FACTORS THAT AFFECT COLLEGE

COURSE SELECTION OF SENIOR

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
PREPARED BY: CACHUELA AND DEOCAMPO
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
I. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Education is universally recognized as the answer to socio-economic problems of the world.
Nations and individuals look up to education to provide a cure for poverty, ignorance, drought,
excessive rainfall, mental deficiency, joblessness, bad government, poor communication system,
hunger, and inadequate shelter among other things. Thus, every nation of the world aspires toward
quality of life and social status through good decision-making in selecting career choices especially
for students who are about to pursue college.

On the contrary, good decision-making in course selection is not an easy task. Oftentimes,
students face a variety of constraints and a lot of factors must be taken into consideration when
choosing a course that fits their preferences and at the same time is suitable for their skills. Thus,
students, especially during their senior years, must incorporate critical thinking in choosing a
course that is befitting for them because college and even work environments in the future can
be difficult and stressful, especially if an inapt course or field of study is chosen.
In the stages of their secondary years, students experience transitioning from a collectively sheltered
environment of the primary school to a liberated and challenging life, loaded with responsibilities of
either tertiary education or employment. Then the question
arises; what are the factors that heavily affect the decision-making of students in course
selection?

The researchers suggest that a variety of factors such as personal preferences, parental influence, and
academic proficiency are most likely to affect the student’s decision in pursuing a certain course in college.
The researchers deduce that academic performance and excellence is indeed important factor that must
undergo further deliberation when selecting a course in college, which is a long-term commitment. Based
on our personal experiences and existing knowledge and observations, we strongly believe that assessing
ones’ academic skills and aptitude is a strong factor, not only in their course, major, or career, but their
future success as well. However, it does not necessarily apply to the whole population nor it is the
criterion for one to become successful. Going through many phases and changes, ambitions and goals
take many forms. They can either become practical and realistic or take the form of a passionate ambition
that can go beyond wishful thinking.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the case of high school students who are yet to choose their courses in college, critical
decision-making is challenging and may end up in them failing to make the right decisions. As a
result, wrong choices may lead to dissatisfaction and disapproval of influential people around them
and society as well.  Furthermore, it will only entail underperformance which becomes a derivation
of incompetence and inefficiency not only for themselves and the department they represent but
also for the economy as a whole. 
1. What are the factors that influence the decision of Senior High School students in choosing their college courses?

1.1 Do parents play an important role in the college course selection of their children?

1.2 Are students concerned about the practicality of their chosen course?

1.2.1 For instance, will a student hesitate to pursue their preferred course if it is too inconvenient or not reliable in today's
standards?

1.3 Are grades and assessments with regards to their proficiency in certain subjects, influential to their chosen college course?
HYPOTHESES

The researchers hypothesized that:

Ho1: In terms of the percentage of participants, there are considerable disparities

in the factors that influence course decision-making.
Ho2: A notable correlation existed between the factors that can influence course
decision-making in terms of the percentage of participants who choose to attend
college.
Ho3: Among the 3 factors that we have focused on, personal preference has the
most impact on the student's decision in choosing their college course.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Career
A career defines how one sees oneself in the context of one’s social environment, in terms of
one’s future plans, one’s past accomplishments or failures, and one’s present competencies
and attributes. In this study, the term “career” refers to any type of professional engagement
students pursue whether paid or unpaid.
2. Course
A course is a series of classes. These classes are all in one area of study. Therefore, when
choosing a major, you will take courses geared towards that major.
3. Academic Proficiency
This is the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects. Academic
Performance was used in this study to indicate an individual's achievement in a specific
subject, namely his or her grades in that field.
4. Personal Interests
 Means interests that can bring, or that may be perceived to bring, directly or indirectly,
benefits or disadvantages to the member as an individual, or to others whom the
member may want to benefit or disadvantage. Personal interest in this study refers to a
student's desire and or what he or she wants to pursue in terms of a career or course.

5. Parental Influence
It is defined as any opinion, attitude, or action (other than direct tutoring) that
somehow shapes or molds the child's reading attitudes. Parental influence, in our study,
refers to a parent's view or urge for their kid to follow a certain career or course.
6. College Course Decision-making
Refers to the critical state in which young individuals decide which path are they in.
College Course Decision Making, in our study, is a vital decision that senior high school
students must make when deciding what field or course to pursue in college
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The researchers conducted this study to contribute to developing and improving the quality of
career guidance and counseling that are given to high school students. This paper attempts to identify
the fundamental variable that influences senior high school students' career or course choices in relation
to various factors. Thus, the study findings may be useful and beneficial for students, teachers, and
parents.

