CHAPTER I

The Problem and its Background

Introduction

Our country suffers from multifarious crisis such as socioeconomic crisis,

political crisis, and as well as financial crisis which is greatly affected by global

Economic crisis. Despite of all these crises, Filipinos are imaginative, creative, and

courageous to surpass these obstacles in everyday life. Even though there are some

companies affected by these crises which they are force to decrease their

employees called as “recession”, some of them have job openings that offer new career

opportunities to graduated college students. These job openings also offers a new

challenge into their life – a great responsibility lies to his hand that someday will help his

family strive to achieve wealthiest, use his acquired knowledge and skills when he

engage into a job, and elatives. He was confused in a sense that he cannot make his own

decision and not yet ready to get into college.

According to Tiedeman (2002) career development unfolds within the general

process of cognitive development as one resolves ego-relevant crises. He further

noted out that decision-making is a continuous process in which individuals will change

their courses of career action, generally by leaving a setting or environment. Such as

when a student is disoriented in his course he have been taken that will result in

decreasing eagerness on that particular field. He decides to transfer in another school or

to shift another course that really fits his own interest and. When one is unstable in

making decision, these disoriented strategy may be repeated until achieve different

bachelor’s degree which can be a major distraction of one’s future job. Super3 also

considered indecisiveness as a period of developmental process when interest was not

elatives. He was confused in a sense that he cannot make his own decision and not yet

ready to get into college. According to Tiedeman (2002), career development unfolds

within the general process of cognitive development as one resolves ego-relevant

crises. He further noted out that decision-making is a continuous process in which

individuals will change their courses of career action, generally by leaving a setting or

environment. Such as when a student is disoriented in his course he have been

taken that will result in decreasing eagerness on that particular field. He decides to

transfer in another school or to shift another course that really fits his own interest

and. When one is unstable in making decision, these disoriented strategy may be

repeated until achieve different bachelor’s degree which can be a major distraction

of one’s future job.

Background of the Study

According to Howard (2004) and Ill7 stressed out that whenever students are in

their high school experience, they are the center of learning. In a traditional high school,

the center of the system is the content or subject, not student learning. Howard and Ill

present a system to promote the shift from traditional content or subject –centered high

schools to student-centered high schools which is called as Collaborative Career

Pathways – a system of organizing the student learning interests and aptitudes around

career paths. It provides a structure for students to reference their learning and comment

each year of their high school experience. It allows students to plan and practice their

skills while creating a smooth and successful transition to a post-secondary option.

Goffredson’s Developmental Theory of Occupational Aspirations8 describes how people

become attracted to certain occupations. Self-concept in vocational development is the

key factor to career selection and people want jobs that are compatible with their

self-image. The key determinants of self-concept are one’s social class, level of

intelligence, and experiences with sex-typing. Roe’s need approach9 emphasized that

early childhood experiences play an important role in finding satisfaction in one’s chosen

field. The need structure of the individual, according to Roe, would be greatly influenced

by early childhood frustrations and satisfactions.

According to John Holland (2010), individuals are attracted to a given

career by their particular personalities and numerous variables that constitute their

backgrounds. First of all, career choice is an expression of, or an extension of personality

into the world of work followed by subsequent identification with specific occupational

stereotypes. Accordingly, one chooses a career to satisfy preferred modal personal

orientation. Modal personal orientation is a developmental process established through

heredity and the individual’s life history of reacting to environmental demands. If the

individual has developed a strong dominant orientation, satisfaction is probable in a

corresponding occupational environment. If, however the orientation is one of indecision,

the livelihood of satisfaction diminishes.

According to the study conducted by Garcez (2007) 13, it was found out that by

Increasing career development activities, which includes setting career goals, students

had a higher self-esteem. Maybe even more important, however, is that students were

more satisfied 11 Career Preferences of College Freshmen in the University of Cebu –

Lapu-Lapu and Mindoro: A Career Development Program by Jana Gloria F. Almerino,

Master’s Thesis. University of San Carlos, Cebu City. 12 Factors influencing High

School Senior Career Choices: Implications to Career Counseling by Carmelita P.

