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LIFE OF WORKING STUDENTS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

A Thesis Presented to the

Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology
Sagay City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts in English

Chavez, Reymark L.
Treyes, Julien M.
Vergavera, Maria Jessa H.
May 2020
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ABSTRACT

This study sought to know and understand the opportunities and challenges of working
students. Likewise, the study looked into the factors that prompted students to work and how
they were affected by the job. The study used qualitative research specifically
phenomenological approach in gathering the data. Interviews were conducted to substantiate
the study. The informants were thirteen students who worked in off- campus and on- campus.
The results of the study revealed that a working student is a person who works so he can finish
his studies and help his parents. Basically, students worked for their tuition. Being a working
student was becoming the best version of themselves. It was about sacrifice and most
importantly, it was about dedication and proving to the world that poverty will never be a
hindrance to fulfilling one’s dreams. The “poverty is not a hindrance to education” theme was
the crucial element of the informants’ overwhelming experience. To conclude, there were some
advantages that working while studying had brought to the working students. Although they
encountered some difficulties, they seemed to manage both studying and working
simultaneously. Working at the same time studying had positive and negative effects on the
personal needs, self-esteem, and time management of working students. Indeed, colleges and
universities may recognize and respond to the prevalence, characteristics, and implications of
working for today’s undergraduates.

Keywords: opportunities, challenges, working students

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL SHEET ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
ABSTRACT iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF FIGURES vi

Chapter
1 INTRODUCTION
Statement of the Problem
Theoretical Framework
Conceptual Framework
Scope and Limitation of the Study
Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

3 METHODOLOGY
The Research Design
Participants of the Study
Sampling Procedure
Research Instrument
Validity
Reliability
Data Gathering Procedure
Data Analysis Procedure
Ethical Considerations
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4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF

DATA

5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of Findings
Conclusion
Recommendations

REFERENCES
APPENDICES
CURRICULUM VITAE
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

Education is a vital tool that is used in the contemporary

world to succeed. It is essential because it is used to mitigate

most of the challenges that we encounter in life. It plays a

pivotal role in shaping tomorrows’ leaders. We become a better

nation by acquiring the knowledge, values, and skills necessary

to be productive agents of a civilized society.

The significance of education is undeniable for every single

person. It goes without saying that education has a positive

impact on the quality of human life. All people need to study.

Only with the advent of education can people gain knowledge and

enlarge their view over the world. It is the level of education

that helps people earn respect and recognition. It is

indispensable part of life both personally and socially. Without

education, life would be disastrous and detrimental.

However, one of the main issues of education is the high

tuition fee especially in college. In the Philippines, the

increase in tuition places a heavy burden on young people

especially from economically disadvantaged families that is why

some students stop schooling or find a job to support their

tuition. Tuttle [1] stated that lower-income students, and to

some extent, middle-income students, who have some unmet

financial burdens need to work while studying. According to

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Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance [2], because

of insufficient financial resources, some students have been

deterred from enrolling and others who have enrolled have needed

to work. A study done by Jonathan M. Orszag et. al [3] entitled

“Learning and Earning: Working in College” states that since

1984, the fraction of college students aged 16 to 24 who also

work full- or part-time has increased from 49 to 57 percent. The

share of students working full-time while going to school full-

time as nearly doubled, rising from 5.6 percent in 1985 to 10.4

percent in 2000. According to latest data from the Commission on

Higher Education (CHED) [4], there are more than 200, 000

students in the country who are currently juggling school and

work. Working students today are mostly into food service,

entertainment and sales, apart from their usual stints as library

and research assistants. They need extra income because of the

financial crisis. Although, working won't cover all of a

student's education expenses but at least it can lighten the debt

burden and pay off in other ways.

Poverty is a major barrier for many students in the

Philippines to pursue higher education. While not all who didn’t

get the chance to finish tertiary education remained poor,

earning a degree will at least give everyone a better shot at

life. In 2010, according to CHED’s data, two out of five high

school graduates (or about 40%) did not proceed to college, due
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to the high cost of tertiary education. Despite costing just, a

fraction of private college and universities, State Universities

and Colleges (SUC) are still inaccessible to the underprivileged

population in the country. It’s a fact that education is the best

way out of poverty, but due to the inaccessibility of higher

education to the poorest population of the country, the poor gets

stuck in its never ending cycle. In his effort to bridge this gap

between the poor and education, President Rodrigo Duterte signed

“The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act” or

Republic Act 10931 on August 3, 2017. The law aims to waive

school fees to provide an opportunity for every Filipino to earn

a higher education and a degree in SUCs and Local Universities

and Colleges (LUC). As the free tertiary education law finally

sees the light of the day, the youth of today will have a chance

for a brighter future. This law that champion’s free tertiary

education may be unloading a huge burden off the students’ and

their parents’ pockets, but in turn, the government will be

stretching its budget further to finance it. This is indeed a

crucial government policy which could eventually liberate a huge

number of Filipinos from the chains of poverty. However, it is an

additional responsibility of the government to fund this law

moving forward. Its long-term benefits greatly outweigh the

short-term budgetary challenges, which is what the administration

is currently weaving together.

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Being a working student is not easy. It takes a lot to

manage and balance the demands of work while going to school at

the same time. In the article published by Angela Walkup [5]

entitled “The Down-and-Dirty Life of Working Students”, she

explained that being a working student is hard but that is the

real situation, it is a rough path. The experience is good and

bad but it will be beneficial in the near future. Making the

decision to work while attending school is one that should apply

only to a student who has developed superior time management

skills. You really have to manage your time wisely for you to be

able to balance school and work. Some working students tend to

become too busy with work and forget other responsibilities. The

student may be tired from work and may not do their best in

school and the student may be very busy with school and work and

may not have much time to spend with family and friends. An

article written by a Filipino blogger named Lost soul [6]

entitled “A student’s sacrifice”, she said being a working

student requires sacrifice to achieve your aspirations. You might

even sacrifice your family, boyfriend/girlfriend, friends, and

your social life. Sometimes you even forget to eat and take care

of yourself because of your stresses and depressions as a student

but you need to give up something to be successful someday.

Therefore, working student should have superior time management

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skills to be able to balance work, school and time with family

and friends. 

The researchers believe that this study provides an idea and

can be a source of information about the life of working

students. It is conducted to identify the opportunities and

challenges of working students. This attempts to know and

understand their sentiments and struggles on studying and working

at the same time. It also seeks out what made them decide to be a

working student and how it helps personally and financially.

Furthermore, the non-working students and faculty members will be

able to understand the situation of the working students and

somehow help them cope up with their studies.

Statement of the Problem

This study explored, described, and analyzed the life of

working students of Northern Negros State College of Science and

Technology.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What are the lived experiences of the working students?

2. What insights, meaning and inspiration for the working

students emerge from these experiences?

3. What plan of action can be proposed based on the major

findings of the study?

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Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of the study came from the works

of philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and Christian

teachings. The framework discussed the theories about a society,

organization and individuals that explain the phenomena of

injustices, prejudice, abuses and discrimination. The early work

of structural functionalism is credited to Auguste Comte. Comte

(1798 - 1857) was a French thinker known as the "father of

sociology." He developed a philosophy he called "Positivism," in

which he described human society as having developed through

three stages, the third of which he called the "positive" stage,

dominated by scientific thought. He was the first to apply the

scientific method to the social world, and coined the term

sociology to describe the scientific study of human society. It

was his hope that through such endeavors, an understanding of

human society could be achieved that would enable humankind to

progress to a higher level, in which the entire human race could

function together as one. He also coined the term "altruism,"

advocating that people should live for the sake of others (NWE,

2018).

