University of the Philippines Los Baños

College of Arts and Sciences

The Effects of the Amount of Allowance on Educational

Motivation and Achievement of UPLB Freshmen

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In SOC 10 (General Principles of Sociology)

Submitted by:

ALEGRE, Zia Irra P.

ANDAL, Dinah Feye H.

BALIZA, john Louie A.

DACANAY, Janine Prelle A.

Submitted to:

Girlie Nora A. Abrigo

March 26, 2010

 INTRODUCTION

According to the Word Bank, education is collectively acknowledged as one of

the most fundamental and important building blocks for either human development or

poverty reduction. This opens milieu of opportunities for people to achieve their own

goals and advance, not only economically but socially as well, people are empowered to

contribute fully to the development of their communities, societies, and economies.

Education remains as one of the most efficient and powerful mechanism for reducing

poverty and inequality (World Bank, 2009).

Filipinos value education as an important right and it must be available to all,

because they view it as the primary opportunity for social and economic upliftment.

From the American colonization times, as with its heavy emphasis on public education,

Filipinos established the idea that in a democratic society an individual can advance

through getting good education. We can see that middle-class parents make big

sacrifices in order to send their sons and daughters to secondary and higher education

(Dolan, 1991).

Incentives are commonly used by individuals and organizations to

initiate change. Incentives are now being employed in education to keep students in

school. The use of incentives in education as a way to improve performance/motivation

or increase achievement is common across all levels of the educational spectrum.

Despite the fact that motivation has historically been a much discussed topic in

education, research into the theory of motivation and the practice of producing it is of
fairly recent vintage. Incentives may come in any form such as financial rewards, free

gadgets, food vouchers among others.

Since education is highly valued in the Philippine society and this study will try to

explore what are the factors that affect a student’s achievement level or drive. This

study will focus only on the varying amounts of monthly allowances of the students

which can be view as incentives, to give an insight if the amount of money has notable

effects on students drive to perform better and excel in his/her studies.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 The environment is a powerful tool for learning. Through the structure of the

surroundings, the quality of learning and behavior of individuals are influenced. The

environment is important in conditioning the development of an individual.

Environment is the aggregate of all the external conditions and

influences affecting the life and development of an organism

(Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary).

The transition from high school to college environment is said to be the most

fundamental shift on the life of a student. According to a point-by-point comparison

between high school and college by the study conducted by the University of Montana:

(1) on a high school setting, given allowances of students are devoted for special

purchases and school events while college students allocate their money either given to

them or personally earned, to meet basic necessities, (2) the guiding principle for

college students is that they are old enough to take responsibility of their actions, as

well as its consequences as compared to a high school student. The emancipation

from home is characterized by the emergence from parental supervision, self-security

and planning of one’s own decisions without parental control. Hence, college freshmen

now have the freedom to decide on their own including the very matters involving

money.

The said transition in a more complex tertiary setting will create more likely

changes on the many different aspects of an individual. Such changes are mostly

obvious to a college freshman since he is new to the environment. These changes

have the capacity to affect one’s academic performance. One of the several factors that
may affect one’s scholastic performance is the financial aspect. Several studies have

yielded evidence consistent with the aforementioned interpretation.

The Student Achievement and Retention (STAR) Project in Canada

(Angrist et al, 2009) reveal the effectiveness of various strategies in increasing student

achievement and retention. Said strategies include the use of financial incentives in

connection to the student’s target scholastic performance/achievement.

The STAR Project was designed to improve the academic performance among

college freshmen at a college in Canada. The study randomly assigned students to one

of the three treatment groups. The first group was offered an array of support services

such as tutorials to be offered by upper-class students. A second treatment group was

offered considerable cash awards in compensation for meeting a target GPA. The last

group was offered the combination of support services and cash awards.

The study showed that the use of support services was highest among women.

An immediate short-term effect of those in the combined group which receive incentives

and academic support had higher first year GPAs and though the program lasted only a

year that is when the random sample of students were only on their freshmen year, the

positive effect of the project continued for it still resulted to high GPAs of the subjects.