The study was focused on the following key areas:

1. To figure out what factors have an impact on the decision-making process of Senior Highschool
Students in their course selection.
2. To assess the relative importance of each factor and determine which factor holds a greater influence.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Frank Parsons’ Trait and Factor Theory

   In order to determine the factors that affect the student’s course choice, the
researchers adopted Frank Parson’s Trait and Factor Theory. Parson states that
occupational decision-making occurs when people have achieved: an accurate
understanding of their individual traits(attitude, interest, personal abilities). Due to his
hypothesis on how individuals select their professions, he introduced the concept of
matching, in which it is possible to measure both individual talents and attributes required
in particular jobs and people can be matched to a job that is a decent fit.
The model above used the primary concept in Parson’s theory. The first concept is a
thorough knowledge of students with regards to their individual attributes, this
includes personal abilities, aptitudes, interests, and other distinctive traits that they
possess. The last two concepts on Parson’s theory are students' knowledge of jobs
and the labor market and the objective judgment of students about the
relationship between individual traits and the labor market. The researchers
however did not use the other two concepts because it was not the focus of the
study and they deduced that aside from the understanding of the labor market, job
trends, and demand in the economy, there are more factors that heavily impact a
students choice for their college course, in particular academic proficiency,
aptitudes, abilities, personal interests and influential people in their lives.
Roe’s Personality Theory

The researchers also used Roe’s personality theory which states that a person chooses their
career based on their interaction with their parents. Roe believed that the way a child interacts
with their parents would lead them to pursue either person-oriented or non-person-oriented
jobs. Person-oriented jobs have a high amount of interaction with other people. Non-person-
oriented jobs are more independent. Roe figured that childhood experiences either reinforce
or weaken high-order needs and thereby influence career choices and developments.
Two major concepts of Roe’s theory were utilized in this study. The first
concept is about the manner in which parents interact with the child and its
influence on their motivational intensity. The second concept is the child's
perception of his/her parents as their role model while associating their roles,
field of work, and behavior upon themselves as ideals. The researchers believe
that parental influence has a huge role in molding the decisions of their
children in relation to their course in college and future career paths.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Below are the following limitations that were anticipated in the study:

1. Since the study was only carried out exclusively at Integrated Laboratory School-Senior High
Department, the results may not be generalizable nor applicable to every student. 

2. The current study has a limited time span and sample size.

3. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, close physical contact is still strictly prohibited, and it is necessary to
maintain the social distancing policy to avoid a rapid increase in cases, the gathering of data and
information may be difficult. As a result, data and information will only be collected through the use of
online platforms or surveys.

4. Since our research is not prominent, finding information and references on the internet are
challenging.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The study was carried out in West Visayas State University- Integrated
Laboratory School, as it focuses exclusively on Grades 11-12 Senior Highschool
Students, the School year 2021-2022. The researchers incorporated certain
variables to determine the effect of the elements that affect the students'
decisions in their college courses. These variables include the student's
parental influence, personal interests, and academic proficiency that made the
student choose a certain college course.
CHAPTER II: REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
According to Castillo et. al (2010),” Decision-making is the logical way of setting one’s
mind to choose amidst the possibilities to satisfy man’s ease. This is true as stated that
good decision-making is an essential skill for career success generally, and effective
leadership particularly. It is true that for an individual to be successful, the person must
possess good decision-making”. The course that the student will be choosing can exert a
huge influence on the outcome of their lives. Thus, it is of the essence that high school
students must deliberate, before having a resolution in what course are they pursuing in
college. A review of the literature identified the academic proficiency and capacities,
parental influence, and personal interest of students as an element that impacts the
resolve of students in an academic field of study.
ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY
Ferrer and Dela Cruz (2017) revealed the significant correlations of the students’ performance in Science,
Mathematics and English which were found consistent from NCAE to Grades 10 and 11 is indicative of: (1)
a proper career assessment conducted that guide the learners in choosing the academic track where they
have better aptitude or potential; (2) a sensible screening criteria set in selecting students to be admitted
in the STEM track ; and (3) an evidence of quantified judgments on the learners’ academic achievements
per grade level as a product of the design of the spiral curriculum.
According to Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, and Pastorelli an individual’s environment, talents, skills,
and academic achievement exert an influence on career choice. Wiltgen (2021), also explains that
academic performance is how a student absorbs knowledge, through some kind of evaluation. Identically,
Moneva and Malbas (2019) also expounded that academic and academic-related factors include, ability
and intellect, which determine career success among students. However, to measure their diverse
abilities, this is subjective, given that their skills can be interpreted as excellent by one teacher and
terrible by another .
PERSONAL INTERESTS