Auguste Comte saw the science of society as essentially

similar to natural science. His positivist approach was based on

the principle of direct observation, which could be explained by

theoretical statements based on establishing causal, law-like

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generalizations. The task of sociology, according to Comte, was

to gain reliable knowledge of the social world in order to make

predictions about it, and, on the basis of those predictions, to

intervene and shape social life in progressive ways. Comte's

positivist philosophy was clearly inspired by what he saw as the

fabulous predictive power of the natural sciences. Comte's ideas

were extremely influential and his theory of the development of

the sciences was an inspiration to other thinkers working with

theories of evolutionary social development. Comte saw each

science as passing through three stages: the theological (or

religious), the metaphysical (or philosophical) and finally the

positive (or scientific), with each stage representing a form of

human mental development. He argued that the history of the

sciences demonstrated this pattern of movement, with social life

being the last area to move into the positive stage and sociology

the final discipline (Sociology Guide, 2018).

Comte drew parallels between the functioning interconnected

social body of society to the biological functions of living

organisms, such as how tissues, organs and cells work together.

Later, more modern theorists, such as Emile Durkheim, Talcott

Parsons, and Robert Burton built upon these early concepts to

emphasize the importance of social consensus and maintaining

social balance. They identified some aspects of social life is

dysfunctional, because they threatened to disrupt social

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stability. Several theorists can be credited with contributing to

structural role theory, such as George Mead, Robert Park, George

Stamell, Robert Merton and others. Structural role theory is a

micro-level theory that at its essence, outlines how individuals

interact with one another. According to this theory, every

individual is ascribed social status or position related to

characteristics that are either beyond an individual's control,

such as gender, ethnicity and national origin. Or achieved or

selected, such as education, occupation or marital status among

many others. Each status comes along with fairly rigid

expectations for how individuals who hold certain positions

should behave and a person can take on many roles. Each having

their own behavioral norms and expectations. A key feature of

this theory is that different social statuses or positions in

society confer different privileges and opportunities than other

positions (Mitchell, 2018; in Agustin, 2018).

Although Comte's work appeared to regard the human intellect

as the most important in developing the new world order, in his

later work, he embraced the concept of love as bringing the

solution to all human problems. While Comte's vision of a new

world society brought about through a somewhat mystical form of

scientific sociology has not come about, his work provided the

foundation for great advances in the understanding of how human

society functions (op. Cit.).

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Auguste Comte's ideas have influenced several major

sociologists like Sorokin, J.S Mill, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim

and several others. His laws of three stages have been more or

less rejected by the contemporary sociologists. But the essential

notion of stages of development in ideas and culture in a

modified form has been accepted. English philosopher and

sociologist Herbert Spencer (1820- 1903) drew on Comte's ideas

and argued that, just as the world of nature was subject to

biological evolution, so societies were subject to social

evolution. This took the form of structural differentiation

through which simple societies develop over time into more and

more complex forms with an increasingly diverse array of separate

social institutions; and functional adaptation the way that

societies accommodate themselves to their environment. Spencer

argued that it was through structural differentiation that

societies became functionally better adapted, and the industrial

societies of the nineteenth century were essentially

demonstrating a form of social evolution, emerging out of the

more static and hierarchical societies that preceded them.

Spencer also thought that the principle of 'survival of the

fittest' applied in social as well as biological evolution, and

he was not in favor of state intervention to support the

vulnerable or disadvantaged.
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Spencer tried to apply in his investigation of all fields of

knowledge his idea of social evolution. In comparing human

society with an organism that is essentially what organic analogy

means. He noted the differences between the biological organism

and society. He maintained that a society as an entity is

something more than and other than an organism even though human

organisms are members of it. It is a total system of elements of

social organization and their interdependent functions. It is a

super –organic entity an organizational entity over and above the

level of the organism. Spencer accepted the ideas that a society

was more than a collective nature for a number of individuals.

That is, it is not a collection of several individuals but is a

distinct entity. The whole is more than its parts. Thus a house

is more than a mere collection of bricks, wood and stone. It

involves a certain ordering of parts. He believed that unlike

biological organisms where the parts exist for the benefit of the

whole, in society it is the whole that exists for the benefit of

the parts. Spencer told people through sociology that human

beings should not interfere with the natural processes in

societies.

He had great faith in the innate instinct of freedom and

believed any interference with this instinct to be harmful. His

concept of society as a super –organic system had several

problems. He was unable to see culture as part of an integrated

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whole. His explanation regarding the social evolution of

societies from simple to compound and so on was also full of

errors. However, he formulated an integral theory of all reality.

His law of evolution is a cosmic law and his theory is a

philosophical theory rather than sociological. His ideas became

popular because they served the need of his time the desire for

unifying knowledge and the need to explain in a scientific manner

the laisses faire principle.

Functionalism holds that society is a complex system whose

various parts work together to produce stability and solidarity.

According to this approach, the discipline of sociology should

investigate the relationship of parts of society to each other

and to society as a whole. We can analyze the religious beliefs

and customs of a society, for example, by showing how they relate

to other institutions within it, for the different parts of a

society develop in close relation to one another.

To study the function of a social practice or institution is

to analyze the contribution which that practice, or institution,

makes to the continuation of society. Functionalists including

Comte and Durkheim have often used an organic analogy to compare

the operation of society to that of a living organism. They argue

that the parts of society work together, just as the various

parts of the human body do, for the benefit of society as a

whole. To study a bodily organ like the heart, we need to show

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how it relates to other parts of the body. By pumping blood

around the body, the heart plays a vital role in the continuation

of the life of the organism. Similarly, analyzing the function of

a social item means showing the part it plays in the continued

existence and health of a society. Functionalism emphasizes the

importance of moral consensus, in maintaining order and stability

in society. Moral consensus exists when most people in a society

share the same values. Functionalists regard order and balance as

the normal state of society this social equilibrium is grounded

in the existence of a moral consensus among the members of

society. For instance, Durkheim argued that religion reaffirms

people's adherence to core social values, thereby contributing to

the maintenance of social cohesion.

Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton drew extensively on

Durkheim, were two of its most prominent adherents. Merton's

version of functionalism has been particularly influential.

Merton distinguished between manifest and latent functions.

Manifest functions are those known to, and intended by, the

participants in a specific type of social activity. Latent

functions are consequences of that activity of which participants

are unaware. Merton also distinguished between functions and

dysfunctions. To look for the dysfunctional aspects of social

behavior means focusing on features of social life that

challenges the existing order of things (Sociology Guide, 2018).

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Some segments of the society however “function”

(dysfunctionally function) as if they are the only living

organisms on earth that are rightful to exist and enjoy life,

liberty and happiness which the Enlightened Americans adopted

from John Locke’s universal lex naturalis, a natural law that

according to him a universal right of humans to act free from

moral obligations and or God’s rules. Locke further argued that

such fundamental rights could not be surrendered in the social

contract or social equilibrium. Liberalism and neoliberalism

prejudge who must live and die, who must be freed and slaved, and

be happy and not. This is totally in contrast against Christian

teachings which ideally want people to be nonjudgmental, no

discriminating and must treat others as equals (Agustin, 2018).

Biblical perspective narrates this as:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what

judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what

measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why

beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but

considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?...There

is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,

for you all are one in Christ” (Matthew 7:1-3, Galatians

3:28).

John Locke’s theory produced the Darwinian principle of

survival of the fittest which Adam Smith categorised as fair

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competition. Poor people are better described by them as

“animals.” They have to compete against each other for anyone to

survive. They must fit to climb to the top of the societal

structure (ibid.).

Lex Naturalis (Law of Nature) by Tomas Hobbes (in Curtis,

1961) acknowledged, in his observation, the nature of man as

motivated by desire, appetite, self-interest, pleasure, etc.

which man does not know truly harm the people or does not know

whether will hurt others or not. They are good if for his part

and evil if for others‟ part.