Another study (Baum and Hannah, 2002) provides an analysis of the linkages of

high school allowance and academic success in higher education. The latter indicate

that allowance is a significant determinant on the scholastic performance of senior high

school students.
 Furthermore, the study of economics of parenting, self esteem and academic

performance (Dariola and Wydick, 2006) revealed that the process of parenting

influence the sense of worth and motivation of children in their adult life. Such signals

may affect the achievement of children in areas such as academics. Children develop

an incentive to try harder, supposing that such effort put into a task will eventually reap

a high payoff. Dariola and Wydick’s study showed that children who were given an

allowance only for a completion of a specific task exhibit increased effort in college. In

contrast, children whose parents purchased them a car in high school display a lower

effort level as compared to those children given incentives incrementally. Small

rewards can have a large impact on the performance of the agent/student. (Suvorov

and Van de Ven, 2009) The research aims to bridge social psychology and economics

in order to evaluate one’s academic performance.

Social psychology examined the role of motivation on an individual’s inclination

towards success on a given task. (Henderlong and Lepper, 2002) Motivation can be

defined as the intensity and direction of effort. (McCullagh, 2005) Intensity refers to the

quantity of effort, while direction refers to what you are drawnto. Evidence suggests that

enhanced motivation promotes learning, performance, enjoyment, and persistence.

(Wilson, 2005) Basically, there are two forms of motivation, namely: intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation. (Define those two types of motivation)

In a revolutionary study on the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation,

(Deci, 1999) had participants play on an interesting task, called the “SOMA” puzzle.

Some participants were paid to play, some were intrinsically motivated via verbal
encouragement while others received nothing for partaking on the experiment. Results

found that participants who were paid money to play spent a significantly less amount of

time (100 seconds) than participants who were only given intrinsic motivation. This

study considered not only the tangible rewards and incentives being given to an

individual but as well as the stimulus provided by individuals surrounding the subject.

Economics has lately introduced new tools in investigating the effects of

incentives on an individual’s performance. A study conducted in Kenya (Kremer et al,

2004) in which girls from public schools who performed academically well were offered

merit scholarships which covered the cost of fees charged by said public schools. Their

families were also offered grants to cover the cost of school supplies. The program

conducted for two consecutive years, from 2001-2002 showed that it significantly

improved test scores of the selected sample. Moreover, it resulted to “salutary spillover

effects” since performance of those not included in the sample, meaning students who

did not actually qualify for the merit scholarship, also improved, as well as the school

attendance for both students and the faculty staff.

The said Kenyan research suggests that the most important input in the

education production function depends on the effort of the student himself, effort that

may be significantly enhanced by the promise of material rewards.

Another randomized field experiment (Leuven et al, 2003) analyzed the effect of

financial rewards on students’ achievement. A random sample of first year university

students were selected and were given financial rewards when able to meet all

academic standards agreed upon. Financial incentives turn out to have positive effects
on achievement of high-ability students, whereas it resulted to a negative impact on the

academic performance of low-ability students. After a period of three years, effects still

increased, resulting also to “dynamic spillovers”. The study revealed that external

rewards may also be detrimental for intrinsic motivation.

 METHODOLOGY

The respondents of this study came from University of the Philippines Los Baños

(UPLB) freshmen student population. The study made use of snowball sampling. This

method is done by identifying someone who meets the criteria for inclusion in the study.

The individual is then asked to recommend others who they may know who also meet

the criteria. Although this method would hardly lead to representative samples, the

study is focused on exemplarity rather that representability. But none the less, this

gives insight on what is prevailing attitudes among students regarding financial rewards

and their academic achievement. Thirty freshmen students represented the sample of

the study, they were divided into 15 males and 15 females for equal gender

representation.

