Theory of

Person-Environmental Fit by Powell Lawton (1983).

The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994)

is an approach that attempts to provide an in-depth understanding of how people

form career decisions revolving around contextual and personal factors. This

theory is rooted from social learning, cognitive psychology, self-efficacy, goal

setting, and established career development theories derived from the previous

career theorists. It is an integrated framework that explains how individuals (1)

develop vocational interests, (2) make (and remake) occupational choices, and (3)

achieve varying levels of career success and stability. Bandura’s General

Cognitive Theory (1986), which highlights the different ways of how people’s

behavior and environment influence one another, serves a pivotal role in this

theory. SCCT proposes a model in which three aspects are recognized in making

career-related decisions: (1) self-efficacy, (2) outcome expectations, and (3) goals.

Self-efficacy belief is a person’s belief in their ability to perform tasks and achieve
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goals related to their career. In this sense, SCCT believes its importance is linked

to the nature of the task itself. This is then connected to one’s expected outcomes.

Individuals consider the expected outcomes and consequences of different career

choices. These expectations influence their decisions and actions related to career

development. SCCT suggests that individuals set and pursue career goals, which

are influenced by their self-efficacy and outcome expectations. These goals guide

their career choices. Moreover, SCCT is concerned with how individuals seek

environments that match their skills, interests, and values. It emphasizes that

human agency should be taken into account while also acknowledging the

multitude of factors, including personal and environmental influences like societal

barriers, cultural norms, and disability status which may affect a person’s career

development and process. SCCT posits that individuals are products of their

surroundings and their surroundings are the products of their interaction (Truyens,

2019). One’s career-related decisions can be drawn from the interconnection

between one’s contextual factors and cognitive or intrapersonal processes.

SCCT’s aim is to develop and modify self-efficacy related to career choices and

interests, to overcome barriers related to choice and success, and to define

personal goals by expanding interests and promoting choices (Wang, Liu, et. al.,

2022).

The Developmental Self-Concept Theory of Donald E. Super (1954) is a

career theory that is predicated on the idea that self-concept evolves and changes

over time as a result of experience. Super contends that an individual's life

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circumstances, vocational inclinations, and competencies all change throughout

the course of time and experience.

Career choice and behavior change as the self-concept becomes more realistic

and steadier (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2023). When someone

reaches this stage, the term "vocational maturity" is used. Super added three

additional perspectives to the traditional individual-difference approach to

vocational guidance in his efforts to develop a comprehensive career theory from

the 1950s to the mid-1990s: (1) developmental perspective, which emphasizes

continuity in career development and the life course of vocational behavior; (2)

phenomenological perspective, which highlights the importance of self-concept in

the development of an individual's career; and (3) context perspective

(iResearchnet, 2023).

Super's theory proposes five life and career development stages that

people go through from childhood to retirement: growth, exploration,

establishment, maintenance, and decline. Super is aware that career development

is not a one-time event but rather a lifelong process of exploring, choosing, and

adapting to different roles and environments. Super's stages serve as roadmaps

for taking a broad view of one's life. These phases signify a period of transition and

frequently coincide with significant events (Dumsch, 2016). Students in Grade 12

HUMSS will consider taking employment as their curricular exit in light of the study.

According to the stages of life, there are a variety of roles that people consider

taking on, which we refer to as stages. While noting that the idea of vocational
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maturity may or may not correspond with biological age, Super's theory serves as

a helpful reminder that a person's life situation changes with time and experience.

Three key factors that have an impact on each stage are also mentioned. These

three types of determinants are personal, situational, and environmental (McLeod,

2014).

While high school seniors must decide for themselves what they want to do

after graduation, the implications of this theory encourage students to identify their

career development stage and set goals for mastering the tasks that are specific

to that stage. People who want to successfully navigate their career path should

first determine which stage of career development they are in, and then they

should set goals that will help them become proficient in the duties related to that

stage. The second stage, known as the exploration, is for people between the ages

of 15 and 24 based on the five stages that Superintended to provide as a model to

follow in his theory. This stage assists with the issues the researchers have

discovered because it is known that Grade 12 students typically fall at these ages.

