STI West Negros University Bacolod City

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

THE COLLEGE LIFE OF A WORKING STUDENT

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Field Methods in Psychology PSYFM 310

Submitted to:

Canete, Regine J.
Ormeo, James Alben D.

Submitted by:
Ms. Ahyleene Belleza Decena

December 20, 2022

I. Introduction
This study revolves around the thought of the hardship experienced by the students in

their respective college life, but not just any ordinary students. Being a student itself

is considerably hard already but how much for those students who need or want to

earn an income while doing so. Researchers would like to look and observe the

college life of a working student with the goal in mind of the following. First is to

understand and witness the hardship that a working student may encounter during his

or her college life. Secondly, taking into consideration the aforementioned answers, it

is the researchers’ goal to know if the participants like or dislike the situation in

which they must work and study at the same time. Lastly, researchers would also aim

to record if those mentioned trials and the fact that either they like or dislike the

situation hinders their academic performance of the participants, and if yes how it

hinders it so.

All over the world according to the World Economic Forum (2022) across the

countries that they have surveyed, an average of 39.6% of students were employed

while studying. The Netherlands ranked the highest with the average of 64%, and in

addition to that most of the students were found to work in jobs not related to their

field of study (Brixey-Williams,2015). Locally speaking based on the study

conducted in March of 2019 at University of Immaculate Conception in Davao City,

Currently, there are about 216,000 students balancing their studies and work in the

Philippines. The Commission on Higher Education's most recent data on the topic of

job and school Education (CHED) (CHED). 8% of the nation's college students are

working students in the Philippines (ABS-CBN News, 2010). In line with CHED
(2010), just half of the students who are working can complete their degrees. Some

people prioritize their studies while others struggle with their health or give up due to

a financial issue (Accion, 2019). A part-time job might give you experience and

training. while providing a wage, a measure of independence, and fulfillment.

Experts, however, concur that balance between work and life for Filipino working

students that work more than 15 to 20 hours a week experience worse academic

progress, which can result in complete dropout. Working long hours can also limit

possibilities to interact with others and learn new things, activities that encourage

mental and emotional growth (Burgus, 2020).

Researchers observed that there could be a possible increase in numbers of working

students specially after the pandemic in which some students were forced to look for

a job to help the family or an opportunity arises in which they have the chance to

work at home. As everything went to normal and as these students went back to

school most of them stayed at their respective job. Students who have important jobs

said the pandemic has tested their capacity to juggle education and their employment.

as an illustration, considering classes were relocated online, and a junior psychology

student who also worked as an office assistant for her uncle's law firm found it

difficult to balance her time between the two jobs. She claimed that because she had

to accommodate her studies around her employment hours, she struggled with time

management (Antipolo, 2021).

individual, how much more for a working student who needs to balance work, life

and study all at the same time. It seems that there is not enough study conducted that

gravitates around the hardships of a working student, especially after the pandemic

has hit the world. At the end of the study, researchers would like to give light to these

struggles and hardships that each working student encounters and somehow open

doors to further studies in the future that could help them deal with it.

II. Theoretical Framework

This study is based on a question that researchers have in mind: does working and

Studying at the same time affect the academic performance of a working student.

According to Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), on the one hand, students. Due to

the added skills and knowledge acquired through job, employment can be a supplement

to schooling. Numerous factors contribute to student work may result in such an

expansion of human capital. First off, working as a student allows you to pick up new

general and transferable skills like time management, communication, and work ethics

(Buscha, Maurel, Page, & Speckesser, 2012; Rothstein, 2007). Secondly, according to

this theory , having a chance to work and study at the same time allows students to apply

what they have learned. Thirdly, still based on Human Capital Theory students’

employment increases future orientedness, students are believed to be motivated to work

harder in school to achieve certain career goals. On the other hand, taking into

consideration the theory Zero-Sum Theory worked from Theory of the Allocation of
 Time (Becker,1965) it suggests that education and Employment at the same time is not

complementary. It is argued that student employment strongly limits students’ use of

time: time spent working crowds out time spent on activities that enhance academic

performance. As the reduced time spent on the latter activities subsequently worsens

academic performance (Arulampalam, Naylor, & Smith, 2012; Stinebrickner &

Stinebrickner, 2004; 2008). Other possible theory to associated can found in the field of

sociology, PrimaryOrientation Theory (Baert, Marx, Neyt, Van Belle, & Van Casteren, in

press; Bozick,2007; Warren, 2002) suggest that employed students has their primary

orientation towards work instead of their studies that often leads to worse academic

performance.

