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IJHSS.NET

Vol. 9 , No. 2

April 2017

International Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences

e-ISSN: p-ISSN:

1694-2639 1694-2620

AAJHSS.ORG Vol 9, No 2 - April 2017 Table of Contents The Mentor’s and Protégé’s: A Phenomenological Study Anabelie V. Valdez

Employment Outcomes of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Graduates in a Technological State College Catalino L. Centillas Jr., Charles Lumbay and Christian Caben M. Larisma

Success Factors in Lanao del Sur Construction Projects: A Study for the Development of Project Performance Jawad Z. Salic

Assessing Faculty Development Needs: The Case of Mindanao State University (MSU) - Marawi Campus Rasid M. Paca, Anabelie V. Valdez and Maryam Q. Manalundong

Student Teachers’ Cognition in Literature Teaching: From Planning to Planting Lynn M. Besa

Predictors of the Performance and the Difficulties in Physics among Senior Students in Mindanao State University-External Studies A Proposed Intervention Program Remedios N. Lomoljo

The Lived Experiences of the Low Performing Students of Bachelor of Industrial Technology of Samar State University in Making Portfolio in Mathematics Joy B. Araza

Design, Fabrication, and Evaluation of Forage Chopper Machine using three Different Diameter Pulleys Saanoding A. Balayo, Rasid M. Paca, Alex L. Salmazan and Ysmail Alongan B. Mangorsi

100

Analysis of Potency and Supporting Capacity: (Implementation of 12 Years Compulsory Education Policy in Pasuruan District East Java Indonesia) Asep Sunandar

114

Micronucleus Test in Exfoliated Buccal Cells of Female Street Vendors Exposed to Vehicular Exhaust in Iligan City, Philippines Keren Joy A. Recoleto and Annabella G. Villarino

119

131

Status of Chemistry Teaching of the MSU Community High Schools and the National High Schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur Cabib B. Mecampong

138

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 1-18, ©IJHSS

The Mentor’s and Protégé’s: A Phenomenological Study Anabelie V. Valdez anabelievillavaldez@gmail.com Mindanao State University Marawi City Abstract Lived experiences is a representation and understanding of human experiences that influence one’s perception of knowledge. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach in research was used in this study to uncover the mentors and protégé’s lived experiences in the Mindanao Opportunities for Vitalized Education and Upgrading of Science (MOVE UPS) Philippines. Lived experiences of the mentors and protégé deals on personal and unique perspective of the researcher and the participants of the study exploring who they are, what they do, and other unforgettable adventurous experiences they had during the mentoring program of MOVE UPS. Interviews, focus group discussions, on site immersion, and observations were the instruments used in the data gathering. The primary instrument was the researcher itself. Based on the analysis of data, three themes emerged that uncovered the mentors lived experiences namely; dedicated and devoted mentors, moxie mentors, and adventurous mentors. In the protégés perceptions of the mentoring program three themes also emerged that is; satisfying, impressive and efficacious, and a cheerful moments. In general, the overarching theme of the mentors – protégés lived experiences is a sweet delight. Therefore this study concluded that mentoring, teaching and they like is not stressful, not a burden but rather there is more fun in teaching. Keywords: lived experiences, mentoring, more fun in teaching and learning

Evolution of the Study As I scroll the gallery of my computer, I felt so happy looking back my experiences during the mentoring class in Balabagan Lanao del Sur. It was a self-fulfilling looking the happy faces of the students in the Balabagan Central School and I miss them so much. One day as we met with my co-mentors, I shared them what I felt saying that my stress and empty heart feelings will vanish as I look into the different pictures of our adventure in the mentoring program. Surprisingly; they said that they do the same. When they are sad, and discourage of their work due to environmental stressors, they also look those pictures for them to forget their discouragement. With the consensus of our feelings, we decided to write our lived experiences during our mentoring program in Balabagan Central School. Mentoring program was under the project of DOST-SEI named Mindanao Opportunities for Vitalized Education and Upgrading 1

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of Science (MOVE UPS). DOST-SEI envisioned in continuing to explore all possible avenues, strategies and approaches to achieve its main goal: “to improve the uptake of Muslim pupils in the Philippine Science High School Central Mindanao Campus (PSHS CMC); and to improve the overall competitiveness of pupils in feeder schools by strengthening their capillaries. The project was started ahead prior to our involvement as mentors. We started our mentoring in the year 2013 up to 2014. The mentoring project was implemented to few select elementary schools namely; Marawi Pilot School, Amai Pakpak Central School, Jose Abad Santos Central School, and Balabagan Central School. Among the four selected participating schools, Balabagan Central School is the farthest and the most remote place among them. So, no one of the remained first batch mentor accepted the said school. For that reason, the Dean of MSU-ISED, Dr. Nenita Reteracion calls up my attention to be the mentor of the said school and assigned me to find my companion mentor there. After knowing the nature of the work, without hesitation I accepted the task and call my colleagues to be with me in the journey without even knowing what the place look like and how can we get there. Fueled with our desire to help other students, coupled with our adventurous character, without hesitations, the journey of our mentoring in Balabagan Central Elementary School started and lasted for two years. Now, it is then our interest to treasure our lived experiences in the mentoring by putting it into records and share to everyone, hoping that it could also touch the lives of every teacher and motivate them to work religiously and heartily, touching and changing the lives of the learners. Phenomenon of Interest More often than not, teachers’ experiences are not usually studied in research. Most of the time, teacher’s qualification and performance were commonly investigated without looking the holistic attribute of the teachers. The phenomenon explored in this study is the experiences we encountered during the two (2) years mentoring program in Balabagan Central Elementary School, Balabagan Lanao del Sur. We consider our experiences as ―lived experiences‖ in a sense that it motivated us to do our job seriously every time we treasure our adventure in the said place. Lived experiences are a re-reflective dimension of human experience. Wilhelm Dilthey (1985) as mentioned by Max van Manen (1990), Professor Emeritus – University of Alberta (www.maxvanmanen.com/researching-lived-experience-human-science-f...), describes ―lived experience‖ as a reflexive or self-given awareness that inheres in the temporality of consciousness. In this phenomenological study, mentoring is just a part of the lived experiences of the mentors. The effects of the mentoring process towards the protégés or student’s achievement, perceptions on mentoring and their experiences with their mentors are also discussed. These holistic, qualitative researches are inclusive on the day-to-day experiences of the mentors and protégés in the mentoring program every weekend (Friday and Saturday) for a period of seven weekends in each year. The study explicitly delved on the meaning of the lived experiences of the mentors as a person, a mentor, a mother, an ordinary citizen, as well as the environment, health, and the protégés. This phenomenological study sought to chronicle the lived experiences of the mentors and the protégés during the mentoring program and at the same time evaluate the effects of the mentoring towards students’ academic performance in their junior high school program. 2

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Setting of the Study This phenomenological study about the lived experiences of the mentors and protégés was conducted at Balabagan Central School for seven to eight weeks per year in a period of two years. Balabagan Central School is one of the top performing schools in Lanao del Sur Division 2. The school is situated at the heart of the town in Balabagan Lanao del Sur. Balabagan is a Philippine municipality. It is located in the province of Lanao Del Sur in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which is a part of the Mindanao group of islands. The municipality Balabagan is seated about 57 km south-south-west of province capital Marawi City and about 858 km south-south-east of Philippine main capital Manila. The geographic coordinates of Balabagan are 7° 30' 37'' N, 124° 7' 48'' E, with an area of 230.00 km². The Municipality of Balabagan is subdivided into 27 barangays. One forms the center of the city whereas the other 26 are in the outlying areas. Some of them are even several kilometers away from the center of the Municipality (http://www.philippine-islands.ph/en/balabagan-lanao_del_sur-philippinesbarangays.html, 2010). A. The school site

Faculty and Staff of the School together with the three mentors During heavy rains, the school site is flooded with water and sand. If this will happen, classes are suspended. Many students played under the rain, while their parent getting panic of finding and picking their kids to go home. This event is occasional and constant. The community did not bother at all and they said; they are used to it.

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B. The Mentors Abode and Travel For the period of two consecutive years in the implementation of the mentoring program, the mentors were housed at the resident of an agriculturist in Balabagan municipality for free. They were served with fresh and nutritious

Mentors host house foods and treated as VIPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The house is just a walking distance from the school site. It only took more or less 5 minutes for the mentors to walk from the house to the school. The house is situated at the heart of the town nearby wet market were fresh fishes are sold. The beach or Mode of Transportation in the place the seashore is just a walking distance from the house but it can be also reached by riding a tricycle. The house is a three-story building made of concrete. The original owner of the house is living at the United State together with her American national husband. The agriculturist is the care taker of the house which is the aunt of the lawful owner of the house. The mode of transportation in the town is a tricycle suited for two. The route of the tricycle is around the town and towards other nearby municipality like Malabang the next municipality. Travelling of mentors towards the mentoring site was not as easy as it can be. It was both adventure and life threatening experienced. The rough roads of almost two hours to travel were flooded anytime when rains come. We have to cross the creek by walking specially when there is rain because the tricycle could not move when it is loaded. However, despite of that risky situation we still managed to take pictures to chronicle our enjoyment on such unforgettable experienced.

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There were also some instances that the tricycle we rode get stack on a heavy sand dunes after floods, and we need to push the tricycle and walk until the tricycle can manage to take us. Photos shown here are; some of our chronicled experienced during our travel under rains and the floods. As we walk and cross the creek we enjoy the moment and took some pictures. Photo shown below is the creek that we need to cross. Originally there was a bridge in the creek; however it was devastated by a typhoon. As of this year (2015) the government started the reconstruction of the bridge. Photo shown at the right is the appearance of the municipal road when there is rain. As shown in the photo, the road is very rough and destroyed. Actually, I asked the people in the municipality why their road was not concreted; they said that the government did not provide enough budgets for it and their local government did not bother to reconstruct their road. Others also said that concreting their road is useless and a waste of money because every time there is a heavy rains their area specially the road and lower part of the municipality are always flooded not only water but with a heavy load of sand. In other words, the community felt frustrated and hopeless with regards to their road repair and construction. I also asked the opinion of the tricycle drivers, and they said; ― naanad ne me ani nga karsada ang importante peaceful and among lugar dili pareha sa una” (we are used to this kind of road, the important is our place is peaceful unlike before).Tracing back the history of the place, Balabagan was one of the warconflicted areas in Lanao del Sur. It was the war zone between Philippine army and the bandits, pirates, and the so called ―barakoda‖. So, the resident in the said place is thankful enough that they survived with that long-ending war and now they are contented of having a peaceful life. Theoretical Basis This article utilized hermeneutic phenomenology to uncover the lived experiences of the MOVE-UPS mentors of varying experience. In its most basic form, phenomenology attempts to create conditions for the objective study of topics usually regarded as subjective: consciousness and the content of conscious experiences such as judgments, perceptions, and emotions. Although phenomenology seeks to be scientific, it does not attempt to study consciousness from the perspective of clinical psychology or neurology. Instead, it seeks through systematic reflection to determine the essential properties and structures of experience (Giorgi, Amedeo 2009). Creswell (2007) emphasized that hermeneutic phenomenology can be used to make sense of the phenomenon which are our lived experiences.

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According to Max van Manen (1990) and I quote; “human experience is the main epistemological basis for qualitative research, but the concept of “lived experience” (translated from the German Erlebnis) possesses special methodological significance‖. Lived experiences derived from the works of Dilthey (1985), Husserl (1970), MerleauPonty (1962), and their contemporary exponents. In English term, lived—derived from the Latin word experiential, meaning ―trial, proof, experiment, experience‖ (Manen, 1990). Mentoring on the other hand, is widely accepted as strategy for facilitating successful learning especially in the basic education. Premack principle states that access to high-frequency behaviors acts as a reinforcer for the performance of low-frequency behaviors (Elliott, Kratochwill, Cook & Travers (2000). In this manner, mentors play a vital role for learners reinforcing of knowledge and guidance. In other words, mentoring has great influence on how an individual’s prepare themselves, and develop their skills, knowledge and attitudes throughout the teaching-learning process. Based on the mentoring theory, mentoring share and retain knowledge, promote diversity, create continuity of culture, and ensure adequate supply of leadership talent (Corporate Leadership Council, 2005). Methodology This study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological research design. This design is relevant in chronicling the mentors and protégés personal lived experiences. According to Creswell (2007) phenomenological studies examined human experiences through the detailed descriptions of the participants. This method involves studying a small number of participants through extensive and prolonged engagement to develop patterns and relationships of meaning. The data were collected from the entire duration of the mentoring program conducted by the mentor’s participants which was in two years program of implementation. The mentoring conducted was only sixteen days each year. Checklist questionnaires, interviews, observations and focus group discussions with the participants (the mentors, the school administrator, faculty, and the protégés) were the instruments used in data gathering. Among the participants there were three (3) mentors, seventeen (17) protégés, three (3) classroom teachers, and one (1) school principal. The school and protégés participant was selected through a pretest examination results. Collecting data for Interview Conducted with the phenomenological research includes storytelling, tape School Principal recording, documentary analysis and focus groups. Interviews are unstructured or semi-structured (Wimpenny and Gass, 2000; Coalizzi, 1978, and Creswell, 1994). The role of the researcher’s is to act as facilitator and let the informants to talk freely. Data analysis was done through hand-coding analysis due to unavailability of qualitative data analysis software in the island. Hand-coding analysis involves a read and re-read methods, categorizing and coding similar response in order to generate themes. In phenomenology, the steps for data analysis are less structured and more open to alternative 6

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procedures (Creswell, 1994). Dukes (1984) as mentioned by Creswell (1994) suggested that in phenomenological analysis, one look for ―structural invariants‖ of a particular type of experience—the patterns—and then submit the patterns to a different researcher for confirmation. Through hand-coding analysis the lived experiences of the mentors and the protégés were uncovered and the findings are presented through thematic approach. Uncovering the meaning and essences in the lived experiences of the mentors and protégés was the ultimate product of this phenomenological study. Moreover, the analysis of data provides rich, in depth, descriptive and interpretive information that promotes greater understanding of a particular phenomenon. Findings of this study provide information for future interventions, policies, and serve as baseline to generate further research and enhance theory development towards teaching and learning process. Findings A. The Mentors Mentors that provided responses for this study described their lived experiences during mentoring in four perspectives namely: ―Who I Am,‖ ―What I Do‖ and ―External Factors‖. Based on the information collected from the mentors and my immersion with the mentors since I am also one of the mentors, and at the same time the leader of the team, three themes were generated and used to explicitly uncover the lived experiences of the mentors. The following themes are as follows: Dedicated and Devoted Mentors; Moxie Mentors, and Adventurous

Mentors. A.1 Dedicated and Devoted Mentors During interview and focus group discussion with the mentors, they were ask to assessed themselves who they are with their personal perceptions and feelings being selected as one of the mentor in the MOVE UPS program. All of them feel excited of being a mentor even without knowing the background of the place where they are assigned to. When they asked about their expectations of their incoming protégés, they said; ―well we could not expect too much from them considering that they are in a remote place. Probably most of them belong to below poverty line‖. The mentors were also asked who they are; what is teaching for them and why they accepted the task of being a mentors and sacrificing their weekends for the sake of teaching. Upon hearing the questions they said; ―teaching is an engagement”, if you are a teacher you have to sacrifice and do your best for the sake of the students. They also added that when they saw students learned from them they feel satisfaction with their profession and proud of themselves of being a teacher. Teachers believed that their profession is very important to them and with that, many teachers were unmarried because they marry their teaching profession. Mentoring needs passion. If a teacher or a mentor love what he or she is doing and understand deeply the nature of the job, then passion in teaching or mentoring will evolve. When there is passion in mentoring or teaching, the job will become a worry free and not a stressful one. A happy mentor or teacher could design different pedagogy that could elicit optimum learning outcome to the protégées. Mentoring is an essential leadership skill, it could motivate other people or learners by helping them learn how to learn and become more effective and successful learners. Mentoring can be a rewarding experience both personally and professionally. 7

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Through mentoring you can improve your leadership and communication skills, learn new perspectives and ways of thinking, advance your career, and gain a great sense of personal satisfaction (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_70.htm). A.2 Moxie Mentor The purpose of the mentoring program was to uplift elementary students content knowledge and skills in Science, Math, English and critical thinking through abstract reasoning. From time to time I asked the mentors to describe their teaching experiences during the mentoring program. When I asked them about their students’ performance, they said; ―it so sad to know that these kids are very eager to learn however, they are not well-taught due to lack of educational materials and lack of expert teachers in the field of English, Science, and Math subject”. Proficiency and expertise in teaching specifically in English, Science and Math is very much necessary for the leaners to learn the correct concepts that they need to learn. As I observed the class interaction of the mentors and the protégées, the teaching and learning process took smoothly even in a slow pace considering the poor background of the protégés towards questions that calls for higher order thinking skills. To help the protégées and other students in the said school, the DOST-SEI Philippines, the sponsor of the mentoring program provide some review materials in English, Science, Mathematics, and Abstract Reasoning to the school participants. In this manner the teachers will make use of the review materials in teaching their students after the mentoring program.

The mentors gave reviewer books in English, Science, Math and Abstract Reasoning to the school principal Despite of the protégées difficulty in catching and understanding the subject matter, they showed positive response and participate actively the class interaction especially during hands-on activities. When I asked the mentors regarding the attendance of the mentees they said; ―Wow the students are very punctual our class time start at 7 in the morning and they arrive at 6:30 or earlier!” As I observed the whole duration of the mentoring program, none of the protégés got absent in the class even the weather is bad and the school and street are flooded. The attitude of the protégés 8

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motivated the mentors to do their mentoring program as efficient and effective as much as possible. Even heavy rains occurred and it rains like cats and dogs, the protégés are still attending their mentoring class. Photos shown below are the situation of the school during heavy rains. As shown in the photos, the school site was flooded with water and sand. The parents were panic picking their children in school to avoid any accident due to floods. This is the normal occurrence of the area anytime when rain comes. Teaching is a moxie because teaching needs courage and determination. The attitudes of the mentors in the mentoring program is a good evidence that they are courageous and determined to teach the students despite of a long travel, and sacrificing their family time just for the sake of teaching. Moreover, the most difficult aspect in the mentoring program The scenery of a flooded mentoring school was the travelling period. It took three to site and street four hours travel of the mentors from their residence to the mentoring site. The long period of travel was too risky for the mentors considering that the travel passed along remote places and known to have many bandits and family fudge. Aside from unsafe road to travel due to bad people or family conflict that resulted to chaotic scene, the road to travel is not conducive specially going to the Municipality of Balabagan wherein the road will become flooded when rain comes and the mode of transportation is just a tricycle. Despite of those difficulty and life-threatening scene, the mentors are determined and full of courage to move back and forth for the sake of teaching their protégés. They are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to share their knowledge and expertise so that the students could be able to access quality teaching and quality education that they longed over a long period of time. One of the faculty observer during mentoring class said; “The mentors are so bright and willing to give all the knowledge and skills they have that our pupils can fully understand them. They also give their time to us, as teachers to introduce the knowledge and skills in our teaching processes especially in K-12 program. Thank you so much and hope and pray that we can have another mentoring program to come”. More evidence supports that the teachers are moxie enough. As I interviewed the school principal in Balabagan Central Elementary School and the respective teachers of the protégés in the mentoring school participant, they unanimously said; ―mentoring class is very effective, it helps our students to performed better”. They also added that they are satisfied with the performance of the mentors in the mentoring class. The school principal itself believed the effectiveness of the mentoring class and said ―there was a significant improvement in the learning in our students. In fact I was told lately that they performed well in the schools where they currently enrolled in high school” (the mentees are already in high school during the interview on the effectiveness of the mentoring). When I asked the science, mathematics, and English teachers of the protégés in the said school about the performance of their student’s protégés in their classes, one said ―the students performed best after mentoring”, while the other said;

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―I observed that they improved their way of understanding especially when I told them to explain definitions and made conclusions on certain topics. To justify this I conducted a film viewing last Agust 3, 2015 about parts of speech and vocabulary I didn’t expect that they could interact with me while discussing topics, and I was surprisingly amazed about their comprehension because it was great and fantastic”. In the aspect of the mentors, I asked the school principal and the teachers concern as well, and they unanimously said that they were satisfied with the performance of the mentors. The following excerpts were quoted below to support this claims. “In my opinion, the mentors do their best to discuss all the lessons academically to the students. They are expert of the subject they teach”. (Science and Math Teacher in the mentored school) “The mentors of the MOVE UPS mentoring program do their best to teach the students”. (The school principal of the mentored school) “To the mentors of the said program, they are all heroes in our school for their dedication and motivation in coming, conducting and lecturing our pupils even though it’s raining cats and dogs! The best mentors the school ever had! (English Teacher) The moxie mentors are determined to make a difference to their protégées. In fact, after the mentoring program, a test was given to determined how much students learned in the mentoring program. Table 1 is strong evidence and manifestations that the protégés participated actively the mentoring class and performed better after the mentoring program. As shown in Table 1 majority of the protégés obtained a higher score in the achievement test after the mentoring program. Despite of a short period and limited time given by the DOST-SEI in the mentoring program, still the effect of mentoring is effective enough to say that the students benefited the program improved their academic performance. Table 1 Mentees Scores in the Achievement Test (School Year 2014-2015) Student #

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Math (40 items ) Pretest posttest

Science (40 items) Pretest posttest

Abstract (40 items) pretest posttest

English (40 items) pretest Posttest

9 5 4 4 5 9 6 10

11 12 13 11 10 14 9 9

26 18 15 10 15 18 20 15

25 34 32 22 15 26 26 21

7 6 6 5 10 6

9 8 6 4 8 4 7 6 7 11 6 7 4 15 4

5 14 3 10 18 7

13 17 15 10 8 13 17 17 18 13 13 10 16 22 10

20 14 6 11 19 26

27 26 30 17 24 19 24 33 30 26 24 22 25 30 27

18 22 21 17 37 26

24 36 29 25 21 25 22 28 32 26 25 28 33 40 29

Total Score Pretest 180 71 69 64 47 45 67 61 55 50 56 36 43 84 65

posttest 73 87 80 56 61 61 70 84 87 76 68 67 78 107 70

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16 17 18 19 20

8 10 7 5 6

6 4 13 6 8

9 11 11 2 6

9 14 12 14 16

18 14 15 12 16

22 28 25 26 22

17 23 18 18 25

22 30 16 30 19

52 58 51 37 53

59 76 66 76 65

Mentoring is a two-way process between the mentors and the protégées. The learners learned from the mentors and at the same time the mentors gained some helpful insights and strategies in dealing the individual differences of the learners. Mentoring coupled with strategies. The mentors will act as advisers, counselors, and coaches that direct the goals and give interventions to the learners. According to the International Coaching Federation (2011) as mentioned by McWilliams and Beam (2013) coaching profession is distinguished by the action, accountability, and follow-through that are the focus in a coaching session. Coaches seek to elicit solutions and strategies from clients themselves, as well as to nurture the skills and resources that a client already possesses, rather than ―treating a problem‖ or educating a client. Mentoring is increasingly seen as a critical skill to help learners. Mentoring focuses on work-related needs of the while building the skills of individual (Schornack and Beack, 2002). A.3 Adventurous Mentors Student development needs proper mentoring. Several strategies have been explored and used to address student developmental needs, specifically towards quality education. However, mentors or teachers needs also a break and refresh themselves from the unending demand of the teaching profession. The mentors in the MOVE UPS mentoring program are one of a kind that could simultaneously do adventures while rendering their job or profession. They enjoy while they teach and they refresh and rejuvenate as they travelled and mentored the protégés. As I asked the mentors what impressions could they express in the mentoring sites and locale; they said that it is awesome because of its richness in natural resources. The fresh fishes, the very relaxing cold spring and the astonishing seashore served as their refreshing avenue to rejuvenate their strength. I asked them about their other activities before and after their mentoring class, and they said; ―in the early morning we go the beach waiting for the fishermen so that we can buy fresh fishes to be brought at home. And while waiting for the fishermen to arrive we enjoy the scenery of seashore and go into swimming” they said it with a smile and excitement showing that they really enjoyed the place. Personally I felt the same what they felt because I am one of them. The three of us were kept on waiting the fishermen in the seashore running along the beach if the fishermen arrived. It was so much fun and relaxing. We felt freedom and away from polluted city where we lived. In the late afternoon, we went to the cold spring for relaxation so that at night we had a very nice sleep. This cold fresh water spring is just a few meters away from the seashore. As we submerged ourselves in the water it is so refreshing and we felt the alternating current of water with alternating cold and hot water.

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B. The Protégés The protégés of the mentoring program was composed of grade six and grade five students at the Balabagan Central Elementary School during school year 2013 – 2015. These protégés were selected through achievement test. There were fifteen protégés from grade six and five from grade five during first year of operation. In the second year of operation the same number of protégés was selected using the same sampling procedure. The participants of this study were limited only on the protégés that are still studying within the municipality. Protégés that transferred to other places were no longer included in this study. Since the interviews were conducted last August 2015, majority of the protégés were now on their high school level of education. The information gathered from the protégés under the mentoring program, evolved three themes. These themes were used in analyzing and describing the lived experiences of the protégés during mentoring. As such according to them the mentoring program and the mentors work are satisfying, impressive and efficacious, and made a cheerful moment in their lives. Thus these are the themes of the lived experiences of the protégés with their mentors. B.1 Satisfying Based on interviews from the protégés, they all agreed that the mentoring program was beneficial and they satisfied the teaching methods of the mentors. They said that they understand the discussion of the lesson very well and the mentoring classes help them a lot in their study; ―ang pagexperemento at pag activity at paglalaro and pinakamasaya at unforgettable” (doing experiment and activity and play was the most enjoyable and unforgettable experience we had). When I asked them what they can say about their mentors in the mentoring class, some of their responses were quoted below; ― tinuturoan kaming mabuti para makapasa” (They teach us well in order to pass). “ masasabi kong maganda ang pagtuturo nila sa amin at hindi sila nagsasawa sa amin kahit minsan makukulit kami” (All I can say was that they teach us very well and they were not tired with us even though we are naughty sometimes). “ maganda naman klaro ang discussion at marami pa kaming natutunan tulad ng pag eeperiemnt sa science at pagsosolve sa mga problem at pag-ooral‖ (The discussion was beautiful and clear and we learned a lot like doing experiment in science, solving problem in math and oral recitation). “ salamat sa inyo dahil marami kaming natutunan sa inyo at nagsaya kami” (Thank you to all of you because we learned a lot from you and we also enjoyed). In general, protégés perception on the mentoring class is very commendable. They really enjoyed and learn a lot through mentoring. Many of them got a firsthand experience of doing activities and performing a hands-on application of the concept

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during teaching-learning process. Table 2 below shows relationship of pretest and posttest score of the protégés in the assessment test. Table 2 Paired Sample test between Pretest Score and Posttest Score of Protégés Paired Differences

Pretest – Posttest

Mean

Std. Deviati on

Std. Error Mean

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper

-3.8947

4.1351

.948

-5.8878

-1.9017

Sig. (2tailed)

-4.105

.001

As shown in Table 2 pretest and posttest score of the protégés in the assessment test in English, Science, Math and Abstract reasoning is significantly different (t α .001 ≤ 0.05). This value implied that the protégés performed better during posttest after they were mentored. According to McWilliams and Beam (2013), effective mentoring involves intentional conversations focused on the mentee’s growth and development. Mentors ask thoughtprovoking questions, practice active listening, and provide objective feedback and guidance, and model effective behaviors. Effective mentoring relationships help build learners ability to learn and the learners learned key skills about building networks and the importance of lifelong learning and development. Research reveals that mentoring programs play vital role in teachinglearning process and bring a positive influence and commitment to the learners, driving retention and facilitating knowledge with others. B.2 Impressive and Efficacious We all believed the saying that first impression is not a final expression. However, first impressions last. In the case of the mentor’s protégé, their first impressions to their mentors was their final expression and it last. The protégés all said that they were happy and lucky that they were chosen as participants in the mentoring program. They all like their mentors, the way how the mentors treated them and the way the mentors taught them. During interview I asked them how the mentoring class helped them in their study being a junior high school student. Excerpt of their responses are quoted below; “ ang nakatulong sa amin ay ang nadadaanan naming sa Science, English and Math na natapos na namin sa mentoring” (The lessons that was taught us in the mentoring class helped a lot in our study) “ngayong high school na kami marami kaming alam na mga bagay na natutunan naming sa mentoring” (Now that we are in high school we already knew a lot that we learned from the mentoring) “ marami kaming natotonan at naiintindihan” (We learn a lot and understand) “ nakakatulong sa akin ang mentoring dahil hindi kami masyadong nahihirapan ngayon” (Mentoring helped us a lot because we did not find so much difficulty now) 13

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Self-assessment checklist was also given to the protégés for them to express their perceptions in the mentoring program and evaluate their mentors as well. Based on the data presented in Table 3 almost all of them agreed that the mentoring class helped improved their academic performance during their elementary education after the mentoring sessions, as well as to their academic performance in their high school education. In fact when we interviewed them they said; “ ang masasabi ko lang magaling silang magturo ng mga bata. Sana magpatuloy ang mentoring nila sa school naming sa elementary” (All I can say is that they really teach well to the children. I hope that the mentoring class will continue to our school in elementary). Actually the protégés was emotionally touched during the last day of our mentoring class because that was the last mentoring program. They said that; “ marami kami natotonan at naintindihan” (we learn a lot and understand them). While many said; ― maraming maraming slamat po, dahil marami kaming natutunan sa inyo tulad ng problem solving‖ (A million thanks to you because we learn a lot from you like problem solving). Other also said; “salamat sa inyo dahil tinuruan mo kami ng mabuti” (thank you so much to you because you teach us very well). ―Thank you for your guide and some of your subject that we learn and acquired from you. I am a top 11 in grade 7‖. “Proud ako sa mga mentor naming dahil may natutunan ako na napakarami kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa kanila” (I am so proud to my mentors because I learn a lot from them so I say thank you to them). Table 3 Self –Assessment of Protégées Perceptions on the Mentoring Program Assessment

Frequency of Yes

Are you happy to be one of the students who participated in the mentoring? Did you understand the discussion of the lesson by your mentors? Is the mentoring class help you in your study? Did the mentoring class improve your academic performance in your elementary and high school? Did the mentoring class improve your academic performance in English, Science and Math in high school? Total Protégées

15 14

Frequency of Frequency of No Partly

18 18 15 18

B.3 Cheerful Moments An elementary grade is the stage of enjoyment and a period of adjustment between childhood and puberty. Since the protégés were grade five and grade six pupils, we the mentors could not avoid making fun with them and even play with them. During mentoring classes, the mentors provide varied activities and games so that the teaching-learning processes were more fun and meaningful to the learners. Indoor and outdoor activities were provided; awarding, giving of snacks and bonding time were done by the mentors.

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Most protégés said; “ang hindi ko malilimutan ay ang pag-aagawan naming ng t-shirt” (the unforgettable experienced I had was the competition of getting t-shirt). Other also said they enjoyed during awarding. Generally, the most cherish moments of the protégés was the actual activities done in the class, playing, bonding and awarding. This is expected from them considering that they are still kids. Learning is an act of getting and assimilating new knowledge, and or modifying and reinforcing prior knowledge stock in the mind and experiences of the individual learners. This may involve synthesizing new and old but different types of information. However, learning become more meaningful and fun if the mentors integrate activities that are playfull in the aspect of the learners specially in the elementray level of education. Playing is one way of developing social skills and emotional skills of the kids through sharing and collaborations. Play has been the first approached form of learning as believed by several theoriest. Lev Vygotsky as mentioned in the book of educational psychology by Elliot, et al. (2000), agrees that play is pivotal for children’s development, since they make meaning of their environment through play. Upadhyay (2005), examined the lived experiences in an urban science classroom of an elementray school. His findings concluded that students bring different funds of knowledge that are accumulated through their lived experiences not the classroom. He suggested that lived experiences of the students will be used to develop a curricular framework in teahcing. C. Overarching Theme: Sweet Delight In general, the overarching theme that described both the mentors and protégés lived experiences is ―sweet delight‖. Sweet delight ultimately became the overarching theme because the mentoring program and classes executed by the mentors established rapport to the unknown constituents in the mentored school specifically the protégés, the researchers abode, and the faculty and staff in the participated school. Sweetness and camaraderie among them made the mentors and the protégés teaching-learning process effective. It is a delight since the mentors provide a high degree of gratification and joyous moment to the protégés, to the faculty and the school principal and at the same time they gave the same feelings in the same way to the mentors. There are many ways that could make learning more fun to the students. In doing this, mentors or teachers and they like must make sure that they have satisfaction and devotion to their profession so that they could create a joyful learning environment and make teaching and learning more effective, meaningful, and make believe that there are so much fun in teaching and learning. It is also a sweet delight to us as mentors upon knowing that we effectively and efficiently impart knowledge to the protégées as well as to the teachers of the mentored school. Results from the checklist that we administered to the teachers of the protégées and the school principals are very satisfying and ease all our fatigue in the travel. Table 4 summarized the response of the school administrators in Balabagan Elementary School. As shown in Table 4, all they responded yes to the seven assessments.