In the exploration stage, people test out various educational and professional

options before limiting their choices based on feedback and their perceptions of

themselves (LinkedIn, 2023). As a result, people go through transitions and

challenges like finishing school, joining the workforce, or changing jobs. This stage

is used to experiment with different career paths about the issues identified and

learn from any potential successes and failures. Students attempt to determine

their interests and capabilities and determine how they fit with various occupations
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through classes, work experience, and hobbies. They make hesitant career

decisions and eventually land a job. Students will then be questioned about

whether they are interested in employment as a tentative for a variety of reasons.

Therefore, the two most important tasks are to implement a vocational preference

through role tryouts and exploration because there is a gradual narrowing of

options that leads to the implementation of a preference. Later, as people move

forward in their lives, these preferences will turn into choices.

Since the labor market and employment practices are included in the

environmental determinants, we would place more emphasis on them in our study.

We can connect the present and future elements that depend on whether the

respondents would choose employment as their curricular exit with the

environmental determinants. Based on their responses, we can conclude how their

decisions might affect both their selves and the current state of our labor market

and employment.

The focus of Super's development self-concept theory is on how careers

grow over the course of a lifetime. Complex and multifaceted biological,

psychological, sociological, and cultural factors influence career choice. In this

theory, self-concept, life stage, and life roles (e.g., student, worker, spouse,

mother) are central to Super’s theory, as are developmental stages of work

(growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline). People choose

careers that allow them to express their self-concept.

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People have different skills, personalities, and self-concepts, and are qualified for

a variety of jobs based on these and other characteristics, which change with time

and experience. Having multiple trial careers involves new growth, re-exploration,

and re-establishment. Career maturity is the agreement between vocation and

current life stage. And knowing that a negative self-concept is related to career

choices, if a person's job does not reflect their professional skills, interests, and

values, they may find it to be unsatisfying.

In either case, this theory will be employed in this study to examine a key

conclusion, review it, and attempt to find a real-world application to our own lives,

let alone those of the students.

Lastly, the Theory of Person-Environmental Fit by Powell Lawton (1983) is

grounded in understanding how individuals engage with their physical and social

surroundings and how these interactions contribute to pinpointing crucial

thresholds or tipping pints the person's behavior are shaped by one another in a

dynamic, ever-changing process. This theory then aspires in the study to

contribute nuanced insights into the decision-making processes of Grade 12

HUMSS students concerning work choices postgraduation. With this, it offers a

structured approach to systematically examine and quantitatively analyze the

interplay between personal factors and environmental demands, facilitating the

detection of tipping points in the intricate landscape of career decision-making, and

it suggests that individuals experience tipping points during significant life

transitions. In related to this study that graduating from high school represents a
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critical juncture, a potential tipping point, as students move from one environment

(school) to another (workforce or higher education).

Recognizing that individual decisions collectively influence societal

dynamics, the career choices of students, shaped by societal factors, contribute to

the overall occupational landscape. Their decisions may impact societal sectors

such as education, social services, or cultural preservation.

Understanding the interplay between societal factors, Lawton's theory, and career

choices for grade 12 HUMSS students provides insights into the complexity of

decision-making processes during this critical life transition as it emphasizes the

importance of fostering environments that support informed and personally fulfilling

career decisions.
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Conceptual Framework

Curriculum Exits

Theories
Social Cognitive Career Theory
Developmental Self-Concept Theory
Theory of Person-Environmental Fit

Higher Middle Skill

Entrepreneurship Employment
Education Development

Work Experience
Qualification and
Compatibility Skills
Financial Status
Possible Other Personal
Reasons

Economic System
Employment Rate
Work Culture

THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem
This study investigated the Grade 12 HUMSS students’ figure of choosing
employment as a curriculum exit after graduating SHS on Asian College of
Technology-International Educational Foundation.

