A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY: FACTORS INFLUENCING CAREER CHOICE AMONG

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

A Research Proposal
Presented to
The Faculty of Senior High School Department
PHINMA-Cagayan de Oro College

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
APP 006 - Practical Research 2

By:

December 16, 2019

 Chapter I

THE PROBLEM

I. Background of the study

Deciding on which career to pursue is a vital process in the lives of Senior High School

students. It is in this period when they have to decide on what major to take in college. Choosing

the right path is the most essential and critical decision an individual has to make for it will affect

how they will live for the rest of their lives. Hence, one wrong decision can lead to job

mismatch. It is stated in the study of Kazi and Akhlaq (2017) that individuals who are a misfit in

their workplace tend to be less productive and efficient, and are, therefore, unable to achieve

their goals. According to Phillips (1986), the greatest barrier among students' career choice is the

lack of in-depth knowledge of the said career. It indicates that when choosing a certain course in

college, one must have a better understanding regarding the course for if not, it could become the

reason of misfit. Besides, knowledge is required to make well-founded career preferences. As for

the researchers, it is important for a Senior High School student to decide wholeheartedly the

course that they will take in college for it will determine the career that they will be having after

they graduate.

According to Cambridge advanced learner's dictionary (2005), career refers to job or

series of job that you do during your working life. Geciki (2002) defined career as the

occupational, commercial, or industrial activity that a person adopts during his educational life or

till death. Furthermore, Redman and Wilkinson (2001) stated that career is the application of a

person's cognition and capabilities, timely work expertise, and is a basis of developing and

improving business networks. Therefore, choosing a career means choosing a life job. When a
student chooses a career, this student must opt for the college course to take that is linked to the

career that he/she chooses.

According to Gaffner and Hazler (2002), between 20 and 60 percent of students are

uncertain with regards to future career choices. In choosing a college course linked to the career

that a student will have after graduating, there are several factors that this student has to consider.

Every person undertaking the procedure of choosing a college course for a career is influenced

by many factors, the context they live in, personal aptitudes and educational skills (Bandura,

Barbaranelli, Caprara, &Pastorelli, 2001). In order to guide students, there must be a better

understanding on the factors contributing to career related decisions.

According to the article authored by Woolfe (2018), gender differences influence career

decisions. Gender refers to the social roles, behavior, activities, and attributes that people

consider appropriate for men and women. People tend to categorize some particular careers as

"for men only" or "for women only". Men are expected to work as police and military officers

while women are known to have jobs like nurses and teachers. This goes to show that career

choice may be limited by gender biases. The viewed gender bias in career opportunities may

block students from choosing preferable course (Wesarat, Sharif, &Majid, 2016). Moreover,

perceived gender roles could affect career decision-making among individuals.

According to Ozen (2011), choices that people make related to their career can be

influenced by a social factor. Social factors are part of an individual's social bonds, their family,

peers, and other characteristics of the society. In the study conducted by Ausman et al. (2013) on

social factor influencing career choice in a medical school in the United Arab Emirates, results
revealed that among the factors influencing career choice, 38.8% of the 129 respondents view

family and social factor as having the strongest influence towards career decision-making.

In the study conducted by Abrahams et al. (2015), results revealed that financial factors

impact the career choices of students. Ahmed, Sharif, and Ahmad (2017), stated that individuals

facing financial constraints hamper their decision-making process of career selection.

Furthermore, the results of their study which was conducted on 721 students revealed that

predicted future benefits from the career including chances for higher future earnings and

promotions were factors that influence career choice amongst these students in South Africa.

Research studies show how students look for a career with high wages and therefore choose the

most relevant major in their undergraduate studies (Fizer, 2013). Azizzadeh et al (2003) studies

found that future job opportunities are considered in choosing a career. In addition, Kerka (2000)

claims that financial resources significantly interfere on an individuals' decision-making process

in career selection. Ushurhe (2014) indicated that limited finances available to students will

affect them negatively in their preferences in selecting a profession.

Fizer (2013) revealed that some students found themselves lacking the intellectual

abilities and skills required for a certain course. With that being the case, they want to ease their

lives by avoiding the involvement in fields that require extensive hard work. Agarwala (2008)

indicated that the expertise, competencies, and capabilities of students are considered in career

decision-making.