Competition is a result of these. Men compete for riches, honor,

power and praise. Whosoever has the greater ability, subdue and

take advantage the less capable. For survival and self-

preservation, the weak, like the strong, proceeded the

competition or war. Continued rivalry, jealousy pointing eyes on

others created a condition where everyone is against each other.

Strong and weak, by Liberty (jus naturale) they had, they

were doing anything to preserve their own life in their own

judgment and opinion.

Lex naturalis, founded on reason, man is forbidden to do

what is destructive of his life and to others‟, or taketh away

the means the destroy the same. Lex (law) must take over one’s

jus (right) liberty. No one is rightful to do everything and

anything for his own good. Thus, men must transfer their rights
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to others for the common good. Such rights including the

production and access of goods (tangible for consumption and

social goods, e.g. public services, employment, health and

education, etc.) and criminal justice--- punishment of those who

offend others and deprived them of their rights actually

transferred to others for equitable distribution.

Karl Marx’s ideas for a society, although generated from a

structured society and historical experiences and evolution of

societies, is based on conflict of classes. Conflict theory may

be true during his time. Nowadays, there are no conflict between

and among classes unless the classes are cognizant, agitated and

directed. There are some segments who are submissive and tolerant

to their situations may they be lower or higher in strata. A

significant stock of workers and peasants are in harmony with

their capitalist employers, government-employers, and landlord-

capitalists while some of the so called bourgeoisie are offended

by proletariats, and some proletariats are offended by their

fellow proletariats, and the poor are oppressed by the poor who

climbed to power. Antonio Gramsci described them as people with

the “common sense” of the proletariat. In Gramsci’s time, 99% of

the proletariats were illiterate. Their common sense (uneducated

sense) is what common among the schooled (but not educated)

employers, government officials and employees nowadays (Agustin,

2018).
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Gordon All port is credited with developing contact theory

in the early 1950s, around the origin and role of prejudice in

intergroup relations. He purported that prejudice, a faulty

preconceived opinion of others not grounded in facts, could be

directed toward individuals or groups, and expressed in many

ways. Such as remarks to, or about an individual group.

Avoidance, exclusion, physical violence, and even genocide. All

port concluded that prejudice is learned socially, and can be

seen even amongst children on a playground. Who separate

themselves by race, and gender. And this prejudice is often a

result, of a lack of exposure to people different from one’s

self. And a lack of opportunity to see the humanity in different

types of people. All port posits that sharing a common space is

not sufficient to reduce prejudice and the resulting expressions

of it. But rather, people must be intentional at achieving

meaningful social contact and certain conditions must be present

for that contact to result in the reduction of prejudice. Often,

power differentials based on social group status around race

ethnicity or nativity, socio economic status including income,

education, and occupation. And even urban versus rural status

make it difficult for groups from different backgrounds to

interact regularly. This issue is compounded by the Principle of

Homophile, that people prefer to form social relationships,

interact and share space with people who look and act just like
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themselves. There's solid research on the benefits of diverse

school, work places, religious communities and other societal

institutions. But the work of applying contact theory, to

encourage individuals to be more accepting of others differences

is clearly ongoing (Mitchell, 2018).

All port’s Cardinal Traits explains the societal phenomena

of dysfunctional elements like persons in mainstream and

underworld, who work for money even though they are financially

sufficient with their family with higher SES. They are

characterised as persons driven by greed while persons who have

less and and are in need yet help other people characterized as

persons with the spirit of altruism. Jesus Christ and His

Apostles shared their few pieces of bread and fish to their

thousands of believers (Agustin, 2018).

The following are the Christian teachings to be considered

as theory to work within as well.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same

Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but

the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but

it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the

manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit

withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of

wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same

Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the

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gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working

of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of

spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the

interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one

and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as

he will.

Many Members, One Body (Many peoples, One Society)

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all

the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so

also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into

one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be

bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one

Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the

foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the

body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall

say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it

therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye,

where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where

were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every

one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if

they were all one member, where were the body? But now are

they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say

unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head

to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those

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members of the body, which seem to be feebler, are

necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to

be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant

honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant

comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath

tempered the body together, having given more abundant

honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no

schism in the body; but that the members should have the

same care one for another. And whether one member suffer,

all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured,

all the members rejoice with it. And God hath set some in

the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly

teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,

helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all

apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all

workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all

speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly

the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent

way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,

and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a

tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy,

and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though

I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and

have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my

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goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be

burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;

charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not

behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily

provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but

rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all

things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity

never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall

fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether

there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in

part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is

perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done

away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood

as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man,

I put away childish things. For now, we see through a

glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;

but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now

abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest

of these is charity.1 Corinthians 12 :4- 13:13)

Urie Brofenbrenner (1917) explained how people are

developed. The functional and dysfunctional individuals are

developed (stunted) through the process by their environment. His

Bio-ecological System Theory presented environmental factors in

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which people operate which are important because progress

(functioning levels) may be shaped by their interactions with the

specific environment in terms of ecological contexts, that is the

normal environments of people (schools, homes, daycares,

churches, workplaces, etc.). However, he was not pleased with the

direction of researches in the mid-1980s and that he felt there

were other realms of development that were overlooked

(Bronfenbrenner & Morris, P.A., 2006).

The new theory continued to go through a series of

transformations as he continuously analyzed different factors in

human development. Critical components of bio-ecological systems

theory did not emerge all at once. Instead, his ideas evolved and

adapted to the research and ideas of the times. For example, the

role of proximal processes, which is now recognized as a key

feature of bio-ecological systems theory, did not emerge until

the 1990s. The Process–Person–Context–Time Model (PPCT) has since

become the bedrock of the bio-ecological model. PPCT includes

four concepts. The interactions between the concepts form the

basis for the theory (Tudge, J.R.H.; Mokrova, I.; Hatfield, B.E.;

Karnik, R.B., 2009, Bronfenbrenner & Morris, P.A., 2006).

Individuals consisting all units of the society behave

according to their context, time--- elemental to their stages and

development, and the process. School for example is one of the

critical environmental factors that affect anyone’s progress. The

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ideologies in 16 some schools are bibles of the educators which

alienated the learners. Upon employment, laws are stepped on by

some politicians and workers of institutions. Mass media and

churches have their own contexts and have strong influence to

families---the most critical to anyone’s progress and resiliency.

Schooled persons or degree holders in government, school

administration and faculty, and in businesses are not necessarily

developed to their fullest potentials as they are miseducated and

if ever they are well educated yet dysfunctional, they would have

been stunted. Jack Shonkoff of Harvard Graduate School of

Education explained the long term consequences of stunting

including anti-social, prejudicial behaviors and tendencies, low

morality and poor values of persons with damaged and or aging

brain architecture (in Agustin, 2018).

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework of the study is illustrated in

diagrams, Figures 1 and 2. A society progresses if institutions,

communities, families and individuals function according to the

moral dictum (social balance) of the people who shared the same
Barbaric
visions and principles.
Animalistic Just
Regressive societies are made by dysfunctional Humane
Brutal units and

Individualistic
individuals of the society. Collective

Greedy Caring
Functional Institutions,
Apathetic Communities, Families and Altruistic
Individuals
Prejudicial

Discriminating
 27

SOCIETY

Dysfunctional Institutions,
Communities, Families and
Individuals

Figure 1

Barbaric
Functional Institutions,
Animalistic Communities, Families and
Just
Peers
Brutal Humane
Individualistic Collective
Individual Person
Greedy Caring
Apathetic Altruistic
Dysfunctional Institutions,
Prejudicial
Communities, Families and
Discriminating Peers

Figure 2
 28

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This phenomenological study dealt with exploring and

understanding the life of working students of Northern Negros

State College of Science and Technology who are still continuing

their studies despite their situation, in pursuit of acquiring

quality education.