The selection of freshmen students as the subject of the study is based from the

researcher’s assumption that said individuals are initially adjusting to the environment of

UPLB. Since they are now on a higher-level environment, freshmen would more likely

experience major changes on their consumption spending brought about by different

expenses based on several factors such as academics, basic needs, current living

arrangement and the like. In addition, freshmen are now expected to allocate their

given allowance independently since they are now regarded as grown-ups responsible

for their own actions. With the many adjustments being faced by freshmen students,

the group will focus on the financial aspect of the latter. In analyzing the financial

condition of the UPLB freshmen and its effect to the latter’s scholastic performance, the
group will use the survey method. Questionnaires will be disseminated to 30

purposively selected respondents.

The questionnaire contained 3 parts. For the first part, the respondents were

asked to answer the following: course, college and gender for the purpose of providing

information for the student profile. Their names were recorded in a separate sheet for

anonymity purposes. For the second part, numbers 1 to 6 seek to provide information

for the allocation and budgeting of allowance of the students. While for the third part,

numbers 7 to 10 seek to provide the information needed in the discussion of the

relationship of the varying amounts of monthly allowances to their academic

performance and achievements.

The survey method is selected since it is an efficient way in collecting only the

researchers’ desired and needed information from respondents since questions are

standardized and it is relatively easy to administer

The age of the respondents will normally range from the age of 15 to 17 years

old. These respondents may belong to any courses as long as they are a bona fide

UPLB freshman (either New Freshman or Old Freshman). Basically, UPLB was chosen

because of the degree of accessibility to respondents. The study was only limited to 30

respondents due to time constraint.

The questionnaire was made of the second week of March and the data

collection was made during the third week of March while the tabulation and analysis

were made during the latter part of March 2010. The descriptive method was used in

the analysis and interpretation of the data.

 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1. Average monthly allowance in relation to budgeting of UPLB Freshmen.

N=30
Variables (%)
Frequency

Average monthly allowance

Below P 1000 0 0
P1000- P2000 0 0
P2001- P3000 2 6.67
P3001- P4000 9 30
P4001- above 19 63.33

Whether their average monthly allowance is sufficient in meeting their

needs or not 27 90
Yes 3 10
No
(the ideal average monthly income is P5000 - P6000)

Whether it is hard to budget their allowance now that they are in

college
Yes 15 50
No 15 50

Reasons why it is hard to budget their allowance in college level

Budgeting while studying
Unexpected expenditures 1 3.33
Too many requirements and necessities 5 16.67
They spend money foolishly 2 6.67
First time to handle money 1 3.33
No answer 5 16.67
1 3.33
Reasons why it is not hard to budget their allowance now that they are
in college level
Easy
Spending money wisely 5 16.67
Budget suffices their needs and wants 3 10
Do not have the concept of budgeting 5 16.67
No answer 1 3.33
1 3.33

Whether they have journal or budget plan to keep track of their

spending
Yes 6 20
No 24 80
 The respondents’ average monthly allowance ranged from P2001 and above.

However, more than one-half have P4001 and above of their average monthly

allowance. The second largest interval was between P3001-P4000 while only 2 have

an average monthly allowance of P2001-P3000. In addition, none of the respondents

have an average monthly allowance of P2000 and below (Table 1). When the

respondents’ were asked if their average monthly is sufficient in meeting their needs, 27

out 30 (90 percent) said “Yes”. Those who said “No” are 3 out of 30 (10 percent) who

added that the ideal monthly allowance that will suffice their needs and wants should be

P5000-P6000. It so happened that 15 out of 30 (50 percent) of our respondents are

having difficulties in budgeting now that they are in college. In line with this, the other 50

percent are actually found it easy to handle the money.

