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Chapter I
THE PROBLEM: RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND

I. Background of The Study

A major turning point in adolescents lives involves the career choice that they make
while in high school. According to work experience coordinator Dale Gullekson, When students
focus on specific goals beyond high school, they generally demonstrate better time management
and better coping skills, resulting in better achievements. It has been witnessed to most of the
secondary school fail to choose which subjects should they opt to drop or continue with and not
only secondary students even the incoming college students fail to opt for courses in colleges and
universities because they lack exposure on what they intend to undertake. It is very common here
in Philippines to hear some people saying It just happened for me to be a teacher, I hate
teaching Im doing this just because I have got no alternative job.
Currently, according to SEAMEO Innotech 2011 the quality of basic education is
reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. Many students who finish basic
education do not possess sufficient mastery of basic competencies. One reason is that students do
not get adequate instructional time or time on task. The Philippines is the last country in Asia and
one of only three countries in the world with a 10-year pre-university program. (Southeast Asia
and also an ISO 9001: 2008 Certified) Consequently, enhancing the quality of basic education in
the Philippines is urgent and critical. Due to that, one of the discussions of DepEd which
incurred last October 2010 is to enhance the basic education program of the country in a manner
that is least disruptive to the current curriculum. Students will undergo several assessments to
determine their interests and strengths. These will include an aptitude test, a career assessment
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exam, and an occupational interest inventory for high schools to help them decide on their
specialization.
As set forth in the Minimum Standards for Public School Approval (Concord:
State School Board and Department of Education, 1996) career education prepares students to
make informed career decisions through awareness and understanding of individual qualities that
contribute to success on the career choice. Career development in its broadest perspective is
defined as a lifelong process by which an individual defines and refines life and work roles. It
includes awareness of individual interests, skills, attitudes, talents, and abilities, particularly as
they change and develop during the educational experience. This process provides the context in
which students explore a variety of educational and occupational opportunities, learn the realities
of the workplace, and identify both the technical skills and individual qualities that they will
need to succeed in the modern economy.
In every province and territory, schools are restructuring to better meet the needs of
students. A key element of the restructuring is a comprehensive career development that begins
in the elementary grades and extends through high school and beyond. The establishment of an
effective career development program will require, in many cases, to broaden their own expertise
and sphere of activity. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the career development
pattern of fourth year high school students of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Basic
Education Department based on OASIS 2 Interest Schedule which determines students
preference of what jobs and work activities they think they would like and MBTI or Myers Brigg
Type Indicator that measures psychological preference in how people perceive the world and
make decisions. And for a more thorough perspective of how initial career choice is influenced,
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the research will further explore biological, psychological, and social/cultural influences that
interact to shape behavior through gaining personal accounts of students by interview.
In sum, how one forms of an initial career choice is a multidimensional process of
development that is very inclusive. Each individual undertaking the process is influenced by
many factors, including the context in which they live, their personal aptitudes, and educational
attainment (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001). As what John Holland (1992)
believes that career choice is an expression of, or an extension of, personality into the world of
work, followed by subsequent identification with specific occupational stereotypes. Hence, it
becomes imperative to analyze the career development pattern of student to diminish the
increasing population of drop-out students, course shifters, and students who are experiencing
career preference dilemma. It is believed that with self-knowledge and proper career orientation,
students will successfully identify both the technical skills and individual qualities that they will
need to succeed in their chosen endeavor.
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II. Statement of The Problem
The main objective of this research is to investigate the career development pattern of
senior high school students of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation who are enrolled for
the S.Y. 2014-2015 based on OASIS 2 Interest Schedule and COPES. It further aims to analyze
the factors affecting the career preference of an
Specifically the study attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the students in terms of
a. Sex?
b. Number of Siblings?
c. Course Preference?
d. Socio-economic Status?
e. Fathers Occupation?
f. Mothers Occupation?
2. What factors influence the career preference and decision making of the Manuel S.
Enverga University Foundation fourth year high school students?
3. What are the dominant occupational clusters found to have an agreement with the
personality of the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation fourth year high school
students obtained in MBTI?
4. What are the dominant interest scales of senior high school students based from the
OASIS result?
5. What are the possible career opportunities based from the dominant occupational clusters
and interest scales of the students?
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III. Theoretical Framework
There could be several theories related to an individuals career interest and career
decision which had took a wider term. Classifying theories according to their similarities help to
understand and utilized them. The various categories are not mutually exclusive or independent
but combine to explain the pattern of human existence which results in differential vocational
behavior and choice
Trait Factor Theory
Frank Parsons is regarded as the founder of the vocational guidance movement. He
developed the talent-matching approach, which was later developed into the Trait and Factor
Theory of Occupational Choice. At the center of Parsons' theory is the concept of matching. The
trait and factor theory operates under the premise that it is possible to measure both individual
talents and the attributes required in particular jobs. It also assumes that people may be matched
to an occupation that's a good fit. Parsons suggested three steps in enhancing the individuals
career decision making. First is a clear and objective understanding of ones self, including
abilities, interest, attitudes and so forth. Next is knowledge of the requirements and
characteristics of specific career and finally, a recognition and appreciation of the relationship
between one and two above for successful career planning (Gibson & Mitchell, 2003).
Holland Theory
The Holland theory is the best known and most widely researched theory on this topic. It
is widely used by professionals. Holland theory states that in our culture, most people are one of
six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
Some refer to these as Holland Codes or RIASEC. People of the same personality type working
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together in a job create a work environment that fits their type. For example, when Artistic
persons are together on a job, they create a work environment that rewards creative thinking and
behavior -- an Artistic environment. People search for environments where they can use their
skills and abilities and express their values and attitudes. For example, Investigative types search
for Investigative environments; Artistic types look for Artistic environments, and so forth.