Within NONESCOST, 17 participants have been chosen using a

purposeful sampling. However, two were disqualified because they

are a recipient of the CHED scholars, two backed out from the

interview after signing the consent. This limitation has caused

why only thirteen were able to participate in the study.

The thirteen participants qualified based on the criteria

set for the selection of participants in this study: a) they are

active in the service as students of NONESCOST b) they are

 29

working student c) they are willing to participate in the study

based on the signed consent.

Significance of the Study

The researcher believes that this study is beneficial

especially to the following:

Working Students. They will be given awareness from the

people around them regarding with their experiences and situation

as working students.

Parents or Guardians. Parents can consider the difficulties

of their children in college. They can give them support which is

part of their obligation.

People in the Society. They will be informed on the

situations of the working students. They will become more careful

with their approach by being aware to the fact that the

experiences of working students is harder than normal students.

Faculty and Staff. May be knowledgeable of their

experiences so that they can show support, encouragement and

cooperation in order to lessen their work pressures.

School Community. The result of this study will hopefully

widen the understanding of the school community on the feelings

and struggles of working student and maybe create support groups

tasked to provide listening ears to these working students,

giving them empathy, so that they would learn to cooperate with

 30

the person with financially unstable in their battle for

attaining success.

Future Researchers. This study and its results may encourage

future researchers to further do a study on the coping mechanism

of working students to understand their behavior in the field of

study, and will explore areas not covered in this study.

Definition of Terms

Lived Experiences. Conceptually, refers to a representation

of the experiences and choices of a given person. (Oxford

University Press.2011)

Operationally, refers to the personal experiences of the

minorities of the social context of social context.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/lived_experience)

Working Students. conceptually, a student who is permitted to

work while studying, and use the money earned to pay for their

study source. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/amp/english/work-

study-student)

Operationally, a person who has works at the same time to go

to school as a student.

(https://lookupgrade.com/en/blog/english-life-of-filipino-

teenagers-as-a-working-students/)
 31

Chapter 2

REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE

Some studies were conducted which find support to the

current study: Pascarella and Padgett (in Lederman 2009) sought

to examine the impact of work on pure academic performance and

looked at how students who put varying hours into on- and off-

campus worked fared on measures such as critical thinking, moral

reasoning, socially responsible leadership, and psychological

well-being. Results revealed that working more than 20 hours had

a positive effect on students’ psychological well-being, and

students who worked off campus also trended positively on

leadership skills. Work did not have much a negative effect on

cognitive-type outcomes like moral reasoning and critical

thinking, but work has a positive effect on things like

psychological well-being and leadership even when one is working

a ton of hours. Findings further showed that there were

significant differences in the impact on students who came into

 32

college with varying academic abilities, with much more harm done

to students who scored lower on college entrance exams. Working

on campus between 1-10 hours a week had a positive effect on

critical thinking for high-ability students but a strong negative

effect for low-ability students.

Kavarana, (2013) found that an increase in the number of

full-time students who are employed can be attributed to a desire

to minimize loans and debts. Students felt the need to limit

their borrowing and therefore earn more of the tuition. Another

benefit lies in the feeling of self-achievement and self-

satisfaction that is achieved through challenging oneself with

double the workload and two different life styles. It is all

about pushing the boundaries and proving to the world that one

can utilize their time in the best possible way and make the most

of it by working and studying at the same time. It also believed

that such an attitude reflects the abilities of hard work and

determination in people, which are qualities that every firm

generally looks for. Whether it is about financial

considerations or future employability prospects, Alli (2010)

stressed that the combination of working and studying together is

the key to success and is the pillar on which one’s future and

career depends. The evidence suggests that the effects of working

while in college vary by the type of job held: full-time versus

part-time, and on-campus versus off-campus.

 33

Negative effects typically arise because hours spent at work

take time away from studying - which may lead to lower grades and

less attractive post-college opportunities. Working may

contribute to students dropping out of college, or taking a

longer time to graduate. But student employment can also be a

positive experience. For example, some workers may gain

experience from their job that helps them in the classroom or in

the labor market after college. On-campus jobs may also build

connections to academic departments or the community at large,

which in turn may make students more likely to stay in school

(Orszag et al., 2017).

Watanabe (2015) determined the effects of college student

employment on academic achievement. Findings revealed that

college student employment did not affect academic achievement.

This finding is surprising considering the amount of research

that has found many positive and negative significant factors of

employment affecting academic achievement. The study did not

contribute to either the positive or negative relationship

between working and academic achievement. Furr and Elling (2014)

proved that students working between 30-39 hours per week and

those working 40+ hours per week felt that their employment had a

negative effect on their academic achievement. Others also found

that students working between 1 and 15 hours per week showed a

slightly higher GPA than those with a heavier workload.

 34

Pike in Lederman (2016) found that various amounts of on- and

off-campus work directly influenced students' self-reported

grades and indirectly affected their levels of engagement in

academic activities. Working more than 20 hours a week has a

negative impact on students' grades, whether the employment is on

campus or off. Students who work 20 hours or less, on campus and

off, report roughly similar grades as do students who do not work

at all. The indirect relationships between employment and grades,

as indicated by students' levels of engagement in "educationally

purposeful activities," are more complicated.

Students who work 20 hours or less a week on campus report

higher levels on all five levels of engagement used. Working 20

hours or less off campus strengthens students' performance on two

of the five engagement levels, while students who work 20 hours

or more, on campus or off, "did tend to be more engaged than

students who did not work at all.

Open Science Journal of Education 2015; 3(6): 38-42 40

When combining the direct and indirect impact on grades,

though, working more than 20 hours a week on campus or off

negatively affects students' academic performance, as the

significant time that students spend working ultimately drags

down their grades. But for students who worked less than 20 hours

a week, where they worked was an important differentiator, with

 35

those who worked on campus reporting a net positive gain in

grades, while those who worked off campus felt a significant

negative effect. Results implied that creating meaningful work

experiences for students on campus is a key element in an overall

strategy designed to foster student achievement and success.

Furr and Elling (2014) proposed that there are several

reasons why students applied for a part time job. Mostly,

financial crisis is one reason of some students to work part

time. Another reason is that students find being involved in an

employment positive impact to develop the skills related to

career. It is hands-on experience that cannot be gained in the

classroom alone. Whatever the reasons the students have in taking

part time job, there is a popular belief that student with part

time job do not tend to have higher academic achievement, because

their focus time of study has been divided with their working

time. Good academic performance can only be achieve by students

who only focus or spend more time on academic related activities.

However, many who work part time have limited participation in

extracurricular activities. (Hope, 2004).

According to Karavana(2013), students need to limit their

borrowing so they find a way to earn more for tuition. Another

benefit of part time working is the feeling of satisfaction and

achievements by challenging themselves to double their effort in

their work load and other lifestyles. They would push the
 36

boundaries and prove that time can be utilized by time

management. It is also believed that attitude reflects the

abilities of hard work and determination of workers.

Alli (2010) stated that working and studying at the same

time is the key to success and foundation on each student`s

future and career. Numerous amounts of on and off campus

employment directly influenced the grades and indirectly affected

the levels of engagement in academic activities. More than 20

hours of work a week gives negative impact of the grades of the

students in either on or off campus job. Students who work at

least 20 hours has similar result to ordinary students who do not

work at all. The indirect relationship between the employment and

grades are more complicated. Working 20 hours or less than a week

on the campus shows higher levels of the engagement. Working off

campus in 20 hours or less can strengthen the performance of the

students, while working 20 hours or more did tend to be more

engaged than students who did not work at all (Lederman, 2016).

