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CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

One of the major changes in the education history of the Philippines is the

implementation of the K to 12 Program which aims to provide sufficient time for mastery

of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary

education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.1

This program introduces tracks or general programs to strengthen the system

education in the Philippines to be able to compete globally. This offered Academic,

Technical-Vocational Livelihood (with highly specialized subjects with TESDA

qualifications), Sports, and Arts and Design. There are specializations or strands to

choose from under each track, under Academic track, there are three main specializations

or strands to choose from: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM),

Humanities and Social Science Strand (HUMSS), Accounting, Business, and

Management (ABM), and General Academic Strand (GAS); Under the Technical-

Vocational Livelihood Track, these are the following strands to choose from: Agri-

Fishery Arts, Home Economics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT),

and Industrial Arts; The Arts and Design Track will provide skills training in the

following art forms: Theater, Music, Dance, Creative Writing, Visual Arts, and Media

Arts; And the Sports Track was designed for students who want to pursue a sports-

related career such as: Athletic Development, Fitness Training, Coaching, and

Officiating.2
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In line with this mission is the work readiness of students after graduation. One

main component often linked with work readiness discussions centers on the ability on

the students to be able to carry out responsibilities as citizen, family members, and

workers with the skills learned through the educational process. According to work

readiness skills written by Sherie Scott, the importance of workplace readiness skills is to

ensure workers to have the basic academic, critical thinking and personal skills necessary

to maintain employment. This academic skill pertains to reading, writing, basic math and

communication skills for optimal job performance.3

There are studies that employers were not satisfied with the skills and knowledge

needed to advance in the organization and pointed to deficiencies in their skills level. The

skills that graduates students were deficient in included global knowledge, self-direction,

writing, critical thinking and adaptability. Similar results were identified by ACNielson

Research Services in Australia where 1105 Australian employers identified creativity,

problem solving skills, oral business communication skills as well as interpersonal skills

as less satisfactory among graduates.4

In a recent study, 1,000 hiring managers were asked to rate the preparedness of

recent graduates for jobs they had applied for in their fields of study. According to Chegg

(2013) the results showed that 39% of hiring managers indicated that recent graduates

were ready for work. What is common with all these studies on employers is that they lay

the blame on educational systems (not students) as primarily responsible for students’

deficient workforce readiness.5

In conclusion, the researchers Casner-Lotto, Barrington & Wright, 2006; Gardner

& Liu, 1997; Hart, 2008 concluded that nowadays, more importance is being placed on

graduates possessing a range of generic skills and attributes required across all jobs. In

particular, organizations are increasingly interested in the extent to which graduate

applicants possess the skills and attributes that make them “prepared” or “ready” for

success in today’s rapidly changing work environment.6 7

In line with this, this study aims to identify the scale and the factors influencing

the work or employment readiness of Mary’s Child Science Oriented School students.

Also, possible interventions to enhance the employment readiness.

Mary’s Child Science Oriented School(MCSOS) is the setting of the study

because the school also supported the implementation of the K-12 program and this may

be a chance to have new possible intervention in terms of their employment readiness.

Also, Grade 11 and Grade 12 students are the target respondents because they are the

Senior High School graduating students and the pioneer of the implementation of K-12

Program.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine the employment readiness of Senior High

School(SHS) students in Mary’s Child Science Oriented School for the Academic Year

2017-2018.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following problems:

1. What is the scale of employment readiness of Senior High School Students in

Mary’s Child Science Oriented School?

2. What are the factors influencing the employment readiness?

3. What are the possible interventions to further enhance the employment readiness

of SHS students?

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused on employment readiness of Senior High School(SHS)

students in Mary’s Child Science Oriented School for the year 2017-2018. This study

tries to determine the scale of employment readiness of the SHS students, factors that

influence employment readiness and possible mediate to enhance employment readiness

of SHS students, since these are the first product of the K-12 program.

This study was limited only for the Senior High School students of Mary’s Child

Science Oriented School, mainly the Grade 11 and Grade 12 taking Accountancy,

Business Management (ABM) and Science, Technology, Engineering,

Mathematics(STEM) track.

The analysis considers the descriptive method through survey design. The mix

method of inquiry is applied. It utilizes assessment questionnaire-checklist and document

analysis.

Significance of the Study

The study aims to provide benefits to the following:

Students. They will have the awareness on how their condition may be revealed

in this study so that concerned authorities may be aware. It shows how school adapt the

Senior High School(SHS) for every student’s programs core practices to raise student
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aspiration and develop leadership, resilience, teamwork, and other essential skills for

success in Senior High and its workplace.