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Table 4 Evaluation on MOVE UPS Mentoring Assessment Are you happy to be one of the participating schools in the mentoring program? The studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic performance specially in English, Science and Math improved significantly because of mentoring class Mentoring classes help our students performed better in their high school academic performance The lesson discussed in the mentoring classes was very useful and helpful in our teaching with the students The mentors in the mentoring classes are diligent and hardworking The mentors in the mentoring class did their best in teaching our students Are you satisfied with the performance of the mentors in the mentoring classes? Total (N)

Yes

Partly

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

The concluding statement of the school principal is quoted below; He said; â&#x20AC;&#x153;hope the program will continue, mentoring time allotment is not enough need more time for the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2013;. He further said that most of their students are indigenous people, however they excel in the high school just because of the mentoring program given by the DOST. He suggested that if there will be another mentoring, it should be started in Grade 5, so that there is a continuity of learning. Then he added that their teachers should be trained. Conclusion and Recommendation Earning a degree and receiving a certification of excellence or diploma is not a guarantee that one could make difference in their profession. It is not the degree that counts but instead it is you who can make difference to other people lives and how you touch their lives. Mentoring program is very helpful and significant for it develops the learning abilities of the learners or pupils. In doing this it needs a devoted and versatile mentor. There is so much fun in teaching if the teachers are satisfied with their job and find self-fulfillment and satisfaction of whatever endeavor he has to undertake. Therefore based on the findings of this study, I can guarantee that teaching is really a noble profession. In this moment, I recommend that there is need for the teachers to develop values that could make their profession more enjoyable to them in order to keep away from stress and stressors. This matter only depends on the personality and outlook of the teacher and an individual human being as a whole. So make more fun in your job and make others smile what you have done to them because laughter is the only best medicine that is free of charge.

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References Beack, C. E. and Schornack G. R. (2002). International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) Vol 1, No 12 (2002) Mentorship Theory And Current Practice: A Study Of Executives In The Greater Denver Region Byrne, M. (2001) Hermeneutics as a methodology for textual analysis. AORN; 73: 5, 968–970. Colaizzi, P. (1978) Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In: Valle, R., King, M. (eds) Existential PhenomenologicalAlternatives for Psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Coporate Leadership Council (March 2005). www.corporateleadershipcouncil.com ©2005 Coporate Executive Board, Catalog No. CLC12LEL8V Creswell, J.W. (1995) Research Design. Qualitative and quantitative Approaches. SAGE Publications, Inc. 2455 Teler Road Thousand Oaks; California 91320 Eby, L.T. . Allen, T.D. Evans, S.C. Ng,T and DuBois, D(ND) Does Mentoring Matter? A Multidisciplinary Meta-Analysis Comparing Mentored and Non-Mentored Individuals Elliot, S.N., Kratochwill, T.R., Cook, J. L., and Travers, J.F. (2000). Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning, McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. Fraenkel, Wallen, and Hyun (2012) How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. Eight edition, San Francisco State University. McGraw-Hill Companies Giorgi, Amedeo. (1970). Psychology as a Human Science. New York : Harper & Row. Giorgi, Amedeo. (2009). The Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology. Duquesne University Press: Pittsburgh, PA. Hardy Leahy, Thomas (2001). A History of Modern Psychology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. p. 381. ISBN 013- 017573-0 Januszewski, A. (2001). Educational technology: the development of a concept. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited Inc. Joyce, B., Weil, M., Calhoun, E. : Models of teaching, 6th edition, Allyn & Bacon, 2000. ISBN 0205389279 Kuhlthau, Carol C. 2007, Guided inquiry: learning in the 21st century, Libraries Unlimited, Westport CT. Lewis-Beck, M.S., Bryman, A. and Liao, T. F. ( 2004). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. Pub. date: 2004 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412950589 Print ISBN: 9780761923633 | Online ISBN: 9781412950589 Manen, M. (1990). SUNY series, The Philosophy of Education. ISBN10: 0-7914-0425- 0 : 978-0-79140425-6. Edited by John Sallis (Boston College) and James Risser (Seattle University) McWilliams, A. and Beam, L.R. (2013). The Mnetor, Adsvsing, Coaching, Mnetoring: Models of Development Relationships in higher Education, Wake Forest University, June 28, 2013. Reiser Robert A. and John V. Dempsey (eds). (2006). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0131708058 Reiser, R. A. & Ely, D. P. (1997). The field of educational technology as reflected through its definitions. Educational technology research and development. Vol. 45, No. 3, 63-72. Roth, Wolff-Michael; Jornet, Alfredo (2013). "Toward a theory of experience". Science Education 98 (1): 106–26. Seels Barbara B. and Rita C. Richey (1994). Instructional Technology: The Definition and Domains of the Field, Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), ISBN 0892400722 Smaldino, S. E. et al, (2005), Instructional Technology and Media for Learning (5th Edition), Sharon E et al, Pearson Education Ltd., ISBN 0-13-113682-8 Tenedero, H. S.(1998). Breaking the IQ Myth. Learning Styles, Multiple Intelligences, and Emotional Learning in the Classroom Environment. Henyo Publications, Manila, Philippines. 17

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Twigg, Vani Veikoso (2010). "Teachers’ practices, values and beliefs for successful inquiry-based teaching in the International Baccalaureate Primary years Programme". Journal of Research in International Education 9 (1): 40–65. doi:10.1177/1475240909356947. Upadhyay, B. R. (2005). Using Students’ lived experiences in an urban science classroom: An elementary school teacher’s thinking. DOI: 10.1002/sce.20095 Copyright © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc Wilhelm, J. G., & Wilhelm, P. J. (2010). Inquiring minds learn to read, write, and think: Reaching all learners through inquiry. Middle School Journal, May 2010,39-46. Wimpenny, P., Gass, G. (2000) Interviewing in phenomenology and grounded theory: is there a difference? Journal of Advanced Nursing; 31: 6, 1485–1492.

The Author Dr. Anabelie V. Valdez is the president of the Alliance of Teachers for Innovative Education and Excellence Inc., and permanent faculty in MSU. She finished Ph.D. Science Education Biology as DOST Scholar and graduated as the class valedictorian and best dissertation awardee; Ph.D. Educational Management, Masters in Secondary Teaching General Science and Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education Biology, Mindanao State University Marawi City Philippines. She is a regular lecturer in the MSU SASE reviews, and in private review center for the licensure examination for teachers. As a researcher, Dr. Valdez presented some papers in the international conferences held in the Philippines and abroad (Jakarta & Malaysia) and received best presenter and best dressed researcher, best in power point and talent in the World Research Festival. She was also awarded as Best Paper/Presenter in the International Conference on Humanity Culture and Society held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. She is a senior member in the International Economics Development and Research Center (IEDRC), an editorial board member in the International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research and a peer reviewer in the Afrasian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences and published 6 researches in a peer reviewed international journals. Keynote Speaker and Session Chair in some International Conferences. The author is also a module writer and mentor of the MOVE-ON Project of the DOST-SEI, Philippines.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 19-26, ÂŠIJHSS

Employment Outcomes of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Graduates in a Technological State College Catalino L. Centillas Jr., Ph.D. catalino031765@gmail.com http://orcid.org 0000-0002-1015-4893 Palompon Institute of Technology-Tabango-Campus, Tabango, Leyte, Philippines Charles Lumbay & chalum76@gmail.com http:// orcid.org 0000-0002-4606-3045 Christian Caben M. Larisma cabenedlyn@gmail.com http://orcid.org 0000-0002-0138-2907

Abstract This study is a proof which documented the employment status of the graduates related to their present occupations. This is done to assist administrators and faculty in the enhancement of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program of Palompon Institute of TechnologyTabango Campus from school year 2011 to 2016. The study used the descriptive type of research method with 98 graduates who served as respondents. Results revealed that majority of the graduates were gainfully employed and were working with jobs that were related to the course where they gained training with. However, forty (40) percent of the total respondents were unemployed as revealed in the study. Most of those who were unemployed cited that lack of experience and no job opening as their reasons for being unemployed. Therefore it is strongly recommended that graduating students before graduation must be given ample time to experience pre-employment examination and interviews. Furthermore, the school concerned should find ways to establish more linkages with establishments which can cater with the employability of the graduates, so as to assist them with their employment after graduating in the course. Keywords: Employment status, skills training, graduates, Technological State College, BS Information Technology program Introduction Tracer studies enhance curriculum and maintain the extent of relevance and provide benefits to the graduates and improve marketability of educational programs Balingbing (2014). Adequate knowledge and skills on employment outcomes of training could help in formulating 19

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policy towards hostility, some of social problems such as unemployment. Students in any degree program, particularly graduates are required to earn a sense of competence in their chosen field and develop confidence to explore new possibilities and new employment specially that there is an increasing competition among rivals at work (Mathed, 2008). As graduates of higher educational institutions, they must prove the world that job-hunting is not a problem even if the competition in the business or corporate world is so unbending because of the increasing demand of the market still we can find a job relevant to the chosen field. Relatively, one, particularly a graduate of Information Technology, must possess competency among the three domains like knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the specific job. In addition, tracer study according to Garcia (2003) as cited by Gines (2004) pointed out that tracer studies is an important source of information to know what happened to graduates of academic programs in Higher Education Institution (HEI’s). The study made on the graduates of the graduate course in Urban and Regional Planning (Probes, 2008) states that the employability and relevance of their graduate trainings to their jobs and to the field. The survey, a first of its kind in the seven years of its program, sought information on the nature of tasks and function performed by the graduates in their respective jobs and requested some feedbacks on how useful and relevant were their degrees in the work they were engage in. Related to this, the graduates were requested to offer some suggestions on how graduates programs could be more relevant so as to make their contribution to national development efforts more substantial and meaningful. Concorde, (2009) said that the study on the status and prospect of technical education in La Union Province and its implications to manpower development for industrial world. He revealed that the graduates of technical courses in the province found difficulty in seeking employment. However, they have to go through the process of retraining before they are hired as regular employees in local or national industries. He pointed out that outputs of graduates in technical education particularly in the manufacturing group employment projection or labor market indicate a great demand in the service group. The study quotes the speech made by Y.B. Datoseri Mohamed Khales Nordin (2009) in a seminar entitled “Enhancing Graduate Employability: Issues, Concerns and the Way Forward” states that the challenging economic situation means that it is no longer sufficient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject; increasingly it is necessary for students to gain skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. Thus, Higher Education Institutions must be responsive to these changes. Historically, academic institutions have tended to serve as institutions for moral and intellectual development as well as centers of civilization. With rapid economic development, they are now more effective with emphasis of professional training. Their prime task is to ensure that education and training are market driven and responsive to the changing needs of the various sectors of an economy. According to Mercado (2009) the initiative of the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines to spearhead the conduct of graduate tracer study among selected Higher Education Institutions in order to obtain data that would show if HEI’s are offering courses or programs that produce graduates to meet the needs of industry and society. In the study conducted by Lalican (2007) she emphasized that the acquisition of knowledge in the undergraduate specialization, skills and competencies will also promote productivity, efficiency and expertise in the graduates’ present job. Prosser and Quigley (1963) pointed out that the training of students in technical education will be efficient if the environment in which the learner is trained is a mock-up of the environment in which he/she must subsequently work. 20

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Training therefore in the school must replicate the environment or imitate the situation within the company where the graduates will subsequently work. Hence, getting employment in industry or being self-employed is not the end in itself but the beginning of a new life, new environment, new faces and new adjustment. Of course not all of these graduates find fulfillment of what they are expected to be. Some continue their schooling just after graduation and some have to hang their diploma instead of working. According to Wrenn (1951) any professional school is not only concerned with the degree with which its graduates find gainful employment. In fact, Wrenn further explained that the service extended to the students in securing jobs upon graduation is one of the more recently recognized responsibilities of the school. Just like any other Higher Education Institution (HEIs), PIT-TC would also like to improve its services to the students. It continues to look for ways in which things are made easier to ensure the effectiveness of training of the school. Thus, this study was conducted to trace the employment status of the BS Information Technology graduates to ascertain and institute within the necessary technical knowledge and skills as well as job morale so that they will be aware of their rightful function after graduation and that they would be able to be self-employed or land a job which will lead them to be satisfied and feel fulfilled. Statement of the Problem This study determined the employment status of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Graduates for the academic year 2011 and 2016. Specifically, this study aimed to find out the activities engaged in by the graduates; the reasons for unemployment for those who are unemployed; and to formulate recommendations out of the results to further enhance the program.

Research Design of the Study The descriptive survey method was employed in this study with the questionnaire as the main tool in gathering the needed data. The method ascertains the employment status of the BS Information Technology graduates to their present activities. Personal interviews regarding the activities of the respondents were also done in order to strengthen the information gathered.

Significance of the Study This study has national and international significance to curriculum planners and educational practitioners regarding the value of the chosen field of the students were the researchers seek to lay the basis for the improvement of the program in the area covered by the study. The lesson learned in the classroom by the graduates in relation to their present activities will be the basis for the enrichment of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be valuable to the policy makers, school administrators, faculty, curriculum planners, and students in the following manner: School Administrators. The employment status of the graduates would offer insights to the administrators in identifying the aspects of the program that need redirection and restructuring so that better quality of instruction could be provided and needs of industry would be satisfied.

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Faculty. The result of this study will encourage the faculty to upgrade their teaching skills for an effective learning process. It would also lead them to prepare and design instructional materials relevant to the demands of the industry. Curriculum Planners. This will help them choose the right direction on the trade skills that should be added to the present curriculum and what is to be improved, particularly in the information technology program. Students. On the other hand, the students would be assured of a quality instruction, hence better job placement in the future that all parents aspire. They will be trained according to what the actual field of work needs, therefore would make their work assignment easier to accomplish. Industry. Various establishments that are possible work areas of the graduates will be assured of highly skilled graduates, who would contribute largely to high production at low costs. Method of Procedure In the conduct of this study, the descriptive research was considered appropriate thereby making adequate and accurate interpretations about the gathered data with or without the aid of a statistical method. This type of research method was designed to assist administrators and instructors in the enhancement of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program of Palompon Institute of Technology-Tabango Campus. Specifically, this study aimed to find out the activities engaged in by graduates; the reasons for unemployment for those who are unemployed, and to formulate recommendations out of the results to further enhance the program. Collection of Data The gathering of data was done according to the following scheme: Preliminary preparation. The researchers made a formal letter of request to the administrator of the school to conduct the study. Administration and collection of field instruments. After given the approval to conduct the research study, the refined instruments were distributed to the respondents and collected immediately for consolidation and analysis. Treatment of Data In order to obtain the necessary information from the graduates, the researcher sought permission from the Registrarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office to examine the records on file available in order to get the names and complete addresses of the respondents. The Instructorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of BS Information Technology were also sources of information. For the respondents who could easily be contacted, the researcher personally gave the questionnaire and conducted incidental personal interview to enrich the information needed. For those respondents who could hardly be reached the questionnaires was sent by mail with selfaddressed stamped envelope to facilitate the return of the answered questionnaire. Findings The descriptive survey method was utilized to determine the employment status of the BS Information Technology graduates of Palompon Institute of Technology-Tabango Campus during the academic year 2011- 2016 in terms of the graduatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; employment status of their present occupations. As indicated in figure I, it was revealed that there were ten (10) students who graduated in 2011, fourteen (14) in 2012, twenty six (26) in 2013, nineteen (19) in 2014, seven (7) in 2015, and 22

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Twenty two (22) in 2016. However, it was noticed that in the graph in 2013. As reflected in the graph, during the academic year 2013 there was increase of graduates from 2011 to 2013 and from 2013 to 2015 graduatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in this year decreases. This is attributed to the fact that most of the students prefer to enroll other program offered in this college. Figure I. Distribution of Graduates by Academic Year

No. of Graduates No. of Graduates, 2013, 26

No. of Graduates, 2012, 14 No. of Graduates, 2011, 10

2011

No. of Graduates, 2014, 19

2016, 22

2012 2013 2014

No. of Graduates, 2015, 7

2015 2016

Figure 2 describe the summary of graduateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s status of employment. As indicated in the graph, from 2011-2016, nineteen per cent of the total number of employed graduates holding a regular or permanent status; nine per cent were temporary, thirty per cent were contractual and two per cent were self-employed. There were graduates who were unemployed with a total of forty per cent which could be attributed that lack of experience and no job opening as their main reasons for being unemployed. This means that even if they have acquired adequate knowledge and skills in their stay in school, they could not utilize these because of lack of job opportunities in the community they were in. Figure 2. A graph showing the Graduates Employment Status from 2011-2016 Employment Outcomes No. of Graduates, Unemployed, 39, 40%

Employment Outcomes

Regular or Permanent Temporary Casual Contractual

Employment Outcomes No. of Graduates, Regular or Permanent, 19, 19% Employment Outcomes No. of Graduates, Temporary, 9, 9%

Employment Outcomes No. Employment of Graduates, Outcomes No. ofCasual, 0, 0% Graduates, Contractual, 29, 30%

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Figure 3 shows the distributions of employed graduates according to the type of agency were they are working. From 2011-2016, nineteen percent are connected in the government agencies while eighty one per cent of the employed graduates are connected in the private agencies. This implies that most of the establishments in Leyte are run by private agencies rather than in government owned entities. Figure 3. A graph showing the Employed Graduates According to Types of Agency Connected from 2011-2016

Distribution of Employed Graduates According to Types of Agency Connected from 2011-2016

Distribution of Gradautes According to Types of Agency No. of Graduates Employed from 2011-2016, Private, 46, 81%

Distribution of Gradautes According to Types of Agency No. of Graduates Employed from 2011-2016, Government, 11, 19%

Government Private

The table below discusses the results from the data collected regarding the nature of occupation of employed graduates. One (1) or five and eighty eight percent who was employed as encoder and three (3) or seventeen and sixty five percent of the graduates was employed as a computer technician. These results could imply that the nature of occupation of employed graduates vary on the availability of their willingness on a particular job. Table I. Nature of Occupation of Employed Graduates from 2011-2016 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Nature of Occupations f % f % f % f % f % f % Encoder 1 25 1 14.3 14 100 3 100 Computer - 2 28.6 5 33.3 2 14.3 Technician Call Center 3 75 4 57.1 10 66.7 12 85.7 Agent

Total f % 19 33.3 9

15.8

29 50.9

It can be gleaned in Table II the results on the activity engaged in by the self-employed graduates from 2011-2016. With regards to their activities from in 2013 and 2015, there were only one (1) or one hundred per cent graduates were self-employed which means that they settled in a job by themselves without looking for better job opportunities in the industry. This

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result attests that to be self-employed one needs a capital, courage, and management skills aside from their skills learned in school. Table II. Activities Engaged in by Self-employed Graduates Activity Encoder Computer Servicing Programmer

2011 f % -

2012 f % -

2013 f % 1 100

2014 f % -

2015 f % 1 100 -

2016 f % -

Total f % 2 100 -

In Table III presents the data on the reasons given by the graduates for being unemployed. It shows that in 2011-2016, the main reason of the unemployed graduates were lack of work experience with fifty one per cent, followed by no job opportunities with seventeen per cent, then followed by did not look for a job with fifteen per cent. In 2016, there were two graduates who continue further studies because they believe that one of the requirements now a day the applicants in any establishment must be a graduate of masteral program before they settled in a job by themselves without looking for better job opportunities in the industry. Table III. Reasons of the Graduates for Being Unemployed Reasons Advanced or further study Family concern and decided not find a job Health related reasons Lack of work experience No job opportunity Did not look for a job

2011 f %

2012 f %

2013 f %

2014 f %

2015 f %

2016 f %

Total f %

5.13

12.5

10.26

28.6

71.4

20 51.3

12.5

17.9

15.4

Conclusion and Implication of the Study Most of the graduates are employed along their chosen field, that is, information technology. The fields of specialization and school acquired skills and competencies of the graduates are relevant to their chosen occupations and these greatly help them in the performance of their jobs. However, there still a need to strengthen the skills/competencies that could make curricular offering more relevant to current jobs specifically the skills in information technology and communication. It is therefore implied that there would be continuous monitoring and evaluation on its implementation of the program to keep abreast of how its graduates are doing and what initiatives can be done further in the curriculum and manner of instruction for more productive and worthy graduates. There should be a conduct of follow-up study on the availability of 25

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establishments which can cater with the employability of BS in Information Technology graduates. The school should find ways to establish more linkages with establishments which can cater with the employability of the graduates, so as to assist them with their employment after graduating in the course. References Gines, A.C. (2004). Towards Relevance and Sustainable Quality in Teacher Education, In M. Fremerey; S. Amini; M. Wesseler (Ed.) Promoting Relevance and Quality in International Higher Education. Witzenhausen; Germany: ISOS, University of Kassel Press. Lalican, N. M. (2007). Tracer Study of Agricultural Students. University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna. Mathed, J. (2009). Professional Graduates. www.yahoo.com.sg/ status of graduates/reports/1-23-2008 Mercado, F. M. (2009). A Tracer Study of MSEUF graduates. Enverga University. Nordin, M. K. (2009). Enhancing Graduate Employability: Issues, Concerns and the Way Forward. Minister of Higher Education Malaysia. Probes, M.H. (2008).Business Education Graduates, A Tracer Study. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Centro Escolar University. Prosser, C.A. and Quigly, T.H. (1963). Vocational Education in a Democracy. Chicago: American Society. Wrenn, G.C. (1951). Students Personnel Work in College. New York: Ronald Press Company.

The Author Dr. Catalino L. Centillas Jr. is the Head of Research Services at the Palompon Institute of Technology-Tabango Campus. He obtained his Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in Industrial Education in Leyte Institute of Technology and finished his Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in Industrial Education in 1992 and Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Program Management in 2003 from Eastern Visayas State University, Tacloban City, Leyte.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 27-32, ÂŠIJHSS

Success Factors in Lanao del Sur Construction Projects: A Study for the Development of Project Performance Jawad Z. Salic jawad_salic@yahoo.com.ph Philippine Engineering and Agro â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Industrial College, Inc. Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Philippines +639106088315 Abstract Due to the dynamic nature of construction project management, it is inevitable that conflicts will arise. Construction projects are commonly influenced by both success factors that support projects parties finish their objective as scheduled or delay factors that reschedule project completion. The objectives of this research project are to identify success and delay factors to aid contractors in Lanao del Sur to reach their objective on time throughout the construction. This research studied success factors and delay factors through survey questionnaires and structural consultations aiming experts involved in a construction project. Data was collected and evaluated by statistical method to distinguish the utmost significant success factor and causes of delay. This research extracted the most significant success factors according to the literature and most significant delay factors recognized by project parties. The correlation among them is studied to determine with which the most prominent ways in avoiding delays for the success of the project construction. Most of the success factors that contribute to the completion of a construction project are mostly consultant and owner related. Thus, the researcher concluded that to minimize construction delays, effective strategic planning, site management and supervision and clear information and communication channels are possible methods that could be of a great help to be able to have a well-developed construction management. Keywords: Success factors, delay factors, construction project, construction management and project performance.

Introduction The construction industry plays a major role in progression and attaining the goals of civilization. Project attainment can be distinct as satisfying the goals and the objectives as suggested in the scheme of the plan; finishing its methodological enactment, keeping up with the timetable, and staying within the financial budget. Construction has difficulty in its usual aspect since it comprises great quantity of individuals as stakeholders, contractor, clients and consultants. The construction industry is one of the industries that have numerous concerns in its daily operations. The study of fresh literature shows that construction projects are usually accomplished with large cost overruns, extended schedules (delay) and quality concerns.

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Most of the construction companies nowadays aspire to step up on the next level of this industry, to have advantage, to earn more and to succeed. Thus, to attain this objective, it is a key for contractors to wisely categorize the factors for the success of their projects. Success of every construction projects such as road development, irrigation, drainage, water supplies projects, housing projects and building establishments plays a major part on the economic development of a province. Thus, the aforementioned usual construction projects were interlinked in the development of the economic growth of the province of s del Sur. Philippines is now a developing country, Lanao del Sur should be part of this development, construction companies operating in the province should always consider the success of every projects they have for the stability and growth of the economic performance of the province. This study examines success and delay factors in an organized manner to define what success components are most significant and what delay components are to be considered and to be avoided. After the success factors and delay factors are determined, the chances for the development of construction project performance within the province of Lanao del Sur can be measured by the experts in order for them to have a a successful project outcome. Statement of the Problem This study attempts to find answers to the success factors and delay factors of the construction project in the province of Lanao del Sur implemented by contractor firms/companies working in the said province. Specifically, this study will sought answers to the following questions: 1. What are the success factors which are the most influential construction companies that are currently undertaking in the construction industry in Lanao del Sur? 2. What are the delay factors to be avoided or prevented that are experienced in the construction industry in Lanao del Sur? 3. What are the success factors and delay factors that are presently experienced by the construction industry in Lanao del Sur? 4. What are the implications can be drawn from the study? Research Design of the Study The researcher used the descriptive research method to identify the success factors in construction industry in the province of Lanao del Sur implemented by contractor firms/companies working in the said province so that pon ssible remedies will be drawn. This study used a structured survey questionnaire that was prepared by the researcher in seven pages paper distributed to the respondents and personal interview which was a one on one talk with the respondents. It will be conducted towards professionals in construction companies that have been registered to operate or supervise a construction project. Significance of the Study This research will provide valuable information to reach a better understanding of the construction industry at Lanao del Sur. This study will be used to improve the understanding of self-worth in the background of construction system. This study will be beneficial to the construction firm/company whom has project in the province of Lanao del Sur to enhance their knowledge to what are the necessary steps to overcome the delay of their construction project herein Lanao del Sur.

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It is foremost hope of the researcher that this study will provide clear insights to readers and enlighten their minds to be able to know and understand what is mean by the duties and obligations of every citizen to have a successful construction projects. Data Gathering Procedure The researcher personally distributed the questionnaires to the respondents and they were given enough time to give their sincere answers or responses to the questions. The data in the questionnaires were checked, tallied and tabulated. The results provided valuable data about the problem to be studied. Ultimately, the findings served as the basis for conclusion and recommendations. Statistical Tools After gathering the data, the researcher used the frequency distribution and percentage in analyzing them. Simple Frequency and Percentage Formula: P = f/N x 100% Where: P = Percentage

N = Number of Respondents f = Frequency

Findings After the data collection and statistical computation from the perspective of the respondents, every factor was ranked and determined wither it is a success factor or a delay factor to their assigned index. Majority of the respondents had the senior positions and experienced between 11 to 20 years of employment in construction industry. Most contributing success factors for the consultant related are: experienced consultant, adequate approval of changes in the scope work by the consultant, proper performance of inspection and testing, accurate site investigation, accurate reviewing and approving of design documents, good communication and constant coordination among the parties. Success factors related to the contractor of the project are: competent project team, effective project planning and scheduling, proper communication and coordination among the team and adequate contractor experience. Design success factor related are: simplicity of the design but artistic, good understanding between the ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the design engineer, use of advanced engineering design software and knowledgeable in government regulations and laws. For the Labor related success factor are: decent coordination among the laborers, frequent monitoring of attendance, high motivation, productivity and moral and qualified/experienced laborers. Materials related success factor are: on time delivery, reliable suppliers, no prior changes in material types and specification during construction and good quality of construction materials. Success factor related to the owners of the project are: adequate approval of design, appropriate progress of payment, capable representative, well oriented in construction project process, open-handed for intensives to the contractor to finish ahead of schedule, faster decision making and no prior change of order during construction. Lastly the success factor related to technical aspect of the construction project is: attention to the legal matters between the project materials and participant act accordance with original contract.

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This study also identified certain delay factor that should be avoided. A delay factor for the consultant related is conflict between consultant and design engineer. Delay factors related to the contractor of the project is old-fashioned technology. Design delay factor related is insufficient data collection and survey before designing. For the Labor related delay factor slow mobilization of labor because of transportation delay matters due to some detoured road. Lastly the materials related delay factor is shortage of construction materials in the market. Conclusion and Implication In a construction project where time truly equals money, the management of time is critical, thus predicting the likelihood of schedule delay may play a key role towards project success. There existed a need to develop a probabilistic schedule delay analysis model in construction projects as a decision support tool for contractors before the bidding stage. This report emphasized the survey research that had been sent to the professionals in construction industry in Lanao del Sur. 60 respondents answered and were statistically computed and tabulated in order to determine the success and delay factors for the construction project in Lanao del Sur. However, this research is mainly focused on general aspect, not stated in specific condition of projects. The factors might be applicable at any situation during the projects. In fact, future research can be continued for further detail of the success factors in specific condition of projects. Subsequence with the research and survey, the following is the most defined delay factor in Lanao del Sur construction industry; Conflicts between consultant and design engineer, obsolete technology, insufficient data collection and survey before design, slow mobilization of equipment, loss of time by traffic control and restriction at job site, slow mobilization of labor, shortage of construction materials, delay in progress payments and original contract duration is short. Thus, the most critical delay factors could be taken as the mitigation measures for construction professionals in Lanao del Sur in the future projects. Understanding the delay factors in Lanao del Sur, will help to increase success rate in the construction projects. Future studies could be performed for different specific types of construction projects, such as road and railway construction projects, building housing projects, utility projects, highways, viaducts and dam construction projects, etc. Future studies can be designed by utilizing different model parameters such as: different number and group of schedule delay factors, linguistic variables and membership functions, weights of rules, aggregation, etc. This study opens up a realm of possibilities where future researchers can produce more powerful, user friendly software that can analyze all the possible schedule success factors, producing fast and reliable results. Further research is needed to investigate potential improvements in the implementation of project management systems in Lanao del Sur construction industry. Efficient project management would result in tangible outcomes for all aspects of planning, scheduling and monitoring control of time, cost and specification of projects. Implementing efficient management methods will overcome political, organizational and cultural obstacles. Appropriate training for workers related to their task should be organized. For instance, proper management training should be coordinate among engineers and project managers. Skill training for laborers workers is one of the mitigation measures of succes factors in construction projects.