Watanabe (2015) determined the effects of employment of the

students on academic performance. The findings of the study

revealed that it did not affect the academic performance of the

working students. The result is surprising since most related

research have found several positive and negative factors of

employment that affect the academic performance of the working

 37

students. The study did not contribute to the positive and

negative relationship between working and academic performance.

The question of what prompts students to take on a part-time

job while they are still at school has been investigated in a

number of previous research studies, and these have revealed

various overlapping reasons. The wish to earn money was the most

widely cited reason. A second and related reason was the desire

for independence - this could be seen as financial independence,

although it could also mean, from a student’s perspective,

increased personal autonomy, gained as a result of spending time

away from the normal constraints of family and school. A third

reason for working that was endorsed by students was the longer-

term one of acquiring experience that would help them in the

future, particularly in getting a job (Nolan & Hagen, 2011). The

effect of having a part-time job on a student’s school

performance could perhaps be the issue of most concern to

educators and to parents, if not to students themselves. Leaving

aside the extensive North American literature on this subject,

there have been only a few attempts by Australian researchers to

examine the question (Coventry et al; Dalziel; Murphy, 2011b;

Hobbs & Grant, 2013). It could be concluded from those studies

that most students did not believe their schoolwork was harmed by

their part-time jobs, while the views of teachers, though even

 38

less frequently canvassed than those of students, were more mixed

(Robinson,2010).

In investigating the effects of working on schooling, it is

appropriate to make a distinction between the perceptions of

those involved, and outcomes that may be more objectively

demonstrated or measured. Students from high, middle and low SES

working while studying is revealed to have the same experiences

when asked questions concerning the job-effects. They answered

“If I hadn’t been working I would have spent more time

studying...,” “I think I would have got better results if I

hadn’t been working...,” “It found it difficult to balance the

demands of work and study...,” I got behind in my studies

because of my job...,” and so on. The working-students were

also asked to indicate how happy they felt about different

aspects of their lives. In order to obtain a measure of their

subjective well-being, or quality of life, students were asked

to rate a number of dimensions of their life in response to a

question” with the categories on the five-point response scale

being „very happy‟, „happy‟, „fairly happy‟, „unhappy‟ and „not

applicable. The money they earned from working suffice their

school and learning materials and requirements, financial

independence and experience of working that could help them in

the future, are factors for being happy. They are very happy and
 39

happy on life-aspect-specifics vis-a-vis their earnings with

significant .05 level (ibid.).

In Scottish study, results also showed that being in debt

and part time working both have a very slight (though

significant), detrimental effect on both mental and physical

health of students (Carney, McColl & McNeish, 2015).

A Canadian study finds that working fewer than fifteen hours

per week while in school is not necessarily detrimental to

success in school. Our results indicate that the decision to drop

out is affected by the legal age to access the labor market, high

minimum wages, and low unemployment rates. Several policies that

aim at reducing the number of high school dropouts are identified

(Briot, Dagenais & Viennot, 2017).

 40

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, the techniques

chosen for gathering the data, the criteria used in selecting the

participants and how the data was treated and analyzed as well as

the ethical considerations in the conduct of the research study.

Research Design

The study employed descriptive qualitative type of research

that is Husserlian Phenomenology in particular. A descriptive

type of study that deferred all possibilities, related to the

cognizance of the informants to the situations, and was based on

the meaning of the individual’s experience. Relatedly

epoch/bracketing was applied in the study, consequently, this is

the initial phase in the phenomenological reduction procedure.

All the predetermined ideas about the phenomena were set aside or

were bracketed at hand to the greatest extent possible. In this

process, I was able to fully comprehend the lived experience of

the participants’ point of view. The study used purposive

sampling in identifying samples, a technique in which researcher

relies on own judgment when choosing members of population to

participate in the study.

 41

Participants of the Study

The research informants in the present study were thirteen

(13) selected working students of different schools. They are of

different age, year level and course. Table 1 shows the

demographic characteristics of the research informants.

Table 1: Profile of Participants

Year Level Type of
Respondent Sex Age Job
& Course School
State Student
I1 M 21 IV-BSIT
College Assistant
State Student
I2 M 20 BSE TLE
College Assistant
State Library
I3 M 18 II- BSBA
College Assistant
State Library
I4 F 19 III-BSMA
College Assistant
III-BSE State Library
I5 F 19
TLE College Assistant
III-BSED State Library
I6 M 20
MATH College Assistant
III- BA State Library
I7 F 19
English College Assistant
II-BA State
I8 F 21 Housemaid
English College
State Library
I9 F 22 I-BSIT
College Assistant
III-BA State Registrar
I10 F 23
English College Assistant
State
I11 M 23 BSE-TLE Houseboy
College
State
I12 F 17 III-BSBA Service Crew
College
Service
State
I13 M 19 III-BSIT Support
College
Officer
 42

Sampling Procedure

In qualitative studies, purposeful sampling provides an

opportunity for a researcher to identify information-rich cases

worthy of in depth analysis by selecting them using a particular

set of criteria to be determined by the researcher. Information-

rich cases are those from which one can learn a great deal of

issues with central importance to the purpose of the inquiry,

thus the term purposeful sampling. Purposive Sampling targets a

particular group of people. This is a non-random technique which

utilizes individuals who have identified the phenomenon and are

able to convey their conscious experiences about the phenomenon.

Moreover, purposive sampling is a form of non-probability

sampling in which decisions concerning the individuals to be

included in the sample are taken by the researcher, based upon a

variety of criteria which may include specialist knowledge of the

research issue, or capacity and willingness to participate in the

research according to Creswell (2007) and Oliver (2011) cited by

Ariston (2016).

Unique to a phenomenological study is the use of criterion

sampling (Creswell,2007). Purposeful sampling will allow us to

choose participants who filled up a variety of requirements, thus

the original criteria for participation in this study were: (1)

Students who are enrolled in NONESCOST, (2) male or female

 43

student at least ranging in the age from 21 to 30, (3) students

who work to suffice the financial stability or needs.

Thus, in this study, a network sampling or the snowball

technique was used.

Research Instrument

An interview guide was used to gather data about the life of

working students. The first part of the interview guide comprised

the biographic data of the participants such as name, age, sex,

year level, type of job and gross family income. The second part

of the guide dealt with experiences like coping mechanism,

academic performance, self-esteem and relationship towards family

and friends and personal insight.

Validity

Creswell (2007), Marañon (2011) as cited by Ariston (2016)

suggests that for validation of research instrument, firstly, the

researcher would use member checking wherein “the researcher

solicits the participants’ views of the credibility of findings.

It would involve taking data, synopsis, interpretation, and

conclusion so that the participants could judge on the accuracy

and the credibility of the account. This is one of the most

credible means to establish validity of the qualitative research

instruments. The use of rich, thick description would allow

 44

readers to make decisions regarding transferability because the

researcher as a writer would describe in details the participants

or setting under study. With a detailed description, the

researcher would enable the readers to transfer information to

other settings and to determine whether the findings could be

transferred because of shared characteristics.

The adviser of this research who is an expert in qualitative

research studies served as validator of the data collected by the

researcher.

Moreover, as in the case of many qualitative research, the

main emphasis and focus is placed on whether or not the findings

of the study represent an accurate account. The researcher

truthfully and honestly conducted the data gathering process of

this study as embodied in the principle of verity which addresses

consistency and authenticity of the research made. To determine

whether the findings were accurate from the participants’ point

of view, verification and proper analysis were used (Maxwell,

2013).

As such, the choice of an appropriate qualitative research

methodology coupled with a well-documented and in-depth face to

face interview established the comprehensive adherence to

validity in this study.

