A SURVEY ON THE STUDENTS PREFERENCE

AMONG THE
K TO 12 TRACKS AND THEIR SCHOOL PREFERENCE
CHRISTOPHER BRYAN T. JACALAN
EMAN A. LACHICA
MAE ANGELIE C. PACALDO
ROLDAN L. PACTURAN
Abstract
This study aims to determine the preferred Senior High School Program tracks and
schools of the public high school students of Cagayan de Oro City. Specifically it seeks
to provide data on; the profile of the student-respondents in terms of age and gender;
respondents preferred SHS tracks, strands and schools. It also provides the factors
considered by the respondents in choosing the preferred tracks and schools.
The study employed the descriptive research design that deals both the quantitative and
qualitative method using survey and depth- interview techniques.
The findings show that most students preferred academic track. Most respondents chose
tracks in line with their field of interest. Mindanao University of Science and Technology
(MUST) is the most preferred school. In choosing a school, majority of the students put
emphasis on the standard of the school that offers the Senior High School track/strand.

Keywords: Senior High School, Track, Strand, Survey, Students

Introduction
A recent change in the Philippines educational system was implemented starting
in 2011. Prior to 2011, education in the Philippines had not been compulsory and had
only been offered for ten years as compared to the twelve for most other developed
countries. President Aquino signed the K-12 education into law in 2013, adding three
years to the countrys basic education curriculum. Change is never easy, especially when

it is about a big undertaking such as the implementation of the new K-12 curriculum in
the Philippines (DepEd, 2010).
Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was one
of only three countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had only 10 years in
basic education. This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are
competing in an increasingly global job market.
Improving the Philippine Education System through the K to 12 Education
Program, the Philippines is committed to achieving its Education for All (EFA) goals not
only for the development of each Filipino, but also for the overall social and economic
progress of the country.
The K to 12 Basic Education Program aims to produce Filipino graduates who are
holistically-developed with 21st century skills prepared for higher education, middlelevel skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. Having quality education as
a long- term solution to underemployment, malnutrition, and poverty (DepEd, 2010).
The Department of Education began to implement the new K-12 system of
education, requiring that all children attend school and including a new
academic curriculum. This implementation will be phased over several years as Filipino
children begin attending school on a mandatory basis. The new K-12 curriculum guide
requires all Filipino students to have one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary
schooling (grades 1 to 6), four years of junior high school (grades 7 to 10), and two years
of senior high school (grades 11 to 12).
In the Senior High School (Grade 11 & 12), the student chooses a track to pursue
from the three main tracks offered in the SHS Program, namely: Academic; TechnicalVocational-Livelihood; Sports and Arts and Design.
Relative to this, a survey will be conducted to draw out feedbacks from public
high school students of Cagayan de Oro City about their interests in Senior High School
Program. It will specifically seek what track they are most interested in, what factors they
will consider for their choice, and the school where they prefer to pursue the career tracks
they have chosen for Grades 11 & 12. One of the problems of the students is on the
choice of the track which is not offered in their school so they have to find another school
which offers the track of their choice.

METHODS
In order to identify the preferred Senior High School track and school, the
descriptive method of research will be used in this study. This type of research describes
what exists and may help to uncover new facts and meaning. The purpose of descriptive
research is to observe, describe and document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs

(Polit&Hungler, 1999). The researchers will collect data through survey and in-depth
interview.
The stratified random sampling will be used in the study. Stratified random
sampling is the process of selecting randomly, samples from different strata of the
population used in the study. This is used when the population of the inquiry has class
stratifications or groupings either horizontally or vertically. The population is grouped
according to their characteristics such as gender, school, economic status, age, etc.
(Calderon and Gonzales, 1993). The Grade 10 students are stratified according to their
school and gender. The sample size of the total population will be determined through
Slouvins formula, n = N / 1 + N e 2 at .05 level of significance. By proportion, the sample
is taken from every stratum based on school and gender. Actual respondents will be
drawn by lots.
For this study, the total population is 6181, 2851 are males and 3330
females. Using Slouvins formula, the sample size is 376. By proportion, there are 173
male respondents and 203 female respondents.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 2 Shows the Gender of the Respondents.
As shown in the table, 203 out of 376 (54%) are females and 46% or 173 out of
376 are males. The data show more females entered Grade 10 for the school year 20152016.
Table 3 Presents the Respondents Ages.
In Table 3, 15-year old and 16-year old have the largest percentage. Their
combined percentages are equal to 86.5, which makes the majority of the respondents.
Twenty-seven respondents(7.2%) are 17 years old. On the other side, thirteen students
(3.5%) are 18 years old; five (1.3%) aged 14; four or 1.1% aged 19 years old; and two
(0.5%) are 20 years old. The data imply that most of the respondents have the typical age
for a Grade 10 student.
Table 4 Discloses the Respondents Preferred Senior High School Track.
It can be gleaned that 242 (64.4%) respondents chose the academic track. Thus,
majority of them would really pursue their tertiary education. 97 of 376 (25.8%)
respondents opted for technical-vocational livelihood which means that there are really
some who would venture the field of work after graduating insenior high school. Arts and
design track yielded 6.9% and only 11 (2.9%) respondents chose the sports track.
During the in-depth interview, most of the respondents said they will pursue the
academic track. With this, it can be attributed that most of the respondents planned to
pursue tertiary education.
Table 5 Indicates the Factors that Respondents Consider in Choosing a Certain SHS
Track.