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References Ahuja, H.N. (2002). Construction Performance Control by Network. New York: McGraw-Hill. Benetth, F. Lawrence (2003). The Management of Construction: a Project Life Cycle Approach. Butterworth-Heinemann. Berge, Bjorn (2009). The Ecology of Building Materials. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Architectural Press. Berger, Seymour (1977). Estimating and Project Management for Small Construction Firms. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Bonny, John Bruce (1973). Handbook of Construction Management of an Organization. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Bush, Vincent (1973). Construction Management: A Handbook for Contractor, Architects, and Students. Reston, Va: Reston Pub., A prentice Hall. Clough, Richard Hudson (2012). Construction Project Management. New York: Wiley-Intersciece. Cottom, Truman W. (2014). Building and Construction desk book-with forms. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall. Gatti, Stefano (2008). Project Finance in Theory and Practice: Designing, Structuring, and Financing Private and Public Projects. London: Elsevier/Academic Press. Halpin, Daniel W. (2000. Design of Construction and Process Operations. New York: Wiley. Harris, Frank (2013). Modern Construction Management. London: Granada Crosby Pub., Lockwood Staples. Johnston, John E. (2013). The Construction Industry Handbook. Boston, Mass: Cashners books, Division of Cashners Pub. Kavanagh, Thomas C. (1998). Construction Management: A professional Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lambeck, Richard (2009). Urban Construction Project Management. New York: McGraw Hill. Layrock, Adrian (2007). Irrigation Systems: Design, Planning and Construction. Wallingford, UK; Cambridge, MA: CABI. Llanto, Gilberto (2010). A review of Build-Operated-Transfer for Infrastructure Development. Makati City, Phil: Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Llnato, Gilberto M. (2010). A review of Build-Operated-Transfer for Infrastructure Development. Makati City, Phil: Philippine Institute for Development Studies. McAfree, R. Bruce (1977). Cases in Construction Supervision. Reston, Va: Reston Pub., A Prentice-Hall. Melvin, Tom. (1979). Practical Psychology in Construction Management. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. National Statistic Office-Manila (2008). 2008 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry: Construction. Manila, Phil: National Statistic Office. Northrup, Herbert R. (1984). Open Shop Construction Revisited. Philadelphia, Pa: Industrial Research Unit. Oberlender, Garold D. (2000). Project Management for Engineering and Construction. Boston: McGraw Hill. Oppenheimer, Samuel P. (1971). Directing Construction for Profit: Business aspects of Contracting. New York: McGraw-Hill. Parker, Henry W. (1927). Methods Improvement for Construction Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill. Peurifoy, R.L. (2002). Construction Planning, Equipment and Methods. Boston: McGraw Hill. Pilcher, Roy (1976). Principle of Construction management. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Royer, King (1974). The Construction Manager. Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Reston Pub. Salvan, George Salinda (1986). Architectural Practice and Construction Management. Quezon City, Phil: JMC Press. Sanares, Romeo A. (1986). Project Study: Road Construction. Quezon City, Phil: 5138 Merchandising. Stillman, William J. (1978). Construction Practices for Project Managers and Superintendents. Reston, Va.: 31

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Stipanuk, David M. (1992). Hospitality Facilities Management and Design. Michigan: Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association. Sullivan, Gary (2010). Managing Construction Logistics. Chicster, West Susses, U.K.; Ames, Iowa: Blackwell. Uff, John (1978). Construction Law: An Outline of Law and Practice Relating to the Construction Industry. London: Sweet and Maxwell. Stipanuk, David M. (1992). Hospitality Facilities Management and Design. Michigan: Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association. Sullivan, Gary (2010). Managing Construction Logistics. Chicster, West Susses, U.K.; Ames, Iowa: Blackwell. Uff, John (1978). Sonstruction Law: An Outline of Law and Practice Relating to the Construction Industry. London: Sweet and Maxwell. Warnier, Jean Dominique (1981). Logical Construction of System. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. William, Harry (1975). Construction Practices. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

The Author Jawad Z. Salic was born at Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on March 16, 1991. He is currently the College Administrator of Philippine Engineering and Agro â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Industrial College (PEACI) and Program Director of Kalumbayan Philippines, Inc. He completed his BS Civil Engineering at PEACI. He also completed his AB Islamic Studies, MA Islamic Studies and earned 18 units in Ph.D. Philippine Studies at MSU â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Main Campus.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 33-43, ÂŠIJHSS

Assessing Faculty Development Needs: The Case of Mindanao State University (MSU) - Marawi Campus Prof. Rasid M. Paca Dr. Anabelie V. Valdez Engr. Maryam Q. Manalundong Mindanao State University Office of the Vice President for Planning & Development msumain.ovppd@gmail.com Abstract Assessment is an essential process of gathering necessary information useful for evaluating the needs of a certain variables. In this study, assessment was primarily used to examine the faculty development needs of the Mindanao State University Marawi Campus. Variables investigated through survey, focus group discussions and consultative meetings include faculty profiles, trainings, performance, research and publications, housing program, appointment status, study grant and promotions, and the needs for faculty enhancement program. Based on the data gathered from the survey and series of consultative meeting/focus group discussion in the different colleges in the university, comprehensive results revealed that, the faculty force of Mindanao State University in terms of educational attainment, trainings, and research outputs is not enough for the university to be considered as candidate for center of excellence and or center of development. Faculty needs motivation such as financial supports, conducive learning environment, enough housing program, continuous and regular attendance of fora and other professional growth are the most urgent needs of the faculty. Generally, MSU administrations need extra efforts in providing faculty development needs so that the university will meet the requirement to achieve center of excellence and center of development. Keywords: assessment, faculty development, faculty needs, faculty feedbacks Introduction Productive working environment requires skilled and competent employees. Having competent and skilled employees can do complex tasks efficiently, effectively and in safe manner. Universities around the world precisely attempt and initiate different plan and strategies in applying the idea of â&#x20AC;&#x2022;qualityâ&#x20AC;&#x2013; in the context of education. Globalization and global competitiveness towards academic excellence continues to be a challenge as it is reflected to quality that signifies different means of coping with the continuous intense competitiveness. Instructional quality plays a vital role in attaining the framework of quality education. Growing evidence has been set that students are most motivated to learn and excel when teachers are strong on all three legs of the instructional tripod that is: content knowledge, pedagogic skills, and relationship skills. The importance of teacher effectiveness in providing quality learning experiences to all students is absolutely clear. However, some teachers produce much larger 33

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achievement gains than others do and that differences in teacher effectiveness tend to persist from year to year in the absence of effective professional development (Ferguson, 2007). In the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Orders (CMO) in attaining Center of Excellence (COE) and or Center of Development (COD) gives more emphasis and percentage to instructional quality research and publication. Key persons that give instructional quality are the faculty since they are the prime movers and doer in delivering instructions to the students. However, studies conducted which was reaffirmed by UNESCO reports (2003) revealed that quality education is declining especially in developing countries in which Philippines is part of it due to problems and challenges face by the teachers and learners which includes lack of classrooms and instructional materials, inadequate teachers, and no appropriate funds for faculty development and among others. Given this deficiency, assessing faculty development needs is much needed in order to address the so called ―attaining academic excellence or center of excellence in educational services. According to Irby, O’Sullivan and Steinert (2015), faculty development is an indispensable and often undervalued institutional resource, yet it plays essential role for the advancement of faculty competence and organizational vitality. In the World Education Forum, Dakar (2000) stipulated that to achieve education for all it needs to improve the quality of education. He said “Improve all aspects of the quality of education to achieve recognized and measurable learning outcomes for all-especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills” Development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for people to assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life and set goals in order to realize and maximize their potential (SkillsYouNeed.com©2011-2016). The purpose of this paper is to assess and examine the status of the faculty in terms of educational qualification/educational attainment, terms of appointment, seminars and trainings attended, faculty housing program, research outputs, enhancement needs and personal perceptions of the teachers. Assessing faculty development needs was done through needs assessment analysis and consultative meeting, for us the Mindanao State University (MSU) office for planning and development could draw a workable development plan that could address the issues on faculty development needs. Methodology Assessment has many purpose, it could be used to appraise the performance of the students or teachers, and to provide feedback. In this study assessment was used to dealt on the present status of the faculty in MSU in order to identify and evaluate their needs and feedbacks was drawn. This study documented the faculty development needs through needs analysis and consultative meeting using survey questionnaire and focus group discussions in each college in the university. The data was gathered through a series of formal and informal consultative meetings apart from the survey questionnaires. Aside from survey questionnaire, focus group discussions and consultative meetings, data from annual reports of the university was also used as data source that serve as platforms of the previous issues of the variables investigates so as to draw conclusive evidence on the faculty development needs. Results and Discussions

A. MSU Faculty Profile

Faculty profile of the MSU includes educational qualifications and trainings attended. Educational qualification of a university faculty is an important thing to consider in planning towards attaining academic excellence. Based on the collected data, out of 856 faculty respondent who successfully participate the assessment survey only one hundred thirteen (113) or 13.2% are Ph.D. holders, and among the seventeen colleges, the faculty of the College of Agriculture has the highest percentage (17.78%) of PhD holders, followed by the 34

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College of Forestry (17.39%), and then the College of Public Affairs or CPA (16.88%). In general, less than 50 % of MSU the faculty members are master’s degree holder (44%). However, combining the numbers of PhD’s and masters’ degree holder it comprise 57.2%, yet this percentage is still weak considering that the university is aiming to be known as either center of excellence and or center of development. Based on the standard criteria of the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) center of excellence and center of development instructional quality comprise 45% of the total key areas in which faculty force and qualifications has a greater percent composition (30% - 40%) of its components depending on the course or field. According to this standard criterion, faculty is the primary operative resource in the academic institution. Faculty shoulder the institution’s responsibilities to teach and facilitate learning, generate new knowledge, and assist in providing service programs of the institution to the community. The faculty roster of every field or course areas must be composed of professionals in terms of education, experience and skills. The minimum requirement of the Philippine CHED for a certain degree program to be acknowledge as either center of excellence and center of development is that there will be at least five (5) full time PhDs’ and two (2) PhDs’ plus three (3) masters’ degree holder respectively. However, this requirement is just a minimum and it will vary according to the degree programs of each college of department. As shown in Table 1 and the succeeding figures (Figure 1 and Figure 2), the Mindanao State University (MSU) Marawi Campus, the number of faculty members in each college who are PhDs’ is not enough or does not meet the minimum requirement to be a candidate for Center of Excellence and or Center of Development except for the two programs or department under the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics namely Mathematics and Biology Department. Table 1 College Faculty Profile of MSU-Marawi Campus in Terms of Educational Qualifications (2016) College

College of Agriculture College of Business Adm. College of Education College of Eng’g College of Fisheries College of Forestry College of Health Sciences CHARM CIT ISED King Faisal College of Law CNSM CPA CSSH CSPEAR Engg Tech Overall Total Overall Mean

Ph.D./EDd

MS/MST/ MAEd

BS/BSEd/AB

POST GRAD

8 2 7 3 0 8 4 3 0 3

17.78 5.26 16.67 10.34 0.00 17.39 10.26 10.71 0.00 14.29

25 19 17 12 10 15 6 10 3 8

55.56 50.00 40.48 41.38 62.50 32.61 15.38 35.71 13.64 38.10

11 17 18 14 6 23 29 13 19 10

24.44 44.74 42.85 48.28 37.50 50.00 74.36 46.43 86.36 47.62

2.22

7.14

32 26 16 1 0 113 0.132

13.55 16.88 9.25 4.17 0.00 13.2%

86 64 83 15 4 377 0.44

55.48 41.56 47.98 62.50 16.67 44%

37 64 74 8 16 359 0.419

23.87 41.56 42.77 33.33 25.00 41.9%

4 7 0.008

16.67 0.8%

Total

45 38 42 29 16 46 39 28 22 21 0 0 155 154 173 24 24 856

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Higher Education 1400 1200 1000 800

2011

600

2012 2013

400

2014 200

2015

2016

Figure 1 Comparative Number of College Faculties by Educational Attainment (2011 – 2015) (Source: MSU Annual Report 2015)

High School Department 600

500 2011

400

2012

300

2013 200

2014

100

2015

0 PhD/EdD/DPA

MS/MST/MA

Bachelor's Degree

Total

Figure 2 Comparative Numbers of High School Faculties by Educational Attainment (2011 – 2015) (Source: MSU Annual Report 2015)

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As shown in figure 1, the trend of the MSU faculty educational attainment is fluctuating. There is no continuous progression especially in the higher education of college faculty. This trend implied that the MSU failed to maintain or sustains the professional growth of its faculty by sending them to further studies and by giving them opportunity to avail study grants. If this trend will not be mitigated then, MSU could not really attain its goal towards a center of academic excellence or center of development. In terms of trainings and seminars attended by the faculty of MSU as shown in Table 2, generally less than 50% of the faculty in each college attended various trainings and seminars except for the sole college, the College of Sports, Physical Education & Recreation (CSPEAR) in which almost all of them (95.83%) attended various trainings and seminars. Again, Philippine CHED memorandum for center of excellence and center of development stipulated and clearly emphasized that self-improvement among faculty such as participation in postgraduate programs, trainings and skills development are deemed necessary. Further studies, trainings and seminars are important motivation on the part of the faculty with the interest to improve its prime resource. Irby, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan & Steinert (2015) study related to recognizing excellence in faculty development programs revealed that the faculty development program takes place in accredited professional schools which should be aligned to the school missions and goals. Faculty development program must be systematic, evidencedbased and must focus on improving educational practices, leadership and scholarships. Teachers at professional higher or educational institutions have the task to arrange the conditions that would enable the students to absorb fully the knowledge transfer, techno-transfer and any form of education and learning. University should optimally provide competent graduates and solve problems related to in depended monitoring educational processes and surely produce graduates which are in demand in the employment market (Safargaliev & Vinogradov, 2015). Table 2 Faculty Profile of MSU-Marawi in Terms of Trainings/Seminar Attended College College of Agriculture College of Business Adm. College of Education College of Engâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;g College of Fisheries College of Forestry College of Health Sciences CHARM CIT ISED King Faisal College of Law CNSM CPA CSSH CSPEAR Engg Tech PUC Overall Total Overall Mean

f 16 2 6 9 3 10 2 4 2 1

% 35.56 5.26 14.29 31.03 18.75 21.74 5.13 14.29 9.09 4.76

24 40 33 23 3 3 181

14.48 25.97 19.08 95.83 12.50

Total # of Faculty

Mean

45 38 42 29 16 46 39 28 22 21

0.36 0.05 0.14 0.31 0.19 0.22 0.05 0.14 0.09 0.04

155 154 173 24 24 11 867

0.15 0.26 0.19 0.95 0.13 0.27 0.209

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B. Faculty Research & Publication

Research and publications is a strong manifestation of a matured university. Research and publications is one of the important vehicle in making linkages and collaborations to other universities around the world. Literature and studies survey reveals that external integration of education is very important especially on this globalization theme. Interrelations between universities that allow networking and collaborations are a promising strategy towards gaining more diverse and productive forms of integrations towards achieving academic excellence, research and extensions. However in the case of MSU Marawi campus, the research outputs of faculty in not progressive. Only few of the faculty has successfully conducted research due to overloading of teaching loads. The MSU research and publications has not given priority, thus faculty are not motivated to do so. This research outputs issues is same as true in terms of research publications. As shown in Figure 3, research publications are fluctuated. In the year 2015 publications rises however, in 2016 it drastically move downward. The trend on research and publication implied that the MSU failed to sustain the research capabilities of its faculty. In fact, the MSU is missioned to perform the traditional trilogy of functions of a university, namely: instruction, research, and extension. Study conducted in U.S. by Mullen, Murthy, & Teague (2008) revealed that availability of sufficient laboratory space, equipmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, financial and material resources were deemed critical for supporting facultyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts in doing research.

Research Output

Research Publication

100

90 80

20 10

0 Refereed Publication

Faculty Research 2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Figure 3 Research and Publications

C. Housing Program

Another needs that is relevant for efficient and competent performance of the faculty in the universities and any other institution is the housing program intended for the faculty. In order to attain productive and sustainable academic excellence, faculty must be self-motivated. However, if the faculty has a long-way to travel from their home to the campus, the situation might be chaotic and stressful and could suppress the utmost transfer of knowledge from the teachers to the learners. In the context of globalization and academic excellence, educational environment or school climate must be conducive to both teachers and students. Many universities in other countries efficiently provide housing program for all of its employees. 38

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Nanyang University in Singapore is a very good example in terms of providing housing programs for their employees and the university environment is conducive to all constituents. In the case of MSU Marawi Campus, Table 4 shows that there is no equal distribution of housing programs to the faculty and other employees of the university. Majority (69%) of the employees in the university are either renting private cottages or commuting from the campus to their respective home which is either in Marawi City and Iligan City. These results implied that the employees of the university have no equal opportunity in terms of housing program. Maybe the university could not provide enough housing for its employees or there it might be no proper regulation in terms of its housing program. Since most of the employee particularly the faculty is commuting, traveling from their respective homes to the university and vice versa could hamper the efficient delivery of their services. They might be late in the office due to some unavoidable circumstances during travel like traffic or mechanical malfunction of the vehicle and others. Based on interviews, commuters faculty are avoiding to handle early schedule classes and classes in the late afternoon because they having troubles of their travels. This issue must be resolved by the university officials so that attaining its missions and goals towards academic excellence and globalization will not be jeopardize. Table 4 Faculty Profile of MSU-Marawi in Terms of Housing Program College

College of Agriculture College of Business Adm. College of Education College of Engâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;g College of Fisheries College of Forestry College of Health Sciences CHARM CIT ISED King Faisal College of Law CNSM CPA CSSH CSPEAR Engg Tech PUC Overall

MSU Housing/C ottage f %

Private Cottage/Ren ting f %

18.18

13 6 12 5

25.00 33.33 54.54 15.15

32 1 8

Commuter

Total

23.38

27.27

13 6 4 4

25.00 33.33 18.18 12.12

26 6 6 24

50.00 33.33 27.27 72.73

52 18 22 33

80.00 5.26 38.10

4 8 8

10.00 42.11 38.10

4 10 3

10.00 52.63 14.29

40 19 19

14 14

14.89 41.18

46 7

48.94 20.59

34 13

36.17 38.24

94 34

9 5 1

39.13 31.25 11.11

13 7 1

56.52 43.75 11.11

1 4 7

4.35 25 77.78

23 16 9

134

31%

139

32%

159

37%

432

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D. Appointment Status

Academic excellence is a long overdue pursuit of the Mindanao State University, specifically the Marawi Campus. Attaining to this pursuit needs quality and qualified manpower needed to accelerate the educational system toward excellence. However, manpower needs motivation and greener pasteur in order to sustain their individual needs. As such, faculty/teachers’ status of appointment is one variable that is considered to motivate the teachers to be competent on their job. Nagtalon (2001) as cited by Hajilan (2016) stressed out that quality education implies an upgraded educational standard that is—a condition that is essential to the development of academic excellence as well as the quality of life. In the case of the Mindanao State University, 44% of the faculties are already on permanent status, 38% are under probationary and 18% are on contractual status. Among of the sixteen (16) participating colleges, more than 50% of the faculty force in the College of Health Sciences is contractual status, and 46.15% in the case of the College of Hotel and Restaurant Management (CHARM). Table 5 Faculty Profile of MSU-Marawi in Terms of Appointment Status College College of Agriculture College of Business Adm. College of Education College of Eng’g College of Fisheries College of Forestry College of Health Sciences CHARM CIT ISED King Faisal College of Law CNSM CPA CSSH CSPEAR Overall Total Overall Mean &

Permanent

Probationary

Contractual

Total

f 20 11 13 27 7 13 5 4 2 12 19 5 45 23 67 9

% 44.44% 31.43% 76.47% 58.7% 46.67% 56.52% 16.67% 30.77% 10.53% 57.14% 54.29% 55.56% 45.45% 62.16% 47.18% 37.5%

f 25 18 2 15 8 10 9 3 14 5 13 2 35 9 51 11

% 55.56% 51.43% 11.76% 32.61% 53.33% 43.48% 30% 23.08% 73.68% 23.81% 37.14% 22.22% 35.35% 24.32% 35.91% 45.83%

f 0 9 2 4 0 0 16 6 3 4 3 2 19 5 24 4

53.55% 46.15% 15.79% 19.05% 8.57% 22.22% 19.19% 13.51% 16.90% 16.67%

45 35 17 46 15 23 30 13 19 21 35 9 99 37 142 24

269 0.44

44%

230 0.38

38%

114 0.18

18%

610 100%

25.71% 11.76% 8.7%

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Percentage 0% cotractual 18% Permanent 44% Probationary 38%

Figure 4 Percent Composition in Terms of Faculty Appointment Status Source: OVCAA Office

E. Study Grant

Professional growth of faculty is very important in attaining academic excellence and globalization. As of 2014 records provided by the annual report of the Mindanao State University, study grant provided to the faculty by MSU is not progressive. As shown in figure 5, year 2013 has the highest number of faculty that is on study grant on doctoral degree. However, it abruptly decreases in the year 2014. In the case of matersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; degree program there is a progression increase number of faculty on study grant for 2011 and 2012, but decreases as much in the year 2013, and manage to increase again in the year 2014. The fluctuation of providing study grant program of the faculty implies that the university does not seriously prioritize the professional growth of its faculty regularly. According to Monterona (2014), human resource is the most essential components in any organization. Each employee brings to the organization different skills, knowledge, and ideas that help the organization or university attaining its goals. An employee must continuously grow professionally in order to keep abreast on the un-ending change in the process of learning, education and innovations. Professional growth in terms of continuous education through study grant, trainings, and symposia is the process of preparing the manpower of the university towards innovations and educational revolutions of the mind in terms of multidimensional basis for the solution to a wide range of pedagogical and content knowledge problems. Continuous education and learning is an educational process in any educational system or universities that serve as reference points on the development of heuristics and exploratory capabilities to face the challenge of global competitiveness.

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MSU-Faculty Study Grant 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Ph.D.

MA/MS/MST 2011

2012

2013

2014

Figure 5 Study Grant of MSU Faculty Source: Annual Report 2014

F. Other Needs

Faculty needs enhancement in all aspects namely; training and conferences, research, and further studies through scholarship programs and study grant. They also need enough housing program, regular monitoring in the process of giving tenure and promotion. Incentives, hazard fees, and equal opportunity are mostly requested by them. Moreover, motivating factors that drives the faculty to do efficiently their jobs is also one of their concerns considering that most of the time or none at all. Mullen, Murthy, & Teague (2008) concluded in their study that university infrastructure and organizational structure and culture are important factors to consider so as achieving academic excellence. . Furthermore, the working environment of the faculty must be conducive enough so that they will become more productive. Housing program must be also properly regulated so that all faculties can avail such privilege. Lastly, school climate must be friendly and just. A sound and healthy organization is depicted through social and professional interactions of the employees (Sia-ed, 2016). Conclusion Development of educational process towards academic excellence and globalization is of current interest to all educational institutions and universities. However, these could not be attained if manpower especially faculty are equipped totally in transfer knowledge and skills to the learners. For many institution and university including the Mindanao State University, the most serious drawbacks in the attaining of academic excellence should begin to comprehend the pedagogical content knowledge of the faculty, and the different activities in conditions of the further existence and development of mankind as a whole. Based on the findings of this needs assessment survey, MSU needs to capacitate the faculty in terms of instructions and research. MSU officials must regularly provide study grant to the faculty in each college with proper selections, monitoring and time bound. There must be proper execution and implementation of the MSU Code of governance on the case of faculty development program. All learning institutions must see to it that the organizational structure is bound to proper ethics that could 42

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serve as guiding rules in monitoring the university climate and health conditions. Giving incentives and other form of motivations must be equally distributed to the deserving faculty members and other employees in the university. Commitment and cooperation of every employee and higher officials in the university is significantly needed to effectively promote faculty development and in this way, academic excellence and globalization will surely attain. Analyzing the needs of the university employees is a continuous process and must be done regularly in every institution. Assessing faculty development needs is a continuous process because the mood of the school campus environment and the needs of the faculty are always changing. Hence, the task of faculty development needs assessment must be regularly conducted and monitored so as to develop plans and strategies in order to address those needs and for continuous development towards academic excellence and global competiveness. References American Alliance of Museum (2012). Developing an Institutional Plan. CHED CMO’s. Commission of Higher Education, Philippines. Hajilan, K.O. (2016). Path Analysis of the Performance of Educators in Mindanao State University Tawi-tawi College of Technology & Oceanography. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research. Vol 15, No 4. P-ISSN 1694-2492, e-ISSN 1694-2116 Global Research & Development Services. Faculty Development Program (2012-2015). De Lasalle University (DLSU). Faculty Development Needs Assessment Survey (2011). American Society of Radiologic Technologists Institutional Strengtheing Framework (2014). A Guidance Note. © Asian Development Bank Publication Stock No. ARM146733-2 Institutional Development Plan (2016-2021).Quality of Life is a Commitment of All. Universidad de Bosque Irby, D.M., O’Sullivan, P.S., Steinert, Y (2015). Is it Time to Recognize Excellence in Faculty Development Programs? University of California, USA, McGill University, Canada Kekeeva, Z. Sardarova, Z. & Ergalieva, G. (2015). The Preparation of a Specialist in Networking Cultural-Educational Space University. UDK 378.6:004 (574) Studies and Articles MSU Annual Report (2014 -2015). Mindanao State University, Annual Report Mullen, C.A., Murthy, U., & Teague, G. (2008). Listening to those we serve: Assessing the research needs of university faculty. The Journal of Research Education, Volume 39. Sia-ed, A. (2016). Organizational School Climate and Organizational Health of Mountain Province State Polytechnic College. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research. Vol 15, No 4. P-ISSN 1694-2492, e-ISSN 1694-2116 Global Research & Development Services. Travis, J.E., Hursh, D. Lankewicz, G. & Tang L. (1996). Monitoring the Pulse of the Faculty: Needs Assessment in Faculty Development Programs. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/podimprovedacad/369 Whalen, M. L. (2002). Institutional Assessment. Division of Planning & Budget. Cornell University 20012-03 Financial Plan.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 44-55, ©IJHSS

Student Teachers’ Cognition in Literature Teaching: From Planning to Planting Lynn M. Besa Rizal Technological University Philippines Abstract Teacher cognition is one of the many factors perceived to influence in literature teaching. What teachers believe and think affect their teaching. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore student teachers‟ views in literature and literature teaching and how such beliefs were reflected in their plans and actual teaching. In the conduct of the study, triangulation method which included survey, observation and interview were employed as part of the quantitative analysis while content analysis was used in qualitative part of the study. The result indicates that there is congruence between the student teachers‟ (STs) view in literature and literature teaching. In addition, it was evident that their plans were religiously executed. However, it was uncovered that the STs‟ views in literature and literature teaching were not congruent with their lesson plans (LPs) in which, the divergence was found to be dominantly influenced by their early education. Keywords: congruence, lesson plan, literature teaching, teacher cognition, student teacher Introduction Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs today. It demands broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and standards; enthusiasm, a caring attitude, and a love of learning; knowledge of discipline and classroom management techniques; and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. With all these qualities required, it is no wonder that it is hard to find great teachers. All students have had hundreds of teachers in their lifetimes. A very few of these teachers were remembered as being exceptionally good. What are the qualities that create an excellent, memorable teacher? Why do some teachers inspire students to work three times harder than they normally would, while others inspire students to skip class? Most importantly, what do teachers believe in and think or plan that make or break their teaching in general? A belief as described by Incecay (2011) is a mental state that is believed to be true by the person holding it, although the individual may know that alternative beliefs may be held true by others. According to the assumption, beliefs can influence thoughts and actions of individuals. While teacher cognition refers to the unobservable cognitive dimension of teaching-what teachers know, believe and think. Teacher cognition includes beliefs, knowledge, theories, attitudes, images, assumptions, metaphors, conceptions, perspectives which are about teaching, teachers, learning, students, subject matter, curricula, materials, instructional activities and self (Borg, 2006). Johnson (1994) as cited by Incecay (2011) concluded that research on teachers‟ beliefs shares three basic assumptions: First, teachers‟ beliefs influence both perceptual and judgment which, in 44

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turn, affects what teachers say and do in the classroom. Second, teachers‟ beliefs play a crucial role in how teachers learn to teach that is, how they interpret new information about learning and teaching and how that information is translated into classroom practices. Third, understanding teachers‟ beliefs is essential to improving teaching practices and professional teacher preparation programs. While information about students, such as ability, sex, and classroom behavior, were commonly found to influence what teachers believe in. The immediate classroom and wider school environment were also found to be influential. The latter includes „extra-classroom pressures in the school such as administrators and policies and in the community (such as parents) [which] set boundaries on teachers‟ pedagogical decisions. Literature is characterized as writings of expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest (dictionary.reference.com/browse/literature). Literature teaching, on the other hand, is a different matter (Gutierrez, 2004). There are diverse, but not opposing approaches to teaching it. On one end, literature is seen as “caught,” that is, in the process of analysis and discussions in class, students will naturally catch the ability to read appropriately. Then, there is transmissive mode of teaching, where the teacher retreats to teaching literature. Teaching literature ensures the formation of individuals who are familiar with the significance of tradition. This perspective is built on the assumption that literature (the object of the literary critical) expresses the tradition (or society‟s values and beliefs). Thus, studying literature is essentially like studying and learning about society‟s values and beliefs. Pre-service teaching which is commonly called Student Teaching or Practice Teaching, an integral subject in teaching or education course. Pre-service teachers are required to practice their teaching profession in a specified time either in-campus or out-campus or both. CHED Memorandum Order No. 11, series of 1999 which specifies the Revised Policies and Standard for Teacher Education and CHED Memo No.30, series of 2004 states that practice teaching is the key phase and the most important experience in the pre-service preparation of future teachers. As a valuable component of the Bachelor of Elementary and Bachelor of Secondary Education Curriculum, it is designed to provide the student teachers with opportunities to put into practice the learning competencies they have acquired in the teacher education program and at the same time harness their competencies. This stage bridges theory and practice since it provides the teachers the clinical experience in an actual school setting. Thus, the primary purpose of the student teaching experience is to provide beginning educators with a carefully mentored experience to develop and enhance knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to positively impact student learning and development (Cortez, 2011). As such, how do student teachers (ST) teach? More importantly, what do they consider before they get into their classes?

Statement of the Problem In this study, the researcher aimed to explore the student teachers‟ cognition in literature and literature teaching and to investigate if such beliefs were reflected in their lesson plan and actual teaching. Specifically, the study probed the following questions: 1. What are the student teachers‟ views about literature and literature teaching? 2. What are the sources of student teachers‟ beliefs in literature and literature teaching? 3. Are their views reflected in their lesson plans and actual teaching?

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Significance of the Study Teacher cognition is vital to understanding the nature of teacher education and the roles as teacher educators. Moreover, understanding teacher cognition ultimately leads to better learning in the classroom (Bernardo and Limjap, 2003). Therefore, the results of this study seeks to provide inputs especially to the administration in the improvement of Teacher Education Institution (TEI) curriculum in the University in literature and literature related subjects, the faculty members to reinforce their teaching of literature, the cooperating teachers to extend maximum assistance to the student teachers in their lesson planning. Analyzing what the STs Think and how they teach during their first year of pre-service would help them develop a sound judgment in decision making during their teaching. Furthermore, this study would give them the ideas on handling literature classes. Methodology The researcher utilized quantitative- qualitative or mix method design in the analysis of data. This design aimed to gather information about existing STsâ&#x20AC;&#x; cognition on literature teaching and its manifestation in the lesson plans (LP) and actual teaching. In the quantitative-descriptive analysis, survey questionnaires, class observation which validated the responses in the survey and verified the implementation of the LPs and interview which aimed to verify the decisions made during the actual teaching were used. Thus, a triangulation method was employed to get a holistic view of the analysis (Nunan, 2009). While in the qualitative analysis of data, an exploratory research where content analysis was specifically utilized in the analysis of the contents of the LPs. (http://es.scribd.com/doc/36491906/Exploratory-Research. Retrieved last December 15, 2016) The Participants Eight (8) female and only two (2) male participants with a total of 10 STs majoring English who were assigned in different year levels at the Laboratory High School of Rizal Technological University for their Professional Education 13 subject or in-campus training were requested to be the respondents in the study. The respondentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; ages range from 18-22 years old. The eight (8) STs were generally first timers with no experience in classroom teaching other than reporting in their academic subjects, while two (2) had been facilitators in NSTP program during the previous semesters. Instruments Used The lesson plans (LP) written by the STs which were intended for one or two sessions were analyzed based on the criteria for effective integration of language and content set by Bigelow and Ranney in 2005. To gain further understanding of what participants considered in their LPs objectives, objectives were sorted into the following categories: vocabulary, form, reading, writing and activity. A survey questionnaire was also used to solicit the ideas of the students about literature and literature teaching. While the interview was under covered to verify the decisions made during the actual teaching. The interview questions ranges from the STsâ&#x20AC;&#x; questions asked during the discussion to the activities realized during the enrichment section of the lesson. The class observation was used to validate the contents of the lesson plan. The table below shows the frequency of observation among the participants.