These are only a few established theories that revolve around the question of the effects

of working and studying at the same time to the college life of a student. This study aims

to work on this theory and see the application to a modern college life of a working

student, whether these theories still apply in our modern times

III. Description of Activities

The study deals with how the circumstance of working and studying at the same time affects the

school perfumes of a student. Would the situation motivate an individual to do good in school or

the vice versa in which the participant would prioritized more the job aspect and in consequence

hinders the performance of the student. Researchers would gather data from the two respondents

—a male and a female 4th college student—who were chosen based on their compatibility with

the inclusion criteria and were enrolled at a private school or the STI West WNU. A former
regular worker for at least six months at a BPO company to participate in our research study on

the College Life of a Working Student, participants must be a regular student with a final grade

of no less than 85 from your first to third year of college School Year 2022-2023 first semester.

A face-to-face individual interview with a researcher is used to collect data. A standardized

open-ended interview is used in this qualitative interview, so a series of questions and issues to

be discussed are prepared before the discussion. The interview was videotaped and later

transcribed. The researcher's nonjudgmental approach toward the participants is critical in

developing rapport between the researcher and the participants since it encourages some

participants. The researcher will transcribe and analyze the data received from the interview. The

participant would be given the same set of standardized open-ended questions, together with

possible follow up questions. The data that was gathered from these interviews would be then

analyzed guided by the theoretical framework of this study. Analysis interpretation will be done

carefully and in an accordingly manner. Through careful analysis it is the researcher’s goal to

arrive at results and conclusions. Researchers hope to learn more about how students prioritize

their time and work around the challenges of having a full-time job and taking on a full course

load by conducting this field study on working college students. Researchers also hope to learn

whether the respondents' performance in school will be impacted by their current circumstances.

Research Design
IV. Interview Protocol

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
Title of the Paper: The College Life of A Working Student

Time of Interview:

Date:

Place: School Classroom /

Interviewer:

Interviewee:

Position of Interview: Semi-structured interview

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings: Good Day! Thank you for meeting with me today Ms/Mr (Name of the

Participant). My name is_________your interviewer. How was your day?( wait for the

response)

I considered you to be an expert on this topic and want to know about your experiences

and thoughts regarding the questions I'm going to ask.

Reminder: I will be recording this interview with this device(Show the device). After

this interview is over, I will be making a transcript for what you said, but your name will

be replaced as well as those anyone you mention and any places you mention, so that

nothing you say can be traced back to you. I will be the only one that has access to this

data and will keep it confidential and safe and after the research the content will be
erased. If you want to stop participating in this interview or not respond to any specific

questions for any reason you may do so without my judgment.

Purpose of the Interview: The purpose of this interview is to gather data , observation

and experiences and understand The Life of a working student.

Introduction:

Good day once again, we are Canete, Regine J. and Ormeo, James Alben D. a 3rd year

Psychology Student at STI West Negros University, on this day (give the date). This will

be an interview for a study titled The College Life of A Working Student, the purpose of

this study is to better understand the life of a working student and see from their

perspectives what are the hardships they encounter and how this affects their academic

performance. We have provided you earlier a document of informed consent, if you have

read through the form and agree, please do sign. (Participants would sign the informed

consent and give it to the interviewee). Thank you so much for trusting us and rest

assured all that is mentioned in this form will be highly valued.

What will happen during the interview is that we will be asking you 5 main questions

each possibly having a follow up question. Feel free to answer in any way you want,

there are no right or wrong answers. We would just like to see your perspective as well as

working students. It will begin with more general questions and going more specific

about your life as a working student. For your preparedness as well, here are some of
the terminologies you will hear or use in this interview: Working student, work-study

balance, struggles, and academic performance.

Questions:

1.Tell us something about yourself Ms/Mr (Name of the participant)?

Possible follow up question/ Probing question:

· Where are you currently working?

· What is your work?

· How long have you been working?

2. Tell us about working while studying at the same time?

Possible follow up question/ Probing Question:

· Do you like being a working student?

· What is the reason why you are working and studying at the same time?

3. Tell us what are the struggles you encounter as a working student?

Possible follow up question/ Probing Question:

· Is your income from working enough for your college life?

· What do you usually use your income for?

4. Tell us how you manage your work- study balance?

Possible follow up question/ Probing Question:

· Do you still have time to mingle with your school friends?

5. Tell us how being a working student affects your academic Performance?

Possible follow up question/ Probing Question:

· Could you study more on your exams or quizzes?

· From 1-10, 10 being the highest in terms of doing good in school how

would you rate yourself?