Reliability
 45

In this study, I employed multiple methods, such as,

observation, interview, and recording which I believe led to a

more reliable and diverse construction of realities. In order to

record and take note of all the verbal responses of the

interviewee during the interview process. I used an audio

recorder built in on my Android Phone and took field notes. I

personally transcribed the voice recording of the thirteen

interviews I conducted. A copy of each transcribed interview was

provided to each participant in order to validate their

viewpoints regarding the phenomenon being studied and for them to

know whether the transcription was honest and truthful.

Because the human mind has a tendency to forget fast, I used

field notes which are considered vital in qualitative research in

retaining gathered data (Lofland & Lofland,1999 as cited by

Groenewald,2004). Field notes are secondary data storage method

in qualitative research. Thus it is imperative that I needed to

be disciplined in recording, ensuring each interview, as

carefully as possible, but devoid of judgmental valuation. All

the important observations such as gestures, posture, physical

appearance even the terrain of the participant’s locale or those

that could not be captured using voice recording were noted down

on the field notes. Further, in a qualitative method, the extent

to which results are consistent over time and the accurate

representation of the total population under study is referred to

 46

as reliability. Thus, if the results of the study can be

replicated under a similar methodology, then the research

instrument is considered to be reliable (Golafshani,2003).

Data Gathering Procedure

I have employed two techniques to collect data for this

study; the individual interview and participant observation. I

followed these steps in data-gathering procedure in order to

arrive at a concise and accurate information:

First, I sent a written communication to the Department

Heads throughout NONESCOST, stating the prime purpose of the

study and the reason for data collection. After getting the

approval of the heads, I sought the assistance of my thesis

adviser in identifying the prospective participants for the study

using the criteria set. In a similar manner, a formal invitation

letter with an attached protocol and schedule of questions was

personally handed to prospective participants explaining why they

were chosen and as well as their potential role in general, to

ensure their voluntary participation in the research study and

are assured of guidelines with regard to confidentiality and

authenticity of the study. Upon signifying of a participant to

voluntarily participate, a letter of consent to be attested by a

witness is signed and then set the schedule interview date. This

was done so I could give each participant enough time to decide

 47

on the participation and for them to review the set of questions

given, however, in this process, I had a test of my patience with

the prospective participants since there were times where the

interview schedule was delayed or postponed.

Secondly, guided by a set of open-ended questionnaire, I

personally asked questions to the participants to ensure

consistency answers. Interviews were conducted both in English

and in the language the participant fully understands and was not

constrained by time limits so as to give the respondents an

opportunity to have an in-depth discussion of the phenomenon.

Thorough transcription was applied so that data would be verified

accurately and whether there was additional information to be

added or whether there was a need to omit some sensitive issues

that the respondents wanted to keep. All the non-verbal (gesture,

facial expression, other emotions) that were not captured by the

audio recorder were still included in the transcriptions placed

inside parentheses.

Thirdly, participants were provided a copy of full interview

transcript and were asked to verify its accuracy. They were given

the opportunity to clarify responses and elaborate on responses

that were unclear to me. The researcher also took notes as back-

up data in case of technical problems may occur.

One goal of this interaction was to understand and record

the participants’ own experiences whilst as working student. It

 48

was achieved by building good rapport and communication while not

being drawn to the emotion and subjectivity of the interview

situation. The positive yet objective interaction between

researcher and participants will provide a foundation of trust

and confidence that will facilitate a valid study.

Data Analysis Procedure

In analyzing the data of this study, the Collaizi’s Method

was used. The following steps represent Collaizi’s procedure in

conducting phenomenological data analysis that: (1) reading and

re-reading of each transcript is a must to generate a sensible

thought about the whole content; (2) for the individual

transcript, important testimonials that relates to the phenomenon

under the study should be culled; (3) meanings should be

generated from the valuable statements from the informants; (4)

the meanings are then segregated into different categories,

groups of themes and cluster themes; (5) the outcomes of the

study should be cohesively exhausted to the phenomenon under

study; (6) the basic structure of the phenomenon should be

termed; and then (7) justification of the findings of the study

should be pursued from the research informants to equate the

descriptive results with their experiences.

Ethical Consideration
 49

This research implemented a number of key phrase that

protected the rights of the participants

(www.socialresearchmethods.net).

Voluntary participation. The participants were not coerced

into participating in research. This is especially relevant where

researcher had previously relied on captive audiences for the

subjects.

Informed consent. Prospective research participants were

fully informed about the procedures and risks involved in

research and asked them to indicate their willingness to

participate by signing the consent.

Risk of Harm. Participants were not put in a situation where

they were at risk of harm as a result of their participation.

Harm can be defined as both physical and psychological. There are

two standards that are applied in order to help protect the

privacy of research participants.

Confidentiality. Participants were assured that identifying

information would not be made available to anyone who was not

directly involved in this study.

Anonymity. The standard which essentially means that the

participant will remain anonymous throughout the study was

strictly adhered to. Thus, the recordings have been destroyed or

crashed after they have been personally transcribed and presented

to the adviser. To protect the privacy of the participants, all

 50

identifiers were removed on the manuscript and the participants

were each assigned a pseudonym. The full transcripts of the

interviews were also destroyed after they were interpreted and

only the horizontalized data is included herewith.

Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The analysis of transcripts revealed seven major themes that

best describe the lived experiences of the informants. Each of

the seven major themes was labeled by a phrase deduced from the

formulated meanings of the responses of the informants. The seven

 51

themes, as derived from the present set of transcripts, are as

follows:

1. “Time is of the essence”

2. "To work is to serve”

3. “Enjoying the best of both worlds: work & study”

4. “Time management is the key”

5. “Sacrifice comes before success”

6. “Fulfillment justifies one’s effort”

7. “Poverty is not a hindrance to education”

Theme 1. “Time is of the essence”

Eight out of 13 participants reported that in the world of

working students “Time is of the essence” that is time is

important, and when time is involved in their everyday routine,

they have to make things done on time, accomplish things by all

means and not to wait for tomorrow as tomorrow may bring another

task to be completed. Some informants described the situation in

the following terms:

“My typical day at work is challenging, in a good way. I go

to work early and do the tasks that my Australian client

assigned me to do. Sometimes it can get a bit stressful but

all in a good day’s work. I have to make sure that I don’t

favor one thing too much then neglect the other, and I have to
 52

make sure I still have time to rest, chill, hang out with

friends, and talk with my family.” (I10)

“It depends on the schedule of my class, Monday and

Wednesday 9:00-10:30 am, and Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-

7:00pm.” (I6)

In addition, Informant 8 described her experience as a

housemaid doing household chores and other errands.

“My typical day at work is waking up early for me to

water the plants, clean the house and sometimes do

laundry. For breakfast, lunch and dinner I am also assigned

to cook dishes including the rice. Sometimes my boss will

tell me to go somewhere to do her errands.” (I8)

Theme 2: To work is to serve

This theme evolved out of the notion that working students

perform their duties and obligations at their best. When they are

asked to share their typical day at work, Informant 2 answered,

“As a READS scholar, we are required to render 6 hours

of duty in the office every day from Monday to Saturday.

Thus, making it 36 hours a week. In the Grade School

office, I entertain concerns coming from parents and serve

the grade school pupils as well. Also, we assist the

teachers in some of their concerns and request.” (I2)

 53

Another informant shared his experience about working as a

call center agent. He also mentioned the word service.

“Throughout the day I completed various administrative

duties as well, including answering phones, drafting

documents and emails, filing and greeting customers. I also

provided strong customer service and resolved customer

issues.” (I13)

Being a working student, you do many things as you render

service. You learn to juggle tons of responsibilities while

working. Students who work in the school as a student assistant

can attest to this.