Specifically, this study answered the following questions:

1. Did the students thought about choosing employment as a curricular exit after
graduating Senior High School? Would the reason of choosing employment be
probably for:
1.1 Work Experience
1.2 Qualification and Compatibility Skills
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1.3 Financial Status

1.4 Possible Other Personal Reasons

2. How did the aspects above affect the future in the years to come regarding the
local:
2.1 Economic System
2.2 Employment Rate
2.3 Work Culture

Null Hypothesis
The researchers in this study will make the supposition that there is no

relationship between the two variables and that changing one will have no impact

on the other. This means that in this study the students thinking about choosing

employment as a curricular exit after graduating K-12 have no impact for the

reason of them having work experience, qualification and compatibility skills, due

to financial status, and other possible personal reasons. Knowing that the aspects

above have no relationship to the student’s choice, the local economic system,

employment rate, and work culture will also be not affected for the future years to

come.

Significance of the Study

Specifically, the results of this study will benefit the following:

The proposed study is valuable and significant to the following stakeholders:

Students. After graduating from senior high school, they will be able to

make an informed decision about their career. With this, they are also able to
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defend each decision regarding the course to take in the interim. They will consider

finding employment or working while they are still in school to be equally viable

options once they graduate.

Parents. It can give them insightful information about their children's overall

employability, job market trends, and potential career paths. The study may

provide parents with advice and information about making decisions for their child's

future.

School Administrators. A study can provide valuable insights into student

career preferences, aiding in curriculum alignment, resource allocation, and job

placement programs. This information can also strengthen relationships with

employers and enhance the school's reputation in preparing students for the

workforce.

Teachers. The study provides valuable insights into students' interests and

career goals, enabling teachers to adjust lesson plans and curricula, better prepare

students for the workforce, and offer career guidance, ultimately aiding teachers'

professional development and student success.

Researchers Themselves. A quantitative study on work as a choice after

graduation for Grade 12 HUMSS students at Asian College of Technology can

contribute to existing knowledge, enhance research skills, and establish a

professional reputation. The study fills gaps in understanding career preferences

and provides a foundation for further research. It also allows hands-on experience

in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The research can bring attention

and recognition to the field of career development.

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Future Researchers. A quantitative study on Grade 12 HUMSS students

at Asian College of Technology's work as a choice after graduation offers valuable

insights for future researchers. The data collected can serve as a reference,

provide a foundation for further research, and uncover trends affecting education

and career development, enhancing the field and inspiring future researchers.

Scope and Limitation

This study compile with the researchers started last August 7, 2023

up to December 10, 2023. This research focuses on Grade 12 HUMSS

students at Asian College of Technology – International Educational

Foundation, examining their career choices after completing their final year

of basic education. The study investigates if Grade 12 HUMSS students will

choose employment as their curricular exit after completing this academic

year at Asian College of Technology – International Educational

Foundation. These reasons include for having a work experience,

qualification and compatibility skills, financial status, and possible other

personal reasons. With the respondents’ answers above, the researchers

will also focus on creating conclusion on what will happen in the future years

to come regarding to the local economic system, employment rate work

culture. This research aims to explore the relationship between factors

influencing students' choice of employment rather than higher education,

entrepreneurship, and middle skills development, rather than focusing and

extending on advanced factors.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

To better understand the concepts in the study, the following terms

are operationally defined:

Career Employment. In this study, career employment refers to having the

employee recruited as an employer or the act of doing labor in exchange for

monetary compensation. With additional context, students will choose employment

as their next career after finishing high school.

K-12 Program. This refers to the Department of Education’s run

educational program that seeks to improve students' fundamental skills, produce

more capable citizens, and prepare graduates for both employment and lifelong

learning. This is the current program the students are taking up now.