It shows that majority of the students or 72.9% chose the track or strand because it
is their field of interest. 25 or 6.6% considered the choice of their parents/guardian who
will support their studies as their basis in choosing the track/strand. Third into
consideration is the affordability with 6.4%. Fourth with 6.1% is its benefit of greater
opportunity to work abroad. Fifth is the assurance to be employed after finishing Senior
High School with 4.5%. Only 10 (2.7%) chose the track/strand based on their aptitude
and only 0.8% considered the peer influence. This goes to show that students picked and
chose whats best for them and they like best for themselves. It is also evident that, they
followed what their hearts desire is. This could mean that students value things best if
they are interested with it. More than that, the data imply that respondents parents do not
dictate their SHS track. Many of those interviewed chose a track because it is their field
of interest.
Table 6 Discloses the Respondents Preferred Senior High School Track.
It can be seen in the table that under the Academic Track, the Accounting,
Business and Management strand got the highest percentage with 28.2%. The second
preferred strand of the Students is the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics
(STEM) which yielded22.1%. The third highest with 10.9% is the General Academic
strand. Humanities and Social Sciences got 3.2%.
Under the Technical-Vocational Track, the most preferred strand which has the
highest percentage is cookery, (4.0%) The second most preferred strand is Electrical
Installation and Maintenance which comprises 3.5%.
11 (2.9%) respondents opted for sports strand. Another 2.9% preferred Computer
Hardware Servicing. This is followed by Bread and Pastry production with 2.7%.
Only 2 (0.5%) respondents chose the following strands: Food (Fish) Processing,
Organic Agriculture, Beauty/Nail Care, Housekeeping, Animation, Shielded Metal Arc
Welding and Aquaculture.
The very least preferred strands that have only 0.3% are the following: Fish or
Shrimp Grow out Operation, Hairdressing, Household Service, Travel Services, Technical
Drafting and Consumer Electronics Servicing.
This table reveals that majority of the respondents like accounting and business
courses. They would like to venture in the business and banking industries.
Table 7 Presents the Respondents Preferred Schools.
The top 10 most preferred schools are the following: 82 or 21.8% chose
Mindanao University of Science and Technology. Second is Cagayan de Oro College
(13.6%); third is Cagayan de Oro National High School (10.1%); fourth is Xavier
University with 7.4%; Bulua National High School ranks fifth with 6.4%, Capitol
University on the sixth rank with 6.1%; seventh is Regional Science High School (5.1%);
eight is Bugo National High School (3.2%); Lapasan NHS is in rank 9 with 2.9%; and
tenth is Liceo de Cagayan University with 2.7%.

The least preferred schools are AMA, Angeles Sisters NHS, Bayabas NHS,
Bonbon NHS, Bukidnon NHS, Canitoan NHS, CMU, Iponan NHS, NU, PCC, Puerto
NHS, Puntod NHS, Southern Philippines College, STI and UP with only 0.3%.
The finding implies that most of the respondents select schools known for its
excellent instruction and competent faculty. One of the respondents said that, he chose
MUST because of the academic standard of the school and the availability of the chosen
course.
Table 8 Presents the Respondents Bases for Their School Preference.
This table reveals that most of the respondents considered the standard of the
school that offers the Senior High School track or strand as the greatest factor in selecting
a school. It gained the highest percentage with 54.3%. The second factor they considered
is its the choice of their parents/guardian with 19.4%. 55 (14.6%) respondents
considered the distance of their residence to the school where they plan to enrol Senior
High School. The availability of the preferred track/strand in the chosen school was
considered by 43 (11.4%) respondents. Only 1(0.3%) respondent said that the track or
strand being offered is free in that school. The data imply that most of the respondents put
prime importance on the academic standard of the school. They chose schools that
produce well-trained and competent graduates.

CONCLUSION
Most of the respondents aged between 15 16 years old. 54% of them are females
and 46% are males. Majority of them chose academic track particularly in the
Accountancy, Business and Management strand. With regards to SHS track decisionmaking, many of them chose a specific track because it is his/her field of interest.
There are 82 or 21.8% who planned to enrol at Mindanao University of Science
and Technology. Most of the respondents consider the standard of the school as the
primary basis in choosing a school.
This study concludes that majority of the respondents will take college courses.
Most of them prefer track that suit their interest. They take a specific track/strand because
they believe they have the potential to pursue their career.
In choosing a school, majority of the respondents look into the standard of the
school which include the quality of the teaching personnel and the schools facilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the preceding findings and conclusions identified, the following
recommendations are given to:
1. DepEd, Division of Cagayan de Oro

Career counselling must be conducted in every school to ensure the effective

dissemination of relevant information of the Senior High School Program. We
recommend that the division office will require each school to have a career orientation
on the Senior High School Curriculum. Thus, the students will be able to choose the most
appropriate career for them to pursue.
Since majority of the students chose the track or strand based on their interest, it is
recommended that all Grade 10 students shall take a career assessment exam to gauge
their aptitude and ability and it should parallel to their field of interest.
To avoid labor mismatch, a career guidance seminar should be conducted for the
students for them to be guided and be enlightened as to determine what track or strand
suits them.
2. Parents and other Stakeholders
Schools and stakeholders should collaborate to provide real-life scenarios and
problem-solving situations from which students could benefit, both from practice and
experience to insure that they are acquiring the needed skills and work habits to succeed
later in the world of work for whatever track/strand they have chosen .
Parents, teachers, counsellors, must not follow the urge to preach. Since the
student is searching for pros and cons, it is the pros and cons that should be provided
when asked for advice. The student must come to a realization in his or her own way, in
order for it to be meaningful. Schools, industry, and family must provide an environment
that fosters the students own realization and act as mentors, facilitators, or helpers.

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