Interest in the subject, guaranteed employment, and expected earnings after graduation are the most
influential factors for college major choice (Malgwi, Howe and Burnaby, 2005; Yazici and Yazici, 2010)
Ahmed, Sharif and Ahmad (2017) which revealed that interest in subject has strong and positive
relationship while ease in grades, financial outcomes, and future job opportunities had minor impact
on students’ decision for particular field and subject.
Students seek career that meets their interest at a particular time hence the career that they may have
wished to take when they were younger is not what he eventually do. According to Hewitt (2010),
interest has become the most important determinant factor and measures of occupational choices.
Being interested in a particular profession is very important in decision making. If a student is forced
into a career, he may exhibit low self-esteem and poor performance. Suutari (2003) reports that
several studies have indicated a positive relationship between interests and career choice.
PARENTAL INFLUENCE
Kaneez and Medha (2018) supported that parental influence have significant effect on the
career choice of their children. Al-Rfou (2013) explored that the parents have a significant
influence on the major selection, siblings and friends also consider important source to select
the major, while teachers and media are the least amongst the selected factors. Umar (2014)
showed that although parents have influence on the choice of career of their children so also
other factors such as peer group, employer and relatives. Identically, Dagang and de Mesa
(2017) identified the results which point to the strong influence of parents on their children
choice of tertiary school. It is deeply rooted in the consciousness of the Filipino people the
respect for elders, hence the strong influence of parents on children decision. In a Filipino
family children are financially dependent on their parents, hence their submission to their
parents decision, thus explaining the moderate influence of others such as the peers, friends
and relatives. Another factors were affordability of tuition, followed by scholarship
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

The study will be conducted in West Visayas State University- Integrated

Laboratory School. Senior High School Students consisting of 1 section of
Grades 11 and 12 that were enrolled for the academic year 2021-2022 will be
the respondents of this study.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
An online survey/questionnaire form will be utilized and serve as the main instrument in conducting
this study, which will consist of two sections: Section 1 will be the profile of the participants, and
Section 2 will be the survey/interview part.
1. Profile Questionnaire.
•The profile questionnaire will consist of the first section of the online form. It will cover the
participants’ background including name, year and section, sex, academic performance, parents
occupation, and the number of family members studying
2. Survey/Interview
•The second section would consist of the main factors that are given focus in this study, namely
Personal Interests, Academic Proficiency/Aptitude, and Parental Influence. The respondents will
then rate each factor on a scale of 1-10, with 1 as “not influenced” and 10 as “very much
influenced”. The last item in the second section will cover the preferred course/s and the career
that they would want to pursue.
PROCEDURES

Approval to distribute the online questionnaires and conduct the study will be secured from
the school administrators, director, and class adviser. Consent from the respondents will also be
formally requested. The researchers will then distribute them online survey forms and conduct the
study in an online setup. The study will be administered in the fourth quarter of the academic year.

The researchers will be including detailed instructions to orient the participants who will be
filling out the forms. In order to cater to further concerns, clarifications, and concerns from the
respondents, the researchers will be opening the form for at least 3 days. After gathering the
submissions, the data will then be collected, tallied, tabulated, and interpreted.
DATA ANALYSIS

For Section 1, which will be covering the profiling of the participants,

frequencies, and percentages will be used.
For Section 2, the weighted mean will be utilized with the given formula:
 WEIGHT MEAN RANGE DESCRIPTION

1 1.00 - 1.90 Equal Relative Influential

The second section comprises a
10-point Likert scale, with 1 for 2 1.91 - 2.80 Equally to Moderately
More Influential
the lowest 10 for the highest. The
3 2.81 - 3.70 Moderately
following illustrates the weight MoreInfluential
4 3.71 - 4.60 Moderately to Strongly
and the mean range of the Influential

degree of influence by each

5 4.61 - 5.50 StronglyInfluential
point:
6 5.51 - 6.40 Strongly to Very Strongly
More Influential

7 6.41 - 7.30 Very Strongly More

Graphs and Tables will be used to Influential
illustrate the summarized findings 8 7.31 - 8.20 Very Strongly to
Extremely More
and results from the online Influential
9 8.21 - 9.10 Extremely Influential
forms.
10 9.11 - 10.00 Most Influential
THANK YOU!