According to Edward and Quinter (2012), an individual's liking towards a particular field,

it's predilection to a certain job that is matched to its personality is an essential factor

contributing to a career path. In the process of making career choices, personality plays a major
role for it correlates to the productivity, fulfillment, and motivation of an individual. A mismatch

between personality and career can be the cause of dissatisfaction and would end up in stress

career failure. Rebecca et al. (2016) conducted a study on 399 students in Kenya where results

revealed that there is a relationship between personality and career choice. Humayon, Raza,

Khan, and Ansari (2018) stated that in choosing a career, personal interest should be considered

for it will help people do better in the fields that interest them, and people could get greater

satisfaction and happiness when working.

The Department of Education, through the Bureau of Education Assessment administer

the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) to all Grade 9 students in public and

private schools in the Philippines pursuant to the DepEd order (DO) No. 55 s. 2016 (Department

of Education, 2018). According to Ross (2019), NCAE measures the general scholastic

knowledge, vocational aptitude, occupational preferences and entrepreneurial skills of the

students. It helps students determine the course to take in college and what career they are best

suited for. With regards to this, the researchers want to know if the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students

consider their NCAE results in choosing the career to pursue.

The need to bring to light the factors influencing the career choice among the Grade 12

GAS 1-4 students of PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College (Puerto Campus) prompted the

researchers to conduct this study.

II. Research Questions

The study aims to determine the factors that influence career choice among Grade 12

GAS 1-4 students of PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College (Puerto Campus).

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1. Which among the factors (gender, social, financial, intellectual, personal, NCAE result)

has the most and the least significant influence to the career choice of the Grade 12 GAS

1-4 students?
2. What are the common career choices among the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students of PHINMA

Cagayan de Oro College (Puerto Campus)?

3. How many among the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students consider or are influenced by one

factor only or more than one factor in choosing the course to take in college?

III. Research Hypotheses

The following are the hypothetical answers for the research questions formulated:

1. The factor that has the most significant influence to the career choice of the Grade 12

GAS 1-4 students is the personal factor while the factor that has the least significant

influence to the career choice of the students is gender.

2. The common career choices of the students are the BS Criminology and the BS

Education.
3. Out of the 198 Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students, 25% of the population is influenced by one

factor only and 75% is influenced by more than one factor in choosing the course to

pursue in college.

IV. Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The subjects of the study are the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students of PHINMA Cagayan de

Oro College (Puerto Campus). The survey questionnaires will be handed out to the sample

population of Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students inside their respective classrooms. The main variables

are the factors namely gender, social, financial, intellectual,personal, and NCAE result
(Independent) to be measured using a Likert scale survey questionnaire and the career choice

(dependent).

The researchers have chosen the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 because this strand is diverse in

nature when it comes to career choice. Also, General Academic Strand is mainly designed for

students who are not yet certain of the course to take in college. However, in PHINMA Cagayan

de Oro College, the GAS students are being classified into 4. These are the GAS education,

criminology, information technology, and plain General Academic Strand. Despite of the

classification, there are still students who shift from one focus to another. Therefore, choosing

the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 as respondents of the study is the best option that the researchers decided

to pursue. To avoid biased results, the researchers will use the stratified random sampling method

to be able to gather enough data for the study. The researchers have found out that there will be a

possibility of causing inconvenience to other subjects. In order to avoid this, the researchers

identified the most convenient time to hand out the survey questionnaire which is during the

Student's Success Program (SSP) schedule.

V. Rationale of the study

This study can be beneficial for it is relevant and will serve as a guide for every

individual. This study will give benefits to the following:

Grade 12 GAS 1-4 Students. This study is very helpful for these students because they are very

distinct when it comes to the course to take in college and this study tackles about the factors that

they need to look at and consider. Furthermore, this is very beneficial for them because they will

be graduating and soon they will enter college so they must beforehand consider and weigh the

factors that will influence their career decision-making.