Pabiton. In Guidance Journal p .1-17, Oct. 2007. 13 about the education they were

receiving. This will, in turn, hopefully lead to students having a deeper desire and

commitment to succeed in their education. Another outcome of a higher self-esteem is

that those students chose more difficult goals than students with low self-esteems. She

noted that excellent detailed plan for teaching parents and teachers how to teach young

students to set career goals. The plan requires a total community effort through educators,

parents, and businesses. Students must be given an opportunity to identify and explore

their desired careers. They can accomplish this through the “School to Work Transition”

or “Job Shadowing Program.” Through the cooperative efforts of the entire community,

students can identify career choices, set career goals, and have higher self-esteems at an

early age. Ultimately, they will further their education and have a better chance of

succeeding in the “do or die” world in which we live.

According to Elmer (1989)14, career planning is life goal-setting. Without such

a plan, it is like making a journey to an unfamiliar destination without a map. He

proposed a Career Planning Guide that will help the students in choosing their

appropriate course from planning a career, steps in planning career, goal-setting and

self-understanding. Also, it reveals that guidance and counseling is intervention of

underemployment individuals and career preparedness must be initiated.14 Soriano, A.

S. and Roces. A Career Guide. Baguio Allied Printers: 420 Magsaysay Ave. Baguio City,

p.1.

The studies reviewed provide ample evidence that career development program

is in need and must have a collaborative efforts made by school administrator,

teachers, and mostly guidance counselor in crystallizing student’s career decision.

The teaching methodologies or strategies must be improved and concentrate on student’s

learning and not by subjects.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine the factors affecting career preferences of

senior high school students of San Pablo City National High School 2010-2011.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following problems:

1. What are the profile of the senior high school students in terms of:

1.1 Sex;

1.2 Age;

1.3 Parents’ Educational Attainment;

1.4 Parents’ Occupation; and

1.5 Socio – economic status?

2. What are the top three expressed career choices of the students?

3. What are the perception of the respondents regarding preferences in choosing a

career in college in terms of:

3.1 Childhood Aspirations;

3.2 Family/ Relatives;

3.3 Peer influences; and

3.4 In-Demand Jobs?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their

career preferences?

5. Is there a significant relationship between career preferences and the following

variables:

5.1 Childhood Aspirations;

5.2 Family/ Relatives;

5.3 Peer influence; and

5.4 In – Demand jobs?

Theoretical Framework

The study is anchored on the theory of Donald Super which focuses on the

development of life roles over the life span with emphasis on inter-role congruence. His

vocational concept as a part of self-concept is formed; it is the driving force that

establishes a career pattern one will follow through life. Vocational developmental tasks

are derived from vocational stages which provides framework for vocational behavior

and attitudes.

VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

1. Growth (birth-age 14 or 15), characterized by development of capacity,

attitudes, interests, and needs associated with self-concepts;

2. Explanatory (ages 15-24), characterized by a tentative phase in which choices

are.

3. Establishment (ages 25-44), characterized by trial and stabilization through work

experiences;

4. Maintenance (ages 45-64), characterized by a continual adjustment process to

improve working position and situation; and

5. Decline (ages 65+), characterized by preretirement considerations, reduced work

output, and eventual retirement.

The crystallization task (ages 14-18) is forming a preferred career plan and

considering how it might be implemented. Pertinent information is studied with the goal

of becoming more aware of the preferred choice and the wisdom of preference.

The specification task (ages 18-21) follows in which the individual feels the need

to specify the career plan through more specific resources and explicit awareness of

cogent variables of the preferred choice.

The implementation task (ages 21-24) is accomplished by the completion of

training and entry into the career and develops a feeling of security in career position.

The stabilization (ages 24-35) is reached when the individual is firmly established

in a career and develops a feeling of security in career position.

