COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPLICATION

ON CAREER PATH OF GRADE 12

STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY

A Qualitative Research

Presented to the Senior High School Department of

King Thomas Learning Academy

Malubago Sipocot, Camarines Sur

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in

INQUIRES, INVESTIGATION AND IMERSION

Carillo, Mercy Cantillana C.

Mendoza, Ciara Jane A.

Lorio, Kiyara Mae A.

Merandilla, Julius Arren

Patiam, Juan Manuel L.

 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The society are facing pandemic in the current situation. On 30 January 2020,

the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of

COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and issued a set

of Temporary Recommendations. COVID-19 was first known as NCOV, discovered in

Wuhan, China, a deadly virus which threatens not only the physical, but also

psychological health of human beings. As a result the government had implemented

social distancing and lock down. A year since the society suffers from this infectious

virus, many aspects of the human life have been affected, the industry, business, jobs,

education and the career choices of students.

Most countries around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions

to contain the spread of the virus and reduce infections (Tria, 2020). The normal ways of

schooling has been suspend, distance learning are now implemented, the normal way

of learning is change to modular and online system. Students learning have major

disturbed by the pandemic, students that are in public are given with module and private

schools are provided with E-learning materials to help the teachers in teaching the

students through online.

As of today the students are still suffering and struggling from academics either

modular or online learning, as well as rethinking of their careers on their futures.

Through the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic it has causes major disruption to the

student’s education and career path of most young adults such as the students that are

in high school, specially the graduating of this year. Yet, a previous study showed that
the COVID -19 pandemic has a positive impact to career choice by strengthening

students' belief and choice, Zhou et al, (2020). Though, for some individuals it is an

opportunity to pursue their career and for others is a barrier imprisoning their future.

According in Child and Adolesence Behavioral Health Senior (2020) This year is

typically the high point of a student’s high school career. Seniors this year are worried

about being able to graduate.

The purpose of this study is to know whether the senior students of King Thomas

Learning Academy Inc. are affecting their career path by COVID-19 pandemic and know

if either it’s negative affect or a positive effect. Also to be a guide to help the Grade 12

students of King Thomas Learning Academy Inc. to their own career choices.

Purpose of the study

The goal of the study is to know the solution to a situation that indicates what

outcome will be in the career path of grade 12 students due to COVID-19. As well as be

a guide to those who are having trouble choosing their careers.

Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the underlying considerations observed by students in choosing

their academic field during pandemic?

2. How do underlying considerations affect the phase of career selection of

the students?
 3. What are the learned insights and understanding of the students towards

career selection during pandemic?

Scope and Limitations

This study deals with COVID-19 Pandemic and its Implication on Career Path of

Grade 12 Students. This study is focused on the Grade 12 students who are going to

choose their careers and courses in college. The participants of this study is the grade

12 students of King Thomas Learning Academy.

On the other hand this study limits on those grade school pupils, junior high

school students, faculty members and other stuff.

Significance of the Study

This study aims to determine the effects of Covid-19 Pandemic and its

Implications on the Career Path of Grade 12 students. The result of this study merit the

following:

Students. The result of this study will truly help the students to successfully chase their

dream career despite of the pandemic ongoing. It will give them knowledge and

awareness on what is the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on their career aspirations and

be inspired to still pursue their desired career instead of being bothered.

Parents. The outcome of this study will help parents who are fully concerned on their

child's studies to also guide them and help their children on choosing what career they

truly desire despite the pandemic.

Teacher. The result of this study will help the teachers to identify what complications

does Covid-19 has brought to their student on choosing their desired careers and figure

out some solution for this problem in order for the students to pursue their dreams.

Future Researchers. The ideas used in this study will be able to use as reference data

for future studies as well as testing the validity of other findings. This study will also give

them an overview on what is the effects Covid-19 pandemic to students when it comes

to choosing their careers.

 CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter includes the related literature and studies both from local and

foreign sources. This will serve as a justification for all the information incorporated by

the researchers in this study.

Related Literatures

According to Aristovnik, (2020) they tried to provide systemic insights into

students' satisfaction and understanding of various aspects of their lives during the

pandemic, including their perspectives on the immediate and distant future. They

noticed that teaching staff and the public relations of universities provided the most

critical assistance to students at the university during the pandemic.

The current impacts of the crisis on higher education are easily documented, but

it is debatable which ones will leave their mark on the different actors in the medium and

long term. Lack of references to similar crises in the past makes it difficult to predict

what may happen in the immediate future. For the students the most immediate impact

has naturally been that the temporary cessation of face to face teaching at HEIs has left

them, particularly undergraduates and those who are about to finish upper secondary

and aspire to enter higher education, in a completely new situation, without a clear idea

of how long it will last, immediate impacts on daily life, costs incurred and financial

burdens and, of course, learning continuity and international mobility, Unesco, (2020).