Curriculum Exit. This refers to the doors that will open up to the students

after they graduate from high school. Each individual would either choose one from

the four main curriculum exits provided by the program. These are higher

education, entrepreneurship, middle school development, and employment.

HUMSS. This stands for Humanities and Social Sciences. It is one of the

main strands offered in the Academic Track for the Senior High School program.

This course teaches students to use various disciplines to study human situations

using empirical, analytical, and critical methods, utilizing their experiences and

skills to study behavior and social changes.

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CHAPTER 2

Reviews of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter includes the ideas, finished research, generalizations or

conclusions, methodologies, and others. Those that were included in this chapter

help in familiarizing information that is relevant and similar to the present study.

International

In the academic year 2017–2018, 3, 651, 200 people graduated from high

school in the United States, one of the first countries in the world to implement the

K–12 Basic Education Curriculum, which served as the basis for the SHS Model

in the Philippines, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES,

2017). 69.1% of graduates went on to get a college degree, while 72% of

graduates obtained employment as explained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

(2017). As indicated by this research, industrialized nations that have adopted the

K–12 model have done so with success. On the other hand, according to the

Miami, Florida 2020 Senior Exit poll, 80% of seniors responded to the poll, and

98.4% of them were qualified to graduate. Just 0.8% intend to start working,

compared to 83.9% who want to get a degree, license, or certificate and 71.1%

who want to get a bachelor's degree or above. This indicates that, in contrast to

the earlier study, teenagers would rather pursue a high school degree than begin

a career (Urdegar, 2020). A study conducted by Edge Research and HCM

Strategists for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2022) surveyed 1,675 high

school graduates ages 18-30 on whether they should pursue higher education or
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venture other paths. Among the respondents, over 85% were prioritizing to be

financially stable and only 48% were deciding to go to college. Financial burdens

have been one of the factors as to why the graduates opt to choose employment

as a curriculum exit. They have expressed in the survey that it is "too expensive

and they don't want to add any more debts". In another survey done by

BestColleges, among 1,000 enrolled high school students, 67% are planning to

pursue a degree while 66% are planning to work. Over 32% pointed to the cost of

higher education. This only suggests that the affordability of pursuing a degree

would impact their plans after high school (Bryant, 2022).

In recent years, the college enrollment rate has dropped worldwide due to

the pandemic and high school graduates have dealt with issues relating to

academic and economic pressures. In North Carolina, employment has been

observed to have increased due to the tight labor market that has dominated during

this period. According to the data from the North Carolina Common Follow-Up

System (CFS), the rate fell to 45.1% and 45.8% for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021

cohorts although its average used to be 47.5%. Financial problems and being

skeptical about the value of higher education are some of the major factors that

affected their decisions which prompted them to forgo college (Guarine, 2023).

National

In the Philippines after graduating Senior High School (SHS), a part of the

K-12 curriculum program that was implemented, student graduates can work or
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engage in entrepreneurial activities if they choose to do so. Choosing work as a

curriculum exit has many advantages, including (1) increased exposure to people

of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds; (2) independence through

earning money and learning how to manage by either living on one's own or

gaining even more life skills; and (3) giving potential future career paths more

consideration (Skyler, 2018). However, from the study conducted by the Philippine

Institute for Development Studies (PIDS, 2018), despite citing entrepreneurship

and employment as justifications for the SHS curriculum, research reveals that

75% of grade 12 students aim to continue their education after graduation, 14%

intend to work and study, 10% plan to work, and less than 1% are unsure. It's also

quite telling that a similar percentage of TVL track participants as academic track

participants intend to attend college. This survey also showed that students are

not very optimistic about their chances of finding employment after graduating from

SHS. They think college graduates will be hired more frequently than them, even

if they pass the National Certifications exams.

On the other hand, the study of Bacaling (2018) aimed to understand the

professional choices of Sta. Cruz National High School's Grade 12 senior high

school graduates and its connection to professional decision-making in the K–12

Curriculum Exits. The findings showed that 34.9% of students chose to find

employment after graduation, while 57.4% of students decided to enroll in college

or university. According to the study conducted by the Philippine Institute for

Development Studies (PIDS, 2018), only 20% of the top 70 corporations in the
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nation, spanning all industries, were willing to hire recent high school graduates.