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Table 1 Summary of Observation Time Teacher Year level Frequency of observation ST 1 Grade 8 Twice ST2 Fourth year Twice ST3 Fourth year Twice ST 4 Third year Twice ST5 Third year Twice ST6 Third year Once ST7 Grade 7 Thrice ST 8 Fourth year Twice ST 9 Grade 7 Thrice ST 10 Grade 7 Thrice Total no. of hours observed

Time allotment 4 hours 2 hours 2 hours 2 hours 2 hours 1 hour 6 hours 2 hours 6 hours 6 hours 32 hours

The table shows that the longest hours of observation is 6 with STs 7, 9 and 10. Only ST1 was observed for 4 hours while the rest of the STs were observed for 2 hours each. ST6 was observed only for 1 hour (1 session) due to the shifting/ rotation of STs. (As per schedule, each ST is tasked to teach a lesson for a session which usually last for two meetings (an hour each session for Third and Fourth year levels while for Grades 7 and 8, a session may last for 2 hours depending on the schedule of the class). Data Gathering Procedure In the conduct of the study, the researcher first sought permission to observe in literature classes from the Laboratory High School English teachers. The STs were informed of the observation but not of the time and the names [of STs] to be observed to avoid „artificial‟ preparation. Observer‟s paradox was activated during the observation of actual teaching to avoid discomfort on the part of the STs. Hence, the researcher observed the implementation of the lesson plan and the entire teaching. LPs were also borrowed from the respondents to verify their overall objectives and plan in teaching. After the observation, the STs were interviewed to clarify the decisions made during their actual teaching: the use of strategies which include choice of strategies for motivation, vocabulary, enrichment activity etc. After the interview, the STs were requested to answer the survey form on their views about literature and literature teaching. Results of the Study

Student teachers’ views in literature and literature teaching Table 2 presents the participants‟ views in literature:

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Table 2 STs Views in Literature Student Views in Literature Teachers ST 1 Literature is about the realities of the true story. It is also about story within the story and it focuses on the importance of moral lesson or the value that is based on the story ST2 Literature is life itself; through it we are able to make connections with people across nations and from all walks of life for it appeals to one aspect of human life that is common to everyone- feelings. We study literature because it always has something to teach us and one of these is values. ST3 Literature mirrors society/ Literature is life. Literature transcends the value of life ST 4 Literature is defines as S.H.E. (significant Human Experience). Literature is life itself. ST5 Literature is all about life ST6 Literature is life itself. It‟s a manifestation of how we live, expressing emotion, instill values and teach history through written form. ST7 Literature is part of our history that is being past generation by generation that should be connected in our present society ST 8 Literature is life. It includes human experiences which are significant. ST 9 Literature is the reflection of life. ST 10 Literature is the presentation of life in different forms * no editing was made to preserve the actual responses of the STs Table 2 reveals that the STs‟ concepts of literature are geared towards life. Their definition is no longer the technical or superficial definition/ level but an in-depth realization of the subject. Thus, their belief in literature encompasses a „beyond the text‟ understanding and not the memorized definition literature. Table 3 displays the participants‟ views on literature teaching. Table 3 STs Views in Literature Teaching Student Views in Literature Teaching Teachers ST 1 To come up to the true meaning of the story and to analyze the elements and also the sequencing of events ST2 Literature teaching is helping the students go into the deepest depths of the piece, the lesson it manifests and especially to make the students be fond of literature. ST3 Teaching literature means teaching life, through literature students are able to expose into many life‟s faces. ST 4 Teaching literature is exposing students to different situations or happenings in life, and appreciating as well the different literary works. ST5 Teaching should not be conformed in a box ST 6 Literature teaching is an effective way of instilling values to students, literature opens door for students to take a glimpse of the history. ST 7 Teaching of literature is the way for us to communicate the past‟s narrative works. ST8 To spread the values in life ST 9 Literature teaching is making a difference in the students live where you show them the values ST 10 Literature teaching should be the presentation of different experiences of the characters in the story *

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It could be gleaned from the table that most of the STs‟ concept of literature teaching is about presentation of life in which lessons are reflected. Thus, the emphasis of literature teaching is the moral extracted from the characters. Sources of student teachers’ beliefs in literature and literature teaching The table below shows the summary of the sources of STs‟ beliefs: Table 4 Sources of Beliefs Sources of Beliefs Frequency Rank Teacher 7 1 Seminar 3 2 Journal articles 2 3.5 Personal understanding of the subject 2 3.5 Classmates 1 5.5 Media (television, social networking, etc.) 1 5.5 Table 4 reveals that the STs based their teaching on Teachers as the primary source of information, it was followed by the seminars they attended as rank 2. While journal articles and personal understanding of the subject ranks 3.5 respectively. Classmates and media as source of information rank last. When STs were asked on their sources of beliefs, majority of the STs cited that their former teachers including cooperating teachers contributed to their concept of literature and literature teaching. Data divulges that teachers play pivotal role in the transmission of information among the learners. While other sources include input from seminars, journal articles, classmates during class reporting or demonstrations. While others believed that their concepts of literature are innate to them. During the interview, one of the STs said: Ma‟am, from Sir X…he told us before the start of the class to be strict so that students will listen to us…I found that effective (ST 4). Views reflected in the STs’ lesson plans and actual teaching Lesson plan is the totality of the teacher‟s plans and ideas about a particular lesson which includes the methods and strategies s/he wants to use in order to execute the lesson. One observable feature of the STs‟ plan is the inclusion of the vocabulary building objective. Goals such as extract meaning, unlock unfamiliar words, determine the meaning, arrive at the meaning, either through context clues, synonyms, multiple meanings even through puzzle always appear in the plans. When the STs were asked, they replied that because “its always part of the plan” while others said that one of the goals of teaching literature is the enhancement of vocabulary. It was also observed that the vocabulary building of the STs always comes before the motivation. When they were asked, they said that they were exposed to such pattern. Moreover, they cited that the vocabulary building at the beginning of the lesson could lead to the continuity of the plan. Note that verbs discuss, describe, differentiate, determine, point out, compare, develop, explain, state, narrate, identify, infer, define, analyze, deduce, single out, generate, give, and discover which are cognitive domain were dominantly used. While internalize, reflect, and appreciate were used sparingly to target the affective domain. On the other hand, verbs such as apply, express, create, participate actively and Perform which are psychomotor domain are second in count. The data discloses that the overall plans of the STs were dominantly cognitive based, demonstrated by knowledge recall and the intellectual skills. Evidently, when the objectives are principally cognitive, the questions asked 49

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during the discussion are expected to be the who, what, when, where, how and more on description (hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/-dthompson/exhibition/blooms.htm). Reflectively, questions were fundamentally about the elements of story in the discussion part: Who are the characters?, What are their traits? Characteristics possessed by each character?, Where did the story happen? and in what year?, Who can give me the event as the start of the story?, What is the next event? what do you think will happen next?, How many times did Ulam steal the smoke?, Who can give me the title of the story, and What is the theme? moral of the story? etc. Apparently, questions asked by the STs were patterned after their former teachers. However, comparing the beliefs of the STs in literature and literature teaching with the questions they asked in the LP and during the actual teaching, it could be noted that there is disparity between their concept of literature and the content of their LPs which were reflected in their actual teaching. Three fourths of the time spent during the discussion was about the details of the story. During the interview, they explained that they want the students to know and remember significant details which they think could lead to the understanding of the text. Strategies Used in the PL and Actual Teaching Data reveals that the STs‟ strategies of teaching were dominantly reading comprehension and storytelling. In the secondary level, strategies includes reading and comprehension, differentiated activities, storytelling, noting details, in-depth questions, reporting and film viewing. During college years, note- taking, in-depth questions and differentiated activities, selfstudy and reporting were the used strategies. It could be noticed that strategies in the elementary level were very limited perhaps, because they could no longer recall the events during their elementary years since strategies were applied a decade ago. While strategies in high school were quite evident due to their recency. Thus, it could be concluded that among the different levels, high school has the most number of strategies applied in the literature classes. This may be the reason why most of the STs were motivated to take up English majorship were literature is a major component: “I was attracted to the different strategies used by my teacher in high school so I also use them” (ST 1) While in College, strategies were principally in-depth discussion of the details, reporting and selfstudy. In general, one could note that discussion of the elements is apparent both in the secondary and tertiary levels which were manifested in the discussion (questioning). In the enrichment activity, it was found that the STs used groupings (skit), individual (drawing, slogan) and pair (write ending). It could be gleaned that most of the STs prefer using cooperative learning as strategy in enriching their lesson. Thus, multiple intelligences (MI) was activated. When the STs were asked why they choose group dynamics, they responded that the strategy was used during their schooling. Thus, the activities reflected an application of the strategy they acquired during their schooling. Using Bigelow and Ranney‟s criteria for effective integration of language and content, one could note that the LPs did not explicitly and implicitly contextualized the parts [of the plan]. Hence, the objectives did not meet the competencies required and stipulated in the curriculum. Consequently, it was evident that since the LPs failed to meet the objectives of the topic and subject as a whole, the actual teaching was affected. The STs were able to deliver the lessons exactly the way they planned it to be but they failed to integrate the real essence of the topics because the objectives which belonged to the literal or first level of learning were dominantly knowledge- based.

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Relation between the STsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beliefs in literature and Literature Teaching, Lesson Planning and Actual Teaching The table below presents the congruence/ divergence between literature teaching, lesson planning and actual teaching: Table 5 Convergence/ Divergence of Views and Decision General General Objectives Questions Questions Concept Views on used in the asked in asked of literature plan the during the literature teaching Lesson actual plan teaching Literature Since Discuss, Questions Questions is life literature is Describe, focused on focused on the Differentiate, the the presentation determine, elements elements of life, there Point out, and details and details should be Compare, of the of the an in-depth Develop, story story study and Explain, exposure to State, Narrate, life. Identify, Infer, Define, Analyze, Deduce, Single out , and discover were all pertain to the cognitive domain. While verbs like Internalize, Reflect, and appreciate were used to target the affective domain. On the other hand, verbs such as; Apply, express, Generate, Give, Create a masterpiece, Participate actively and perform were psychomotor in nature

the views in literature and

Strategies used

Remarks

Dominantly group activities and enhancement of skills

Divergence in the concept on literature and literature teaching with the objectives, questions asked and activities.

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The table exposes that there is congruence between the objectives and questions asked both in the plan and in the actual teaching. Majority of the verbs used as objectives are cognitive-based and were congruent with the questions asked during the actual teaching which focused on the elements and details of the story geared towards comprehension. The result also reveals that the STs religiously implement their plans. In fact, it was observed that they uttered verbatim the statements/ questions written in their plans: “Why is the story entitled „The Awakening‟” “How the drama started?” “Why do you think so?” “Exactly! How does the story begin?” “What was the reaction of the two brothers when they saw Juan?” “After discussing all about the story, what good deed are highlighted in the story?” Which manifest that they failed to adjust to the needs in the classroom due to repeated utterance of the questions such as“What is the theme?”, “What is the story all about?”, “What is the moral lesson?” Another evident observation revealed in the study is the divergence between the STs‟ concept of literature and literature teaching with the objectives used in the LP. While the STs‟ views in literature and literature teaching deals with life and appreciation, the objectives which are the bases of the questions and activities to be implemented were geared towards cognitive development. During the interview, some STs admitted that they were hesitant as to whether they were able to execute the lesson well because: they were worried if the learners are really learning or not due to their „stare‟ at them. While ST2 was apprehensive due to the physical response they give her. Discussion of Findings Perhaps the best way to understand human nature fully and to know a nation completely, short of going into a formal study of psychology, sociology and history, is to study literature. Through Literature, one learns the innermost feelings and thoughts of people – the truest and most real part of the self where understanding not only of others, but more importantly, of the self and of life itself is gained. According to Webster, literature is the total preserved writings belonging to a given language or people and it is the class or the total of writings, of a given country or period, which is notable for literary form of expression, as distinguished, on the one hand, from journalistic or other ephemeral writings. Literature appeals to man‟s higher nature and its needs- emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and creative. Like all other forms of art, literature entertains and gives pleasure; it fires the imagination and arouses noble emotions. It enriches man by enabling him to reflect on life and by filling him with new ideas. Therefore, the study of literature gives him the ability to cope with life because of the understanding of human nature which it imparts. This new perception of life and people adds new dimensions to his life in the form of greater sensitivity and awareness, refinement of feelings, lofty ideals, nobility of purpose, and added culture (Garcia, et al. 1993). While for Javines (1985) the study of literature develops a keener sensitiveness to life, a clearer self-knowledge, a more balanced sense of values, aside from quickening the imagination, ripening the emotion, and broadening the horizon of one‟s culture… to instill pride in our cultural heritage and in whatever we have achieved as a race and nation. In teaching literature, teachers‟ beliefs about literature, learning, and teaching constitute the foundation of their instructional practice. 52

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Good teaching is not simply a result of a mastery of particular principles and theories that have been determined by others and by research. Good teaching is also about creating a personal and practical theory of teaching. It is about teachers‟ capacity to conceptualize their own work and understand the processes and underlying principles that inform these decisions (Gutierrez, 2004). Pre-service teaching is the opportunity to observe and eventually have hand-on experience in real classroom setting. Anchored on the work of John Dewey, (1904; 1938), teachers are learners as well and therefore needed to be provided experiences that would help them construct knowledge about their own teaching-learning process (Lucas, et al, 2010). Alema and Pashmforoosh (2013) citing Bandura says that generally, teachers‟ self-efficacy beliefs are the convictions that affect how they act. As a result, there is a connection between teachers‟ sense of efficacy in teaching literature and their amount of diligence they expend. In this study, it was found that STs dominantly extracted their views of teaching literature from their educational training since most of their time was spent there. It could also be noted that the LPs made which were realized in the actual teaching were highly traditional in term of the discussion. It was visible that though the student teachers come from different schools during the high school, they share the same mode of literature teaching. Though it is clear that their concept of literature and literature teaching is deep and self-actualized, they failed to articulate it in their plans and eventually in their actual teaching. Tiempo (1995) mentioned certain misconceptions and wrong emphasis in the teaching of literature in general and fiction in particular- a large portion of fifty minutes of a class meeting is given to the facts about the author‟s life- there is nothing wrong with that… the emphasis on facts encourages rote memory. The second wrong emphasis is the summary approach where the primary concern of the teacher is what happens in the story or novel under consideration; this means accurate summarization of the story, the detailed statement of the plot while another flaw is the part approach such as story atmosphere, story of plot, story of adventure (or action), horror story, psychological story which is uninformed and misleading and would tend to stress one element over another. A story is successful in so far as all the elements composing it- setting and atmosphere, tone, characterization, point of view, diction, psychological revelation, motivation, etc.- are artistically integrated. Finally, there is the question that most literature teachers in the country ask at the close-sometimes even at the beginning- of the discussion of the story: what is it moral lesson? The question that should be asked is: what is the meaning of the selection? The STs in RTU exhibited the same nature. Munby (1982) argue that maybe the resistance to change even in the face of strong evidence is influenced by the perceivers‟ schema, constructs, existing beliefs and understanding which according to Borg (2006) may be attributed to fear of the possible outcomes. It was also observed that the STs used spoon feeding strategy: when students unable to answer their questions, they were the ones answering the questions. Moreover, it was observed that STs exhibited inability to ask follow up questions. It was noticed that when learners weren‟t able to answer the questions, the STs kept on repeating the questions instead of rephrasing or modifying such “What is the theme?” “What is the story all about?” In addition, a gap between and among the questions asked was observed. Notice the sequence of questions asked were categorical if not segmented: “What is an anecdote?” “What is the title of the story?” “Who wrote the story?” “When and where did the story take place? 53

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“What values are embedded in the story?” “What theme can we get out of the story?” -Rizal and the Ten Pound Sterling Note lesson “Who are the characters?” “What is the problem in the story?” “What do you think happened in the sequence of the story?” “What is the theme?” -Sa Pula, Sa Puti lesson Among the student teachers, only ST3 was found to have a deeper understanding of the concepts in literature which was manifested during the actual teaching. When he was asked why he has to include technicalities such as flashbacking, media res, deus ex machine, he said that: …In literature...Ive notice that the students from 3rd year, second year down to 4th year. Ive notice that the story is like this… this is the character, the settings, the conclusion. That‟s it. From time to time that‟s the only thing the students know about. Why not ask them more than beyond those things in literature. That literature is more than just knowing the settings. But beyond that there re is another thing about literature. Are the styles, the techniques as well so that they would also recognize that there is more than the story but something beyond this story I am reading. When he was asked about the ending, he said that: …I want them to know are they curious about the characters, I would like to know if they really wonder what happened to the character. At the end of his discussion, he emphasized the „so what question‟ which according to him: Discussing literature is: they used to it…but the thing is…what for is literature? Why should they study everything…so they could have the realization that teaching lit is more than knowing the elements… Conclusion and Recommendations Literature is a very versatile subject and is generally considered one of the most difficult subjects to teach. There is no right or wrong way to teach a Literature class; however, there is a smart way to teach it. The idea in literature is not just to get an answer; it is to get an in-depth, provocative and creative answer. Students are the reflections of teachers. Generally, what students become is how they were taught [in school] since most of their time is spent in school. The result revealed that there is a match between the STs‟ view in literature and literature teaching. In addition, it was evident that their plans were religiously delivered during their actual teaching to the point of uttering exactly the same lines. However, it could be concluded that the STs‟ views in literature and literature teaching do not match their lesson planning. A common problem in teacher education programs is the gap between the theories the STs learn in their coursework and the implementation during their practice teaching. Thus, the divergence is found to be influenced by their early education such as the questions asked and activities employed during their academic training. It is therefore recommended that pre-service teacher education curriculum should have as an explicit goal towards the development of critical reflection among teachers to enable teachers to constantly reflect on the integral link between their content knowledge of the subject matter they are teaching, how students learn, their teaching practices, and their beliefs about all these elements. Hence, since the tertiary level does not have hold on the teaching practices in the secondary level, the teachers should exhibit innovative, effective and dynamic strategies which the student teachers could emulate. Thus, the art of questioning should be put into emphasis. 54

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References

Alema, M. and Pashmforoosh, R. (2013).EFL Teachers‟ Self-efficacy Beliefs in Teaching Literature.The International Journal of Literacies. USA: Common Ground Publishing. Vol.19 issue 2. http:// www. Commongroundpublishing.com/software/ Bernardo, Allan and Auxencia Limjap. (2003). Mathematics Teachers‟ Pedagogical Beliefs: Implications for Mathematics Achievement in Primary and Secondary Education. Lasallian Institute for Development and Education Research.Funded by Commission on Higher Education. Bigelow, M. and Ranney, S. (2005)Pre-Service ESL Teachers‟ Knowledge about Language and its transfer to lesson planning. Researching Applied Linguistics in Language Teacher Education. N. Bartels (ed). USA: Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Pp. 179-200. Borg, Simon. (2006). Teacher Cognition and Language Education. Biddles Ltd, King‟s Lynn, Norfolk: Great Britain. CHED Memo No.30, series of 2004 CHED Memorandum Order No. 11, series of 1999 Cortez, Edwin. (2011). Practice Teaching. St. Michaels College. dc205.4shared.com/doc/OPg9bpwO/preview.html. Exploratory research. http://es.scribd.com/doc/36491906/Exploratory-Research. Retrieved last December 15, 2016 Garcia, C. et al. (1993). A Study of Literary Types and Forms.UST Series 1993. UST Printing Office: Manila. Gutierrez, Marianne Rachel C. (2004). Studying Teacher Cognition: The Interplay of Teacher Beliefs and instructional Practices. KritikaKultura 4. 53-78. www.ateneo.edu/kritikakultura. Incecay, Gorsev (2011). Effects of Learning Beliefs of Pre-Service Teachers at an English as a Foreign Language Certificate Program on their Practice Teaching. Turkish Online of Qualitative Inquiry, October, 2011. www. Tojqi.net/articles/TOJQT_2/TOJQL_2_4_articles_3.pdf.pp. 29-38 Javines, Francisco O. (1985). A Brief Study of English Literature. Merriam & Webster, Inc.: Manila. Literature. dictionary.reference.com/browse/literature. Retrieved last December 15, 2016 Nunan, D. and Catherine Bailey (2005). Exploring Second Language Classroom Research. ESP Printers Inc.:Philippines. The K to 12 Basic Education Program Official Gazette, www.gov.ph/k-12/#Features. Retrieved last December 15, 2016 Tiempo, Edilberto (1995). Literary Criticism in the Philippines and Other Essays. Dela Salle University Press: Manila. Woods, Devon. (1996). Teacher Cognition in Language Teaching: Beliefs, decision-making and classroom practice. Cambridge University press: Great Britain.

The Author Lynn Mallari Besa was born in Tarlac, Philippines. She is a candidate for Ph.D in Applied Linguistics at Philippine Normal University. She finished her Masters of Arts in Language Instruction in Rizal Technological University in which she also finished her Bachelor of Secondary education in English. She was formerly the Head of the English Department and Head staff in the Office of the Vice President for Development and Administration. At present, she teaches English, Education and research subjects. She has published books in English and Literature and research papers in different journals. Prof. Besa is a member of different Linguistics organizations including Teachers Club of the British Council Philippines and International Literacy Association. She has also published research papers in different international journals. 55

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 56-74, ©IJHSS

Predictors of the Performance and the Difficulties in Physics among Senior Students in Mindanao State University-External Studies: A Proposed Intervention Program Dr Remedios N. Lomoljo MSU-Marantao Community High School Marantao, Lanao del Sur

Abstract This study was undertaken to determine the level performance and difficulties encountered by students in solving problems in high school physics and the factors related to these performance and difficulties. The student-respondents were the 300 secondary fourth year students chosen randomly from the MSU Community High School and the 16 Physics Teachers of all these schools during the School Year 2002-2003. A Descriptive-correlation design was used in this study with used of four (4) sets of structural questionnaires prepared by the researcher. Another instrument used was the teacher-made physics performance test. This was tried out to thirty senior high school students who were not included as respondents in MSU-Marantao Community High School. Richard-Kuderson (KR-20) formula was utilized to compute for the reliability coefficient of the instrument, which was found out that the instrument was reliable and valid (078).The Standardized Habits and Attitudes Test was used to determine the study habits of the student-respondents and the validated mathematics readiness test to measure mathematical readiness of the students. Stattisitacl computations were done on the computer STATISTIX 3.1 version package. Based on data analysis results revealed that 1) majority of the student-respondents were females, 16 years old, with parents’ monthly income between P5,000.00 to P9,000.00 , with low average ratings on study habits, very ready on the fourth fundamental operations. 2) Majority of the Physics teachers are BS/BSE graduates with specialization in Science, were perceived by students to have good knowledge about Physics, have taught between 5-10 years. 3) Students found Physics as moderately difficult and their performance is categorized as average. 4) There is very low correlation between the predictor variables and performance in Physics, with only 12% of the predictor variables significant to students’ difficulties and performance in Physics. For these results, it is recommended that teachers must improve their methods and techniques in teaching physics to make it more interesting and appealing to the students. They should motivate students to learn more by relating physics concepts to practical situations and learner’s experience. They should also check students’ solutions to the problem sets and see to it that students develop the cognitive skills as the exercises are done. They should also give exercises and activities related to the topic that would make students enjoy the subject. 56

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Keywords: predictors of performance, difficulties in physics, intervention program Introduction Physics is always considered by many students as a difficult subject. Performing an experiment with expensive materials needed, and then the actual process to the analysis, interpretation and conclusion of the experiment is forever a waterloo to many students. But this difficulty of some students if not everybody in physics is not permanent. These changes brought about by accelerated modernization resulted in exhaustive review, reevaluation and corresponding redirection of the long range goals and objectives of science education. Recent developments reveal a number of vitally important movements indicative of urgent shift towards heightened attention regarding clearness thinking and learning instructional methods and strategies and curricular improvement. A science teacher can choose from the different strategies/approaches that have been tried and proved effective. In presenting a science lesson, the following can be utilized: Expository method, discussion, asking questions, demonstration, problem-solving, and the guided discovery. Others are the concept mapping, multilevel teaching, mentoring, micro-teaching, using media and organizing science learning centers. These trends in science education are in consonance with the 1987 Philippine Constitution which provides the legal basis of education in the country particularly Article XIV which is primary concerned on Education, Science and Technology, arts and culture and Sports. It is the DepEd that pursues the mandate embodied in the Constitution as follows: â&#x20AC;ŚThe State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to qualify education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to allâ&#x20AC;Ś Educational Act of 1982 (Batas Pambansa Blg. 232) applies to both private and public schools in all levels of the entire educational system. This Act provides that the basic policy of the State is to establish and maintain a complete adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development which are to achieve and maintain an accelerating rate of economic development and social progress, assure the maximum participation of all people in the attainment and enjoyment of such growth, and achieve and strengthen national unity and consciousness and preserve, develop and promote desirable cultural, moral and spiritual values in a changing world. The Act further states that towards the realization of these objectives and pursuant to the Constitution, all educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency. Many students still pass through their high school science subjects without a proper understanding of the most common basic and important concepts that these subjects intended to teach. Oftentimes, these students experience serious learning difficulties in physics than in other subjects. The very mention of the word physics is enough to make the students think of long, cruel examinations and abstract terms such as relativity and trajectory that the subjects often met with hostility. It is because of the perception that physics is so difficult that students often lose their interest in the subject and instead turn their interest in the subjects they perceive to be easier (Lawrenz, 1976, as cited by Peyrera, 1989). It is a paradox then that student seems to lose interest in science in this decade when scientific advances are unparalleled in the history of mankind (Trowbridge, 1986). 57

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One of the purpose of high school physics, according to Talisayon (1992), is the pre-professional preparation of the young people going into science and to increase the scientific literacy of the general citizenry. The Philippines would profit much from a citizenry who have a proper understanding of science and what it can do to alleviate man’s living conditions. Yet, the continuing dislike of students to science subjects particularly physics depletes our chance to utilize the good things that science has to offer. It also makes the time, money and effort spent by the students in studying less profitable. How can these students be helped? How can their interest in physics be gained? Many are proposing scholarships or special programs to attract students into taking physics courses. Some call for better facilities and academically qualified teachers. Many call for incentives and other benefits which motivate students to study physics. Unfortunately, only few respond to this call and the correctives and incentives offered do not totally answer the fundamental issues. The issue is why do students lose interest in physics? Why do they perceive it as difficult? What aspects of physics are difficult for the students? What other factors affect this learning difficulty? The answers to these queries will enlighten the mentors on how to teach the subject better and to focus their attention to the learning difficulties encountered by students in learning physics. Hence, this investigation.

Method The Respondents of the Study The eleven secondary schools of the MSU-External Studies contributed the respondents of this study. Specifically, the respondents were the graduating students of the mentioned schools of Lanao del Sur for the School Year 2002-2003. This investigation employed the unrestricted random sampling with the help of the Sloven’s formula (Ferguson, 1981). Although there are schools located at Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Sur, the researcher opted for the Community High Schools in Lanao del Sur since the four schools are located in a far place and the peace situation is still a question for travelers. Besides, the researcher herself is a teacher and her absence from her classes just to field the questionnaires entails time, thus depriving the students to learn more during her absence since no one can take her place to teach Physics. Statistical tools Used In order to establish the reliability of the physics performance test, reliability coefficient was computed using the Richard Kuderson (KR-20) formula. Frequencies of correct responses were considered and used to compute the reliability coefficient. Statistical computations of the data gathered from the study were done through the use of the Statistics 3.1 version computer package. All hypothesis were at ∝=0.05. Research Instruments There were four (4) sets of structured questionnaires prepared by the researcher in order to gather data on factor correlates. The first structured questionnaire for the students was designed to elicit information on the respondents’ age, sex, and family income. The next was the 58

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difficulties in Physics subject. The third one was a structured questionnaire for studentrespondents to get their perception n the physics knowledge of their physics teacher. And the last one was a structured questionnaire for physics teacher-respondents to get their educational qualifications, number of years in teaching physics and the number of years in the teaching profession. A teacher-made physics performance test was prepared, corrected by an expert in physics and finally approved by the adviser. It was tried out to thirty (30) students of MSU-Marantao who were not included as respondents. Richard-Kuderson (KR-20) formula was utilized to compute for the reliability coefficient, which is 0.78. This coefficient indicated that the test is valid. Two weeks after the 3rd grading period (February to March, 2002) the physics performance or achievement test and other tests were administered to the different schools chosen as samples of this study. Standardized Mental Ability Test made use the Purdue Non-language Test (PNLT) was also used as research instrument. It is a research instrument to measure the mental ability of persons. Form B of this test was used. Constructed by Purdue University, USA, the test has 48 items. Each item has five geometric designs corresponding to A, B, C, D, E. The subject was asked to choose the design which is different from the others and was asked to reflect his choice on a separate answer sheet. The test measures the accuracy of the perceptual discriminations, as well as perception of relationships. The respondents were given 25 minutes to work out the whole test. The raw scores corresponding to the correct answers were transformed into percentile rank for easy interpretation. The rationale for the use of Non-Language Test is to assess the general mental ability of the respondents and to rule out one significant parameter along which culture varies with language. This is relevant to cross-cultural testing. The use of English by a non-English speaking subject makes a foreign-based test actually biased. Hence, the use of geometric designs which are being assumed to be universal to substitute for verbal English language content of the test for mental ability. The researcher sought permission from the Division of Student Affairs to authorize person in the field to assist the researcher to conduct the said test. Another instrument that was used in this study was the Standardized Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) questionnaire. This was prepared by William F. Brown and Wayne H. Holtman which includes attitudes. SSHA is easy to administer to measure methods, motivation or studying certain study habits and towards scholastic activities, which are important in the classroom. The following are the reason of using this: (1) to identify students whose study habits and attitudes and thus more fully realized their best potentialities. This test was composed of 100 items. Every answer that was chosen by the respondent was scored using the five-point scale (almost always = 5; generally = 4; frequently =3; sometimes= 2; rarely =1). A validated Mathematics Readiness Test adapted from Dr. Sani (2001) was secured to measure product readiness of the student-respondents in Mathematics. Data Gathering Procedure Approval from the Office of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (MSU-External Studies) was sought (Appendix A) in order to administer series of tests to the different secondary units of the External Studies around the province of Lanao del Sur. The aforementioned approval was then used to support subsequent permission requests from the principals of the respondent schools in the distribution of the questionnaires to the students and to physics 59

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teacher. With the assistance of the Principal and Guidance Counselor and some teachers of each respective school, the researcher personally administered the different sets of questionnaires. Those far distant schools like MSU-Malabang and MSU-Wao, only the principals were earnestly requested to administer the tests. The test were conducted after the third grading period during the months of February to March, SY 2002-2003. The questionnaires for Physics Performance Test, Mental Ability Test, Mathematics Readiness Test and Difficulties in Physics were retrieved and brought home by the researcher right after the tests were given. To give ample time for the respondents to answer the other questionnaires such as student profile, teacher profile, survey on student study habit and attitude and perceived knowledge by the students to their physics teacher the responsibility left to the Principal (upon request) for retrieval and after a week be brought to the Office of the External Studies, MSU, Marawi City. The researcher then gathered the questionnaires from the said office. Findings From the data gathered, the following are the findings: 1. Majority (66%) of the student-respondents are females; many (36.7%) of them are 16 years old; and majority (56.33%) of their parents received a monthly income of Php 5,000.00 to Php 9,999.00. In study habits and attitudes, the respondents have a lowaverage rating; the students obtained an average level in mental ability and students are very ready in the four fundamental operations as to mathematics readiness. 2. In terms of educational qualifications, majority (56.25%) of the physics teachers are BS / BSE graduates with science as their field of specification; majority (63.5%) of them have rendered services in teaching physics for 5-10 years; and as perceived by the students, the physics teachers were very good in their knowledge about physics. 3. As to the level of students’ performance in physics, an average performance was obtained by them, although they found physics subject as moderately difficult. 4. The students found difficulty in solving problems in physics concepts. The topic on electricity ranked first among other difficulties in the different areas, the topic on wave ranked the second, and an S.D. of 1.3913; the third in rank was the topic on energy, and the last was the topic on speed. There is very low and low correlations between the predictor variables and the difficulties and performance of students in physics. 5. There is very low and low correlation between the predictor variables and the difficulties and performance of the students in physics. 6. Not all of the independent variables significantly predict the physics performance and the difficulties of the senior students. Only 5% of the predictor variables are significant to the students’ difficulties and performance in physics. 7. Some of the predictor variables such as the number of years in physics teaching, the number of years in teaching profession and the student’s family income and others weak such as teacher’s educational attainment, student’s sex, age, etc. as indicated in the adjusted R² which was 0.021. 8. An intervention program is being proposed from the findings of the study.