· Is there a time that you would want to simply quit work and just focus on

your studies? And why

Closing Script:

Thank you for your participation in this interview (Acknowledge the participant).The

result will help us understand more about The Life of a Working Student. And we would

like to assure you that your answers will be kept confidential. Just in case would it be

okay to have a follow up interview if there is a need to clarify some points?

Do you have any questions before we end?

Thank you very much. This research will not be possible without you!
 V. Informed Consent

RESEARCH INFORMED CONSENT

Name of the Researcher(s): Canete Regine J. and Ormeo James Alben D.

Institution: STI West NEgros University

Title. The College Life of A Working Student

Introduction. You are invited to participate in a field study conducted by Canete Regine J. and

Ormeo James Alben D. because you fit the inclusion criteria as a participant of our study. Your

participation is completely voluntary. Please take time to read the information in this consent
form, and ask questions about anything you do not understand, before deciding whether to

participate. You may also decide to discuss your participation with your family or friends. If you

decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. You will be given a copy of this form

upon your request.

Purpose of the Research. This study aims to gather data , understand and observe the College

Life of A Working Student.

Study Procedure. If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be oriented on how to

proceed and be asked personal, concrete, and feeling questions through face-to-face interviews

which can take around 45 to 60 minutes.

Potential Risks and Discomfort. You won't be given misinformation about the genuine purpose

or nature of this study. However, the interview may have caused you some emotional or

psychological distress; as a result, after the study is over, a psychosocial intervention will be

carried out. The intervention will be carried out either in-person or online, depending on what is

more convenient, and it will center on talking about your connected thoughts and feelings during

the interview, any subjective symptoms of discomfort you have felt since the interview, and

coping mechanisms. Besides the psychological and emotional distress.

Potential Benefits to the Participants and/or Society. Despite the risks, you will not be

deceived or intentionally harmed in any way. On the other hand, you will profit from this study

because it will pave the way for you to recognize, discover, and understand the lived experiences
of your fellow guidance designates on their practice of ethical bracketing that you can also

implement in your practice. You will take an active role in enhancing guidance and counseling,

aiding fellow guidance designates and RGCs in their practice, overcoming the sense of

helplessness, improving personal practice, and exercising one’s autonomy. Furthermore, you will

be educated on the various coping techniques you can employ when experiencing emotional and

psychological discomfort from any situation.

Justice: Prior to starting a research project, subject selection is the first and most crucial

consideration. Inclusion criteria have been developed to guarantee that a fair subject selection

process has been followed. Purposive sampling is used to choose you without bias or

compulsion.Reimbursement or token will be given for the time you have spent acquiring data.

Privacy and Confidentiality. The researcher will assign a pseudonym for each participant

instead of your real name. You will be guaranteed that your identity and other essential

information, such as a signed consent form, will be kept private and not released without your

consent unless they constitute a threat to you or others or if the law requires it. Otherwise, the

researcher is the only one who has access to your files. In addition, your real names will not be

utilized if the research results are published in scientific publications and presented at scientific

conferences or conventions. Furthermore, the researcher will follow the proper data storage

protection and disposal protocol to ensure that there will be no unauthorized access to or use of

your information once this study is completed and the retention period has elapsed. The

documents holding your information will be burnt, or shredded and electronic files or media will

be destroyed or erased so that the data cannot be read or reconstructed.

significant that you understand that you are under no obligation to participate in this study if you

do not wish to. It will have no impact on your employment or job-related evaluations if you

choose not to participate. Furthermore, you may choose not to answer questions in the interview

if they are uncomfortable or inconvenient. You can also opt not to continue participating in this

study once it has begun if you choose that you no longer want to.

Researcher’s(s) Contact information. If you have inquiries about the research, please feel free

to contact the researcher through mobile phone number of any of the researchers

09121034091/09569512842 or through email at

[email protected]/[email protected] or if you need to see her, she

can be located at Purok Sawmill 1 Brgy. Bata Bacolod City /Lot 11 Blk 3 Hermelinda

Homes Brgy. Mansilingan Bacolod City

Given the information above, I confirm that the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives have

been explained to me. I have read and understood this consent form, and I understand that I am

free to withdraw from my involvement in the study any time I deem it to be necessary or to seek

clarifications for any unclear steps in the research process. My signature indicates my

willingness to participate in the study.

Name and Signature of the Date

Participant

TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE RESEARCHER:

I have explained to the participants the essential information about the research and answered all

his/her questions. I believe that he/she understands the information described in these documents

and free consent to participate.

Researcher

Name and Signature of the Date

Researcher