Action Research for Grade 10 Students’

Decision-making Behavior Towards

Choosing Senior High School Track

ABSTRACT

School career advocates played a vital role in decision-making behavior of

the students, providing and giving them advices and counseling techniques that
support the latter in making complex decisions while facing difficult situations.
Career counselors also work with students seeking to explore career options.
Several approaches have been undertaken by our school to systematize the
decision-making styles and behaviors of our students and/or other activities
related to career guidance and counseling. Decision-making is regarded as the
cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among
several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final
choice that may or may not prompt action. Thus, a qualitative approach was
undertaken (1) to determine the profile of Grade 10 students’ SHS track based
on the Occupational Interest Inventory, (2) to identify the SHS track offering of
our school, (3) to find out the decision-making attitude of Grade 10 Students
towards choosing SHS Track as to consistency, ambivalence and indecisiveness
(4) to determine the Decision-making styles of Grade 10 SHS students and (5) to
design Career Guidance Counseling Program based on the foregoing results of
the study.

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is a critical stage in a life of a teenager. During this stage,

teens are known for their high-risks behaviors and rash decisions. Research
concluded that this is due to immaturity of psychosocial capacities, capacities
that influence decision –making. Examples would be impulse control, emotion
regulation, delayed gratification and resistance to peer pressure. Career maturity
for adolescents refers to readiness to make educational and career decisions
(Super & Thompson, 1979). In an early study, Bingham (1978) found that male
pre-adolescents and adolescents were immature in their understanding of
demands associated with career choice when compared to real adults. Biller
(1985) reported that, even when a choice of career field had been made, immature
youths had difficulties making career decisions within the chosen field compared
to others of their age group.
Without guidance, this youths are unlikely to engage in systematic career
planning. The major elements of career planning includes: (a) a deliberate process
for becoming aware of self, opportunities, choices and consequences; (b)
strategies for identifying career-related goals; and (c) the developmental
experiences required to attain career goals (Carnevale, Gainer & Meltzer, 1990).
School career counselors plays a key role in the decision-making process
of the students. Psychologists Leon Mann and colleagues developed a decision-
making process called GOFER, which they taught to adolescents. They found out
that for students to have a deep understanding of their career goals, they must
survey values and objectives, consider a wide range of alternative actions, search
for information, weigh positive and negative consequences of the options and plan
how to implement the options.
 Another consideration in developing an effective career education program
among students is the cooperation between teachers and counselors. Students
who were acquainted and exposed to different skills are more likely to be
successful in workplace as well as in their family, learning institutions,
employers, communities, and the nation. Students not only need to know what
they want but they have to open to any new information and make the career
choice meaningful to them. Beside school career counselors and teachers, school
administrations also need to be aware of the real function of career counselors
and collaborate with them. Harris-Bowlsbey (2003) said that administrators and
school career counselors have to recognize the importance of career guidance in
school. Without this basic information, the further improvement and research on
career development in school will be incomplete and insufficient. This is a
particular important area of research for career practitioners, school counselors,
school administrators, teachers, and students because the employment trends,
career options and worker’s requirements have changes dramatically. This
research embarks to make our students realized the importance of the offered
technical vocational track- Horticulture, to encourage stake holders and other
companies situated in the area as entrusted individuals in upbringing students
management and employment skills and to hire qualified teachers who are
experts in teaching horticulture.

METHODOLOGY

The research design used for this study was a qualitative approach. The
data was collected through an online survey tool answered by all Grade 10-
Anahaw students provided by the DepEd through a tinyurl. The questionnaire
allowed the researchers to mark and analyze the profile of Grade 10 students’
SHS track based on the Occupational Interest Inventory, SHS track offering of
the school, the decision-making attitude of Grade 10 Students towards choosing
SHS Track as consistency, ambivalence and indecisiveness, the Decision-making
styles of Grade 10 SHS students.

INSTRUMENTATION

The instrument that was used for data collection were a set of online
questions about their profile, their behavior and styles towards decision making.
A checklist was design to determine the decision-making attitude and styles of
Grade 10-students. Before the online answering of the survey tool, the school
head, SHS coordinator as well as the Guidance Counselor Designate conducted
a short briefing. During the online answering of questioning tool, photos and
other documents and reports were used for validation purposes.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

A total of 40 Grade 10 students were selected as respondents. Here are the

results:

PROFILE OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS’ SHS TRACK BASED ON

OCCUPATIONAL INTEREST INVENTORY

18

16

14

12

10

The bar graph shows that among the 8 strands, the most chosen field of
interest of the students is PERSONAL which is represented by 17 students,
AGRICULTURE-7, PROFESSIONAL & SCIENTIFIC-6, MECHANICAL-2,
AESTHETIC & ACADEMIC -1 and COMMERCIAL-0.