Advisers and Guidance Counselors.This study can be very beneficial for them for this will

enlighten and help them in guiding the students towards career decision-making. Furthermore,

they may also refer to this study to have a better understanding on the possible factors that will

influence the students that they are guiding and become a better guide for these individuals.

Future Researchers. This study will serve as a guide and a reference to the study that they will

be conducting that is in the same field or topic. Furthermore, they may also get ideas and

information from this study that is relevant to their current study.

VI. Definition of Terms

The following are the list of terminologies and their operational meaning.

1. Career choice- This refers to the course that the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students choose to

take when they enter college.

2. Gender- This refers to how Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students consider gender roles of a man

and a woman in choosing a course to pursue in college.

3. Social factor- These are the family, the peers, and any individual that has an impact or

influence to career decision-making of the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 student.

4. Financial/Economic Factors- This refers to the affordability of the course that the Grade

12 GAS 1-4 students want to take in college, the income of their parent, guardian, or

provider which indicates whether they can afford a particular course or not, and the

demand and the wage of a particular course that a student wants to attain in the future.
5. Intellectual capabilities/skills-This refers to the knowledge and skills that a Grade 12

GAS 1-4 student possess about a certain career. Furthermore, this refers to the required

knowledge and skill of the student in order to meet the standard of a particular career.
6. Personal factor-This refers to the preferences, the dream, and the interests of a Grade 12

GAS 1-4 student that pushes him/her to choose a particular course in college.
 7. NCAE result- This refers to the result of the National Career Assessment Examination

that a Grade 12 GAS 1-4 Student took back when they were in Grade 9 that may or may

not be considered by the student in choosing a course in college.

8. College Major- refers to the group of courses required by a college to receive a degree in

line with a particular career that a Grade 12 GAS 1-4 student chooses to pursue.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This section presents available literatures and studies related to the present study useful in
guiding the researchers along the course of completing the study.

I. Related Literature
 Career choice is driven by several factors. Among these factors are gender, social,

financial, intellectual capability/skill, personal, and NCAE result. The related literature in this

study are the discussion of facts and principles to which the factors influencing career choice is

related.

Gender

According to Whisby (2017), some students may have difficulty in career decision-

making because of the set of ideas the society dictates regarding gender in terms of the

appropriate jobs for man and woman. Males are perceived as aggressive, dominant, and

headstrong so they are expected to have jobs such as automotive technician, engineers, and the

like. Females are recognized as passive, submissive, caring, and nurturing so they are expected to

have jobs such as nurse, teacher, secretary, and cosmetologist. Women are often subject to

masculine stereotypes which make it even difficult for them to get hired. Due to this, women

became reluctant to pursue careers that are perceived as man’s job. In the article written

byPozniak (2016), it is stated there that only 9% of the engineering workforce is female,

according to the survey by the institution of Engineering and Technology. Also, ladies represent

only 3.8 percent of engineering and 1.7 percent of new construction skills apprenticeships, as per

government figures. As what Watson (2016) stated, people should tear down the outmoded

stereotype, misinformation, and ignorance. With that, more young woman as well as man would

recognize brilliant opportunities.

Social

In the article written by Lipscomb (2019), he stated that society and the manner in which

an individual is raised impacts his life decisions, including his decision of profession. Family,
educators, and media are considered as social factors that influences career choice. Family is the

most influential people in an individual’s life for they are the ones who first shape ideas

regarding life, values, and money. Since families are the ones that shapes, discipline, and guides

the emotional development of a student, he/she may feel obliged to carry on a family convention,

for example, turning into a lawyer and joining a whole informal community of family

companions and colleagues in the lawful world. However, Qualifax (2019) stated that parents

should be cautioned in imposing their own goals on to their children. A parent must know that

their role is only to guide the child’s career journey and must allow them to discover what they

want on their own. Otherwise, unrestricted parental control unto a child’s career decision-making

leads to negative outcomes. Teachers are the second most influential people in a student’s life.

They are the ones that counsel students on different lessons that drive them to pursue a career

based on the knowledge they acquired from them. Media also serves as a tool in shaping a

student’s perception. Media allows a student to explore to different social trends and career

demands which may make them interested in pursuing a particular career.