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Descriptive statistics Table 1 provides the sampling matrix of the study. Table 1. SAMPLING MATRIX MSU-External Community High School Balindong Binidayan Malabang Marantao Masiu Saguiaran Siawadatu Tamparan Taraka Tugaya Wao TOTAL

No. of Senior Students Male 45 31 24 10 11 16 17 16 10 21 59 260

No. of Respondents

Female 61 38 57 37 30 51 28 25 25 60 98 510

Total 106 69 81 47 41 67 45 41 35 81 157 770

Male 17 13 10 4 4 6 7 6 4 8 23 102

Female 25 15 22 14 12 20 10 10 9 23 38 198

Percentage Total 42 28 32 18 16 26 17 16 13 31 61 300

% 14.00 9.33 10.67 6.00 5033 8.67 5.67 5.33 4.33 10.33 20.33 100.00

Inferential Statistics

Table 2. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Student-Respondents as to Personal Profile Category

Frequency

Percentage

Mean

Male Female Total

102 198 300

34.00 66.00 100.00

1.6

16 110 108 66 300

53.00 36.70 36.00 22.00 100.00

38 61 169 32

12.67 20.33 56.33 10.67

Sex

AGE  15  16  17  18 TOTAL FAMILY INCOME 15,000 – 25,000 10,000 – 14,999 5,000 – 9,999 1,000 – 4,999

16.76

8.74

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Table 3. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Student-Respondent as to Mental ability Mental Ability Superior

Frequency 2

Percentage 0.67

Above Average Average Below Average

18 132 124

6.00 44.00 41.33

Poor TOTAL

24 300

8.00 100.00

SCORES 95-100 80-94 50-79 30-49 01-29

Mean

3.2

QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION SCALING Superior 4.21 - 5.00 Above-Average 3.41 - 4.20 Average 2.61 - 3.40 Below-Average 1.81 - 2.60 Poor 1.00 - 1.80

Table 4. Profile in Mathematics Readiness of Students Areas Problem Solving 1. 4 fundamental operation 2. Fraction 3. Percentage

Mean

Qualitative Description

Rank

2.35

0.6341

Very Ready

1.65

0.7883

Ready

1.66

0.7962

Moderately Ready

SCALING 2.34 - 3.00 1.66 - 2.33 1.00 - 1.65

SCORES 100 - 120 50 - 99 1 - 49

QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION Very Ready Moderately Ready Not Ready

Table 5. Profile on Study Habits and Attitudes of Students Scales Delay Avoidance

Percentile Rank 24.36

Qualitative Description Very Low

Work Methods Teacher Approval Education Acceptance

23.84 17.92 16.73

Very Low Very Low Very Low

Study Habits Study Attitudes Study Orientation

24.10 17.32 27.50

Very Low Very Low Low Average

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Percentile Rank 01-25 26-50 51-75 76-100

Qualitative Description

% % % %

Very Low Study Habits and Attitudes Low Average Study Habits and Attitudes High Average Study Habits and Attitudes Very High Study Habits and Attitudes

Table 6. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Physics Teachers as to their Profile (N=16) Educational Attainment BS/BSE Science BS/BSE Non-Science MA in Science MA in Non-Science MA in Science (CAR) Ph.D. in Non-Science (Units Only) Ph. D. in Science (CAR) No. of Years Teaching Physics 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years No. of Years in the Teaching Profession 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years

Frequency 9 2 1 1 1 1 1

Percentage 56.25% 12.50% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25%

4 10 2

25.00% 63.50% 12.50%

4 8 4

25.00% 50.00% 25.00%

Table 7. Students’ Perception towards Teacher’s Knowledge In Physics Perceived Teacher’ Knowledge Very Good (3.70-4.00) Good (2.80-3.69) Fair (1.90-2.79) Poor (1.00-1.89) Total

Frequency 91 85 75 49 300

Percentage (%) 30.33 28.33 25.00 16.33 100.00

Mean

Qualitative Description

2.73

1.46

Fair

Table 8. Mean Rating of Student-Respondents Difficulties in Physics Topics Speed Energy Wave Electricity

Mean 2.94 2.95 3.06 3.19 Scaling:

4.21-5.00 3.41-4.20 2.61-3.40 1.81-2.60 1.00-1.80

SD 1.3134 1.4013 1.3913 1.3578

Qualitative Description Moderately Difficult Moderately Difficult Moderately Difficult Moderately Difficult

Rank 4 3 2 1

Extremely Difficult Much Difficult Moderately Difficult Slightly Difficult Less Difficult

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Table 9. Level of Performance of Student-Respondents in Physics Score 0–7 9 – 15 16 – 23 24 – 31 32 - 39

F 56 229 15 0 0

Percentage 18.67 76.33 5.00 0.00 0.00

TOTAL

300

100.00

Mean 1.86

SD 0.4677

DR Below Average

Scaling: 32-39 24-31 16-23 8-15 0-7

90 85 80 75 70

4.21-5.00 3.41-4.20 2.61-3.4 1.81-2.60 1.00-1.80

Outstanding Above Average Average Below Average Poor

Table 10. Summary of Results of the Physics Performance Test Concepts Speed Energy Waves Electricity Total Scores 39—32 31—24 23—16 15—8 7—0

No. of Items 11 11 8 9 39

Mean Score 4.45 4.10 2.29 3.20 Grand Mean 3.39 Scale 4.21-5.00 3.41-4.20 2.61-3.40 1.81-2.60 1.00-1.8

SD 1.81 1.52 1.29 1.39

Minimum 1 1 1 1

Maximum 10 9 8 6

Qualitative Description Outstanding / Superior Above Average Average Below Average Poor

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Table 11. Percent Difficulty of the Physics Performance Test Items by Topics and by Cognitive Skills

T O P I C

Cognitive Skills

1. Identifying the given data 2. Recalling important terminologies and concepts 3. Describing or explaining important laws, concepts, theories that will help explain the situation as described by the problem 4. Drawing Graphs that will help explain the condition 5. Determine the formula to be used considering the situation in the problem set 6. Answering what is asked in the problem by applying the formula or the relationship 7. Expressing quantities in correct units 8. Predicting the possible outcome if some alternatives of the conditions in the problem Average difficulty of the topic

Speed 28.4 64.5

Average Difficulty of the Skill Energy Waves Electricity 14.8 40.8 14.2 24.6 68.6 40.8 52.1 56.1

57.4

50.3

72.7

71.0

62.8

63.6

74.6

79.9

66.3

68.3

66.8

75.1

81.0

60.9

70.7

47.9

69.8

84.6

86.4

73.4

27.8 56.8

42.0 68.2

72.0 90.5

68.0 50.9

52.5 66.6

55.1

61.6

70.3

61.8

Table 12. Correlation between Performance in Physics and Predictor Variables. Predictor Variables Sex Age Monthly Family Income Study Habits and Attitudes Mental Ability Mathematics Readiness Educational Attainment of Teacher Years of Teaching Physics Years in Teaching Profession Perceived Knowledge of Teacher by the Students Correlation Variables: (+-) 0.00 to (+-) 0.20 (+-) 0.21 to (+-) 0.40 (+-) 0.41 to (+-) 0.60 (+-) 0.61 to (+-) 0.70 (+-) 0.71 to (+-) 0.99

(r)

Analysis of r

Interpretation

0.027 0.009 0.150 0.090 -0.69 -0.48 0.51 -0.086 0.086 -0.018

VLC VLC VLC VLC HC MC MC VLC VLC VLC

Not significant Not significant Significant Significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant

Very Low Correlation (VLC) Low Correlation (LC) Moderate Correlation (MC) High Correlation (HC) Very High Correlation (VHC)

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Table 13. Correlation between the Personal Profile of Students and Teachers and Difficulties of Students in Physics Independent Variables Sex Age Monthly Family Income Study Habits and Attitudes Mental Ability Mathematics Readiness Educational Attainment of Teacher Years of Teaching Physics Years in Teaching Profession Perceived Knowledge of Teacher by the Students Analysis of (r): r from 0.00 to ±0.20 r from 0.21 to ±0.40 r from 0.41 to ±0.60 r from 0.61 to ±0.70 r from 0.71 to ±0.99

= = = = =

(r)

Analysis of r

Interpretation

0.037 0.093 -0.177 0.005 0.021 -0.002 -0.007 -0.181 0.053 -0.043

VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC VLC

Not significant Not significant Significant Significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant Not significant

Very Low Correlation (VLC) Low correlation (LC) Moderate Correlation (MC) High Correlation (HC) Very High Correlation (VHC)

Table 14. A Regression Analysis on the Performance in Physics on Predictors Predictor Variables Sex Age Monthly Family Income Study Habits and Attitudes Mental Ability Mathematics Readiness Educational Attainment of Teacher Years of Teaching Physics Years in Teaching Profession Perceived Knowledge of Teacher by the Students

Coefficient

Interpretation

0.046 0.076 0.000 0.006 -0.050 -0.022

0.420 0.234 0.000 0.004 0.069 0.091

0.110 0.323 2.086 1.287 -0.725 -0.242

0.913 0.747 0.038 0.199 0.469 0.809

Insignificant Insignificant Significant Insignificant Insignificant Insignificant

-0.015 -0.070 0.041

0.475 0.036 0.026

-0.031 -1.190 1.755

0.975 0.057 0.122

Insignificant Insignificant Insignificant

0.466

-0.519

0.604

Insignificant

-0.242

Df Overall, F P value Adjusted R² R² Level of significance

= = = = = =

299 1.530 0.128 0.017 0.050 0.05

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Table 15. Regression Analysis: Difficulty in Physics on Predictor Variables Predictor Variables

Coefficient

Interpretation

Sex Age Monthly Family Income Study Habits and Attitudes Mental Ability Mathematics Readiness Educational Attainment of Teacher Years of Teaching Physics Years in Teaching Profession Perceived Knowledge of Teacher by the Students

0.073 0.067 -0.00002 0.0000 0.001 -0.002 -0.002

0.047 0.026 0.00001 0.0000 0.008 0.010 0.053

1.539 2.543 -3.74666 0.497 0.144 -0.171 -0.030

0.125 0.012 0.00022 0.620 0.886 0.864 0.976

Significant Significant Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant

-0.017

0.004

-4.120

0.00005

Significant

0.006

0.003

1.911

0.057

Not Significant

-0.796

0.427

Not Significant

-0.042 Df Overall F P value Adjusted R² R² Level of significance

0.052 = = = = = =

299 3.659 0.000129 0.0082 0.112 0.05

Table 16. Regression Analysis: Performance and Difficulty in Physics on Predictor Variables Predictor Variables

Coefficient

Interpretation

Sex Age Monthly Family Income Study Habits and Attitudes Mental Ability Mathematics Readiness Educational Attainment of Teacher Years of Teaching Physics Years in Teaching Profession

0.119 0.142 0.00008 0.006 -0.049 -0.024

0.423 0.236 0.00005 0.004 0.069 0.091

0.281 0.605 1.655 1.334 -0.704 -0.259

0.779 0.546 0.099 0.183 0.482 0.796

Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant

-0.017 -0.087

0.478 0.036

-0.035 -2.357

0.972 0.019

Not Significant Significant

0.047

0.027

1.755

0.080

Not Significant

-0.284

0.470

-0.605

0.546

Not Significant

Perceived Knowledge of Teacher by the Students

Df Overall F P value Adjusted R² R² Level of significance

= = = = = =

299 1.626 0.199 0.021 0.053 0.05

Discussion Table 2 discloses the sex of the student-respondents. As disclosed, there were 102 or 34.00 percent of the respondents who are male and 198 or 66.00 percent who were females. This data signify that majority (66%) of the respondents are females. This means that more females enrolled in their elementary education and this continues until their secondary education. The 67

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finding of the study is consonant with the study of Orbita (2000) when he revealed that in the division of City Schools, Iligan City, there were 4, 019 females and 2,132 males enrolled in the fourth year public secondary schools of Iligan City SY 2000-2001. As to age, 110 or 36.7 percent were 16 years old; 108 or 36.00 percent were 17 years of age; and 16 or 5.3 percent of the respondents were 15 years of age. The findings show that many (36.7%) of the student-respondents are 16 years old. This implies that the students belong to the puberty age. This age is known as the formal operation (12-adult) stage according to Piaget as cited by Cabaluna (2000) which is characterized by abstract and critical thinking. This means that the child can think logically about things existing only in his mind. He can formulate hypothesis, analyze, and synthesize ideas and evaluate variables. In family monthly income, the table shows that 38 or 12.67 percent of the respondentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; family received a monthly of Php 15,000.00 to Php 25,000.00. 61 or 20.33 percent received a monthly income of Php 10,000.00 to Php 14,999.00; 169 or 56.33 percent were receiving Php 5,000.00 to Php 9,999.00; and 32 or 10.67 percent were receiving Php 1,000.00 to Php 4,999.00. These data signify that majority (56.33) of the respondents have a monthly income of Php 5,000.00 to Php 9,999.00. This implies that a typical family belongs to below poverty threshold that further means the income of the family is not sufficient for all their needs and surely this affects the study habits and academic performance of the students. Newman (2001) supported this concept when he opined that learners reared in the middle-class homes with well-educated parents will generally thrive from those who are likely to grow up in the lower class homes. The mental ability test reveals that two (2) or 0.67 percent of the respondents belonged to the superior level; 18 or 6.00 percent were on the above average category; 132 or 44.00 percent were classified as average; 124 or 41.33 percent belonged to the below average category; and 24 or 8.00 percent were classified as poor in mental ability. This data signify that the students are on the average level of mental ability as evidence by the MEAN which 3.20 and are described qualitatively as average. This means that many (44%) of the students are neither above average nor below average or poor. It further implies that the at least the students can comprehend what the lessons are. But then according to Bailey, et al., (1971) IQâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are not constant. As posited by them, IQ score is not indelibly carved in the brain at birth, but is instead a human quality that ebbs and flows as a result of environmental circumstances. This means that the IQ of the students might increase or decrease depending on how they develop it. It may continue to increase at least up to age fifty. The result showed that in the four fundamental tests, the mean rating was 2.35 and described qualitatively as very ready; fraction test obtained a mean rating of 1.65 and a descriptive rating of ready; with a percentage area having a mean rating of 1.66 and a descriptive rating of moderately ready. The findings infer that the students are very much ready in the four operations of arithmetic. This means that in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the students have mastered its operation however low competence in the areas of fraction and percentage. This study conforms to the study of Abedin (1998) when she revealed that Lanao Province fourth year secondary public school students were low in their mathematics achievement.

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As manifested, the score on six (6) subscales with corresponding percentile rank were described very low; Delay Avoidance, 24.36; Works Methods, 23.84; Teacher Approval, 17.92; Education Acceptance, 16.73; as Study Habits, 24.10. In a nutshell, the respondents obtained a very low scores in study habits and attitudes in all subscales. This means that the respondents are not prompt in the completion of their assignments and projects, no system in studying, have negative attitudes toward their teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational objective practices and requirements. But in sum the overall measure of the study habits and attitudes combined into study orientation garnered a percentile rank of 27.50 which is described as low average. The study of Granada (1988) supports the result of all the subscales but the overall result or the study orientation differs since the study obtained a low-average descriptive rating while that of Granada received a very low descriptive rating. The findings signify that majority (63.50%) of the teachers in physics have already 6-10 years to vouch their credibility. This means that with this number of years in teaching physics, the teachers have already gained and exposed themselves to all sorts of problems in teaching physics and are able to find solutions and adjustments for a better and effective teaching. This is substantiated by Bargaza as cited by Lupdag (1984) when he pointed out that high scoring schools in the NSAT had more experienced teachers. Further, finding infers that the teachers in physics have enough number of years in the teaching profession to face any adversity in teaching. As stressed by Lupdag (1984) observations show that teachers who have more teaching years back them up. Regardless of its effects however, every teaching brings to the classroom his teaching experiences, which could positively or adversely affect instruction. The mean rating of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perceptions regarding the knowledge of their teachers in Physics was 2.73 described qualitatively as fair. This means that the teachers knowledge in Physics as perceived by the students are just fair, have enough knowledge to teach them. This result is reinforced by Caulawonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2002) study when she revealed that the secondary students of Iligan City East High School perceived their teachers to have adequate knowledge in Mathematics and Science. The data signify that the student-respondents perceived electricity as their number one difficulty in Physics. This mean that they find a little bit difficult to make a graphical representation and concretization of the abstract topic electricity The result manifests that the students are below average in their performance as evidence by the mean rating of 1.86 and an S.D. of 0.4677. The S.D.-measures of variability signifies that all the student-respondents are within the range, that of below average. Therefore, the studentrespondents really find Physics as a difficult subject. To quantify difficulties encountered in solving problems in physics, the errors in the physics performance test counted. There were scores for every topic. The average percent difficulty to each topic represents the average proportion of respondents who were not able to answer the items correctly. Items with percentages greater than 60% are considered difficult. Equally difficult for the students are the problems in electricity. The average difficulty in this topic is 61.8%. Very often, energy and electricity are interchanged in colloquial language. The students encountered the most difficulty in problems on waves as implied by the 70.3% difficulty level. It is highest of the four average difficulty levels. Problems on more advanced concepts were focused by the respondents to be more difficult to solve.

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Table 12 shows the simple correlation / association between the performance in physics of the senior students and the predictor variables. It reveals that all correlation values were very low. But when tested at 0.05 level of significance, the three correlation coefficients of the students’ monthly family income, students’ study habits and attitudes and the teacher’s number of years in the teaching profession came out to be significant. This indicates that the higher the monthly family income of the students the better the performance in Physics. Also, students’ regular study habits and attitudes make students’ performance in physics better as supported by the study of Fisher and Lipson (1986). He mentioned that knowledge is not simply absorbed from a book or lecture. Each science student constructs his or her own of version of concepts, and the construction is informed at every stage of student’s overall conceptual model or worldview. Other factors correlated to the performance in physics may have intervened. These factors were not considered in the framework of the study. They could be the subject of another study. As reflected in Table 13, all students’ profile obtained a very low correlation. However, when these predictors were tested at 0.05 level, the students’ age and the teacher’s number of years in the teaching profession evolved to be significant. This means that these two variables are good predictors of difficulty in physics. However, student’s variables such as sex, family income, study habits and attitude, mental ability and mathematics readiness are not predictors of student’s difficulty in physics. In teachers’ professional profile, the variables such as educational attainment, the number of years in teaching profession, and the perceived knowledge of the teacher by the students were analyzed to have a low and insignificant correlation with the dependent variable difficulty in physics. In particular, in order to be included in the regression model, the variable must met the 0.05 level for entry. This further signifies that only 1.70 percent of the relationship is explained by the predictor variable used. The remaining 98.30 percent signifies that there are other variables or factors that contribute to the significance of the relationships aside from the mentioned or enumerated predictors of this study. As to the strength of the combination of the combination of the correlate explaining the performance of the students, the Adjusted R² revealed a 0.017 result, which signifies that the combination of the predictors with the performance is very weak. It did not come up the expected result, which is 0.8. A 0.8 correlation signifies a strong effect. As gleaned from Table 15, there were only three correlates that were predictors of the difficulty in physics. The multiple correlation is a versatile tool in measuring the amount of combination correlates in the explanation of the dependent variable difficulty in physics. To know the total contribution of the correlates of the investigation, the multiple correlation stepwise regression analysis was employed. The obtained multiple correlation value was 0.112. This value indicates that the coefficient of multiple determination is 0.112 or 11.2% accurate in explaining the contribution of the correlates in explaining the difficulty in physics is so low that 88.8% remains unaccounted in the explanation of the total difficulty of the students. The analysis of the data further shows that most of the hypotheses were not rejected.

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The results of the study disclosed that there were only four (4) independent variables of difficulty in physics namely: student’s sex, the age of the senior students, the monthly family income of the students and the number of years in teaching in physics of the teacher. In Table 16, the linear regression analysis and the multiple correlation show that there was a very low correlation between the senior student’s performance and difficulty in physics and the predictor variables both student’s and teacher’s profiles. Only the teacher’s number of teaching in physics served as a good predictor of the sum of the dependent variables performance and difficulty in physics. The obtained multiple correlation value was 0.053. This means that the coefficient of multiple determination is 5.3% accurate in explaining the dependent variable (Performance + Difficulty). This is very low. There is 94.3% coefficient of multiple nondetermination. The results of the investigation disclosed that there were only one (1) predictor of senior student’s performance and difficulty in physics. This predictor is the number of years in teaching in physics. The rest of the independent variables such as student’s sex, age, monthly family income, study habits and attitudes, mental ability, mathematics readiness, teacher’s educational attainment, years in teaching physics, years in the teaching profession and knowledge perceived by the students were found out to be poor predictors of the students’ performance and difficulty in physics.

Conclusions A teacher in physics is typically a BS / BSE graduate major in science, perceived by the students to be very good in their knowledge in physics, has 5-10 years of teaching physics in their credit and has been in the teaching profession for 6-10 years. On the null hypotheses results on based conclusion, a low correlation existed between the independent variables like sex, age, family income, study habits and attitudes, mental ability, readiness in mathematics, teacher’s educational attainment, knowledge in physics as perceived by the students, number of years in teaching physics and the number of years in the teaching profession and the difficulties and performance of students in physics. Majority of the variables have no significant relationship between the student personal profile and their performance in physics. Only the student’s family income, student’s study habits and attitudes are significant. Only the physics teaching profession of the teachers has the significant relationship between the teachers’ profession profile and the students’ performance in physics. Among the teacher factors, only the number of years in teaching profession was found out to be significantly correlated with students’ difficulty in physics. Null hypotheses concerning the independent variables failed to be accepted since each of the independent variables does not significantly predict the performance and difficulties of senior high school in physics. References

Balindong, C. (1992). ―Selected Variables Associated with Academic Performance of Sophomore Students of Balindong‖. Unpublished Thesis, Balindong, Lanao del Sur. Bautista, A. L. (1985). ―Factors Associated with Performance in Freshmen Students of Cabanatuan‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Cabanatuan City. Cabalu, V. L. (2000). ―Some Factors Related to High School Chemistry of Catanduanes‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Divine Word College, Palawan. 71

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Cabaluna, M. H. (2000). ―Readiness of the Elementary School Teachers for an Effective Use of Inverse‖. Project Approach in Iligan City Division: Basis for the Training Program, St. Peter’s College, Iligan City. Callang, Jerome S. (1994). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge ; Mass, Beckner Press of Harvard University. Cabanlit, G. (1997). ―Personal and Professional Profile of Teachers Related to their Teaching Performance in the School‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Davao. Cartel, Eduardo T. (1992). ―Some Factors with the Job Performance of Public Secondary School teachers in the Division of Cagayan de Oro City‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. MSU, Marawi City. Crosswhite, Fore (1993). Teaching Mathematics. Psychological Foundations Washington; Charles A Jones Pubishing Co. David, L. (2003). The Prediction of Academic Performance. New York; McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. Flores, Edgar Alvin G. (1992). ―The Personality Profile and It’s Relationship with Academic Attitude Adjustments Needs MSU Fast Learners (Full and Partial Scholars) A.Y. 1991-1992‖. Master’s Thesis. MSU, Marawi City. Gay, L. (1985). Education Research. 3rd Edition. Columbus: Merril Publishing Co. Garrison, F. D. (1997). ―The State of Teaching Science‖. Ney York: Halt, Rhinehart and Winston, Inc. Good, C. D. (1989). Dictionary of Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Gregorio and Gregorio (2006). Principles and Method of Teaching. Manila: Garcia Publishing House, Vol 8. Hilgard, Ernest et.al. (1983). Introduction to Psychology. 8th Ed. New York: Harcount Brace Jonavich Inc. Lardizabal, A., et al. (1991). Principles and Method of Teaching. 3rd Ed. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., Quezon City. Lupdag, Anselmo D. (1984). Education Psychology. National Book Store, Inc. NIV Webster Dictionary, 1985. Manon-og, Nerissa A. (1999). ―Why Do MSU Employees Perform the Way They DO?‖. Master’s Thesis. MSU, Marawi City. Newman, S. G. (2001). ―Correlates of Academic Performance in Chemistry Classes in St. Peter’s College‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. St. Peter’s College, Iligan City. Orbita, E. P. (2000). ―Relationship Between Integrated Science I Performance and Some Selected Variables‖. Master’s Thesis. St. Peter’s College. Iligan City. Ortiz, Cezar B. (2000). ―Scientific Attitudes of High School Students in Bukidnon State College‖. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. St. Peter’s College. Iligan City. Salandanan, G. (1985). Science Teaching. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Sani, Noraisah A. (2001). ―Mathematics Readiness and the Academic Performance of Sophomore Students in Elementary Algebra: Their Relationship with Some Selected Variables. MSU-External Units, S.Y. 2000-2001‖. Unpublished Doctor’s Dissertation. MSU, Marawi City. Singgon, R. (1996). ―Factors Associated with the Teaching Performance of the Secondary School Teachers in the 2nd District of Maguindanao: Proposed Model for Training‖. 2nd District, Maguindanao Province. Solis, B. P. (1997). ―The Relationship of Some Non-Intellective Variables to Academic Achievement Among College Freshmen of MSU-Buug‖. Unpublished Thesis, MSU, Marawi City.

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Appendix I

I.SPEED A Toyota and an FX are driven on the same 130.0 km trip. The Toyota travels at 80.0 km/h all the time. The FX starts at the same time, 95.0 km/h but the driver stops for (10) minutes after he has travelled half an hour. Which car is the first to arrive at the destination? Which of the following data is NOT given in the problem? How can you compute for the car’s speed? Which is NOT true about the Toyota’s motion? Which is the correct graph of the FX’s trip? Which formula could be used to determine the time the two cars travelled? How long did the Toyota travel the 130 km trip? How long did the FX travel the 130 km trip? Which car is the first to arrive at the destination and by how many minutes ahead of the other car? Without converting any unit, which is the correct unit for the speed of cars? Suppose the driver of the FX did not stop for 10 minutes, which car will strive first and by how many minutes ahead of the other?

II. ENERGY An object of mass 2.0 kg is released from rest at a height of 10 m. Assume a=10m/s. Solve for its energy at the specified position. Position A

Position B

Position C

Which of the following data is NOT given in the problem? When the ball is at its highest position A, its kinetic energy is equal to? At any instant, the system’s total energy is? Which of the following graphs represent the total energy possessed by the body at any height? Which is the correct formula for solving for the potential energy of the object at position A? Which is the correct formula for getting kinetic energy of the object? What is the gravitational potential energy of the object at position A? What is the kinetic energy of the object at position C? Which of the following is a correct unit of energy? What will be its kinetic energy if it is at position B?

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III. WAVES Refer to the diagram which shows as instantaneous picture of a wave. It takes A 3s to move to position D. What is the frequency of the wave? Which of the following data is NOT given in the problem? It is the distance from A to C. When water waves pass from a deep to shallow portion, which of the following does NOT change? If the wave moves from deep to shallow, what diagram shows the correct direction refracted waves in relation to the incident wave? What is the velocity of the propagating wave? If the crest A takes 3s to move to position D, what is the frequency of the wave? Which unit correctly expresses the wavelength of the wave? In a certain medium, the speed of the wave is constant. If the frequency of the wave is doubled, their wavelength will be?

III. ELECTRICITY Given an electric circuit, what is the total current of the whole combination?

V=18 volts Which of the following data is NOT given in the problem Which resistors are in parallel connection? Three resistors, a dry cell and connecting wires are used in this electric circuit, which will supply the energy? What of the following graphs correctly relates between voltage V and the current I? Which correctly describes the relation among voltage, current and resistor? What is the total resistance for R1 and R2? What is the total current of the whole combination? If the voltage in a circuit is not changed but the total resistance is doubled, what will happen to the current?