According in Child and Adolence Behavioral Health Senior (2020). This year is

typically the high point of a student’s high school career. Seniors this year are worried
about being able to graduate. They’re worried about being able to qualify and be fully

prepared for college admission. They’re aware that many colleges and universities that

have shut down and wonder how this will affect their own future plans. If schools remain

closed for the rest of the spring, students in their senior year will likely forfeit their last

shot at a championship sports season, miss their last chance to perform with the choir

or never get to perform in the play they’ve been rehearsing for so long.

Many factors contribute to lower levels of STEM preparation and career pursuit;

however, psychological research indicates that this is, in part, a motivational issue.

According to expectation-value theory, people make achievement-related decisions,

such as how hard they will study for a test or the types of courses they will enroll in,

based on their expectations for success and their subjective task value. Eccles JS, et al,

(1983).

The careers of this year’s university graduates may be severely affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic. They have experienced major teaching interruptions in the final

part of their studies, they are experiencing major interruptions in their assessments, and

finally they are likely to graduate at the beginning of a major global recession. Evidence

suggests that poor market conditions at labour market entry cause workers to accept

lower paid jobs, and that this has permanent effects for the careers of some.

Oreopoulos et al. (2012) show that graduates from programmes with high predicted

earnings can compensate for their poor starting point through both within- and across-

firm earnings gains, but graduates from other programmes have been found to

experience permanent earnings losses from graduating in a recession.

 Related Studies

Based on the study of Akkermans et al, (2020) the first lesson is that the

implications of Covid-19 reflect the complex interaction between person and contextual

variables. Here, we suggest that while the pandemic was difficult to anticipate and

monitor, research indicates that certain psychological tools – such as career skills and

resilience – may render this career shock more manageable. The second lesson is that

the pandemic could have differential effects over time, as shown by research that has

shown the consequences of career shocks to vary between short-term and long-term

time horizons, and between life and career levels. The third lesson is that, while the

pandemic is obviously a negative shock to most people, it may lead to more positive

results in the future.

The outbreak of COVID-19 might have an overall positive impact on career

choice by strengthening students' belief and choice to become good doctors and may

decrease the choice regret and drop rates of the next generation of doctors. Special

attention should be paid to students with insufficient clinical experience. Good protection

for students, sharing outstanding stories regarding fighting the pandemic, and

innovations of needs-based curriculum could be helpful during this pandemic. Zhou et

al, (2020).

According to Mahmud et al. (2020), due to the extreme pandemic's novelty, little

research has been conducted on the relationship between coronavirus-related anxiety

and young adults' career decision making. They discovered that fear of COVID-19

influences career decisions due to its inherent depression issues. This is consistent with

other empirical findings indicating that young adults are more concerned about their
careers, and this fear has an impact on future career plans (Campagna & Curtis, 2007;

Mojgan et al., 2011). Furthermore, Isik (2012) discovered a significant inverse

relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and trait anxiety.

According to Roy et al. (2020). More than 80% of people over 18 have shown the

need for attention to their mental health as a result of the anxiety and stress

experienced during the pandemic. Forte et al. (2020) agree with this idea, stating that

the pandemic has caused, psychological discomfort, sleep disorders, and instability,

among others, in a large part of the population.

SYNTHESIS

The related literature and study have both the idea about the COVID-19

Pandemic affects the career choices of the students, whether negative or positive effect.

As stated by Aristovnik, (2020) they tried to provide systemic insights to the students'

satisfaction and understanding of various aspects of their lives during the pandemic.

Yet, they noticed that teaching staff provided the most critical assistance to students

during the pandemic. Similarly to Mahmud et al. (2020), where in the students have

develop anxiety during the pandemic and affecting their career decision making. This

show’s negative affections to the students, where the students have develop hard

decision making and had trouble about learning.

However, this study differs from the study of Roy et al. (2020). This present study

focuses and gain more information about the effects of this pandemic to those students

in choosing their career path while the study of Roy et al. (2020) entails more about the

mental health that give by this pandemic. Forte Et al. (2020) agree with this idea, stating
that the pandemic has caused stress, psychological discomfort, sleep disorders, and

instability, among others, in a large part of the population.

This study is unique to other studies stated above because this study focuses in

the Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Implication on Career Path of Grade 12 Students: A

Case Study.

Theoretical Framework

This presents the theoretical framework of the study that supported the main

idea about the COVID-19 Pandemic and it’s implication on the career path of students.

Social learning theory is a theory of learning process and social behavior which

proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. It

states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can

occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor

reproduction or direct reinforcement. Social learning theory, proposed by Albert

Bandura, emphasizes the importance of observing, modelling, and imitating the

behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Social learning theory considers

how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and

behavior.

In society, children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents

within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their peer group and

teachers at school. These models provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate,

e.g., masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social, etc. Children pay attention to some of

these people (models) and encode their behavior. At a later time they may imitate (i.e.,

copy) the behavior they have observed.