Financial

As stated byMcQuerrey (2019), financial needs likely influence the career choice of a

student. In pursuing a particular career, it is expected that there will be financial expenses that a

student must provide. With that, students may pursue a course that is affordable for them. Also,

the earning potential of a certain career can be considered as a factor that influences career

choice. A student may find one career more financially rewarding than that of other career, and

because of that, a student may choose to pursue the more financially rewarding one. In contrast,

Mckay (2019) states that making money is important, but its amount does not predict job

satisfaction. In other words, if a student chooses to pursue a career base on how financially
rewarding it is, sooner or later he will not enjoy the fruits of his labor. A student must balance

between making enough money and work that fulfill one self’s satisfaction.

Intellectual capability/skills

According to Batty (2013), intelligence matters in choosing a specific course to pursue. A

particular course requires student to have knowledge about it in order to succeed. Furthermore,

according to Rubio (2018) a student that possesses knowledge and skill about a certain career are

more likely to pursue a course that is linked to his skills and knowledge. For instance, a student

that knows how to fix a car may choose a course linked to it, such as automotive technician. This

goes to show that when students choose a career to pursue, they consider their intellectual

capability and skill to be able to apply it to their desired job in the future.

Personal

As stated byLovering (2019), having interest in a particular industry or type of work is

one of the factors that push a student in choosing a career. Personal interest includes the

ambition, passion, motivation, and personality of a student. A student may pursue a course that is

related to his interest. For instance, a student loves to deal with mathematical problems, therefore

he may pursue a course in college that deals with math such as engineering courses. In addition,

Vozza (2019) states that personality plays a major role in career decision-making of an

individual. If an individualknows his personality, it may help shape one’s future through

providing a range of capabilities. It could help a person navigate into right situations. For

example, if a person is a risk taker, then he could go into enterprising positions such as

entrepreneurship; while people who prefer orderliness might pursue a career in accounting.

NCAE result
 According toLlego (2019), National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) is an

aptitude test aimed towards giving information through test results for self-assessment, career

awareness, and career guidance for students. It aims to provide information that will help

students make wise career decision. It also provides an interest inventory that shows what

particular occupational field a student is inclined with. The result of the exam helps in solving

the problem of job-mismatch through directing students to occupational fields where they have

potential in being productive and successful.

II. Related Studies

Career decision-making can be influenced by several factors. Among these factors are

gender, social, financial, intellectual capability/skill, personal, and NCAE result. The related

studies in this paper are the similar studies to which the factors influencing career choice among

students is directly related.

Foreign

In the study conducted by Adams (2014) on the factors that influence career choice

whereby 223 respondents participated by completing the likert scale questionnaire, results

revealed that some of the proposed individual, situational, and environmental factors were

related to individuals’ career choice. The participants of the study indicated that parents, skills

and abilities, business opportunities and personal interest significantly influence their career

choice. Furthermore, participants identified benefits such as employment security, potential for

career growth and development, and opportunity to apply skills and abilities as factors that

influence career choice. The study emphasizes that making choices in career paths should be
addressed in a manner that allows individuals to be aware of the factors and its impact and

processes that will allow them to make more effective career choices.

A comparative analysis of factors influencing career choice among senior high school

students in Rivers State, Nigeria was conducted by Eremie (2015). In the study, simple random

sampling technique was adopted to select 400 senior high school students from five secondary

schools in Rivers State. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant influence

of prestige of profession on career choice of male and female senior high school students in

Nigeria. In addition, it revealed that gender has a significant influence on their career choice.

Moreover, it revealed that parents have high influence on both male and female senior high

school students in Nigeria. However, parental influence was higher among male rather than

female senior high school students in Nigeria.