Finally, the consolidation task (35+) follows with advancement and seniority in a

career. Super also identified six dimensions that he thought were relevant and appropriate

for adolescents:

1. Orientation to Vocational Choice (an attitudinal dimension determining whether

the individual is concerned with the eventual vocational choice to be made);

2. Information and planning;

3. Consistency of Vocational Preferences (individuals’ consistency of preferences);

4. Crystallization of Traits (individual progress toward forming a self-concept);

5. Vocational Independence (independence of work experience); and

6. Wisdom of Vocational Preferences (dimension concerned with individuals ability

to make realistic preferences consistent with personal tasks.)

This theory is found to be appropriate because of its stressfulness in terms of

developing a career plan that will guide the individual in choosing a career in college.

Also, Super’s six-dimension is appropriate for adolescent is truly applicable because

senior high school students are fall under this category. Another theory adopted for the

research is David Tiedeman’s5 self-development approach to career. He believes that

evolving ego-identity is of central importance in the career development process. He

referred to the evolving self-in-situation from the earliest awareness of self to point at

which individual becomes capable of evaluating experiences, anticipating, and imagining

future goals, and storing experiences in memory for future reference with his context of

Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial crises. Self-in-situation, self-in-world and the

orientation of work evolve as one resolves the psychosocial crises of life. He

therefore conceptualized a paradigm for problem-solving as the mechanism of career

decision making. His paradigm covers four aspects of anticipation or preoccupation

(exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification) and three aspects of

implementation of adjustment (induction, reformation, and integration).

Tiedemann (2004) stressed out why individual change their courses of action

because of external factors because of external forces (such as the call of the armed

forces, an economic crisis, the work setting itself) or by broad psychological drives (such

as unmet needs, changing aspirations, role diffusion). According to the prescribed

sequence, a new decision unfolds and must be made, beginning with exploration and

eventually reaching integration. If integration is not reached once again, the individual

may adapt to a career environment or may simply withdraw and begin a new search for

eventual integration.

The rationale between these two theories is one follows a vocational self-concept

which is a driving force that establishes a career pattern one will follow through life but

there are some factors could might altered this pattern. These factors, such as external

forces (called of armed services, economic crisis, and work setting itself) and

psychological drives (unmet needs, changing aspirations, role diffusion) altered the career

patterns of individual.

Super (2004) said that indecisiveness is a period in developmental process when

interests have not been fully crystallized. Individuals lead to discriminate 2 or more

choices of two or more occupational objectives when uncertainty about future

occurs. Tiedemann noted that as individuals become more aware of the developing

character of the career process itself, they are more willing to make changes and to alter

or redefine a decision.

Conceptual Framework

Future-tension can be surpassing if individual has a preparation to overcome it.

Career preparedness will help the student become more effective and successful in life

with his chosen job. Childhood aspiration has a major role on individual’s striving force.

As they grow older, the more they want, the more they will strive to get it. But external

factors (environment and society) and internal factors (self-crisis and family)

changes their aspirations in life. Such as when a child wants to be a nurse to cure a

patient in his illness but because of her interest like drawing and painting changes his

aspirations. His interest got more concentrated so she will take a course which is suitable

for it. Some graduated high-school students gradually stop in pursuing their college

career. Financial sustainability plays a major role in alterations of career life. They need

to work in order to sustain their studies, as wells as to help their family about expenses

and earlier exposure to a company. Career preferences, then can be conceptualized as a

process of decision-making. It also involves a series of prime factors such as the socio-

demographic profile

(sex, age, parents educational attainment, parents occupation, socio – economic

status).

Likewise, it will identify the top three expressed career choices, preferences for

the career choice such as childhood aspirations, family, peer /friends, interest and

specialization, in-demand jobs, and their anticipated problems encountered and how these

problems affect the students in making their career preferences; and sibling position.