 Event Systems Theory (Morgeson, Mitchell, & Liu, 2015) supports the notion

of contextual and individual interactions. It argues that events are external, and that they

are at the intersection of an action with its context (Rousseau & Fried, 2001). The theory

also states that stronger events – characterized by novelty, criticality, and disruption –

are more likely to initiate change. In other words, the features of the context (i.e., the

career event) and the individual (i.e., decision making) together determine the outcomes

of a career shock.

The COVID-19 pandemic has overturned the lives of people worldwide, or in

terms of events systems theory (EST; Morgeson, et al., 2015) it has great strength that

is, it is an event that is novel, disruptive, and critical. Such events should have a major

impact on peoples' perceptions and behaviors (Morgeson, et al., 2015).

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was originally created by Lent’s team

during the mid-1990s. The theory advocated that individuals’ behaviors are not a result

and outcome of individual behaviors and selections. Rather, individuals’ career

development and selection are inter-influenced by financial considerations, internal and

external environmental factors, educational and career achievements, and personal

goals. Based on the theory, individuals’ career development can be impacted by single

or multiple factors.

The SCCT has the purpose to explore and investigate the career decision related

to academic and career choice chances, the performance, internal, and external factors

of individuals. The SCCT argued that the background factors of the individuals are

social networks, school connections, enrolled schools, peer relationships, financial

backgrounds, family situations, living communities, educational backgrounds, place of

origin, skin color, gender, and social situations. However, such behaviors can be

changed due to internal and external elements, such as time, age, environmental factor,

social situation, and even family influence. Individuals’ decisions and behaviors can be

changed and developed due to various situations and personal developments.

Social Event Systems
Learning Theory
Theory (Morgeson,
(Bandura, Mitchell, & Liu,
1997) 2015)

COVID-19
PANDEMIC
AND ITS
IMPLICATION
ON CAREER
PATH OF
GRADE 12
STUDENTS:
A CASE
STUDY

Social Cognitive
Career Theory
(SCCT)

Figure 1. Theoretical Framework

 Analytical Framework

This framework helps the researchers in crafting papers to help logical

thinking in a systematic manner. It aims to guide and facilitate sense making and

understanding. This analytical paradigm illustrates the steps used in conducting the

studies in the figure 1.

This process includes: Problem, methodology, familiarization, thematic

analysis, and interpretation.

This process of the study includes the formation of the statement of the

problems as well as the objectives that will thoroughly guide the researcher with their

study. Possible literatures may serve as a paradigm of this study that may strengthen

the results and and be guided by it.

Case study as methodology appears to be the research design utilized by the

researchers. To be followed by the research instrument with the use interview and

Focus Group Discussion (FGD), the research may be able to identify the problems and

challenges with the help of their chosen participants that will testify the statement.

Familiarization refers to the process during which the researcher becomes

familiarized with the transcripts of the data collected during the interview and focus

group transcript and gains an overview of the collected data. Since, each of the

participants answer may differ from one another upon the experiences they have had. In

other words, the researcher becomes immersed in the data by listening to audio tapes

or phone records by studying and reading the transcripts. Throughout this process the

researcher will become aware of the key ideas and recurrent themes and make a note

of them.
 Thematic analysis, after the help of familiarization the researcher can now

easily recognize the data. This includes making judgments about meaning, relevance

and importance of the themes and issues, it may also arise the connection of ideas.

Final stage, Interpretation, this involve the qualitative analysis that has to

provide explanation with regards to the themes and issue that emerged in the data.

Researchers provide the discussion of key findings, summary of the results, as well as

the conclusion given by the researchers.

Definition of Terms

To further understanding the researchers defined the following terminologies

conceptually and operationally.

Career. It is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life

and with opportunities for progress and be known by others of what you do or did. To

this study, it is the courses and occupation that the students wanted to take as they go

on a journey.

Pandemic. It is epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area,

crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people

infecting everyone who have contact with infected individual. To this study, pandemic is

a barrier to the career path of the students having a negative or positive affect to each

students.

Virus. An infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a

protein coat and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host. A type of disease
that is in the upper most kind that takes over it host and slowly eliminate the individual’s

body until it dies.

COVID-19. Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) an infectious virus that takes over

and target the respiratory system of an individual causing a severe disease to the

person and can lead to death if the person has low immunity or not properly take care

of.

Online Learning. It is a form of distance learning keeping the teacher and

student apart, it is through the use of internet, where in students uses sites, browse,

application and as well as technologies and gadgets that are needed by the student to

learn. Main purpose of this is to

Modular learning. a form of distance learning that uses Self-Learning Modules

(SLM) based on the most essential learning competencies (MELCS) provided by

DepEd. The modules include sections on motivation and assessment that serve as a

complete guide of both teachers' and students' desired competencies.

 PROBLEMS
1. Research Question

METHODOLOGY
1. Case Study
2. Interview and FGD

FAMILIARIZTION
1. Transcriptions

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
2. Themes

INTERPRETATION

Figure 1. Analytical Framework