The study of Kazi and Akhlaq (2017) on factors affecting career choice is also relevant to

this study. The study investigated the influence of the factors among 432 students from two

public sector universities in Lahore city. The data collection method that were used in this study

were through a questionnaire and in-depth interview. The results of the study revealed that in the

category of family influence and peer influence, father’s education showed a significant

influence on the career choice of the students. These results goes to show that fathers who had

professional degree exerts a major influence on student’s career choice. Thus, mothers give a lot

of inspiration and motivation in their children’s lives. It showed that parent’s educational

background serves as a determinant in their children’s career choice. It also revealed that

students get swayed by their peers and is impressed by media when it comes to choosing a

career. Moreover, it reveals that girls are more inclined to their peers, and their career choice is

dependent on them.
 In the factors influencing career choice among high school students in Midlands

Province, Zimbabwe which was conducted byMtemeri (2017), one thousand and ten students

participated in the study. In collecting data, a self-designed questionnaire was used. The survey

design was mainly quantitative in nature in this empirical study. The findings of the study

showed that family plays a significant role in influencing student’s career choice. The parental

education and careers, encouragement and advice are influential in student’s choice of careers.

The study also concluded that gender has no significant influence on the career choice of

students. Both male and female students were interested in the same careers. The study further

revealed that peers have a significant role in the career choice of students. The peer advice and

motivation were found important in the career choice of the students.

In the comparative study of Thai and Australian students on factors influencing career

decision-making which was conducted by Ghuangpeng (2011), the use of quantitative and

qualitative method were used to collect and analyze data. The findings of the study suggested

that students tend to choose a career based on their interest, however, environmental factors

namely career requirements and employment demand, either facilitate or limit their ability or

opportunity to achieve their desired career. Therefore, the career decision-making of students is

dependent on the environmental factors. The study also found that Australian and Thai students

perceived a match between themselves and jobs, their perception of skills required by the career,

and family obligations as an influential factor towards career decision-making.

Local

The study conducted byPascual (2014) on factors affecting students’ career preference

utilized descriptive assessment method to describe the preferred course of students and to
determine the factors affecting the course preference. The results of the study revealed that

students consider the availability of possible work in choosing a course in college. This result

was affected by the reason that nowadays graduates still find it difficult to find a job even after

finishing a course in college. In addition, peer influence is least considered by students in

choosing a course. This goes to show that students have independent decisions when it comes to

choosing a course in college, regardless of the peer factor.

In the study of Braza and Guillo (2015), they used a descriptive method and the main

source of data was through a researcher-made questionnaire. The respondents of the study were

189 students from private institutions in San Jose Batangas, which was selected through random

sampling method. The results of the study revealed that students tend to choose a career that is

best-suited to their personality. Also, one reason that students choose a career is that they are

aware of the available opportunity at their locality when they graduate. Furthermore, the study

also revealed that family income is significant to the career choice of the respondents.

The study of Pablo et al (2019) on factors affecting career choice of graduating students

among selected high schools in the four western towns in Tarlac wherein it involve 240 fourth

year students and used interview guides which serves as a data gathering instrument to gather

data for the study. The interview guide consists of data on the personal attributes of respondents

in terms of academic and socio-economic factors. The study also utilized Focus Group

Discussion (FGD) to gather relevant data for the study. The results of the study revealed that the

students were affected or influenced by the following factors; employability rate of the course

after finishing college, social influences, financial constraints or the affordability of the course,

and the intellectual requirement of a certain course.

 In the study conducted by Manapsal (2018) on the basis for career decision-making

program among Grade 11 General Academic Strand students, utilized total enumeration

sampling to come up with the number of respondents needed for the study and used a survey

questionnaire in gathering data pertinent to the study. The results of the study revealed that

students are affected by financial constraints. It showed that students depend on the affordability

in choosing a course to pursue in college inclined to a particular career. Furthermore, the results

revealed that peer pressure and parental influence served as a factor which contributes to

students’ career decision-making.

Ferrer and Dela Cruz (2017) conducted a study on correlation of stem students’

performance in the national career assessment examination results and academic subjects which

utilized the purposive sampling method which results to 206 out of 547 of grade 11 (38%)

selected samples. The researcher made use of simple mean to describe the average performance

of the students, pearson r product moment of correlation to determine the interconnection of the

students’ performance and grade levels, and the t-test to determine if the computed correlations

are significant or not, considering the 95% confidence level. The NCAE results showed the

students scholastic aptitudes. The results of the study found that there is a significant correlation

between the academic subjects and the NCAE results of the students. The study emphasized that

to properly assess the learner’s skills, abilities and readiness for academic courses and to make

wise career decisions, students should make use of the results of the aptitude test.