“I usually start by routing memos to the faculty. I

also forward different documents to other offices if any.

If there are no memos or pending documents to be forwarded,

I serve as an office clerk. Before, I used to check or

monitor the teacher’s attendance and if there are teachers

who are absent, I do the substitution report and prepare

the things needed for their activity.” (I1)

“I process new books to be display in the library.

Accommodate pupils who are confused on where the books are

located. And also I let the pupils borrow books and

maintain cleanliness in the library.” (I3)

“I usually clean the shelves and tables, I do shelving

and I check the bags of the people who exit the library.
 54

And also I look for the thesis, dissertations and graduate

school books.” (I5)

“Handles charging and discharging of library

materials. Encoding important documents. Facilitating

students on how to borrow books and shelf reader.” (I9)

Theme 3: “Enjoying the best of both worlds: work & study”

This theme springs up as informants described their

situation wherein one can enjoy two different opportunities, to

work and to study. It is a situation where the working students

have all the advantages of two different things, without any

problem of the disadvantages. Four of the informants described

the advantages they enjoy as follows:

“One of my advantages is that, my parents need not to

pay for my tuition fee since I worked for it and I know for

sure that being a working student is a stepping stone to

the real workplace.” (I4)

“The advantages of a working student are receiving

gifts from my boss and help me financially most especially

when it comes to my school needs.” (I8)

“I have a salary of 1000 pesos every month. We can

access / use easily some technology in the office or

library.” (I6)
 55

“I can earn money, more friends and experiences and we

have free water and staff lounge.” (I7)

Struggles and challenges are affiliated in the life of a

working student; instead of taking it negatively they enjoy the

best of both struggles and challenges for it is an opportunity

given to them to be able to finish their studies.

“I don’t have to worry about asking someone else for

money since I earn it myself, and being a working student

made me responsible since I now feel the pain of working

hard just to be able to go to school unlike before when I

just took it for granted.” (I10)

“I feel happy because I gain more friends and work

experience though it is tiring sometimes.” (I7)

Theme 4: “Time management is the key”

One of the struggles and challenges a working student

encounters is time management. Time management is not a skill we

are usually taught growing up, so developing an organized

approach to your studies is an opportunity to learn how to work

more efficiently. This was illustrated by Informant 4 who said:

“I end up my day so stressed since I have to attend to

my duty at 6:30 AM and rendering 6 hours of day every day.

There are some chill days but most of the time not. There

are times that I cannot focus anymore with my classes since

 56

kapoy na kayo sa duty then until 9 PM pa mahuman akong

klasi. (There are times that I cannot focus anymore with my

classes since it is super tiring from work and yet my class

ends up to 9PM). (I4)

Other informants describe that time is a key consideration in

their situation as a working student:

“I have a lot of struggles and challenges as a working

student. To name a few, time management and less

opportunities to explore your future career would be my top

struggles or challenges. Time management is always a part

of my challenges since my workload and my studies tend to

overlap.” (I1)

“I have a hard time in managing my time especially

when our teachers give us many projects and I still need to

come to the library.” (I5)

“Sometimes I have time conflict. I cannot go around

with my friends because of work.” (I7)

“Managing my time is really important because this

guides me what to prioritize.” (I10)

Theme 5: “Sacrifice comes before success”

Most of the informants emphasized the importance of

sacrifice. As a working student, it cannot be avoided that there

 57

are things you have to give up in order to attend some

priorities. This idea is evident on the following:

“Sacrifice is one also, there are a lot of things that

you want to join but because you are a working student

sometimes you can’t achieve.” (I9)

“Balancing work and studies. Also making sacrifices

of not attending to classes because there is an important

matter to attend to in the office…” (I2)

“As a BSMA student, all my classes are in main and I

am assign here at the Basak Campus, usually, I have to give

up attending some of my special classes and sometimes I

have to attend my class late since the office needs my

presence and I just can’t live the tasks assigned to me

undone.” (I4)

In the experience of Informant 10, it shows that working is

not easy. You should know how to carry yourself. You must have

the endurance to handle everything since it is not a joke.

“For me, being a working student is to be able to

support yourself. Sacrifices must be made so you must

understand that being a working student is tough and should

not be taken lightly.” (I10)

However, working students encounter a lot of obstacles along

the way. It is quite daunting but nevertheless, these challenges

teach and help them attain their goals and succeed in life.
 58

“As a growing individual, I have so many challenges

and opportunities which I’ll be going to face. For me being

a working student is most likely a challenge and an

opportunity. Challenge in which it gives me the advantage

to be an independent person. Opportunity in which it is the

advantage itself that acts as a stairway towards my success

and dreams in life.” (I3)

“I have a lot of struggles and challenges as a working

student. To name a few, time management and less

opportunities to explore your future career would be my top

struggles or challenges. Time management is always a part

of my challenges since my workload and my studies tend to

overlap. Being less exposed to other opportunities is seen

as a challenge since I can’t hone my talent/skill in

programming compared to the regular students.” (I1)

“Being a working student means a risk-taker, a

courageous individual who is willing to sacrifice anything

just to pursue and finish a degree.” (I1)

Theme 6: “Fulfillment justifies one’s effort”

Overcoming the aforementioned difficulties somehow gives the

working students a sense of fulfillment. It makes them happy and

proud as it is reflected on their answers.

 59

“It is very fulfilling. Knowing that I have survived

for four and a half years. All the hard works and

sacrifices are worth it especially when you are about to

reach the finish line that is GRADUATION.” (I2)

“Being a working student is a gift from above. I am

very thankful because I feel like I challenge myself if I

can survive as a working student. I am very proud to myself

because after all the hardship it will pay off soon.” (I9)

“Being a working student is much fulfilling. I am

proud of being one…” (I4)

“...I am honored since not everyone can juggle tons of

responsibility at the same time. Another is that not

everyone is accepted as a working student, I feel proud

about that…” (I1)

When asked about the meaning of being a working student,

Informant 9 and 7 answered,

The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll

feel when you finally achieve it. (I9)

“For me being a working student is hard so I define it as

amazing.” (I7)

Theme 7: “Poverty is not a hindrance to education”

A final theme described in the present set of interviews

highlights the reasons behind why some student was opted into
 60

working while they were in the midst of their studies. As a

student poverty is a serious problem to deal with. If you are

poor, your future is not secured. You have to pay first to have a

security of your future, which is not present to the poor ones. 

Your education seems to be endangered when you are poor.  There

are instances that you have to be absent because your money is

not enough.  When a student is poor, his seems to be miserable.

He cannot pay the obliged school fees for his money is only

enough for personal necessities, but sometimes, it is not even

enough.  He cannot avail the required projects.  Even a single

peso is very important. Every single peso is his future.  This

was illustrated by two of the informants who opted to be a

working student.

“My parents can’t afford to send me in a university

but it is not a hindrance for me to give up in my dreams. So,

I decided to apply and be the so called working student.” (I2)

“Having financial problem, I myself don’t want to give

any problem to my parents. I want to help them in a way by

applying as a working student.” (I9)

For some student’s, poverty is not the greatest obstacle of

one’s education rather poverty was treated as a challenge.

“When I realized that my parents don’t have enough

money to send me to a good university, I decided to become a

working student. This decision was also finalized when I felt

 61

the need to prove to my family that I can be somehow

independent by relying less on them.” (I1)

“I decided to apply as a working student since my

parents cannot afford to send me to school and I still have a

younger sister. I know being a working student is a tough job

and I have to endure it to finish my studies in order to

succeed in life through hard work also.” (I4)

“I feel motivated because instead of paying tuition by

my parents, I’m the one who is working for it. I work for my

tuition; I’m practicing and moulding myself to be

independent.” (I3)

Chapter 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of the findings of this

qualitative research and the conclusions that were culled from

the findings. Then a set of recommendations were drawn up in

relation to the major findings and conclusions in this study.