Figure 1. Hollands theory of congruence of personality to a progressive career environment
People who choose to work in an environment similar to their personality type are more
likely to be successful and satisfied. Holland set out a hexagonal model of occupational interest
where some of the six types are seen as more similar, while others are more distantly related.
How you act and feel at work depends to a large extent on your workplace (or school)
environment. If you are working with people who have a personality type like yours, you will be
able to do many of the things they can do, and you will feel most comfortable with them. This
model is described in Figure 2, with types at adjacent angles more closely related than those at
opposite angles.


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Figure 2. Hollands hexagonal model of occupational interest

Chance Theory
Chance has been acknowledged by a number of theorists, clearly influenced by the work
of Bandura (1982) and sociological theories. Krumboltz work adds some explanation to the
notion accident or chance, including place and era of birth, socioeconomic status of family of
birth, and genetic endowments at birth, as all able to be seen as aspects of chance in an
individuals career development. Chance is defined as an unplanned event that measurable
alters ones behavior (Miller, 1983), and can be referred to as luck, fortune, accident or happen-
stance. This approach to understanding career development suggest that many people follow the
path of least resistance in their career development by simply falling into whatever work
opportunities that may come their way (Park Press, 1996).
Vocational Maturity
Career or vocational maturity, used interchangeably (Super, 1990, p.209), was defined by
Super (1990) as the the individuals readiness to cope with the developmental tasks with which
he or she is confronted because of his or her biological and social developments and because
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societys expectations of people who have reached that stage of development. Career maturity
contributes to the career pattern followed by an individual. Super described it as readiness to
make career decisions suggesting that the attitudes of individual and their knowledge of the
world of work and of life stages may be used as measures of career maturity. Super identified six
factors in vocational maturity: awareness of the need to plan ahead, decision-making skills,
knowledge and use of information resources, general career information, general world of work
information, and detailed information about occupations of preference.
These theories focus is upon personal traits such as aptitudes and interest. These
characteristics and traits are determined in this study through the students demographics and
leading career interest.
Supers Self- Concept Theory
Supers theory of career development recognize the changes that people go through as
they mature. Career patterns are determined by socioeconomic factors, mental and physical
abilities, personal characteristics and the opportunities to which person are exposed.
Developmental psychology was a major influence on Supers early work which emphasized life
stages and vocational tasks. The other major influence was self-concept theory, referred to as the
keystone of his theory. Self as reflected in these proposition, the concept of self is a major
focus of Supers theory because it is in self that the processing of the life-span, life-space
information occurs. Super recognized that the self-concept changes and develop throughout
peoples life as a result of experiences. People successively refine their self-concept over-time
and application to the world of work creates adaptation in their career choice.