Furthermore, the majority of firms are still set on hiring only college graduates,

which discriminates against senior high school graduates. Almost every corporate

policy only accepts job applicants with at least two years of college education

(Cabrera, 2018). According to the same study, practically all companies have

policies that forbid recent high school graduates from applying for positions unless

they have at least two years of college experience or have the intention of hiring

only college graduates. This is a result of concerns about the level of readiness of

recent graduates for the workforce, which also plays a role in the low number of

graduates choosing not to pursue higher education.

In 2018, an examination of job entries from two online employment portals,

JobStreet and PhilJobNet, was conducted to see whether employers were hiring

recent high school graduates. 235 opportunities were posted by 106 PhilJobNet

employers for recent high school graduates. 151 out of 185 positions (78.7%)

required one to have one to six years of work experience. These positions were

mostly meant for previously employed graduates of the previous four-year high

school curriculum. Only 20 of the 75,078 job postings in the Philippines that were

available to SHS graduates were found through an examination of job entries on

JobStreet. These jobs, which were largely from the BPO industry, included roles

like customer service representatives, transaction processing analysts, and CAD

operators. There appears to be a small number of organizations hiring SHS

graduates, based on the data collected from the two internet sites. The vacancies
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available include call center agent and customer service representative roles from

the BPO industry. Employers typically do not distinguish between graduates of the

SHS and those of the previous high school curriculum (Philippine Institute for

Development Studies [PIDS], 2018). Furthermore, industries that employ fewer

people overall, such as technology and communications as well as certain higher-

skilled service sectors, recover faster and create jobs. When the economy

eventually opens up fully, a wave of recent graduates and seasoned applicants

flood it. Compared to recent high school graduates, these applicants have an

advantage (Mocon-Ciriaco, 2018). Consequently, Senior High School graduates'

chances of finding employment will be reduced (CEICData, 2018).

Students who are aware of curriculum exits are better equipped to launch

their own company or find employment without a college degree, as well as to gain

more experience in college life (Arturo & Arturo, 2020). Specifically, in a study

conducted by Cabral and Abanto (2020), students get the same level of awareness

regarding employment. The composite means of 2.93 that was obtained indicates

that students acknowledge how this curriculum exit aids in the clarification of their

immediate employment goals, the comprehension and availability of potential job

and training options, and the acquisition of skills necessary for finding and keeping

a job. It shows that they are conscious of how working will help them comprehend

and match their goals, aspirations, interests, and abilities to the positions or

occupations they want. Employment must therefore assist people in realizing the

value of their skills and potential and in matching them to the requirements and
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competencies needed in the workplace. However, the analysis of Orbeta Jr. and

Potestad (2020), suggests that the majority (more than 70%) continue their

education into higher education, with only a small fraction (just over 20%) entering

employment.

The pandemic affects employment in the long run. Put simply, this brief but

major shock to the economy could lead to a persistently lower employment rate

even after the economy has started to recover (Bird, 2021). With this, discovered

that senior high school graduates had trouble adjusting to life in the workforce, with

22 out of 26 employers polled feeling they weren't prepared for the workforce.

In addition, according to emerging literary works about senior high school

graduates in the Philippines, the majority of these graduates saw going to college

as a means of enhancing the skills they had learned in senior high school, and

very few would engage in employment and entrepreneurial endeavors (Padios et

al., 2021). Considering the research done by Carada et al. (2022) 324 Senior High

School graduates assessed the deemed competencies required to join the

workforce. According to the study, the employability of senior high school

graduates is greatly impacted by their perceived talents, with technical and

emotional skills being major indications and cognitive, technical, and emotional

skills having a reasonably strong correlation. However, not every recent high

school graduate is suited for a job in academics. Graduates from high schools with

strong cognitive, technical, and emotional abilities are likely to obtain employment.
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Due to financial constraints, some recent high school graduates decide against

continuing their education in favor of a career.