Summary of Findings

This phenomenological study gives voice to what stands out of

a people in a given situation. The delineation shared by the

informants helps us understand what being “a working student” is

really like. And through such understanding we begin to

 62

experience the life of a working student, their challenges and

opportunities. After careful analyses of the transcripts, the

essences of the life of working students might be described as

follows:

A working student is a person who works so it can help

herself/himself to finish her/his studies and parents.

Literally, working students are students that work for

their tuition. You study and work at the same time in order

for you to be free from the expensive tuition of your

course. It’s about sacrifice and most importantly, it’s

about dedication and proving the world that poverty will

never be a hindrance to fulfilling your dreams.

A part-time job whilst at university or at studying can have

a positive impact on life. A survey conducted by Endsleigh [9]

indicated that eight out of ten (77%) students are now working

part-time to help fund their studies. More than half (57%) of

students who work part-time spend their additional income on

necessities such as accommodation, food and household bills.

Finding a part-time job is somehow an option for underprivileged

student to be able to pursue their dreams.

On the other hand, enclosed to the opportunities of being a

working student are the challenges. Studies show that most

students that are working and studying at the same time have many

struggles in their life. One of the greatest challenges in their

 63

student’s life and to succeeding their dreams was managing their

time effectively.

The theme “time is of the essence” and “time management is

the key” denotes a significant attribute that a working student

must have. A working student must be a person whose time is of

the essence. And that they are individuals whose time is the key

consideration in their situation. It is important for a working

student to possess a time management skill for they will be

juggling to the multitude involvement of both school work and

responsibilities as a working student. This was affirmed in the

article of Kelly [10] who said that if the student doesn’t use

their time wisely, it won't help them in attaining their goals.

Hence, it is important that every working student knows how to

make the most efficient use of his/her time in order to succeed.

The theme “to work is to serve” or “enjoying the best of

both worlds”, on the other hand denotes of being a working

student that entails a lot of things to do. One is bound to

perform his/her duties and obligations. However, it is not only

about doing what is expected from you. There are times students

work beyond their job descriptions. One informant shared that he

prepared activities for the class when the teacher who is absent

neglects to do so. He even handled classes since there was no

substitute teacher. Another informant attested that instead of

going to her class she can no longer do it because she needs to

 64

attend the office first. Sometimes you can’t help to extend the

number of hours you work. By doing so, the working students are

actually serving the organization. They help without expecting

somethng in return. They take responsible to every given

situation. They learn and grow with their experiences. This

somehow gives them an opportunity to enjoy the best of both

worlds. Aside from receiving compensation, they appreciate their

work because they get to know and interact with other people.

Their job teaches them to be responsible and independent.

According to Coventry et al, [11]; Munro [12]; Wilson et al [13],

students believed that a part-time job provided them with the

opportunity to develop a range of social and personal skills,

such as communication skills and self-confidence through working

and dealing with other people, and a sense of competence and

responsibility that came from turning up to work on time and

carrying out designated tasks. Frigillano [14] noted that working

students experienced varied feelings. They experienced happiness

because their needs were provided; they could help their parents

and family; they became responsible and independent; and they met

more friends; they learned a lot of things, they could earn extra

money.

With regards to “poverty is not a hindrance to education”,

this denotes that everybody has the right to education. It does

not matter much whether you are poor or rich as long as you have
 65

the persistence to learn and the desire to achieve your goals in

life. Being financially incapacitated is not an excuse but a

challenge for all those who want to pursue their studies. To be a

working student then is a means to resolve this dilemma. The

informants in the study explained that their parents cannot

afford to send them in a university that is why they decided to

work. These findings are supported by some research literature

where the most cited reason that prompts students to take a job

while they are still at school is the wish to earn money. In the

study of Frigillano [14] who stressed that financial problem is

the main reason why students applied to work; they wanted

additional allowance to finance their needs especially their

projects in school. Being working students was an opportunity for

them to finish their studies.

According to Trombitas [15], both students enrolled and ones

who have recently graduated, are under high levels of stress. A

number of factors contribute to student stress, but very

prominent are those related to student finances. In an article

entitled “Working Their Way Through College: Student Employment

and Its Impact on the College Experience” [16], most independent

students work to support themselves and their families before

enrolling and continue to work once they arrive on campus.

All informants narrated both positive and negative

experiences of being a working student. This affirms Lederman

 66

[17] who stated that working while studying could have positive

effects on one thing and negative on another, and that it would

affect different kinds of students differently. The seven themes

capture informant experiences. But the “Poverty is not a

hindrance to education” theme was the crucial element of our

informants’ overwhelming experience. It was voiced out clearly

that the meaning of being a working student is an opportunity

that is sacrificial. Sacrificial in the sense that finding time

to socialize will be much more difficult for them than for other

student who does not work. There will be many times when they

need to sacrifice hanging out with their friends in order to

finish their studies because they have work the next day. A

working student is being able to live through the challenges of

living. A working student requires a great deal of self-

discipline and maturity that will undoubtedly set them up for

success in the future. Alli [18] stressed that the combination of

working and studying together is the key to success and is the

pillar on which ones’ future and career depends. These findings

are also confirmed by the results of cross-sectional studies on

the examination of the effects of part-time work on school

students conducted by Robinson [19], has shown that the majority

perceive their jobs very positively – they believed that the

experience will help them to get a job later on, and are largely

unconcerned about any detrimental impact on their schoolwork.

 67

Conclusion

There seems to be many reason why some students were driven

to be a working student’s. Eventhough there is an act “Republic

Act 10931” that waive school fees to provide an opportunity for

every Filipino to earn a higher education and a degree in SUCs

and Local Universities and Colleges (LUC), some students are

still pushed to find part-time job to suffice their other needs.

But one of the salient reasons that were extracted based on

the analysis of the transcript was that most of the informants

wanted to find “self-worth” in being a working student. They

wanted to prove that being financially incapacitated is not a

hindrance to fulfilling their dreams.

Being a working students is not only able to suffice the

financial needs of their studies and be able to help their

parents but rather they find a deeper meaning into it. They

wanted to gain the best experiences that will help them in the

real working world after their college life.

Working, at the same time studying, has some positive and

negative effects on their personal needs, self- esteem, and time

management. Eventhough they encountered some difficulties, they

seem to manage both studying and working simultaneously. Despite

all the challenges of being a working student they percieved it

positively that being a working student is making a “best version

 68

of yourself” that will aid them in the wider battle of life. It

taught them how to juggle the multitude of involvement,

schoolwork and social events that they choose to attend.

Likewise, they learned to be flexible, and pushed them to

organize their life.

Hence, teachers need to consider the situation of these

working students since they are coping with their subjects from

time to time. They should see and understand their struggles.

Studying needs a relaxed frame of mind and for the working

students, who are often tired from working, the administration

may look at the factor of allowing students to work full time or

excess time that may affect their studies. Schools must create a

culture that supports the working students. While they work hard,

they will also feel the value of learning more and developing

their skills that can contribute to their growth as individuals.

Recommendations

The study recommends that colleges and universities should

recognize and respond to the prevalence, characteristics, and

implications of working for today’s undergraduates. The faculty,

staff, and students may be informed of the experiences and

struggles of working students so that they may show support and

cooperation and to lessen their work pressures. Special programs

may be established by the college to extend additional financial

 69

support to these working students. Working students may be given

a less number of hours of working so that they can manage well

their academic subjects. Parents may consider the struggles and

challenges of their children in college thus, they should give

them emotional support as part of their obligation.

 70

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