III. Synthesis of the Reviewed Studies and the Present Study

The related studies and the present study have similarities and differences. These

similarities refer to the studies that identified the same factor in career decision-making. The
differences are those factors which may be identified in the reviewed study that is not in the

present study, or otherwise. Furthermore, the uniqueness of the present from all the reviewed

studies will be discussed.

The present study and the reviewed studies all investigated factors which contributes to

career choice. All the reviewed studies excluding the study of Braza and Guillo (2015),Ferrer and

Dela Cruz (2017) and the present study identified social aspect as a factor which contributes to

career decision-making. The present study, the study of Adams (2014) and Pablo (2019)

identified intellectual capability/skills as a factor which influences the career choice of students.

Also, Adams (2014), Ghuangpeng (2011), Braza and Guillo (2015) and the present study go

together with the personality or personal interests as a factor which contributes to career

decision-making. Only Eremie (2015) go together with the present study in terms of gender as a

factor which contributes to career choice. The study of Braza and Guillo (2015), Pablo (2019),

Manapsal (2018) and the present study go together in terms of financial factor as an influence

towards career decision-making. Furthermore, the present study and the study of Ferrer and Dela

Cruz (2017) identified NCAE result as a contributor towards career choice.

The present study and the studies of Adam (2014), Eremie (2018), KaziandAkhlaq

(2017), Ghuangpeng(2011), Pascual (2014), Braza and Guillo (2015) and Pablo (2019) are

different because these reviewed studies delve on work environment/employment demand or

rate/available opportunities after finishing college on career choice which the present study did

not. The reviewed studies’ factors varies from one, two, or three only, however, the present study

combined all the factors excluding the work/employment considerations of the reviewed studies

into one to make more well-founded results.

 Among all the reviewed study, only the present study will go through six factors namely;

gender, social, financial, intellectual capability/skills, personal, and NCAE result. All these

factors were identified and studied by the researchers that could possibly influence the career

choice of students.

All the reviewed studies and the present study investigated factors influencing career

choice among students. However, the factors included and the number of factors being included

differs. Furthermore, only the present study considered and integrated the factors among the

reviewed studies into one to make more justifiable results which could contribute to career

choice among students.

Figure 1 indicates the summary of the foregoing factors in the present study and the reviewed study on

career choice among students.

FACTORS STUDIES

Gender Eremie (2015)

Social Adams (2014), Eremie (2015), Kazi and Akhlaq (2017), Mtemeri (2017),

Ghuangpeng (2011), Pascual (2014), Pablo (2019), Manapsal (2018)

Intellectual Adams (2017)

capability/skills
Pablo (2019)

Financial Braza and Guillo (2015), Pablo (2019), Manapsal (2018)

Personal Adams (2014), Ghuangpeng (2011), Braza and Guillo (2015)

NCAE Result Ferrer and Dela Cruz (2017)

Figure 1. Synthesis of the Reviewed Studies and the Present Study regarding Factors Influencing

Career Choice.
IV. Research Paradigm

Independent variables Dependent variable

Gender

Social

Financial

Career
Intellectual/skills

Personal

NCAE Result

Figure 2.The research paradigm showing the relationship of the variables in the study.

Figure 2 is the research paradigm of the present study showing the relationship of the variables

involved. The independent variables are the gender, social, financial, intellectual/skills, personal

and the NCAE result. The dependent variables are the career choice of the students. The

researchers conceptualizedthat the factors has an influence towards career choice of students.
 Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains the research design, the data collection method, the data gathering

instrument, the data gathering procedure and the statistical treatment of data.

I. Research Design

This study is mainly quantitative in nature. The study will utilize descriptive method of

research to be able to collect, interpret, and analyze data relevant to factors influencing career

choice among Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students in PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College Puerto Campus.
The study intends to gather quantifiable information which can be used to statistically analyze

the factors that influences the career decision-making of students. In this study, none of the

variables are influenced in any way. Furthermore, the nature of the variables has not undergone

any treatment or manipulation.