Nevertheless, even though our senior high school graduates are equipped with the

knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce, they will find it difficult to do

so due to application requirements that will place them behind the most competitive

applicants. This leads to the conclusion that, despite their preparation, it will be

nearly impossible for our senior high school graduates to enter the workforce due

to application constraints.

However, as of late, K–12 graduates were making 19% more money and

were 16.2 percentage points more likely to be engaged in medium-skill jobs than

people who finished the regular high school curriculum, according to a report by

the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (Tan, 2023). On data saved by the

Department of Education, the enrollment rate for Senior High School learners was

recorded at 2,689,137 for the school year 2022-2023. Even so, the Commission

on Higher Education (CHED) reported an attrition rate of 41.6%. There are a few

reasons why students can be compelled to give up on their sad situation of

stopping their education: insufficient funds, inadequate facilities, and mental health

issues (Chi, 2023).

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study uses quantitative research which involves the Grade 12 HUMSS

students choosing employment as a curriculum exit after graduating Senior High

School on ACT-IEF. It is conclusive in its purpose as it tries to qualify the problem

of understanding how prevalent it is by looking for projectable results for a large

population. Moreover, the descriptive – survey design is used which describes the

characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This

methodology focuses more on the “what” “does” and “do” of the research subject

rather than the “why” of the research subject.

Research Environment

This study will be conducted inside the premises of the Asian College of

Technology-International Educational Foundation, at J. Alcantara Street, Cebu

City. Researchers focused and spent time in the classrooms or near the area of

the grade 12 classes situated inside the campus.

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Research Respondent

The participants of this study will be the selected Grade 12 students at the

Asian College of Technology – International Educational Foundation. The study

consists of 30 students, they are chosen to be the participants of this study

because they represent a large number of delegates from these locales. The

sampling technique utilized to select the respondents is the simple random method

of probability sampling in which two questions are answered by choosing

employment after graduating Senior High School that might affect the future in the

years to come regarding the different local aspects of employment as a curriculum

exit for grade 12 HUMSS students.

Research Instrument

The research instrument to be used in this study will be a Likert scale

questionnaire which will be conducted face-to-face and will be recorded with the

permission of the informants. The questionnaires are validated and proofread by

the researcher’s adviser and by the panel members for content validity. The

questionnaire contains two (2) parts that determine of choosing employment after

graduating Senior High School that might affect the future in the years to come

regarding the different local aspects of the respondents with regard to the

employment as a curriculum exit for grade 12 HUMSS students.

 27

Research Procedures

Data Gathering

The researchers will make a transmittal letter that will be signed by the

principal of the Asian College of Technology-International Educational Foundation.

They will craft questions and assess each question if it could help the said study.

After doing so, they will make a Likert scale questionnaire. The researchers will

use face-to-face as a medium to communicate with the selected respondents.

They will orient the students regarding what the research is about and what they

should do. Then, the selected respondents will be given questionnaires. There will

be no time constraint for answering the questions. The answers will be then

consolidated and analyzed to resolve whether choosing employment as a

curricular exit after graduating Senior High School might affect the future in the

years to come regarding the different local aspects concerning the employment as

a curriculum exit for grade 12 HUMSS students.

Statistical Treatment of Data

To analyze and interpret the data, the researcher employed the following

statistical procedure:

1. Frequency percentage and ranking

Will help the researcher to easily tally the date that they gathered. This

percentage and ranking will be a big help in the researchers to analysis the date.

2. Frequency, weighted mean, and ranking.

 28

Weighted Mean. This tool was used to provide the answer to the

questions. The formula is:

xf+xf+xf
WM=
∑N

Where:

WM = weighted mean

X = number of respondents

F = weight given to each respondent

N = number of cases
 29

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