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

I. Profile of the Respondents

SexAgeParents’ Educational Attainment Parents’ OccupationSocio – economic status CAREER PREFERENCES

II. Preferences – related variables

Childhood aspirationsFamily and RelativesPeer influenceIn – Demand jobs

Figure 1. Research Paradigm of the study

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The 60 respondents were taken from San Pablo City National High School

(SPCNHS). The high school was selected on the length of their operation and other

commonalities such as geographical location, enrolment size, and availability of the

students of SPCNHS which is located at Lakeside Park Subdivision, San Pablo City. This

study focused on their career preferences of senior high school students of

SPCNHS. It looked into their socio-demographic profile in terms of sex, age, parents,

educational attainment, parents occupation, size of income,; top three career choice;

preference of students in choosing a career in terms of childhood aspirations, family,

friends, “in-demand” jobs, and Anticipated problems encountered in making their

career choices.

The researcher considered senior high school students as the respondents since

some of them are still undecided of course they want to pursue and suffers from

difficulties in deciding their course. It is also considered because of their last term in high

school excluded lower years since they are not yet capable of making a career

decision and still pursuing their target specialization.

Significance of the Study

Therefore, this study is deemed significant to the following stakeholder for the

following reasons:

To the Students – The respondents are the center of the research because ultimately they

develop the awareness of themselves, strength, and weaknesses for their career

development by continually summarizing and reflecting upon what they are learning

from home, school, and community. In totality, students are in charge of their own

choice.

To the Parents – In this study, parents will realize how important they are as a

source of encouragement in which children are free to explore different areas of career

preferences. This study will look forward in giving their children an assurance to

acquire quality education that would enable them to obtain better job, better income, and

brighter future.

To the Teacher – This study will give information to the teachers of SPCNHS as to the

Preferences of students such that they can focus on the skills needed by the students if

ever the latter would pursue the career they have chosen.

To the Researcher – The process and outcome of this study will produce a great

satisfaction, competence, and professionalism to the field. Although the topic of the study

is focused on career which belongs to the field known as Industrial Psychology, the

purpose is to have a diversity and idea about the field rather than understanding the

abnormalities of human behavior.

Hypotheses

- There is no significant relationship between the Profile of the Respondents and their

Career Preferences.

- There is no significant relationship between Career Preferences and the Preferences –

related variables.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are operationally defined to enhance the understanding of the

readers of this paper.

1. Crisis – an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs whose outcome will make a

decisive difference for better or worse. In this study, crisis is mentioned into four: socio-

economic, political, financial, as well as global economic.

2. Recession – a period of reduced economic activity or withdrawal. In this study,

recession refers to a decrease of employees in a company affected by economic crisis.

3. Career – a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in

public, professional, or business life. In this study, career is the application of education

whereby it is the totality of acquired knowledge.

4. Ego-Relevant Crisis – is derived from Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial crises such as

1) Trust, 2) Autonomy, 3) Initiative, 4) Industry, 5) Identity, 6) Intimacy, 7) Generatively,

and 8) Ego-Integrity.

5. Disoriented Strategy – displace from normal position or relationship. In the study, this

term refers to mechanism of students when he or she is unstable in choosing a career

which can be repeated.

6. Socio-Demographic Profile – refers to sex, age, parent’s educational attainment,

Parent’s occupation, size of income, and sibling position.

8. Preference – other term for recommend; the power or opportunity of choosing. In the

study, the term career preference refers to the basis of student in choosing the course he

wants whether it comes from his childhood aspirations, relatives, friends, interest

and specialization.

9. Childhood Aspirations – the child’s infantile wishes of what he wants when grew up.

10. Interest – to induce or persuade; to participate or engage.

11. Specialization – to concentrate one’s efforts in a special activity of field.

13. “In-Demand” Jobs – refers to the majority of present occupation which many

companies are in need for a particular job.

15. Anticipated Problems – the expected problems of student’s career choice. For

example, financial sustainability, poor health, self-conflicts, etc.

16. Self-Concept – the mental image one has of oneself.

17. Vocational Self-Concept – a driving force that establishes a career pattern one will

follow-through life.

18. Vocational Ego-Involvement – a term which describes Tiedemann’s self-

development approach to career.