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 90-99, ÂŠIJHSS

The Lived Experiences of the Low Performing Students of Bachelor of Industrial Technology of Samar State University in Making Portfolio in Mathematics Joy B. Araza, Samar State University, Philippines joy_arazajoy60@yahoo.com Abstract This study used phenomenological approach in exploring the lived experiences of Bachelor of Industrial Technology student in making portfolio in their mathematics subject in Samar State University. Ten (10) students participated in the study. Participants are Bachelor of industrial Technology second year student of Samar State University for the school year 2016 - 2017; From the data analyses, three major themed emerged: (1) No interest in making portfolio; (2) Developed Interest in Making Portfolio in Mathematics, and (3) Usefulness of Portfolio Making in Mathematics. The result suggest that these student participants experienced no interest in making portfolio because of some factors such as learning difficulties in mathematics, teacher factor in the past and their previous unfavorable experiences in math but because of their desire to achieve their goal and dreams to finish their studies they try to break their learning difficulties by making portfolio in mathematics and be motivated to make the requirement to pass the subject. Their lived experiences can encourage and inspired other low performing students to pursue their education despite of the challenges. Keywords: Low performing students, Portfolio Making, Tech. Voc. Students, Mathematics, Low Performing Introduction Mathematics is considered the mother of all learning in both arts and sciences. It is essential in almost every field: measurement in fashion, angles in sports, technology and economics. This perspective on Mathematics has gained more attention with the rapid advances of information and communication. Mathematics is not just computation but a tool for understanding structures, relationships and patterns to produce solutions for complex real life problems. Mathematics is a necessity for people of all ages to be successful in life. Despite the usefulness of mathematics in daily life, there are factors that adversely affect the students' ability to understand and apply mathematics concepts. Hott et al. (2014)Council for Learning Disabilities (A&M University & Fairleigh Dickinson University, Texas) on their article; the Strategies and Interventions to Support Students with Mathematics Disabilities states in the absence of intensive instruction and intervention, students with mathematics difficulties and disabilities lag significantly behind their peers (Jitendra et al., 2013; Sayeski& Paulsen, 2010). Conservative estimates indicate that 25% to 35% of students struggle with mathematics knowledge and application skills in general education classrooms,

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indicating the presence of mathematics difficulty (Mazzocco, 2007). Additionally, 5% to 8% of all school--â&#x20AC;?age students has such significant deficits that impact their ability to solve computation and/or application problems that they require special education services or some modified instruction strategies such as modules and making portfolio (Geary, 2004). The study of Tarzimah Tambychik et al. (2010) In Malaysia, like many other countries, problem solving is one of major aspect in mathematics curriculum which required students to apply and to integrate many mathematical concepts and skills as well as making decision. However, students were reported to have difficulties in mathematics problem solving study concludes that students faced difficulties in mathematic problem solving due to incompetency in acquiring many mathematics skills and lacking in cognitive abilities of learning. Information skill was found to be the most critical mathematics skills. Although students acquired other mathematics skills, without the transfer of information skill, they could not understand and make effective connection of the information in the problems. Pallavi Amitava Banerjee(2016)in his systematic review of factors linked to poor academic performance of disadvantaged students in science and math in Victoria, University results suggest major factors linking deprivation to underachievement can be thematically categorized into a lack of positive environment and support. Generally, the majority of the students did not acquire this skill utterly. Cognitive abilities in learning such as the ability to recall memorize and perceive influence the efficiency of problem-solving. Difficulty in mathematics skills experienced by students is a challenge for students to overcome. In adequate language skill, information skill and in mastery of number fact skill inhibits the efficiency of problem solving process. These lacking, result in uncertainty, confusion and inaccuracy in the decision making and making connection among information. These would lead to errors in mathematics problem-solving. Moreover, facts recall, was found to be difficult during making meaningful connection in the problems and could influence the efficiency of each phase in problem-solving. The inability to concentrate during the process of problem solving also may result in missing of the third phase (confirmation of answer) in the problem-solving. This phase was not seen as essential in the process of problem-solving among students. Further research to analyze the above hypothesis should be carried out. (National Council of Mathematics Teachers, Florida USA, 2013) This study implies that, studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; difficulties in problem-solving might occur at any phases. In fact it might be caused by a deficiency in any of the skills either independently or cumulatively. The understanding of the difficulties faced by students in any particular area and phase is the strategy to respond to this issue. Based on the understandings, it could provide a guide line for teachers as well as researchers to plan better approaches and effective teaching methods. Development of diagnostic instruments, modules and approaches were essential to assist the students which will result in more meaningful teaching and learning process. Leongson (2003) reveals that Pilipino students excel in knowledge acquisition but fare considerably low in lessons requiring higher order thinking skills. This disappointing condition is evident in the performance of students in national and international surveys on mathematics and science competencies. Performance of pre-service teachers and mathematics teachers in the Professional Board Examination reveals the same picture of poor competencies (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1986; Ibe,1995). The Third International Mathematical Science Study (TIMMS,2000) examined patterns of students achievement in mathematics and found out that the school effectiveness and teachers competency impact learning and promote higher level of achievements (http://www.research.acer.edu.au.cgi.viewcontent.cgi). The quality of instruction

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and effective instructional design are necessary to alleviate problems related to teaching and learning mathematics (Dursun& Dede,2004). College students are not exempted from the problem in learning and mastering mathematics. The study conducted by Daca & Tenedero (2015)Identification of Difficulties of Students in Industrial Mathematics: Springboard for Development of Modular Instruction reveals the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology students of Samar State University encountered difficulty in understanding and visualizing the situation being described in all learning areas in both conceptual and computational/problem solving in Industrial Mathematics subject. Hence, it is strongly recommended to address the difficulties faced by the participants. According to Singha, et. Al, (2012) teacher should develop positive and good behavior relationship towards the students and stress classroom activities that involve active teaching-learning process and participation. Moreover, teachers should use modified, simple and interesting methods to teach mathematics such as portfolio making and by taking examples from real and daily life situations. A remedial instruction is badly needed especially on topics where students find very difficult. The study of Daca, Mendano&Abaincia (2014) learning difficulty of Tech. Voc. Students in physics content subjects reveals that Technical Vocational students of Samar State University(SSU) encountered difficulty understanding conceptually on Physics content subject specifically on composition and resolution of vectors. Moreover, their difficulties encountered were under computational skill /problem solving in all mechanics and heat topics. Results of the study suggested the need to address the difficulties especially on the contents faced by the participants very difficult. In such manner, Sweller (1994), on his cognitive load theory stated that snags on learning and problem solving difficulty can be worked out through instructional design. This implied that teachers teaching physics should be innovative enough in designing instructions that would encourage maximum learning from the students both conceptual and computational skill. A remedial instruction is needed especially on topics where students performed very low. According to Ambrose (2004), tutorial activities are very advantageous in enhancing student comprehension because it provides them the challenge and resolve their wrong perception and intuition on physics content. Designed educational media, interactive learning materials were significant tool in learning physics concept, likewise physics representation in the use of models, diagrams, and graphs are means in understanding physics worded problems (Squire, 2004). Nevertheless, multiple interventions conducted in any forms expectedly would increase studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; achievement level, in general overcome learning difficulties in physics content subject. Finally, the teacher who is teaching mathematics in the tertiary level should have the insight on how to modify or improve the teaching-learning situations through a wise selection of objectives, contents and activities to acquire the ability to supplement the teaching methods and techniques that are needed in relation to the abilities and potentialities of the students. Thus, the researcher determined a teaching learning strategy the portfolio making of the students in mathematics(trigonometry) subject in order to cater to the needs of both fast and slow learners and be able help them to cope with the modernization of the global competition in the market. Methodology

Research Design This qualitative study utilized phenomenological approach. It aimed to investigate the lived experience of low performing Bachelor of Industrial Technology students in making portfolio in mathematics (trigonometry). Qualitative research study according to Mills and Birks (2014) â&#x20AC;&#x153;aimed to examine phenomena that impact on the lived reality of individuals or groups in

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a particular cultural or social context.â&#x20AC;? Phenomenology aimed to accurately describe the phenomenon without a pre-existing knowledge to a framework, but remaining truth to the facts (Groenewald, 2004). More so, using a qualitative research, the researcher would able to connect with their participants and to see the world from their viewpoints (Corbin & Strauss, 2015).The researcher found this method most applicable to the inquiry in order to provide a comprehensive analysis on the lived experiences of Bachelor of Industrial Technology student in making portfolio in mathematics.

Participants Participants of the study were identified using purposive sampling. Using purposive sampling, the researcher can choose their participants that will be fit for the study (Dever& Frankel, 2000). Ten (10) Bachelor of Industrial Technology students participated in the study. Participants are students under the math 213 (trigonometry) classes and make portfolio as part of the assessment tool in trigonometry for the midterm period.

Data Collection

In gathering the pertinent data for the study, a semi-structured interview was used in collecting data. This type of interview was the most familiar strategy in collecting qualitative data (Bloom & Crabtree, 2006), which helped the researcher to obtain all the necessary information needed and to allow the researchers to asked follow-up questions for clarification. The content of the interview guide were validated by three professionals who were expert in the field of Mathematics. The researcher also provided an agreement that included obtaining informed consent, ensured confidentiality, time and place commitments, permission to record and publish, delineating the ethical principles of research. As to data storing methods, the researcher used note taking and dialogic form interview to reach deeper the responses of the respondents.

Data Analysis

In the phenomenological analysis, the following steps utilized in analyzing the data phenomenologically were adopted from Hycnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1985) process. These steps include the following: 1) bracketing and phenomenological reduction; 2) listening to the interview for a sense of the whole; 3) delineating units of general meaning; 4) delineating units of meaning relevant to the research question; 5) defining codes for categories; 6) grouping data into categories; 7) eliminating redundancies; 8) clustering units of relevant meaning; and 9) finalizing the themes to make them into meaningful concepts. Results From the data analyses, three themed emerged: (1) No interest in Making Portfolio; (2) Developed Interest in Making Portfolio in Mathematics (trigonometry), and (3) Usefulness in Making Portfolio to real life Situation. The three themes- and subthemes- that emerged from the lived experience of Bachelor of Industrial Technology student some of them did not have interest in making portfolio. Yet, upon the working with their portfolio in mathematics (trigonometry) as part of the student learning method,the student developed their interest in making portfolio as evident in Theme 2. Theme 3 illustrates the usefulness of Portfolio Making in mathematics in real life situation especially to the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major field of specialization. The following sections present the major themes and subthemes.

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Theme 1. No Interest in Making Portfolio

Theme 1 can be best explained by three subthemes including learning difficulties in mathematics, classroom environment, past experiences and attitude towards mathematics. From the analysis, it can be understand that as a tech – voc. students, mathematics is one of the difficult subject to them, they have less interest in mathematics subject for some factors such as student learning difficulties in mathematics, the classroom environment, their past experiences in their basic math subject in their elementary and in their high school that resulted to their attitude toward mathematics. Subtheme A. learning difficulties in mathematics Some of the students who struggle with mathematics learning regardless of their motivation, past instruction, and mathematical knowledge prior to starting school, some of the students demonstrate slow or inaccurate recall of basic arithmetic facts; answer problems impulsively, without inhibition; have difficulty representing mathematical concepts mentally; have poorly developed number sense; and have difficulty keeping information in their working memory. These are the students who no interest in making portfolio. The learning difficulty is illustrated in the following statements: (1) “I hate math- I am having difficulty understanding it. I don’t like numbers, I cannot really move myself to like it because I poorly developed the concept in my mind .” (2) “I am having difficulty focusing and concentrating. I force my self to focus during the discussion yet I am disappointedof myself because I cannot really understand it even in my elementary years, I am not really for numbers.’’ Subtheme B. Teacher factors Mathematics classroom is another concern of the students’ participants. Classroom is one place where instructors intentionally introduce moments of uncertainty and so-called struggle time for the students, some mathematics teacher are continually unaware of the learning environment that a good balance between student centeredand teacher-focused approaches is a crucial instructional strategy. Those students who do not believe themselves capable of learning mathematics need individualized guidance and encouragement to produce small successes that lead to further gains. These strategies require greater effort on the part of the mathematics instructor than traditional methods, they are essential to low performing students. Also, enthusiasm for learning affects a student’s level of engagement and motivation, creating a causeand-effect cycle (Burks et al., 2009). When studentsdisengage, the instructor is sometimes tempted to stop motivating them. This, in turn,causes the student to become more unmotivated, causing the teacher to become resentful. The experience is illustrated in the following statement: (1) “I don’t like math because I have and experience that my math teacher in thepast shout at me because I cannot answer the recitation and most of time, because I cannot immediately understand the discussion some of my math teacher never helped when I asked for it.” (2) “I think I won’t be so good with math unless I have a really good teacher to really help me with my math work and she makes sure I understandthe work before we move on.” Subtheme C. Past experiences Some of the student participant experienced being stigmatized because they had a bad experience in mathematics in the past, they receive low grade in their elementary and even in their high school that became a factor to dislike mathematics that some of the student’s participants if they encountered the same experienced they recall the feeling of disappointment

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and resentment to accept the learning process they should be because they are trapped with their experiences in the past. (1) “I feel like rejected and condemned, I am judged by other people as “stupid” because of what happened…” (2) In my elementary I used to get a good grade but in the last years of my high school my grade really dropped to almost failed (pasangawa). Then it started getting really hard so that I couldn’t understand. (3) Many times when I take a quizzes and exams in my math subjects I only guess my answer and most of the time I get a wrong answer. If not, I copied the answer of my classmates because I don’t really know how to solve a problem specifically if it is a manipulation of formulas. Then most of the time I get bad grade and sometimes get in trouble.

Theme 2. Developed Interest in Making Portfolio in Mathematics

Despite the struggle in mathematics subject the students’ participant developed their interest in making portfolio because of their desire to pass the subject they still insist to pursue to make an output for the requirements that their instructor had given them. They become motivated to work for the portfolio making because it gives them the opportunity to develop the learning skills by means of solving problem in their exampleas an output in their portfolio. On this process the student participants developed their analytical skills, independence in solving problem, boost self – confidence and developed interpersonal relation to their classmate. Subtheme A: Analytical skills Student view the importance of mathematics in a real life situation. They believe that the only way to learn the learning skills in mathematics is through solving and developing the analytical skills they should have to develop through making portfolio in mathematics because of the students’ participants desire to have an output for the requirements they realized that they are developing their analytical skills by solving problem and by trying to engage themselves in the process of making portfolio this become opportunity to the students’ participants have the ability to visualize, articulate, conceptualize or solve both complex and uncomplicated problems by making decisions that are sensible given the available information and their past experiences in math was replaced by a new good experience in dealing mathematics. In this way, there is an assurance that they can get a good grade and in the future used the analytical learning skills into their real life situation especially in their job. They wanted to have better education and a comfortable life. As mentioned by one of the participants: (1) “In making my portfolio as a requirement in our math subject with Ma’am, I really tried my best to do it, specially that the output in the portfolio is our own given examples, I tried to understand every problem that I made for the purpose that I can answer it correctly, I study so that the formula that I used are applicable to the given problems so that my answers are also correct. Because of this process I got challenge, I do my research in the internet and in the library so that I have more knowledge to answer correctly all the problems in making my portfolio with the aim that I can pass the subject(trigonometry), I am happy because I realized I am already developing my analytical skills that I should have to developed. I really blessed that I try my self to pursue this portfolio making.” (2) “I need to finish my studies whatever it takes, therefore I decided to try my best to make my requirement in math making my portfolio, I push my self to solve problem and because of this way I realized that I can solve problem and of course developed my analytical skills. Thank God! ”

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Subtheme B: Independence Even if the students participants have their inhibitions to make portfolio because of their fear in solving math problem because of their past failure in solving problem the desire to pass the subject become their motivating factor to pursue the require to make their portfolio and this made them to realized that they acquired independence in solving problem because they believe that they have to solve their output by themselves, the students’ participants allow themselves to break their fear not to have a correct answer. They believe that it is not too late for them to succeed. They need to prove especially to their selves that mathematics is part of life and not a hindrance in the attainment of their dreams. As illustrated in the following statement: (1) “I know I am not good in math even in my elementary years, but it is not an excuse for me not to finish my studies and achieve my dreams… the more that I will strive to study harder…that is why I push myself to do my requirements with maam and fight my fear in math and solve the problem in my own in as output in my portfolio. In that process of making my portfolio I realized that I can make it. Math is fun especially if you can answer the problem correctly. ” Subtheme C: Boost self – confidence Self-confidence is the belief in oneself and abilities, it describes an internal state made up of what we think and feel about ourselves. Because of the unfavorable experiences of some of the student participant in the pasts in mathematics, the students’ participants have less confidence in solving problem and dealing mathematics. This unfavorable conditions and experiences in their growing up years, likely to develop an unhealthy self-esteem and become unconfident of themselves.Some of the students’ participants receive negative messages that have been internalized and become part of what they think and feel about ourselves. But, because of the process of portfolio making this experience had been replaced to a positive outlook in math because of trying to have an output they pose their selves to answer problems by solving in their own, that made them realized that they can make it. By the process of solving problem it help them to boost their self confidence again by regaining a positive experience through making portfolio in mathematics as a requirement to pass the subjects. (1) “In my experience in making my portfolio in math 213 ( trigonometry) I find it a little bit hard specially in solving problems, I got challenge because from my elementary I got a negative comment of my ability in math, because of this negative comment I developed my low self-esteem, specially math. But because I want to pass this subject I don’t want to get failed grade because I am an scholar, I try to make my own portfolio, and I am thankful because it has a positive result I got a high grade. I answer mostly correct on the given problem. I feel somehow a positive feeling about my math ability now.”

Subtheme D. Developed Interpersonal Relation Some of the students participant, the low performing Bachelor of Industrial Technology students in their process of making portfolio in mathematics when the cannot understand the problem, they don’t know how to analytically deal with it, they asks their classmate to help them in solving the problem, some ask for the formula an let themselves solve it by their own, as long as they have examples in their note. But some of the students they ask examples from their classmate and follow the process of solving. Because of these circumstances the students developed their interpersonal relations to each other, those students who are low performing in math ask assistance to their classmate who has an ability to help them, and create a positive relationship to each other. (1). “ I am in not good math, I strategized I ask my classmate how to solve the problem and study his given examples and I made my own and I am thankful I learn to solve it like example in solving the trigonometric functions because it needs formula, because of this we become friends.”

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Theme 3. Usefulness of Making Portfolio in Mathematics

In the process of making portfolio the students’ participants developed different learning skills and their positive attitude toward challenging circumstances. The students believed that life is challenging but they make it, just like making portfolio in mathematics, they believed that they need to discipline themselves to break their fear in math, so that they can achieve high grade and success in studies. This discipline they acquired in making portfolio can be applied in dealing other circumstances in facing life as a person, they manage their time and skills and even their negative attitude towards hard things wisely, and along the way applied this skills in dealing life. Subtheme A: Applicability of the learning skills acquired by the student participants in making portfolio to their major field of specialization and in real life situation. Student participants stated that their acquired learning can be used in other field even in their major subjects because they also used math, they also solve problems. What ever they learn specially the analytical skills, self-confidence and interpersonal relationship can be used in real life situations. (1).“ In my major subject in our food subject we also have math, its just a simple math but the same we solve problem, so when we have our quizzes, I can now apply what I learn in the skills (2.)“ I am thankful that I had this experience, making portfolio in math, because I learn so much like solving distance, Pythagorean theorem, trigonometric functions, solutions of right triangle and many more I now appreciate math because when I take the instance exam in PMA(Philippine Military Academy), I encounter this kind of problem there and I think i answer it. So for me making portfolio in math is o good way to develop learning and it can be applied in other field. ” Discussion Results of the present study showed the emergence of three major themes emerged that would described the lived experiences of Bachelor of Industrial Technology student in making portfolio, these are (1)No Interest in Making Portfolio; (2) Developed Interest in Making Portfolio in Mathematics , and (3) Usefulness of Making Portfolio in Math. In the first major theme which is students participants has no interest in making portfolio in mathematics, the participants talked about how difficult mathematics subject for them and become factor in their interest in making portfolio. According to the latest Gallup youth survey conducted in 2004 (as cited by Saad, 2005), the subject that the teenagers find most difficult in school is mathematics. Thus, Saad(2005) said that it is not surprising how the subject has the lowest performance rate. Fullarton (1993) as cited in Cabahug and Ladot (2005), stated that poor attitude towards mathematics is often being said as one of the contributing factors to lower participation and less success in the courses. Neale (1969) still cited in Cabahug and Ladot (2005), said that the attitude towards mathematics affects performance as performance in turn affects attitudes. This studies supported that students has less interest in making portfolio in mathematics because of their negative attitudes towards the subject that affects to their interest in performing the requirement in math portfolio making. The second major theme focused on the developed student’s interest in making portfolio in mathematics. Though they may experience difficulty making portfolio, they also shared their developed positive effects on making portfolio such as the learning skills and positive character. The hope that their lived experiences in making portfolio in mathematics can be used in achieving their dreams and goals in their life to have a better job for brighter future and at the same time achieve their personal dreams. According to Lei (2010), motivation varies from different degrees of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic motivational factors found to be at work with most students include the desire to be involved, curiosity, challenge, and social

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interaction. In this study, it refers to sense of fulfillment in the achievement of their dreams. Extrinsic motivational factors include compliance (to meet another’s expectation, to do what one is told); recognition (to be publicly acknowledged); competition; and work avoidance (avoid more work than necessary). Present study reveals that Bachelor of Industrial Technology student external motivation is to finish their studies and have a job for brighter future for theme and for their families. Moreover, the third theme discusses on the usefulness of making portfolio in mathematics of the Bachelor of Industrial Technology students’ in their major field and in their daily lives. Student participants stated that their acquired learning can be used in other field even in their major subjects because they also used math, they also solve problems. Whatever they learn specially the analytical skills, self-confidence and interpersonal relationship can be used in real life situations. According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (2014) the inclusion of Mathematics as a core subject in the Secondary School curriculum is due to the key roles Mathematics has to play in the achievement of the objectives of the secondary school education, such as promoting of science and technology, provision of trained manpower in the applied sciences, technology and commerce, and the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competence both mental and physical, as equipment for the individual to live on and contribute to the development of his society. Mathematics is one of the school subjects that any nation needs for industrial and technological advancement, useful for most vocation and higher specialized courses of learning (Odili, 2006; Sidhu, 2006).This study supports the claim of the participants that their acquired learning skills, and discipline in making portfolio in mathematics can be applied in other field of endeavor in dealing real life situations. Conclusion This study provides a description of the lived experienced of making portfolio in mathematics of the low performing Bachelor of Industrial Technology students’. Student participants experienced no interest in making portfolio because of some factors such as learning difficulties in mathematics, teacher factor in the past and their previous unfavorable experiences in math but because of their desire to achieve their goal and dreams to finish their studies they try to break their learning difficulties in mathematics and be motivated to make the requirement to pass the subject. In their attempts to make portfolio in mathematics they developed interest in math, independence that boost their confidence and developed interpersonal relationship to other. Hence, student participant believe that what the have learned in the process of making portfolio in mathematics can be applied into to other field of endeavor especially to their field of specialization and to the real live situation. It suggest that these in low performing students participants experienced no interest in making portfolio yet they developed the interest in making portfolio because they believe that they can acquire positive learning skills that can be applied into their specialized field of endeavor and to their real situations.. Their lived experiences can encourage and inspired other low performing student to pursue their education. Recommendation [1] The University must design a program that can cater to the needs of low performing student such as academic enhancement programs. [2] The University through the Office of the Guidance Services should conduct a intervention program for low performing student that can tackle dealing learning difficulties of the students in different areas and developing one’s self. [3] Interview family members, teachers, friends and other people which the participants is interacting with to fully grasp how low performing student manage their learning difficulties in their studies.

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[4] Further studies and in-depth exploration of the lived experiences of the Bachelor of Industrial Technology students in making portfolio as an assessment tool in mathematics is recommended. References Daca, E, &Tenedero, E (2015)Identification of Difficulties of Students in Industrial Mathematics: Springboard for Development of Modular Instruction SSU Journal, 18(1), 10 - 12. Daca, E, Mendano, R &Abaincia, A (2014) learning Difficulty of Tech.Voc. Students in Physics Content. SSU Jornal , 16(7), 9 – 11. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014). National policy on education, Lagos: Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council Press. Geary, D. C. (2004). Mathematics and learning disabilities.JournalofLearningDisabilities,37, 4--‐15. Gersten, R. et. al. (2000).A Synthesis of Empirical Research on Teaching Mathematics to Low Achieving Students.The Elementary School Journal. Gester, R. et al. (2000). Early Identification and Intervention for Students with Mathematics Difficulties.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 293-304. Hott, B. (2014) Strategies and Interventions to Support Students with Mathematics DisabilitiesTexasA&MUniversity (Council for Learning Disability) Joseph & Joe. (2014). Students Difficulties in Solving Non-Routine Problem.International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning. Mazzocco,M. (2007). Defining and differentiating mathematical learning disabilities and difficulties. In D. Berch& M. Mazzocco (Eds.), Whyismathsohardforsomechildren?Thenatureandoriginsofmathematicslearningdifficultiesanddisabilities (pp. 29-47). Baltimore, MD: PaulH. Brooks. Singha, K. et al. (2012). Study of Various Problems Faced by the students and Teachers in Learning and Teaching Math and their Suggestive Measures.International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences., SSN: 2278-6236. TarzimahTambychika, &ThambySubahanMohdMeerahb (2010) Students’ Difficulties in Mathematics Problem-Solving: What do they Say? International Conference on Mathematics Education Research 2010 (ICMER 2010) Sayeski, K., & Paulsen, K. J. (2010). Mathematics Reform Curricula and Special Education: Identifying Intersections and Implications for Practice. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46, 13 - 21

The Author Joy Babatio Araza obtained her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education (BSE) major in Mathematics in Samar State Polytechnic College now Samar State University in 2000. She also completed her Masters of Arts in teaching major in Mathematics in Samar State University in 2008. She serves as Instructor in mathematics at College of Arts and Sciences, Samar State University from 2003 and at present as Assistant Professor I at College of Arts and Sciences, Samar State University, Philippines.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 100-113, ÂŠIJHSS

Design, Fabrication, and Evaluation of Forage Chopper Machine using three Different Diameter Pulleys Prof. Saanoding A. Balayo Prof. Rasid M. Paca Alex L. Salmazan Ysmail Alongan B. Mangorsi Mindanao State University Marawi City, Philippines

Abstract This study is designed and fabricated in order to help people particularly farmers who engaged in forage in order for them to produce a voluminous forage in less time easily. The primary goal of this study was to design, fabricate, and evaluate the performance of the forage chopper machine. The study specifically aimed to evaluate the performance of the machine using three different diameter pulleys in terms of: 1) Throughput Capacity (kg/hr), 2) Chopping Capacity (kg/hr), 3) Chopping Recovery (%), 4) Machine Efficiency (%), and 5) Percent Loss (%). The sample used to evaluate the performance of the machine was a constant feeding rate of 500 grams of a freshly harvested Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum). There were three treatments namely T1(3-inch diameter pulley), T2(4-inch diameter pulley), and T3(5-inch diameter pulley). Three replications for every treatment were used. During the data gathering, the time of chopping for every 500 grams of sample that was fed was measured. Also, the output or the chopped materials were sorted into two (accepted output and unaccepted output) and weighed using a weighing scale. The study revealed that the difference in diameter pulley greatly affected the chopping capability as well as the chopping uniformity of the machine. It was also observed during the data gathering that the use of bigger diameter on the machine gave much better result which led on a much higher machine efficiency. The highest throughput capacity was the T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) that has the fastest speed among the three treatments. As to the chopping, the highest chopping capacity was T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) that has the faster speed among the three treatments. As to the chopping recovery, the highest chopping recovery was the T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) which has the slowest speed among the three treatments. The highest machine efficiency was the T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) which has the fastest speed among the three treatments. The highest percentage of loss was the T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) which has the slowest speed among the three treatments. Keywords: design, fabrication, forage, forage chopper machine, napier grass Introduction Forage grass may be of little importance as we perceive it but it has a numerous economic importance and uses most especially in providing nourishment for most dairy animals. Future intensive and sustainable livestock production systems, requires a thorough knowledge of the 100

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potentials and limitations of the system. Forage availability is one of the most important factors determining the potential of a given ruminant livestock production system (E.A. Lazaro et al.). To some extent, forage grass is easy to cultivate with. And in most localities, farmers harvest forage grass from its stem and cut the crop into short parallel length for a period of time and then mix it with the other constituentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s until it becomes ready for feeding. Forage chopping is a common process done by most local farmers in feeding livestock. These process takes a lot of time and effort especially in a large scale unit which led to the realization of lessening the problem. Forage chopper is used to cut/chop forage as a replacement of a cutlass (E.A. Lazaro et al.). Designing and constructing a Forage Chopper Machine for feeding livestock is one of the most appropriate way in solving the problem. This Machine could cut the laborious process of manual chopping and could save the time to be used in large scale of feeding livestock. Objectives of the Study This study aimed primarily to design, fabricate, and evaluate the performance of Forage Chopper Machine. Specifically, it aimed to evaluate the performance of the machine with respect to: 1) Throughput Capacity (kg/hr); 2) Chopping Capacity (kg/hr); 3) Chopping Recovery (%); 4) Machine Efficiency (%); and Losses (%) Methods The Forage Chopper Machine was fabricated at Seabreeze Machine Shop, Tambo Highway, Iligan City on March 2016. The design of the machine was based on the gathered information from the books and on the internet having the same concept as of forage chopper machine.

Hopper Feed Roll Tensioner Cutterhead Base and Stand Assembly Power and Transmission Assembly

Figure 13. Main Components of the Forage Chopper Machine The Hopper Part of the machine wherein forage grass is put and prepared prior to feeding into the machine.

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The Feed Roller Cylindrical roll generally with protrusions or flutes, used to gather, compress and advance the crop into the cutterhead. This Feed Roller is unique that it can adjust its clearance by moving vertically according to amount and volume to be fed into the hopper. This capability of the roller is due to its unique design by putting a two pair of spring each side of the shaft. The Cutterhead Cutting rotor devices intend to cut the crop into short lengths with reasonable consistency within a range of optional settings. Base and Stand Assembly Base and stand assembly is considered as the backbone of the machine functioned to support mainly all the parts of the machine. This is made up of steel bars and heavy duty mild steel to assure the durability of the materials. Power Transmission Assembly Power transmission assembly is done by mechanical operation. This is made up of electric motor, belt, shaft and pulley. Tensioner Tensioner is used to tighten the belt to make a better grip between the pulley and the belt. Design and Fabrication The Forage Chopper Machine was fabricated at Seabreeze Machine Shop, Tambo Highway, Iligan City on March 2016. The design of the machine was based on the gathered information from the books and on the internet having the same concept as of forage chopper machine. On the basis of the related data gathered and with the data of the test material that was used. The design was based on the following criteria: (a) Availability of the materials, (b) Simplicity and ease of machine operation and repairs, (c) Adaptability of the machine to small-scale farm owners, and (d) Conformation to the PAES. Parts of the Machine The machine consisted of six (6) major components are as follows: (1) the feed hopper, (2) the feed roll, (3) the cutting assembly, (4) the frame stand assembly, (5) the power transmission assembly, and (6) the material outlet. Materials and Instruments The materials and instruments twere used in evaluating the machine are as follows: (1) Three different sizes of pulley diameter, (2) Weighing Scale, (3) Stopwatch, seconds: milliseconds, (4) Bolo, (5) Pen and Papers, (6) Sack, (7) Digital Camera, (8) Open and Adjustable wrenches, (9) Test Material (Napier grass). Machine Operation The forage chopper machine is generated by an electric motor which serves also as the heart of the machine having a speed of 1720 revolutions per minute (rpm). The electric motor is connected to pulleys of different sizes either driver or driven through the use of belts. The other parts of the machine are then functioning accordingly as to how fast the pulley is. Operating the forage chopper machine is simple. Just plug in the electric motor in the source, feed the forage 102

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grass in the hopper and leave the rest in the machine. Just be sure to be attentive in operating the machine to prevent future complications. Unplug as soon as the operation is done. Data Gathering Procedures The following processes have been done in gathering the data are as follows: (1) All the necessary materials before testing the forage chopper machine must be gathered including all important tools needed in case of any adjustment to avoid failure in the operation, (2) The machine must run for a minute before feeding the desired grass to check the functionality of the machine and its parts, (3) A specific amount of forage grass will be feed at the hopper for chopping, (4) Never forget to jot down the time of the operation starts and ends, (5) The amount of the output after chopping must be weighed to any weighing scale, (6) After weighing, sort all the output and separate all the uncut grasses, (7) Again weigh the uncut grasses in any weighing scale, (8) Unplug the machine when notice any complication during the operation and as soon as the operation ends, (9) Repeat all the necessary instructions for the data gathering using other size of pulley diameter. Evaluation of Machine and Manual Chopping Performance After the data gathered, the following determinations were carried out: Throughput Capacity The throughput capacity was measured based on the sampleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s input weight which is 500 grams divided by its chopping time in (kg/hr). The results were expressed as Replication 1, Replication 2, and Replication 3. The mean value of the three measurements was also computed. Chopping Capacity The Chopping recovery was measured based on the weight of the accepted output divided by its chopping time. The results were expressed as Replication 1, Replication 2, and Replication 3. The mean value of the three measurements was also computed. Chopping Recovery The chopping recovery was measured based on the weight of the total output divided by its input weight multiplied by 100. The results were expressed as Replication 1, Replication 2, and Replication 3. The mean value of the three measurements was also computed. Percent Loss Percent loss was computed based on the ratio if the difference of input weight and the accepted output weight divided by the input weight expressed in percent. The results were expressed as Replication 1, Replication 2, and Replication 3. The mean value of the three measurements was also computed.

Machine Efficiency Chopping efficiency was computed based on the ratio of the accepted output and input. The results were expressed in percent. The results were expressed as Replication 1, Replication 2, and Replication 3. The mean value of the three measurements was also computed.