Teachers. This study teaches them to demonstrate creative way in teaching skills

by seeking professional growth and development that would enhance to further extent

their ability to allow all the important in coping with the new ay in educational setting.

Department of Education. This study is a manifestation of the extent of

employment readiness of Senior High School in private and public school. This

information may be used as a feedback of the compliance of the schools used in this

study, relative to such new curriculum.

School Administrators. This study may also reflect the same issues and concerns

they encounter along the employment readiness for SHS from which they may gather

ideas on how to synchronize the predicaments of the parents and their position as the

implementers of the K to 12 program.

Parents. They would be attentive of the performance level of their children and

be more receptive to their needs. This would help them in supporting the students’

potential. They will be given an opportunity to realize their role in guiding their children

in SHS. They could guide their children to choose if they want to continue the four years

course or to find a job after graduation.

Future Researchers. They can consider the study as an aid to their researches

and enhance their knowledge regarding the topic. This would also give them an idea for
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the students in SHS ready for an employment and will serve as a going out to other

options in learning.

Definition of Terms

The following words are defined conceptually and operationally with regards to

the purpose of the study.

K to 12. It is a term used in education and educational technology in the United

States, Canada, and possibly other countries, is a short form for the publicly-supported

school grades prior to college. These grades are kindergarten (K) and the 1st through the

12th grade (1-12).8

Work readiness. It is defined as being able, with little or no outside help, to find,

acquire, and keep an appropriate job as well as to be able to manage transitions to new

jobs as needed.9

Employability. It is defined as "the capability of getting and keeping satisfactory

work".10

Postsecondary learning. Other term is postsecondary education refers to those

whose highest level of educational attainment is an apprenticeship or trades certificate or

diploma.11

Demographic. It is defined as

the number and characteristics of people who live in a particular
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area or form a particular group, especially in relation to their age, how much money they

have and what they spend it on.12

Optimism. It is a form of positive thinking that includes the belief that you are

responsible for your own happiness and that more good things will continue to happen to

you in the future.13

Likert-type. It is like frequency scale, but this is used as fixed choice response

formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions.14

NOTES

1
Garcia, J., Feliciano, LM., Manalo, S., Custodio JE., et. Al. (2017). “Career

Aspirations of Stem Students of University of Batangas Towards Stem Careers” pp. iv

2
Department of Education. “Senior High School in the Philippines: An

Overview” Retrieved from http://www.courses.com.ph/senior-high-school-in-the-

philippines-an-overview/ Last accessed 11/23/2017 7:16 pm

3
Scott, S. (2017). About Workplace Readiness Skills. Retrieved from

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-readiness-skills-11072.html Last accessed

12/27/17 3:16 pm

4
ACNielsen Research Services (2000). Employer satisfaction with graduate

skills: Research report by Evaluations and Investigations Programme, Higher Education

Division. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

5
Caballero, C., & Walker, A. (2010). Work readiness in graduate recruitment

and selection: A review of current assessment methods. Journal of Teaching and

Learning for Graduate Employability, p. 13 – 25.

6
Casner-Lotto, J., Barrington, L. & Wright, M. (2006). Are they really ready to

work? Employers' perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants

to the 21st century U.S. workforce. (Research Report BED-06-Workforce). Washington

DC, USA: The Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate

Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resources Management.

7
Hart, P. D. (2008). How should colleges assess and improve student learning?

Employers' views on the accountability challenge, A survey of employers conducted on

behalf of: The Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington, DC:

Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc.

8
Anonymous (2005) "Kto12" Retrieved from

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/K-12 Last accessed 12/27/17 3:01 pm

9
Ward (2017) "What is Employment Readiness?" Retrieved from

http://www.employmentreadiness.info/node/3 Last accessed 12/27/17 3:22pm

10
University of Kent Careers and Employability Service (n.d) "Introduction to

Employability Skills" Retrieved from https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsintro.htm

Last accessed 12/27/27 3:27

11
Anonymous (2010) "Definition of postsecondary education" Retrieved from

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2010001/def/posteducation-educpost-eng.htm

Last accessed 12/27/17 4:04pm

12
Cambridge Dictionary (2017) "Definition of demographics" Retrieved from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/demographics Last accessed

12/27/17 12/27/17
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13
Yolanda Williams (n.d) "What Is Optimism? - Definition & Explanation"

Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-optimism-definition-lesson-

quiz.html Last accessed 12/27/17 4:21pm

14
McLeod, S.  (2008). Likert Scale. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html Last accessed 12/27/17 4:25 pm