II. Data Collection Method

The method that will be used to gather data for this study is survey. There are two types

of survey, but the researchers identified questionnaire as a more appropriate one which can help

gather measurable data for the study. The questionnaire will contain close-ended questions in

which the respondents will select the best choice that will represent their answers. To be more

specific, a 5-point likert scale type of questionnaire will be utilized to be able to gather

quantifiable data needed for the study. The likert scale will be used to be able to measure the

respondents’ attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. Thus, this type of questionnaire attempts to

measure the degree of opinion of the respondents.

III. Research Instrument

The instrument that will be used to gather data is a survey questionnaire to determine

which among the factors has the most and the least significant influence to the career decision-

making of students and to know whether the students were affected by multiple factors or one

factor only. This questionnaire is a 5-point likert scale questionnaire to measure the extent to

which the respondents agree or disagree with a particular question or statement. The survey

questionnaire will contain questions relevant to each of the factors which respondents can choose

among the options that best supports their opinion. Since the likert scale questionnaire have
choices for the respondents to choose from, this survey questionnaire made use of close-ended

questions.

In addition, the survey questionnaire will also contain a question that is not based upon

likert-scale, but a semi-structured question, to be able to figure out the common career choice

among the respondents of the study. This question provided answers for the respondents to

choose from, however, if the desired career were not on the choices, they may be able to provide

the career that they have chosen by writing it down.

To be able to check the usability of the instrument that this study will make use of, the

researchers will be conducting a pilot study. The pilot study will help the researchers examine the

feasibility of the instrument that the researchers intends to use in a large scale study. The pilot

study will contribute in evaluating the duration, the cost, and any adverse events that will

possibly occur so that the researchers can improve prior to conducting a large scale study. The

researchers will be using an existing instrument, and these instruments can be found in the

related studies. It is best to use a pre-existing instrument, one that is tested and developed for

many times, because the checking ofvalidity that the related studies have been conducted on

those instrument can be applied to the present study. Since the questions of the related studies’

instrument match to what the present study intends to measure, the researcher decided to use the

pre-existing instrument. Furthermore, to check the reliability of the instrument, the researchers

will utilized the parallel-forms reliability. The researchers will use one set of question to be

divided into two equivalent sets, wherein both set contain questions that probes the same

construct. These two set of questions will be given to the same respondents but in different day

per set. With that, the reliability of the instrument that is divided but contains questions which

measures the same construct will be proven through observing if the results have the same mean.
 IV. Data Gathering Procedure

To be able to formally start the study, the researchers will ask permission from Mr.

Jehdlar C. Anaya, who is the administrator of PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College Puerto

Campus. The next step will be knowing the total population of the respondents of the study. To

know the total population of the Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students, the researchers will request

information from Ms. Crestal T. Panhay, who is the Senior High School Department Head of the

school. After getting the total population, the researchers will identify the sample size of the

Grade 12 GAS 1-4 students by using the stratified random sampling method with the use of

slovin’s formula of with N (198) as the total population and e as the 5% margin of

error. The locale of the study, Cagayan de Oro College Puerto Campus, is located in Zone 6,

Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental. In conducting the survey, the researchers will

obtain the 95% confidence level of the respondents of the study, who are the Grade 12 GAS 1-4

students. The confidence interval is used to describe how reliable the survey results are and is

also used to avoid any bias results. Ahead of the distribution of the survey questionnaires to the

respondents, the researchers will ask permission to the assigned teacher and/or assistant

facilitator to remain respectful and to avoid any disturbance. Lastly, prior to letting the

respondents answer the survey questionnaire, the researchers will give instructions and they will

be asked to answer the questionnaire genuinely and truthfully.

V. Statistical Treatment

To be able to present, analyze, and interpret the gathered data in a meaningful manner,

descriptive statistics will be used in this study. The descriptive statistics that will be used are the
mean, frequency, and percentage to describe the factors that influence career choice of the Grade

12 GAS 1-4 students. The researcher will make use of the mean to be able to determine which

among the factors have the highest and the least significant influence to the students’ career

choice. The mean is the summary of a large amount of data to one value. The frequency will be

utilized to obtain the associated number of times the data was repeated. Furthermore, the

percentage will be used to determine how much does each part of the data partake in the whole.

VI. References