The reasons why it is hard to budget their allowance now that they are in college

were varied, but the three most mentioned ones are: (1) unexpected expenditures which

include printing and photocopy of hand-outs, materials for creative projects and

reporting for about 16.67 percent; (2) first time to handle money since it is also their first

time to study away from home and away from their parents for also about 16.67

percent; and (3) too many requirements and necessities such as field trip and tickets for

film showing and computer rentals for about 6.67 percent (Table 1). On the other hand,

the most mentioned reasons of half of the respondents who found it easy to budget their

allowance are: (1) it is by nature easy because it only uses and applies the simplest way

of arithmetic operations, (2) their budget suffices their needs and wants, and (3) they

are spending money wisely. The respondents were also asked whether they have either
a journal or budget plan to keep track of their spending. 24 out of 30 (80 percent)

answered “No”—they don’t have it (Table 1).

Table 2. Amount of allowance in relation to educational motivation and academic

performance of the UPLB Freshmen.

N=30
Variables Frequency (%)

Comparison of consumption relative to when they were in

high school level
Spend more 25 83.33
Spend less 3 10
Same 2 6.67

Rate of academic performance

Excellent 0 0
Very Satisfactory 5 16.67
Satisfactory 24 80
Poor 1 3.33
Very Poor 0 0

Whether the amount of allowance have an affect on

study/academic performance
Yes 14 46.67
No 16 53.33
Multiple
Instance/s on how allowance affect/s the study/academic response
performances of a student positively and negatively
Mind is not focused when thinking of other matters 3
especially financial
Spending money for academic requirements rather 15
than anything (food, drinks, etc.)
Spending money for computer rentals (social 6
networking, gaming, etc.)
Spending money for gimmicks, going to the mall, 3
parties and the like
High allowance is a motivation to study 1
Many instances 2
No answer 3
 The respondents were asked different data about their academic performance in

relation to the allowance given to them. Most of the respondents (25 out of 30) spend

more in college compared when they were in high school. Three out of 30 spend less

and the remaining two out of 30 respondents have the same consumption in college

and in high school (Table 1). In line with this, the respondents were also asked to rate

their academic performance in college. Out of the 30 respondents, 24 (80 percent) say

that they have a satisfactory academic performance. Five (16.67 percent) respondents

say that they have a very satisfactory academic performance while there is only one

respondent who said that he has a poor academic performance. However, no one out of

the 30 respondents rates their academic performance in college either as excellent or

very poor (Table 2).

Sixteen out of 30 (53.33 percent) of the respondents said that the amount of

allowance they received does not affect their academic performance. While 14

respondents (46.67 percent) said that the amount of allowance somehow affects their

academic performance (Table 2). There are different instances on how the amount of

allowances affects the respondents’ academic performance in college. The three most

mentioned instances are: (1) spending money for academic requirements rather than

anything like consuming goods and services, (2) spending money for computer rentals

which includes social networking and online-gaming and (3) their mind is not focused

when thinking of other matters especially financial and spending money for gimmicks,

going to the mall and attending parties.

 Figure 1. Allocation of allowance on a monthly basis of UPLB Freshman.

Distributionof AllowanceExpenses
Cellphone Load
Transportation Clothes Gimmicks 5%
9% 3% 4%
Others
2%
Dorm/Apartement Academic
Rental Fees Requirements
12% 8%

Computers Rentals
7% Groceries
Food
12%
38%

The allocation of monthly allowance of UPLB Freshmen is illustrated in Figure 1.

Among the 30 respondents’ most of them said that their monthly allowances are

consumed to buy foods which have the highest percentage of 38 percent. Foods include

breakfast, lunch and dinner in different fast food chains and/or restaurants. Most of our

respondents are staying at the dormitories and/or apartments. That is why the second

one with the higher consumption is the payments to dormitories and apartment rentals

which covered 12 percent. Groceries with 11.5 percent are the third one with a high

consumption. The consumed it for them to have stock of goods in their dormitories in

such cases like disasters, laziness and emergencies. The rest of the percentage are

allocated to consumed for transportation (9 percent), academic requirements which

includes photocopy and printing of handouts (8 percent), computer rentals like social
networking and computer gaming (7 percent), cell phone load (5 percent), gimmicks like

attending parties and drinking session (4 percent), clothing (2.5 percent) and the

remaining two percent is for other stuffs like savings and church activities.
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