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Experimental Design and Data Analysis The experimental design used in the calculation and analysis of statistical data are the Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and Duncanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the differences among the treatment means. Results and Discussion The variables or treatments of the study were the different diameter pulleys attached to the motor. Only one type of blade was used in the experiment. The treatments were T1 (3-inch Diameter Pulley), T2 (4-inch Diameter Pulley), and T3 (5-inch Diameter Pulley). The weight of the Napier Grass in each trial is 500 grams with different thickness and length. The procedures for getting the data were that the test material was feed into the machineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hopper and was chopped. The chopping time and the output was then recorded. The outputs were classified as accepted and unaccepted. The classified outputs were weighed and recorded. The outputs were labeled according to the order of its treatments and replications. These processes were repeated three times for every treatment. The tables below show the data that were gathered during the data gathering. Table 1. Data gathered of the first treatment T1 (3-inch Diameter Pulley) with three replications. Output Classification Treatment Total Total Chopping (g) Input (g) Combination Output (g) Losses (g) Time (sec) Accepted Unaccepted T1R1 500 480 400 80 100 9.71 T1R2 500 490 430 60 70 10.1 T1R3 500 485 405 80 95 7.38 Table 2. Data gathered of the second treatment T2 (4 inch Diameter Pulley) with three replications. Output Classification Treatment Total Total Chopping (g) Input (g) Combination Output (g) Losses (g) Time (sec) Accepted Unaccepted T2R1 500 475 436 39 64 6.19 T2R2 500 480 440 40 60 7.66 T2R3 500 485 457 28 43 5.23 Table 3. Data gathered of the third treatment T3 (5-inch Diameter Pulley) with three replications. Output Classification Treatment Total Total (g) Input (g) Combination Output (g) Losses (g) Accepted Unaccepted T3R1 500 481 471 10 29 T3R2 500 476 456 20 44 T3R3 500 478 458 20 42

Chopping Time (sec) 4.14 3.24 3.79

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Throughput Capacity Throughput capacity refers to the ratio of the input weight of Napier grass that was fed into the hopper and its chopping time. Table 4 shows the Throughput Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine fed by 500 grams of fresh harvest Napier grass with three (3) different treatments with three replications. As shown from the table that when the machine was loaded by the test material, T3 has the highest Treatment Mean of Throughput Capacity (488.42 kg/hr), followed by T2 (289.98 kg/hr), and T1 (202.49 kg/hr). Subjecting the data to Analysis of Variance, Table 4a shows a highly-significant treatment mean differences at 1% level of significance, which means that the three different sizes of pulley diameter affects significantly to the study of throughput capacity. The DMRT analysis in Table 4b shows that the Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) were significantly to differ Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley). Whereas, Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) were not significantly differ from each other. This means that the chopping machine can have a highest throughput capacity when Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) was used because of its fast rpm. Thus chopping time was faster. The DMRT also shows that whether Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) were used, the difference of the throughput capacity is negligible. Table 4. Throughput Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys in Conducted in CRD Experiment with Three Replications. Treatments

Throughput Capacity (Kg/hr)

T1 (3” dia. pulley) T2 (4” dia. pulley) T3 (5” dia. pulley) Grand Total Grand Mean

185.37 290.79 434.78

178.21 234.98 555.55

243.90 344.16 474.93

Treatment Total 607.50 869.95 1465.27 2942.72

Treatment Mean 202.50 289.98 488.42 326.97

Table 4a. Analysis of Variance of Table 4 (Throughput Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment With Three Replications.) Source of Variance

Degree of Freedom

Treatment 2 Expt’l Error 6 Total 8 cv = 15.85% ** = highly significant 1% level

Sum of Squares

Mean Squares

Computed F

128785.82 16124.31 144910.12

64392.91 2687.38

23.96**

Tabular F 5% 5.14

1% 10.92

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Table 4b. DMRT of Table 4a (Throughput Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with Three Replications.) Treatment T3 (5 inch-diameter pulley) T2 (4 inch-diameter pulley) T1 (3 inch-diameter pulley)

Treatment Mean (Kg/hr) e 488.42 289.98 202.49

DMRT a b b

*Treatment means having the same letter are not significantly different from each other at 5% significance level e

– Means of three replications

Chopping Capacity Chopping Capacity of the machine is the ratio of the accepted output over the chopping time. Table 5 shows the Chopping Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine when fed by 500 grams of freshly harvested Napier Grass with three (3) different treatments with three replications. As shown from the table that when the machine was loaded by the test material, T3 has the highest Treatment Mean of Chopping Capacity (450.42 kg/hr), followed by T2 (258.31kg/hr), and T1 (166.37 kg/hr). Subjecting the data to Analysis of Variance, Table 5a shows a highly-significant treatment mean differences at 1% level of significance, which means that the three different sizes of pulley diameter affects significantly to the study of Chopping Capacity. The DMRT analysis (Table 5b) shows that the Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) were significantly differ to Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley). Also the table reveals that Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) were significantly differ from each other. This means that the machine can obtain a higher chopping capacity in Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) compared to Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) because of its faster rpm and higher value of acceptable output. Table 5. Chopping Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with three Replications. Treatment Treatment Treatments Chopping Capacity (Kg/hr) Total Mean T1 (3” dia. pulley) 148.30 153.27 197.56 499.13 166.38 T2 (4” dia. pulley) 253.57 206.79 314.57 774.93 258.31 T3 (5” dia. pulley) 409.56 506.67 435.04 1351.27 450.42 Grand Total 2625.33 Grand Mean 291.70

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Table 5a. ANOVA Table of Table 5 (Chopping Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment With Three Replications.) Source of Variance

Degree of Freedom

Sum of Squares

Treatment 2 126042.58 Expt’l Error 6 12382.51 Total 8 138425.09 cv = 10.085% ** = highly significant 1% level

Mean Squares

Computed F

63021.29 2063.75

30.54**

Tabular F 5% 5.14

1% 10.92

Table 5b. DMRT of Table 5a (Chopping Capacity of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with Three Replications.) Treatment Mean (Kg/hr) e 450.42 258.31 166.37

Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) T1 (3-inch diameter pulley)

DMRT a b c

*Treatment means having the same letter are not significantly different from each other at 5% significance level e – Means of three replications Chopping Recovery Chopping Recovery is the ratio of the total output and input material in percent. Table 6 shows the Chopping Recovery of the Forage Chopper Machine when fed by 500 grams of freshly harvested Napier Grass with three (3) different treatments with three replications. The table reveals that the Treatment T1 has the highest Treatment Mean of Chopping Recovery (97%), followed by the T2 (96%), and T3 (95.66%). Subjected the data to Analysis of Variance, Table 6a shows a Non-significant result of Treatment Means at 1% and 5% level of significance which means that the three different sizes of pulley diameter did not affect significantly to the study of Chopping Recovery. Table 6. Chopping Recovery of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with Three Replications. Treatments T1 (3” dia. pulley) T2 (4” dia. pulley) T3 (5” dia. pulley) Grand Total Grand Mean

Chopping Recovery (%) 96 95 96.2

98 96 95.2

97 97 95.6

Treatment Total 291 288 287 866

Treatment Mean 97 96 95.67 96.22

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Table 6a. ANOVA of Table 6 (Chopping Recovery of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment With Three Replications.) Source of Variance Treatment Exptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Error Total cv = 0.90% ns = not significant

Degree of Freedom 2 6 8

Sum of Squares 2.89 4.51 7.40

Mean Squares 1.44 0.75

Computed F 1.92

Tabular F 5%

5.14

10.92

Percent Loss Percent loss is the ratio of the difference of the input weight and the accepted output weight divided by input weight expressed in percent. Table 7 shows the Percent Loss of the Forage Chopper Machine when fed by 500 grams of freshly harvested Napier Grass with three (3) different treatments with three replications. The table reveals that the Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) has the highest Treatment Mean of Percent Loss which is (17.66%), followed by T2 (11.13%), and T3 (7.66%) respectively. Subjecting the data to Analysis of Variance, Table 7a shows a highly significant treatment mean differences at 1% level of significance, which means that the three different sizes of pulley diameter affects significantly to the study of Percent Loss. The DMRT analysis (Table 7b) reveals that Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) significantly differ to Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley). Also the table reveals that Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) does not significantly differ from each other. The Treatment T1 has the highest Percentage Loss because it has the slowest revolution per minute (rpm) among the three treatments. It means that the faster the revolution per minute (rpm) the lesser the Percentage of loss. Table 7. Percent Loss of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment With Three Replications. Treatment Treatment Treatments Percent Loss (%) Total Mean T1 (3-inch dia. pulley) 20 14 19 53 17.67 T2 (4-inch dia. pulley) 12.8 12 8.6 33.4 11.13 T3 (5-inch dia. pulley) 5.8 8.8 8.4 23 7.67 Grand Total 109.4 Grand Mean 12.16

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Table 7a. ANOVA of Table 7 (Percent Loss of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with three Replications.) Source of Variance

Degree of Freedom

Treatment 2 Exptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Error 6 Total 8 cv = 20.13%% ** = highly significant 1% level

Sum of Squares

Mean Squares

Computed F

154.70 35.92 190.62

77.35 5.99

12.92**

Tabular F 5% 5.14

1% 10.92

Table 7b. DMRT Table of Table 7 (Percent Loss of the Forage Chopper Machine in kg/hr Obtained from three Different Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with three Replications.) Treatment Treatment Mean (%) e DMRT T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) 17.67 a T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) 11.13 b T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) 7.67 b *Treatment means having the same letter are not significantly different from each other at 5% significance level e

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Means of three replications

Machine Efficiency Machine Efficiency is the ratio of the weight of the accepted output and input expressed in percent. Table 8 shows the Machine Efficiency of the Forage Chopper Machine fed by 500 grams of freshly harvested Napier Grass with three (3) different treatments with three replications. The table reveals that the Treatment T3 (5 inch-diameter pulley) has the highest Treatment Mean of Machine Efficiency which is (92.33%), followed by Treatment T2 (88.86%), and Treatment T1 (82.33%) respectively. Subjecting the data to Analysis of Variance, Table 8a shows a highly-significant treatment mean differences at 1% level of significance, which means that the three different sizes of pulley diameter affects significantly to the study of Machine Efficiency. The DMRT analysis (Table 8b) shows that the Machine Efficiency of Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) does not significantly differ to Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley). Also the table reveals that Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) significantly differ to Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley). It means that Machine Efficiency is lesser in Treatment T1 which has a slower rpm compared to the remaining two Treatments. It also shows that the faster the rpm of the machine the better the result. Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) and T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) did not significantly differ from each other because they have both fast revolution per minute (rpm).

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Table 8. Machine Efficiency of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Different Diameter Pulleys in CRD Experiment With Three Replications. Treatment Treatment Treatments Machine Efficiency (%) Total Mean T1 (3-inch dia. pulley) 80 86 81 247 82.33 T2 (4-inch dia. pulley) 87.2 88 91.4 266.6 88.87 T3 (5-inch dia. pulley) 94.2 91.2 91.6 277 92.33 Grand Total 790.6 Grand Mean 87.84 Table 8a. ANOVA of Table 8 (Machine Efficiency of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Different Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with three Replications.) Source of Variance

Degree of Freedom

Treatment 2 Exptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Error 6 Total 8 cv = 2.78%% ** = highly significant 1% level

Sum of Squares

Mean Squares

Computed F

154.70 35.92 190.62

77.35 5.99

12.92**

Tabular F 5%

5.14

10.92

Table 8b. DMRT Table of Table 8 (Machine Efficiency of the Forage Chopper Machine in Kilograms per Hour Obtained from three Different Diameter Pulleys Conducted in CRD Experiment with three Replications.) Treatment

Treatment Mean (%) e

DMRT

T3 (5-inch diameter pulley)

92.83

T2 (4-inch diameter pulley)

88.87

T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) 82.33 b *Treatment means having the same letter are not significantly different from each other at 5% significance level e

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Means of three replications

Findings of the Study The highest throughput capacity was the T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) that has the fastest speed among the three treatments. Followed by the T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) respectively. The highest chopping capacity was T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) that has the faster speed among the three treatments. Followed by the Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) respectively. The highest chopping recovery is the Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) which has the slowest speed among the three treatments. Followed by the Treatment T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) respectively. The highest machine efficiency is the Treatment T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) which has the fastest 110

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Speed among the three treatments. Followed by T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) respectively. The highest percentage of loss is the Treatment T1 (3-inch diameter pulley) which has the slowest speed among the three treatments. Followed by T2 (4-inch diameter pulley) and T3 (5-inch diameter pulley) respectively. Conclusions and Recommendations The following are the conclusions made through the results of the five days evaluation of the Forage Chopper Machine using three different speeds. The 3-inch diameter pulley, 4-inch diameter pulley, and 5-inch diameter pulley. The speed of the machine affects the length of cut of the forage. The faster the speed the shorter the length of its cut. The slower the speed the longer the length of cut. The faster the speed the lesser the losses and higher the accepted output. The slower the speed of the machine the bigger the losses and lower the accepted output as well as the bigger the unaccepted output. The faster the speed of the machine the lesser the chopping time. The slower the speed, the bigger the chopping time. The faster the speed of the machine the higher its efficiency. The slower its speed the lower also its efficiency. The faster the speed of the machine the bigger its capacity. The slower its speed the smaller its machine capacity. Recommendations are made to improve the performance of the machine as well as its efficiency. Recommendations with respect to my parameter are as follows: If ever you want a longer cut in forage crops to be feed, the use of higher speed in the feed roll is recommended. The speed of feed roll affects directly the length of cut of forage crops. The checking of the clearance between blades and the shear bar should be on a regular basis. During the conduct blade tends to move especially during a long term used on the machine. The efficiency of cutting of forage does not only based on the machineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speed itself but also on the blade and shear bar clearance. The teeth of the feed roll must be more emphasized to have a better grip of the forage stalks. The use of feed roll with much spikes is recommended. The use of wider opening on the material outlet is recommended so that the output material has no difficulty on its way out. The feeding table should be extended to not less than the length of an arm. This study might also become a reference for some students or researchers that are interested to conduct parallel study or propose another type of Forage Chopper Machine.

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References “Cultivation and Utilization of Napier Grass”. http://www.kalro.org/fileadmin/publications/brochuresI/CultUtiliseNgrass.pdf Retrieved August 2016. Dauda, S. M., Ahmad, D., Khalina, A. and Jamarei, O (2015). Effect of Cutting Speedon Cutting Torque and Cutting Power of Varying Kenaf-Stem Diameters at Different Moisture Contents, 38 (4): 549 - 561 (2015). Doughtie, V.L and Vallance, A. (1994). Design of Machine Elements, 4th Edition, Mc. Graw-hill Book., New York. E.A. Lazaro, F.M. Turuka and N.S.Y. Mdoe (1999). Introduction of Forage Choppers in Livestock Producion Systems in Tanzania, Volume 4: 90-91 (1999). Faires, V.M. (1999). Design of Machine Elements. 4th Edition, Mc Millan Co., New York. Fernandez, Ian Jude, et al. Design, Construction and Evaluation of Chipping Machine, Thesis, Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Unpubllished, 2009 Gomez, K.A. and A.A Gomez (1990). Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. 2nd ed. An International Rice Research Book. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Singapore H. Yokota, T. Okajima, M. Oshima (1991). Nutritive Value of Napier Grass (Pennisetum Purpureum Schum.) Silage Ensiled With Molasses By Goats, Volume 5 (No. 1) 33-37. K. J. Shinners, R. G. Koegel, P. J. Pritzl (1991). An Upward Cutting Cut-And-Throw Forage Harvester to Reduce Machine Energy Requirements, Volume 34(6) Mathur, S. M. and P. Singh (2004). A Cylindrical Chopper with Crusher for Water Hyacinth Volume and Biomass Reduction. “Napier Grass (Pennisetumpurpureum)”.http://www.Theroleandimportanceofnapie rgrassinthesmallholderdairyindustry.html.) Retrieved August 2016 PNS/PAES 218:(2004). Agricultural Machinery – Forage Chopper – Specifications. PNS/PAES 219 (2004). Agricultural Machinery – Forage Chopper – Methods of Test. Tordillo, J.AS. (2009). Machine Design Reviewer. Cebu City, Philippines. “Uses of Forage chopper”. http://www.full_story.php.html. Retrieved August 2016. Y. Yiljep and U. Mohammed (2005). “Effect of Knife Velocity on Cutting Energy and Efficiency during Impact Cutting of Sorghum Stalk.” Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR EJournal. Manuscript PM 05 004. Vol. VII. December, 2005.

The Author Saanoding A. Balayo was born at Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on March 5, 1976. He finished his both Master of Science in Farming Systems (MSFS)and Bachelor Science in Agricultural Engineering in Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Philippines. Engr. Balayo is a Registered Professional Agricultural Engineer and a member of the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers (Professional Chapter). Currently, he is a faculty member of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture, Mindanao State University, Philippines. He was the former College Secretary (2011-2014) and Assistant Dean (2014-date) of the College of Agriculture, Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Philippines. He published a paper entitled: “Growth and Yield Performance of the Different Varieties of Pechay (Brassica chinesis) as Affected by the Different Organic Fertilizers under MSU-Marawi Condition” in Global Research and Development Services Limited in April 2016. He presented also the above112

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mentioned paper in the 1st International Multidisciplinary Research Conference 2016 with the theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bringing the Nations through Global Researchâ&#x20AC;? was held last April 26-28, 2016 at Plaza Alemania Hotel, Iligan City, Philippines.

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 114-118, ÂŠIJHSS

Analysis of Potency and Supporting Capacity: (Implementation of 12 Years Compulsory Education Policy in Pasuruan District East Java Indonesia) Asep Sunandar Educational Administration Department Faculty of Education State University of Malang asep.sunandar.fip@um.ac.id Abstract The success of implementing education compulsory nine years encourages local governments to continue the policy at a higher level, namely compulsory education 12 years. Local government face difference obstacle, suitable with tradition and characteristic of local community. The research explains about people education level, economic level, access to education facility, and people perception about education. Research process used is quantitative approach and descriptive analysis technique. The result show, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peoples education level in the category senior high school 41,9%; the economic condition 48,5% in low category, 29,9% in medium level, and 23,9% in high level; peoples accessibility to education institution 67,2% in category easy; Meanwhile for category people perception about education 44,1% very good and 55,9% good. The condition draw, there is opportunity and treats in implementation of 12 years compulsory education in Pasuruan district. Local government mush improvement people income with expand job field, so that problem of lower income can be solved. Keywords: Human Resource Development, Education Compulsory, people participation. Introduction K-12 compulsory education is a program that is under the Indonesian government with the main goal of improving the quality of human resources. Remember, in the global term, Indonesia HDI rank in low category. The UNDP report 2015 show, Indonesia HDI in rank 110 from 187 countries, with index value 0,684. In generally the condition described improvement but if note the position, Indonesia is in the category of developing countries with slow human development. In 2013, Indonesia HDI was about 0.681 meanwhile in 2014 about 0.684. The HDI achievement under of HDI average Asia-Pasific countries is 0,701. These conditions encourage the Indonesian government to implement a more vigorous development of education, as know; education is key success for human index development. One of prime education program is education compulsory. Education compulsory began at May 2 1984 by Indonesia President at the time Soeharto, every Indonesia children at age 7 until 12 years compulsory to follow basic education. The compulsory program continued until 1989 and improved target until 9 years, so that, all of Indonesia children must finished junior high school. 114

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The 9 years education compulsory is mandate of Indonesia constitution 1945 Article 31 (1) “every citizen is entitled to education”, and ”(2) every citizen is obliged to follow basic education and the government must finance”. That is, every school-aged child, namely those aged 7 to 15 years are entitled to a basic education. Such education shall be financed by the state. Their obligation to learn and the government shall also intend to finance them nothing to learn (schools) as a basis for improving the quality of her life later. Compulsory education shall also be implemented by providing opportunities and equal justice to every citizen so that they can pass on the higher education level. Responsible for Indonesia Pintar Programme (PIP) Kemendikbud (Mulkirom in Kompas, June 23, 2015) states "The Ministry of Education and Culture will start a pilot Compulsory or Fair 12 years in 2016, with expectations in 2019 achieved a number of targets…” and " Naturally, the actual pilot of 12 years has been carried out since 2013, but the pattern of the new limited funding for students. Starting in 2016 will be a lot of the budget that goes to finalize Fair 12 years. Twelve (12) year compulsory education basically been carried out by local governments, since 2010 some areas such as the city of Sukabumi, Bandung, East Kalimantan Province and other areas have implemented the program. But nationally it is newly enacted since 2016 in view of the few areas that have not been able to complete the compulsory 9-year program. 12-year program is not only implemented in Indonesia, in other countries such programs have long been implemented. Japanese, American and European countries have implemented such policies. In the scope of Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines has implemented compulsory 12 years since 2012. The aim is to meet the standards of international education and that students of the Philippines aligned with students in neighboring countries. While the curriculum applied in the Philippines aims to make students able to achieve competence and expertise master [5]. Implementation of Compulsory 12-year program has been implemented by each region in line with the policy of regional autonomy. As with other areas, Pasuruan, East Java Province has carried out pioneering 12-year compulsory education. As an illustration of the achievements already achieved by the Government of Pasuruan is achievement gross enrollment ratios (GER) 2015 in Elementary School (SD) has reached 99.95%, to reach the APK SMP 95.67% and 95.70% APM, and for high school APK reach 92.18 and 91.90 APM. It states that the data overview Pasuruan still have homework to be done to complete the nine-year compulsory education and to meet national policy related to compulsory education to 12 years. Data and information in Pasuruan shows, although already succeeded in reducing the illiteracy rate of up to 97.31%. However, not all school-age population, especially at the level of SMP / MTs and SMA / SMK / MA, follows or continuing education. Especially when viewed in 2014, (1) the public Pasuruan long sekotah only have an average of seven (7) years (the equivalent of junior class l); (2) there are few districts in Pasuruan which has a small net and gross enrollment [6]. These problems certainly cannot be tolerated, but need real efforts must be made by the relevant government. One apparent attempt Pasuruan District Government through the Regional Development Planning Agency has created programs Improvement Strategy APK and APM in the improvement of educational status. Policy and program is very appropriate to map the problems of education, especially in efforts to increase the GER and NER elementary, middle and high school / equivalent. Method The collection of data carried out by distributing questionnaires and interviews to people who are thought to provide supporting data. Determination of the sample is done randomly with the limits of representation region. Variable study population consisted of age, educational level, 115

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occupation, family economic conditions, geography and culture. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, discussion of the results of research done by comparing data from statistical calculations, interviews and review of references that support. Results In the research process by developing an indicator of high and low community participation, researcher made six categories as indicators. Here is a presentation of research results based on these indicators: 1. The age parents Indicator, age of the parents become one of the researcher's consideration, the assumption of parents who were born in the 70s have access to education much better compared to the 1955-1969 birth parents. So it is possible to parents who were born in 1970 will have a much better outlook towards education. Research findings showed parents today are in the age range 36-45 years (20.9%). Who are in the age range 46-55 years by 12.6%, and which are in the 56-66 age range as much as 7.8%. Based on these data it can be stated that 33.5% of the respondents were in the range of birth in 1970. The researcher believes in the age range of the productivity of labor is still high and has a more modern perspective as well as easy to accept the changes. 2. Indicators of long parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education, in this category researchers assumed that, education level of parents, affect the awareness of parents about the importance of education for their children. According to the research results, education level in the category basic level 27.7%, junior high school 23.1%, Senior High school about 34.4%, bachelor degree 6.7%), and magister degree at 0.8%. 3. Indicators of the work of parents, the work of parents becoming one of the researchers' attentions, given the work is a source of family income that will provide for the family including children's education needs. Data results showed Pasuruan society working in the sector (merchants / entrepreneurs) as many (19.6%), working as (labor / handyman) as many (16.3%), working as (civil /military) of 15 (1, 8%) and the remainder work as (Farmers / Fishermen) and or does not work. Work topography suggests that people in Pasuruan distric generally work in the informal sector as traders or laborers. While the formal sector such as civil /military/ Police very small proportion because many of those who live in the city of Pasuruan or other areas. Based on these data researcher believes that level of participation in education will not be too high because most of the income is used to meet basic living needs. 4. Family economic condition is an Indicator that describes how the state of the economy of the community in Pasuruan. In this category submitted several questions to explore the ability of the family finances, especially those in the education of children. Research data shows that the economic situation Pasuruan society in general are much lower that is 45.8%, in category middle 29.9%, and high economy category is 23.9%. The data illustrates that the economic conditions of Pasuruan people generally located in low and medium category. This is a signal to the government that to increase education people participation, family income needs to be improved. 5. Geography is an indicator that describes mileage, travel time, the rough terrain that must be traversed a child to school, and the means of transport used by students. Research findings showed that the highest geographical conditions in middle category, namely (37.3%), geographical situation is not good (low) of (32.3%), and a good geographical situation (high) as many (29.9%). Nice category described as a state, in which the tool transfort, terrain way to go, travel time is in the category ideal is less than 2 KM with a travel time of less than 15 minutes. Category describing geographical conditions tend to be easy to pass both with motorbike or public transportation, which takes a maximum travel time of 30 minutes. 116

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Meanwhile the condition is not good enough is a geographical condition that requires special transportation up to school, generally travel time it takes for more than 1 hour. Based on the above categories and the data can be argued that it is generally, Pasuruan geographical situation does not inhibit the activity of students toward school. A small proportion of these students have a geographical constraints leading to the school which is about 32.2%. Treatment of the geographical conditions necessary to remember some districts it has become one of the dominant obstacle to increased people participation in education. 6. Socio-cultural circumstances is the way people view the importance of education. This indicator is also interpreted as community support for education. The results showed that 44.1% people of Pasuruan excellent view of the importance of education, 54.5% of people also hold good, so it can be ascertained that in general there is no problem associated with the culture or the way people view that hinder the education process of children. Discussion The success of 9 year basic education program canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be separated from the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention and participation. Some things that affect to success of Compulsory Basic Education program 9 is 1) the poverty of the population; 2) difficulty to school (geography unfavorable factor); 3) lack of education services; 4) low of parents and students motivation to access education; 5) lack of support of local governments and communities to education; and 6) the socio-cultural factors that are less supportive of education . These six factors are consistent with studies that have been conducted by researchers, where several factors are seen to have an influence on the implementation of compulsory basic education to 12 years in Pasuruan is age population, length of education, employment population, family economic circumstances, and geographic and social culture conditions of the community. The age range of the parents of the students were in the age range 36-45 years (20.9%), age range 46-55 years by 12.6%, and which are in the 56-66 age range as much as 7.8%. While the level of education they are on stage, basic education 27.7%, junior high school 23.1%, senior high school as much as 34.4%, bachelor degree 6.7% S1 and master degree is 0.8 %. The data shows that in general parents are in the range of productive age, and education level were quite good. Junior high school graduates, 23.1% and 34.4% of high school graduates, college graduates 7.5% to a total of 65% of parents in Pasuruan have completed primary education. This is a potential carrying capacity as well as the implementation of compulsory education program 12 years. Given the condition of the elderly will greatly affect their perspectives on education. Another positive they will pay more attention to the education of her daughter's son. Research Meyer stated that education has an influence on a person's political choice . Age and parents education have an influence on the selection of children in school. The more positive perspective of parents towards education, support for school for children will be higher as well. The work of parents and family economic circumstances are the two things that are still weak, the results showed that the majority of Pasuruan work in the informal sector, not more than 20% of the working population in the formal sector. This has an impact on the family's economic situation, 45.5% of the population are in the category of weak economies, 29.9 in middle category. A condition of work of parents and family economic circumstances is a challenge for the government in implementing the program. Given the economic conditions have an impact on a child's school spirit. Governments need to look for a proper solution that parents have fulltime jobs, so that the carrying capacity of the parents towards education will remain high. Geography meant as circumstances and the situation of a child access to educational institutions. Structural conditions of the mountains and the access road are not a good influence to ease 117

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children accessing education institutions. It certainly has an influence on the spirit of the child to attend at school. 32.2% of regional conditions Pasuruan rated respondents have poor access to educational institutions. Road infrastructure, schools transportation meadow, does not support the access of children to school. This condition remains a challenge for the government in implementing the fair 12 years, given the high school generally in the urban area, so that children from rural areas have to travel long distances to reach school. While, the public perception of the importance of education is very high, parents are generally of the view that their child should be higher than their school. 98.6% of the people looked very necessary for their children to school to the highest level; it is the potential for the government to implement the Fair 12 years. Carrying capacities of the parents are very high will facilitate the government in implementing the policy. It should be noted that the government is giving equal opportunity to all citizens to education, facilitate and provide ease of access to educational institutions. Equity and equality be the key success of the program. As did the Japanese people who claimed the Japanese people need to reconsider, and explore more deeply the various possible meanings of terms such as equality of opportunity, equality, ability, social class, and meritocracy. The government should be able to synergize among economic problems, political, and social so that education programs can run smoothly and reap success. Conclusion There are a few things to a conclusion in this study are: Pasuruan public awareness of the importance of education is already high, they cherish their children's higher education than himself. This is a potential and an opportunity for the government to implement compulsory education to 12 years. Great community support will facilitate the implementation of the program; given the support of the community is the key to successful education program. The big challenge that must be faced by the government in implementing the 12-year program will Reasonable family economic circumstances of the students, considering the work of Pasuruan district society in general are in the informal sector and their income is not settled. Either directly or indirectly, these conditions have an impact on child support to go to school. In general, if the economic conditions are not able to meet the necessities of life, the support of parents for children to attend school become faded. These conditions still have to find a solution by the local government, so that the 12-year Fair program can be implemented successfully. References Andrew G. Meyer. 2016. The impact of education on political ideology: Evidence from European compulsory education reforms. Economic of Education Review Volume 56, February 2017, Pages 9â&#x20AC;&#x201C;23. Akito Okada.2012. Education Reform And Equal Opportunity In Japan. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 2012, Volume 1, Issue 2 ISSN 2232-1802. http://crice.um.edu.my/downloads/4Okada.pdf. BAPEDA Pasuruan Distrik. 2015. Strategies For Increasing Participation Rate (GER) And Pure Participation Rate (APM) In Pasuruan. Harian Kompas, 23 Juni 2015, Kemendikbud: Education Compulsory 12 Years Begun at 2016. Maria Teresa F. Calderon. 2014. A Critique Of K-12 Philippine Education System. International Journal of Education and Research Vol. 2 No. 10 October 2014. By http://www.ijern.com/journal/2014/October-2014/42.pdf. Indonesia Fundamental Regulation 1945 Nur Berlian VA. 2011. Factors Associated with Low Achievement Compulsory Basic Education 9 Years (education and culture journal, Vol. 17, No 1, January2011). jurnaldikbud.kemdikbud.go.id/index.php/jpnk/article/download/6/4. http://www.voaindonesia.com/a/undp-indeks-pembangunan-manusia-indonesia-alamikemajuan/3110936.html http://www.benarnews.org/indonesian/berita/hdi-indonesia-12152015164648.html 118

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 119-130, ©IJHSS

Micronucleus Test in Exfoliated Buccal Cells of Female Street Vendors Exposed to Vehicular Exhaust in Iligan City, Philippines Keren Joy A. Recoleto Department of Biology-College of Natural Science and Mathematics Mindanao State University Marawi City, Lanao del Sur Annabella G. Villarino Department of Biology-College of Natural Science and Mathematics Mindanao State University Marawi City, Lanao del Sur Abstract Vehicular exhaust has been proven by several studies to be genotoxic and deleterious to human health (Health Effects Institute, 2010; IARC, 2012; etc.). In order to make possible health interventions, it is vital to perform bio-monitoring studies among individuals occupationally exposed to clinically high amounts of vehicular exhaust (Holland et.al. 2008 & Tovalin et.al. 2006). The purpose of the study was to assess the DNA damage of the exfoliated buccal cells among urban street vendors exposed to vehicular exhaust. The study utilized a cross-sectional design (n=60). Purposive sampling was used to select thirty (30) street vendors in Iligan City and thirty (30) controls in Marawi City. Only female participants were included to eliminate gender as a confounding factor. Data collection occurred between the months of October 2013 to January 2014. Buccal micronucleus test was used to investigate the genotoxic effects of vehicular exhaust exposure. A total of 1000 cells per test individual were scored for micronucleus frequency. The results showed a highly significant difference (p<0.001) between the micronuclei frequency of the exposed (9.40±4.46) and control (4.80±3.25). No relationship was established between the micronuclei frequency and the confounding factors such as age, length of vehicular exhaust exposure, smoking, tea drinking, and alcoholism. A weak correlation (p=0.031) was found between coffee drinking and micronuclei frequency. The results of this study suggest that female street vendors occupationally exposed to vehicular exhaust have a significantly higher frequency of micronucleated cells than their minimally-exposed counterparts. Keywords: Vehicular exhaust; Street vendors; Micronucleus test; Buccal cells

Introduction There is an increasing amount of evidence suggesting that exposure to vehicular exhaust increases the rate of DNA damage leading to the development of cancer and many other adverse health effects (Health Effects Institute, 2010, IARC, 2012, etc.) Damage to genome has been 119