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Social Learning Theory
The integration of social learning theory (Mitchell & Krumboltz, 1990), self-efficacy
(Hackett & Betz, 1981) and social cognitive theory (Lent et al., 1994, 1996, 2002) into career
theory created a greater understanding of the process of development of variables, and of the
relation between them. Learning theory extended the work of Holland and Super in its
description of how people learn about their interests and abilities in relation to existing
occupations, and in describing how different interest and skill develop from learning
experiences.
Much growth takes place as a result of learning and imitating the behavior of others
(Krumboltz social learning theory, 1990). The social learning theory of career decision-making
aims to explain how people become employed in the wide variety of available occupations. It
extends trait and factor theory in its attempt to explain the process of person-job congruence. In
particular, there are four categories of factors which influence an individuals career decision-
making process: genetic endowment and special abilities, environmental conditions and events,
learning experiences and task approach skills (L.K. Mitchell & Krumboltz, 1990). People choose
their career based on what they have learned. Certain behaviors are modeled, rewarded and
reinforced.
Decision-Making Theory
Some decision-making theories hypothesize that there are critical points in peoples lives
when choices are made that greatly influence our career development. These decision making
points are such events as educational choices, entry-level job positions, changing jobs, etc. Other
decision-making theories concerned with ongoing choices across the life span. The decisions that
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one makes are influenced by the awareness of the choices that are available and the knowledge
of how to evaluate them, (Gelatt, 1991).
Roes Career Choice Theory
One focus of her work was on the development of interests and needs, for which she
proposed five propositions (Roe & Lunneborg, 1990). She proposed that genetic inheritance
influenced the development of personal characteristics, but that it influenced some characteristics
more than others. In addition to genetics, the individuals life experience such as cultural
background, socioeconomic situation and gender also affect the development of personal
characteristics. This theory is also classified as the needs theory in that primary attention given
to the wants and desire which stimulates the individual to have an occupational preference. Roe
suggested that the quality of early relationships affects the development of interest and, in turn,
occupational choice.
Social Cognitive Career Theory
Social cognitive career theory emphasizes cognitive processes far more than Krumboltz
social learning theory, and in particular the social cognitive variables of self-efficacy, outcome
expectations, and goals. Social cognitive career theory also describes the mediation process of
social cognitive variables such as self-efficacy in the development of interests, and related effect
of environmental variables.
Furthermore, as children become more aware of their own strengths, weaknesses and
interest, their self-efficacy directs them to engage in activities in which they are more likely to
succeed in which they perceive fewer barriers. Simultaneously, their own developing outcome
expectations and goal representation will influence the career choice they make as they mature
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(Helwig, 2004). The vocational choices are influenced by four facts: the reality factor, the
influence of educational process, the emotional factor and the individual values this theory
proposes that it is a development path that leads to career choice. Starting in preteen and ending
in young adulthood, individual passes through three stages: fantasy, tentative and realistic. In the
fantasy stage the child is free to pursue any occupational choices. Beginning in preteen years and
continuing through high school, the young person further defines their interest in, capacity for
and values of an occupational choice. The cumulative effect of the process is the transition
process in which the adolescent begins the career choice process recognizes the consequences
and responsibility of that choice.

IV. Conceptual Framework
This research focuses on the utilization of Career Test results of the fourth year high
school students who are currently enrolled at the Basic Education Department of Enverga
University to meaningfully assist them through their career process development with the used of
standardized based aptitude test results such as: Myer Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and
Occupational Attitude Survey Interest Scale (OASIS). The personal characteristics such as
students demographic profile in terms of sex, age, birth order, course preference, socio-
economic status, parents occupation are the primary input.
Considering these basic variables, the process involves in this study to assess the
respondents career self-awareness includes the respondents career assessment test results based
on the MBTI and OASIS. The MBTI measure psychological preferences in how people perceive
the world and make decisions. The identification and description of the 16 distinctive personality
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types that result from the interactions among the preferences. While OASIS was developed to
assist students in career exploration with the scales of artistic, scientific, nature, protective,
mechanical, industrial, business detail, selling, accommodating, humanitarian, leading-
influencing, and physical performing. Interview will be used to gain personal accounts of the
students exploring biological, psychological, and social/cultural influences that interact to shape
behavior.
The research output however, involves the utilization of the career assessment test results
and the other variables being considered in this study like the students demographic profile.
From the findings and other considerations, the researcher will then plan for a more
comprehensive career guidance.


Demographic Profile of 4
th
Year High School Students of Manuel S.
Enverga University Foundation
CAREER PREFERENCE
PERSONALITY INTEREST
PERSONAL ACCOUNT
INTERVIEW MBTI
CAREER DEVELOPMENT PATTERN:
Students Higher Level of Self-Awareness on Their Career Choice
OASIS 2
P
R
O
C
E
S
S
INPUT
OUTPUT