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TRACK OFFERING

TECHNICAL VOC TRACK

 3%
27% HOME ECONOMICS
INDUSTRIAL ARTS
41% ICT
AGRI-FISHERY
UNDECIDED
26%
3%

The pie chart indicates that in the tech-voc track the most chosen field is
AGRI-FISHERY which is being represented by 19 students, followed by HOME
ECONOMICS & INDUSTRIAL ARTS embodied by 9 students each, ICT denoted by
1 student and UNDECIDED also with 1 student.

DECISION-MAKING ATTITUDE OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS TOWARDS

CHOOSING SHS TRACK AS TO CONSISTENCY, AMBIVALENCE AND
INDECISIVENESS

3%
32% consistency
ambivalence

65% indecisiveness

The pie chart indicates that there are around 26 students who had
contradictory results of their chosen tracks, 16 students who possesses firmness
or coherence in their field of interest and 1 student who is not able to make the
his/her choice certain.
 THE DECISION-MAKING STYLES OF GRADE 10 SHS STUDENTS

A B C D E
Descriptors Rational Intuitive Dependent Avoidant Spontaneous
Decision Decision Decision decision decision
making making making making making
Total 155 452 410 378 365
Mean 3.875 11.300 10.250 9.450 9.125

The table indicates that most of the students are intuitive decision makers.
Some are dependent decision makers while others are avoidant and spontaneous
when it comes to decision-making. Only few are rational decision makers. The
results may have connections as to their personal career plan, career advocacy of
the school, homeroom guidance, social media, parent’s advices and other peer
counseling programs.

CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions:
1. The results revealed that most of the Grade-10 students’ field of interest are
personal related courses.
2. Results showed that when it comes to tech voc track, agri-fishery is their first
choice which matches to the offered TVL track of the school.
3. From the findings, most of the students are uncertain as to which SHS track
they are going to follow.
4. Majority of the students are intuitive and dependent decision makers.

Recommendations:
1. Career exposures related to the SHS offered track in the school must be
given emphasis for students to see its importance.
2. We strongly recommend that the school must have a one-on-one
counseling program for students who did not choose Agri-fishery as their first
choice. By conducting interview and counseling sessions, they will realize the
significance of the offered track to them when it comes to the distance, readiness
to work and their financial or economic status.
3. It further revealed that students enrolled in the school will be easily
employed because most of the employers are part of the stakeholders. The Senior
High School must put extensive efforts which are directed to help and assist
students like providing signed MOA (memorandum of agreement) to stakeholders
and companies located in the area.
 4. In preparation of the education and career opportunity of the students,
the school must provide by hiring qualified Horticulture teachers so that
students will be provided with intensive self-exploration activities and or
seminar-workshops for their skills development. Since most of them are intuitive
and independent, we also intensely recommend that the career development
interventions named above will not only focused on students but also to parents.
This will ensure and help parents to be able to develop effective strategies in
helping their children making appropriate and satisfying career and education
decision.

REFERENCES

Career psychology and career counselling: core concepts for a work and
education curriculum. Retrieved 10 October, 2008 from
http://www.thepromisefoundation.org/TPFWiE.pdf Aspen Institute, Domestic
Strategy Group. (2002).

Career maturation in the context of a mandated intervention at the grade ten

level. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto. Chang, M. (2004,
26 July).

The Professional School Counselling, 6 (4), 238-242. Dykeman, C., Herr, E. L.,
Ingram, M., Pehrsson, D., Wood, C., & Charles, S. (2003).

Career Planning and Adult Development Network Journal, 19 (2). Leung, S. A.

(2002).

Family influence on employment and educations. Eric Clearing House on Adult

Career and Vocational Education, 56.

Career development interventions in the 21st century (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Pope, M., Musa, M., Singaravelu, H., Bringaze,
T., & Russel, M. (2002). From colonialism to ultranationalism: History and
development of career counseling in Malaysia.

Prepared by:

DONNAHVIE M. CHIONG
Career Advocate