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known to be the fundamental cause of many developmental and degenerative diseases (Holland et.al., 2008). Although the exact mechanisms of the damage are still not well understood, the health-damaging effects can be attributed to the components of the exhausts themselves. Huang et al. (2012) stated that particulate matter (PM) of the exhausts, especially PM with diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5), has the ability to penetrate the respiratory and circulatory system easily causing increased risk of having respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes depending on the length of exposure (either short-term or long-term). Another component of the exhaust are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs have carcinogenic and mutagenic properties as they are able adhere easily to the surface of carbon particles and are carried deep into the lungs (Krivoshto et al., 2008). The other components of traffic exhaust, especially those coming from diesel emission sources, have also been proven to have negative health effects. Among the traffic exhaust sources, the diesel powered vehicles are considered to be the most damaging to health. In 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has already classified diesel exhaust as carcinogenic to humans. According to IARC, there has been substantive evidence proving that diesel exhaust causes lung cancer. There are also limited evidences showing a positive association of diesel exhaust exposure with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Aside from diesel exhaust, IARC also classified gasoline exhaust, as possibly carcinogenic to humans. In order to make possible health interventions, it is vital to perform bio-monitoring studies among individuals occupationally exposed to clinically high amounts of vehicular exhaust (Holland et.al., 2008 and Tovalin et.al.,2006). The street vendors are among the occupationally exposed individuals that need to be monitored for DNA damage. Bhowmik (2005) described street vendor as “a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure from which to sell.” He further classified street vendors as stationary or mobile. Stationary street vendors are those who occupy spaces on the pavements or other public/private places to sell their goods. Mobile street vendors, on the other hand, are those who move from one place to another by carrying their wares using materials such as push carts and baskets. In the Philippines, street vendors are prevalent in roads, highways, and city streets near bus and truck routes. They are therefore exposed to high concentrations of traffic-related pollutants having carcinogenic and mutagenic properties (Krivoshto et al., 2008 & Sanderson et al, 2005). Their exposure to these pollutants also increases their risk to develop other health hazards like respiratory diseases and adverse pregnancy birth outcomes as these diseases are proven to occur among street vendors in other countries exposed to traffic exhausts (Amegah & Jakkola, 2013; & Kongtip et al, 2008). DNA damage among street vendors can be assayed through the use of buccal micronucleus test. Buccal micronucleus test is a minimally invasive method to assay DNA damage caused by lifestyle habits, exposure to environmental pollutants, medical procedures, as well as inherited genetic defects in DNA repair (Fenech et al., 2006). Micronuclei are structures similar to the cell’s nucleus that arise from chromosome fragments or whole chromosomes that lag behind at anaphase during nuclear division (Holland et al., 2008). The frequency of micronucleus formation in the cells has been believed to be correlated with the increasing effects of carcinogens (Stitch et. al. as cited by Naderi et. al, 2012). Buccal cells can be used to assay DNA damage caused by carcinogenic substances since they are the first barrier for inhalation or ingestion route. The oral epithelium is maintained by continuous cell renewal through mitotic divisions of the cells of the stratum basale to replace surface cells that are shed. The stem cells of the stratum basale may express genetic damage as micronucleus during karyokinesis upon exposure of the oral epithelium to carcinogenic substances. The daughter cells, which may or 120

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may not contain micronucleus, eventually differentiate into the upper epithelial layers and then exfoliate into the buccal cavity (Holland, 2008). In this study, the DNA damage in urban street vendors with significant exposures to vehicular exhaust was considered. Only female participants were included to eliminate gender as a confounding factor. The place of study was Iligan City since there is no known study about the genotoxicity risk of the female street vendor population in this area. The technique used to assay DNA damage was buccal micronucleus test. Buccal micronucleus test is one of the preferable techniques for measuring DNA damage and cell death biomarkers since it is minimally invasive as it only utilizes the cells of the oral epithelium (Fenech, 2006). Furthermore, it is advantageous over other methods due to its low cost thereby making it suitable for large-scale screening of populations (Holland, 2008). Statement of the Problem The study was conducted to assess the DNA damage of the exfoliated buccal cells among urban female street vendors exposed to vehicular exhaust through the use of micronucleus test. Specifically, it seeks to determine: (1) if there is a significant difference between the frequency of micronuclei between the exposed and control groups, and (2) the relationship of smoking, coffee drinking, tea drinking, alcoholism, age, and length of vehicular exhaust exposure with the frequency of micronuclei in buccal cells. Significance of the Study Much of the air pollution in the Philippines can be attributed to traffic-related air pollutants (The World Bank, 2002). Despite this, the information regarding the DNA damaging effects of trafficrelated exhaust to occupationally exposed individuals in the Philippines, such as the street vendors, is almost nil (Cavite, 2013, & Villarino, 2009). In the report of national air quality status of the Philippines as of 2003-2007, it was evident that there were no data on ambient air quality of some regions in the Philippines, one of which is Region X (Environmental Management Bureau, 2009). Iligan City is one of the urban centers of Region X. According to Environmental Management Bureau (2009), the city has been considered as a model city since it has been a forerunner in traffic management at the local government level. As stated in their report, the construction of north and south bound terminals for bus and jeepney and the road widening projects improved the traffic condition of the city and reduced the traffic-related emissions from inter-city vehicles. Despite these claims, the extent of the improvement of the air quality in the city, whether it is above the normal range or not, is poorly known. This study provides a minimally invasive and cost-effective way of assessing the genotoxic effects of the vehicular exhaust to the female street vendors in the Iligan City. The study may serve as a basis for possible health intervention measures for the benefit of the exposed vendors. Moreover, this study provides useful information that may be helpful for other researchers to evaluate occupational genotoxicity risks of other populations exposed to known carcinogens and mutagens.

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Methods A. Study Design The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional study to assess the DNA damage of the exfoliated buccal cells among urban female street vendors exposed to vehicular exhaust. The sampling sites for the occupationally exposed group were the female vendors at Southbound Terminal, Pala-o Market and Old Gaisano jeepney and truck routes. The control group were females from Mindanao State University-Main Campus, Marawi City. The locality was chosen for the individuals comprising the control group, since the campus has lesser amount of vehicular exhaust emissions compared to Iligan City. The study period covered the months of October 2013 to January 2014. B. Study Subjects Purposive sampling was used in selecting the study participants. The occupationally exposed group (n=30) was chosen based on the following criteria: (1) must be a stationary street vendor in the selected sampling sites, and (2) must be occupationally exposed to vehicular exhaust at least six to eight hours a day. The control group (n=30) are aged-matched individuals with no known exposure to occupational or environmental carcinogens like students, office workers, instructors, and other residents of MSU-Main Campus, Marawi City. Only female participants were included to eliminate gender as a confounding factor. A total of sixty (60) individuals participated in the study. Prior to data collection, the study participants were informed of the purpose of the study. This was done to ensure that the participants understood the data collection procedure. Those who agreed to participate were asked to sign an informed consent form and to fill out a questionnaire to obtain necessary information on their lifestyle and personal factors (age, length of exposure, smoking habits, drinking habits, etc.). The questionnaire was in accordance with the protocol published by the International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (Carrano and Natarajan, 1988 as cited by Cavite 2013).The participants were coded to ensure their anonymity. C. Buccal Micronucleus Test The assay protocol was adapted from Sellappa et.al (2011). Prior to buccal cell sample collection, the participants rinsed their mouths with distilled water to remove any unwanted debris. Buccal cells were collected by rubbing an extra soft toothbrush in the inner sides of both cheeks for 30seconds and then rinsing the mouth with 20 ml of 0.9% saline solution. The gargled solution was expectorated into sterile test tubes and was transferred into centrifuge tubes containing Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) at pH 7.0, creating a cell suspension. The cells were washed three times by centrifugation at 1500 rpm for 10 mins in the buffer solution. After discarding the supernatant, the pellet was smeared on clean microscope slides and allowed to air dry for 5-10 min. The slides were fixed in cold methanol: acetic acid (3:1) for 15 minutes, air-dried, and stained with 5%Giemsa for 20 minutes. The slides were then rinsed with distilled water; air dried; and viewed under the light microscope. Six slides were prepared per sample.A total of 1000 cells per test individual were scored for micronuclei frequency. The buccal micronuclei (MN) were scored based on the criteria established by Tolbert et.al. (1992): (1) MN must be less than one third the diameter of the main nucleus; (2) must be on the same focal plane; (3) must have the same color, texture, and refraction as the main nucleus; (4) must have a smooth oval or round shape; and (5) must be clearly separated from the main nucleus. A micronucleated cell rate over 8% is considered abnormal. Only non-fragmented, non122

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accumulated, non-overlaid cells, as well as those cells containing an intact nucleus were considered for scoring. The frequency of other degenerative nuclear changes such as binucleated cells, nuclear bud, karyolysis, pyknosis, and karyorrhexis were not included in the analysis. D. Confounding factors To account for the confounding factors of this study, the experimental and control groups were classified as smokers and non-smokers; alcoholics and non-alcoholics; tea drinker and non-tea drinker; and coffee drinker and non-coffee drinker respectively. The aforementioned factors were considered since a number of studies suggest that these factors may affect the frequency of micronuclei formation and may contribute to the occurrence of cancer (Bolukbas et.al., 2006 and Majer et.al., 2001 as cited by Cavite 2013; IARC 1997). The subjects who smoke >5 cigarettes/day for 1 year were considered as smokers and those who consumed >120 mg of alcohol/day were considered as alcoholics in both groups (Vasuvedan et. al, 2011).The subjects who drink at least 1 cup of coffee and tea everyday were considered as coffee drinkers and tea drinkers respectively. The length of vehicular exhaust exposure was considered for the exposed group. On the other hand, the length of vehicular exhaust exposure for the controls was set to zero. The basis for the length of vehicular exhaust exposure was the number of years of selling goods in the streets of Iligan City. Treatment of Data The results of this study were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0. Mean and standard deviation (SD) of the micronucleus frequency were calculated for both exposed and control groups.Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s T test was used to evaluate the difference between the exposed and control groups with the level of significance set at 0.05.Furthermore, the relationship of the confounding variables to micronucleus formation within the exposed and within the control groups was analyzed using Spearmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rho correlation. Findings The descriptive characteristics of the study participants were summarized in Table 1. There is a similarity in the basal characteristics of the exposed and control. The exposed individuals were matched with the controls in terms of age and smoking habit. In order to test the effect of vehicular exhaust to the street vendors, the length of exposure of the controls was set to zero (0) years. The data about the recent illness and drinking habits of both exposed and control groups were also included. No data was accounted for alcohol drinking since none of the test subjects consumed >120 mg of alcohol/day. There was also no tea drinker among the control individuals since none of them consumed at least 1 cup of tea every day.

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Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of the study population Variable

Exposed (n=30)

Control (n=30)

12 63 37.5±14.0

12 63 37.5±14.5

1 month 39 years 11.1±10.5

0 0 0

1 (3.33 %) 29 (96.67 %)

8 (26.67%)

5 (16.67%)

0 (0.00%) 3 (37.5%) 1 (12.5%) 1 (12.5%) 1 (12.5%) 2 (25.00%)

1 (20.00%) 2 (40.00%) 0(00.00%) 1 (20.00%) 0 (0.00%) 1 (20.00%)

20 (66.67 %) 10 (33.33 %)

13 (43.33 %) 17 (56.67 %)

1 (3.33 %) 29 (96.67 %)

0 (0.00 %) 30 (100 %)

Age: Minimum Maximum Mean±SD Length of Exposure: Minimum Maximum Mean±SD Smoking Habits: Yes No Recently Ill: Dermatologic disease Respiratory-related disease CNS-related disease Cardiovascular-related disease Fertility related disease Fever Coffee Drinker: Yes No Tea Drinker: Yes No Alcoholic: Yes No CNS- Central Nervous System

Micronuclei frequencies (MN) in the exfoliated buccal cells were scored for both exposed and control groups (Figure 1). The results showed that the MN frequency of the street vendors was almost two times higher than the control (9.40±4.46 vs. 4.80±3.25 per 1000 cells) and the difference was highly significant (p<0.001).

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Figure 1: Micronucleated buccal cells (1000x magnification) The correlation of the confounding factors with the micronuclei frequency was analyzed (Table 2). Among the confounding variables tested for the exposed group, only coffee drinking showed a statistically significant relationship with micronuclei frequency (p=0.031). However, the strength of correlation between coffee drinking and micronuclei frequency is relatively weak. Table 2. Relationship of the confounding variables to micronuclei frequency

Exposed Confounding Variables

Control

Correlation Coefficient

p value

Correlation Coefficient

p value

Smoking

0.108

0.570

0.162

0.393

Coffee Drinking

0.394

0.031*

-0.098

0.608

Tea Drinking

0.108

0.570

Length of Exposure

-0.028

0.884

Age

-0.038

0.842

0.096

0.614

Medicinal Intake for a Recent Illness

-0.219

0.245

0.120

0.529

Alcohol Drinking *Statistically significant (p<0.05)

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The relationship of the confounding variables to the micronucleus frequency of the control group was also investigated. Smoking, coffee drinking, age, and medicinal intake did not show a significant relationship with micronucleus frequency (p>0.05). Discussion Numerous studies suggest that personal and occupational exposure to vehicular exhaust cause DNA damage and a wide variety of adverse health effects (Huang et. al., 2012; Krivoshto et. al., 2008; Tovalin et. al., 2006; etc.). The exhaust can be from diesel or gasoline with the former being classified by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic to humans and the latter being classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (IARC, 2012). The genotoxicity of vehicular exhaust can be attributed to its hazardous chemical components. Particulate matter from vehicular exhausts, specifically diesel exhaust particles, have been proven to generate reactive oxygen species, which in excess causes oxidative stress that may lead to DNA damage (Krivoshto et. al., 2008 and Li & Nel, 2006). In addition, the reactive metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from vehicular exhausts have the ability to bind to cellular proteins and DNA resulting in increased frequency of mutation and DNA strand breakage (Lah, 2011 and Li & Nel, 2006). Furthermore, other components of vehicular exhaust such as formaldehyde, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and benzene have been shown to be carcinogenic (Krivoshto et. al., 2008). The genotoxicity of vehicular exhaust among frequently exposed populations can be examined through buccal micronucleus assay. Exfoliated cells of the buccal mucosa are at greater risk to DNA damage due to their frequent exposure to genotoxic substances (Holland et. al., 2008 and Li & Nel, 2006). Moreover, the cells of the oral cavity are capable of metabolizing carcinogens to reactive forms (Zhang & Mock, 1989 and Zhang, 1994 as cited by Cerqueira & Meireles, n.d.).The assay protocol utilized micronuclei as a bio-marker of DNA damage. Micronuclei are minute structures similar to the cellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nucleus which have arisen at anaphase from chromosome fragments or whole lagging chromosomes that fail to be integrated in the daughter nuclei and were then eventually enclosed by a nuclear membrane (Holland et. al, 2008 and Fenech et. al., 2011). The molecular mechanism of micronuclei formation was thoroughly illustrated by Fenech et.al (2011). Micronuclei arise from chromosome fragments which may be caused by misrepair or unrepaired DNA breaks. Chromosome fragments may arise from misrepair due to defects in genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 leading to the dysfunction of the homologous recombinational DNA repair pathway. The DNA breaks may be left unrepaired if the repair enzymes in the non-homologous end joining pathway are defective. Unrepaired DNA breaks cause micronucleus formation when the cell fails to repair the DNA because the DNA damage load is too much for the cell to handle within the specified time frame. Another mechanism of micronuclei formation due to chromosome fragments is the simultaneous excision repair of damaged or inappropriate bases incorporated in DNA that are in proximity and on opposite complementary DNA strands. Aside from chromosome fragments, micronuclei can also arise from whole lagging chromosomes. This may happen due to a wide array of mechanisms including hypomethylation of repeat sequences in centromeric and pericentrometic DNA, defects in kinetochore proteins or assembly, dysfunctional spindle, and defective anaphase checkpoint genes. In this study, the DNA damage of the exfoliated buccal cells of thirty (30) urban female street vendors occupationally exposed to vehicular exhaust was evaluated using buccal micronucleus assay. Most of the street vendors in the Philippines, whether stationary or mobile, are 126

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occupationally exposed to high amounts of vehicular exhaust. They are usually situated in areas (i.e. roads, highways, and bus terminals) which are among the highest sources of clinically significant exposure to diesel exhaust and other traffic related pollutants (Bhowmik, 2005; Krivoshto et. al., 2008; and Tovalin et. al., 2006). The results of this study showed that vehicular exhaust exposure has a highly significant effect on the micronuclei frequency of the street vendors (p<0.001). This is in agreement with other studies which also assayed the effects of traffic-related exhaust exposure to occupationally exposed individuals such as jeepney drivers, taxi drivers, engine-repair workers, gasoline station attendants, road construction workers, and traffic enforcers (Cavite, 2013; Celik et. al., 2013; Hallare et. al., 2009; and Karahalil et. al., 1999). Aside from exposure to vehicular exhaust, the combination of exogenous and endogenous factors may influence the frequency of micronuclei formation (Bolukbas et al., 2006 as cited by Rickes et al., 2010). Among the exogenous factors are chemicals, physical agents, seasonal changes, viruses, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking habits and nutrition (Major et. al., 1998). Smoking and alcohol drinking are among the factors that have been reported to be correlated with several forms of cancer (Majer et. al., 2001 as cited by Cavite, 2013). Moreover, endogenous factors such as age and gender may also influence the results of any cytogenetic monitoring (Major et. al., 1998). In this study, the relationship of the possible confounding variables such as age, length of vehicular exhaust exposure, smoking, drinking habits and medicinal intake to the frequency of micronuclei formation was investigated. The relationship of the micronuclei frequency and alcoholism for both the exposed and control groups was not examined since none of the test individuals qualified as an alcoholic. One probable reason may be the low incidence of alcoholism of women in the Philippines. The results of this study showed that, except for coffee drinking, there was no significant relationship between the micronuclei frequency of the street vendors and the confounding variables considered in this study. For the control group, there was no significant correlation between micronuclei frequency and the confounding factors of smoking, coffee drinking, age, and medicinal intake for recent illness. Smoking did not show any significant relationship to the micronucleus frequency for both the exposed and control groups. Although many studies suggest that smoking leads to the development of some cancers, there has been conflicting information about the relationship of smoking with the frequency of micronuclei in the buccal cells (Holland et.al, 2008). The results of this study agree with the majority of studies which also showed a non-significant effect of smoking on the micronuclei frequency of the buccal cells (Celik et.al., 2013; Hallere et. al., 2009; Holland et.al, 2008; Karahalil et.al, 1999; Naderi et.al., 2012; etc.). The length of vehicular exhaust exposure did not also show any significant relationship with micronuclei frequency of the exposed individuals. This finding is consistent with the results of other micronucleus assays about the genotoxic risks of occupational exposure to vehicular exhaust (Cavite, 2013; Celik et.al., 2013; Karahalil et.al., 1999; etc.). The lack of correlation between micronuclei frequency and length of vehicular exhaust exposure may be attributed to a wide array of factors such as differences of the individuals in terms of genetic composition and lifestyle which could have affected the rate of micronuclei formation (Martino-Roth et al., 2002). The individual differences in terms of exogenous and endogenous factors may also be the underlying reason why age did not show any correlation with micronuclei frequency for both the exposed and control groups (Martino-Roth et al., 2002). Coffee drinking has been shown to have a weak correlation with micronuclei frequency in this study (p<0.05). Many volatile organic compounds such as glyoxal and methylglyoxal have been 127

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characterized in coffee (IARC, 1997). These compounds are known to be carcinogenic. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had found a weak association between coffee drinking and cancer. Coffee drinking has not been shown to cause cancer in almost all human organs except the urinary bladder; thereby classifying it as only possibly carcinogenic to human urinary bladder (IARC, 1997). Lastly, the recent illness of the street vendors and controls were documented in this study. Although the results showed that there was no association between the recent illness and medicinal consumption to the frequency of micronucleus formation, it was noticeable that the recent illnesses of the street vendors were similar with the ones described by the studies of Amegah & Jakkola (2013) and Kongtip et.al. (2008) about the health risks of street vendors. However, there is no sufficient data in this study that would correlate the adverse health outcomes and the exposure of the street vendors to vehicular exhaust. Conclusion and Implication of the Study Urban street vendors are individuals in need for genotoxicity assessment due to their highly clinically significant exposures to vehicular exhaust (Bhowmik, 2005; Krivoshto et. al., 2008; and Tovalin et. al., 2006). Vehicular exhaust is a complex mixture of substances that have been proven by a wide array of studies to be genotoxic and deleterious to human health (Health Effects Institute, 2010 and IARC, 2012). This study assessed the DNA damage of street vendors exposed to vehicular exhaust through the use of the buccal micronucleus test. The test is a cheap and minimally invasive method that is widely used to bio-monitor populations exposed to known carcinogens and mutagens (Holland et.al, 2008). The results of the study showed that exposure of street vendors to vehicular exhaust have a highly significant effect (p<0.001) on the frequency of micronuclei in the buccal cells compared to the controls (9.40±4.46 vs. 4.80±3.25 per 1000 cells). No significant relationship was found among the confounding factors except coffee drinking which showed a weak correlation with micronuclei frequency. Since the micronuclei are indicators of genotoxicity, the findings of this study suggest that the occupational vehicular exhaust exposure of urban female street vendors in Iligan City predisposes them to more DNA damage compared to their minimally-exposed counterparts. References Amegah A. & Jaakkola J. (2013 July 30). Work as a Street Vendor, Associated Traffic-related Air Pollution Exposures and Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. pii: S1438-4639 (13)00104-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.07.010 Bhowmik, S. (2005 May 28- June 4). Street Vendors in Asia: A Review. Economic and Political WeeklyMay 28-June 4 2005, pp. 2256-2264 Cavite, J. (2013). Analysis of DNA Damage among Urban Male Jeepney Drivers in Iligan City through Micronucleus Assay.Mindanao State University Main Campus.Marawi City Celik, A., Yildirim, S., Ekinci, S.Y., &Tasdelen, B. (2013).Bio-monitoring for the Genotoxic Assessment in Road Construction Workers as Determined by the Buccal Micronucleus Cytome Assay.Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. doi:10.1016/j.econev. 2010.01.030 Cerquiera, E. & Meireles, J. (n.d.).The Use of the Micronucleus Test to Monitor Individuals at Risk of Oral Cancer. Retrieved 2014 January, from http://www.iconceptpress.com/download/paper/12060503402089.pdf Environmental Management Bureau (2009).National Air Quality Status Report [2005-2007]. Retrieved 2013 September 1 from http://www.emb.gov.ph Fenech, M., Bolognesi, C., Volders, M., Bonassi, S., Zeigers, E., Knasmueller, S., & Holland, N. (2006 December 9). Harmonisation of the Micronucleus Assay in Human Buccal Cells—a Human 128

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Micronucleus (HUMN) Project (www.humn.org) Initiative Commencing in 2007. Mutagenesis, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp 3-4 Fenech, M., Kirsch-Volders, M., Natarajan A., Surralles, J., Crott, J.W., Parry, J., Norppa, H., Eastmond, D.A., Tucket, J.D., & Thomas, P. (2011).Molecular mechanisms of micronucleus, nucleoplasmic bridge and nuclear bud formation in mammalian and human cells. Mutagenesis. Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 125-132 Health Effects Institute (2010). Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects, HEI Special Report 17. Retrieved 2013 September 14, from www.healtheffects.org Hallare, A.V., Gervasio, M.K.R, Gervasrio, L.G., &Acacio-Claro, B. (2009 September). Monitoring genotoxicity among gasoline station attendants and traffic enforcers in the City of Manila usingthe micronucleus assay with exfoliated epithelial cells. Environmental monitoring Assessment.Vol. 156, No. 1-4, pp. 331-341 Holland, N., Bolognesis, C., Volders, M., Bonassi, S., Zeiger, E., Knasmueller, S., &Fenech, M. (2008). The Micronucleus Assay in Human Buccal Cells as a Tool for Biomonitoring DNA Damage: The HUMN Project Perspective on Current Status and Knowledge Gaps. Mutation Research, pp.93-108 Huang, H., Lai, C., Chen, G., Lin, Y., Jaakkola, J., Liou, S., & Wang, S. (2012 May). Traffic-Related Air Pollution and DNA Damage: A Longitudinal Study in Taiwanese Traffic Conductors. PLoS One, (5): e37412r IARC (2012 June 12). IARC: Diesel Engine Exhaust Carcinogenic. Retrieved 2013 September 18, from http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2012/pdfs/pr213_E.pdf IARC (1997 November 11).IARC: Coffee, Tea, Mate, Methylxanthines and Methylglyoxal Summary of Data Reported and Evaluation. Retrieved 2014 January, fromhttp://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol51/volume51.pdf Karahalil, B., Karakaya, A.E., & Burgaz, S. (1999 June 7). The Micronucleus Assay in Exfoliated Buccal Cells: Application to Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis.Vol. 442. No. 1, pp. 29-35 Kongtip, P., Thongsuk W., Yoosook, W., Chantanankul, S., Singhaniyom, S. (2008). Health Effects of Air Pollution on Street Vendors: A Comparative Study in Bangkok. Thai Journal of Toxicology, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp 5-14 Krivoshto, I., Richards, J., Albertson, T., &Derlet, R. (2008 January). The Toxicity of Diesel Exhaust: Implications for Primary Care. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine January-February 2008, Vol. 21, No.1, pp.55-62 Lah, K. (2011 May 9). Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Retrieved 2014 January, from http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/polycyclic+Aromatic+Hydrocarbons Li, N. & Nel, A.E. (2006). The cellular imparts impacts of diesel exhaust particles: beyond inflammation and death. European Respiratory Journal 2006 April 1,Vol. 27 No. 4 Major, J., Jakab, M.G., & Tompa, A. (1998). Genotoxicological monitoring of 175 subjects living in the green belts, inner town of near chemical industrial estates in Greater Budapest agglomeration, Hungary. Mutation Research, 412, 9-16. Martino-Roth, M.G., ViĂŠgas, J., Amara, M., Oliveira, L., Ferreira, F.L.S & Erdtmann, B. (2002). Evaluation of genotoxicity through micronuclei test in workers of car and battery repair garages. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 25, 495-500. Naderi, N., Farhadi, S., & Sarshar, S. (2012). Micronucleus Assay of Buccal Mucosa Cells in Smokers with the History of Smoking Less and More than Ten Years.Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology, Vol.55, No.4, pp.433-438 Rajkokila, K. (2011 March). Buccal Cytome Assay-A Non Invasive Screening Method for Evaluation of Radiation Exposure in Computer and Mobile Phone Users. International Journal of Current Research, Vol. 3, No.3, pp. 39-46

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Rickes, L.N., Alvarengo, M.C., Souza, T.M., Garcias, G.L., & Martino-Roth, M.G. (2010 September 28). Increased Micronucleus Frequency in Exfoliated cells of the Buccal Mucosa in Hairdressers. Genetics and MolecularResearch. doi. 10.4238/vol9-3gmr941 Sellappa, S., Prathyumnan, S., Joseph, S., &Keyan, K.S. (2011 May). Micronucleus Test in Exfoliated Buccal Cells from Chromium Tannery Worker. International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics. Vol. 1, No.1, pp. 59-62 Sanderson, E., Briggs, D., Jantunen, M., Forsberg, B., Svartengren, M., Šrám, R.,Gulliver, J. & Janssen, N. (2005). Human Exposure to Transport-related Air Pollution. Health Effects of Transport-related Air Pollution, pp. 85-123 The World Bank (2002).Philippines Environment Monitor 2002, pp. 1-20. Retrieved 2013 September 1, fromsiteresources.worldbank.org/INTPHILIPPINES/Resources/ Pages1-20.pdf Tovalin, H., Valverde, M., Morandi, MT, Blanco, S., Whitehead, L., & Rojas, E. (2006 April). DNA damage in outdoor workers occupationally exposed to environmental air pollutants. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 6, pp. 230-236. Vasudevan, S., Sellappa, S., Prathyumnan, S., Joseph, S., &Keyan, K. (2011). Enhanced Micronuclei in Exfoliated Buccal Cells of Tannery Works Exposed to Chromium III (Cr III) in South India. International Conference on Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, Vol. 5, IACSIT Press, Singapore Villarino, A. & Sia Su, G. (2009). Analysis of DNA Damage Among Urban Female Street Sweepers Exposed to Vehicular Exhaust. Dissertation Proposal De La Salle University. Manila

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 131-137, ©IJHSS

Problems and Benefits of the BEAM Program for Secondary Mathematics Teachers in Lanao del Sur I: Bases for a proposed Program in Enhancing Mathematics Teachers Competencies Noraida P. Mecampong nordzpanmec@gmail.com Mindanao State University Marawi City, Philippines 09399037669 Cabib B. Mecampong drcbmecampong@gmail.com Mindanao State University Marawi City, Philippines 09073691771 Abstract This study looked into the problems and benefits of 102 Mathematics teachers in Division of Lanao del Sur I on the BEAM program for secondary Mathematics teachers. The descriptive method of research was employed with a checklist as the main instrument used in data gathering. This was supplemented by observation and interview to verify the veracity of the data obtained. The use of frequency distribution, average weighted mean elicited the result of the study: (1) A typical secondary school mathematics teacher is described as a female; about 31 – 35 years old; married; BSE graduate, with an eligibility of category B and C; attended seminars and trainings five years back at about 51 hours and above; with a position of Secondary School Teacher 1 (SST 1); and rendered services from 5 to 9 years; (2) A typical secondary school in the division of Lanao del Sur I have 4 to 14 teachers with more (28.41%) students in first year level; (3) Mathematics teachers sometimes implemented the BEAM program on teaching strategies and assessment of students’ output/performance, but mathematics teachers never implemented the BEAM program on integration of ICT in teaching mathematics; (4) Mathematics teachers always encountered problems in the implementation of the BEAM program on assessment of students’ output/performance and on integration of ICT in teaching mathematics; and (5) Mathematics teachers were sometimes satisfied in the implementation of the BEAM program on teaching strategies, assessment of students’ output/performance and integration of ICT in teaching mathematics. Keywords: problems and benefits, output/performance, integration, implementation

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Introduction It is a universal belief that the key factor in any sound program of education is the teacher. As Gregorio (1987) emphasized, regardless of high quality of administrative and supervisory leadership, of curriculum or of physical plant, the course of instruction will suffer if it in the hands of persons other than a competent teacher. The role of contemporary teachers has three dimensions: Firstly, there are the roles expected of him, defined by the goals of education which a society and its school adopt and specifically defined what is expected of him in terms of his conduct, performance and are based on his operational routines. Secondly, there are roles which he assumes, based on his perception, belief and capabilities. And thirdly, there are the one thousand and one things which students confront him, to which he is full to respond or may ignore (Salandanan, 2001). Of the roles mentioned, the most challenging one is how to make the learner learn, love to learn and most of all make his learning more meaningful. In other words, a teacher or a mentor must be fully equipped with teaching skills. But how should a good mentor be equipped with teaching skills? Rosas (2004, Bulletin Today) posited that to improve quality education as well as the competency of teacher they must be equipped with new skills, new strategies and new innovations that are relevant to the needs of basic education. These new skills are needed to respond to the changing of the times. Gone are the days that learners are confined to the four corners of the classroom. Today, classrooms are merely places where students converge to process their experiences. Learners come to school not only to listen to their mentor. Learners even challenge ideas of their mentor to show their active interaction as a result with their encounter with outside world. Learners easily relate school experiences with what they learn outside the school. This is the reality mentors re facing nowadays. With the advent of technology, teachers are now faced with gigantic task of addressing the need to make every learner competent in the basic tools to prepare them to live I a highly competitive world. This is the framework of the restructured education of the Department of Education. As conceived, Restructured Basic Education Curriculum (RBEC) aims to empower the Filipino learners to capable of self-development throughout oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and to be patriotic, benevolent, ecologically aware, and godly. This curriculum must be flexible to meet the learning needs of a diverse studentry and is relevant to their immediate environment and social cultural realities. The basic tool subjects such as; English, Science, Mathematics, and Filipino are not to burden the learners with additional dispensable content but to increase the time for task and activities to gain mastery of the basic competencies and to help the learners reflect and understand contextualized content. Thus, in the structured curriculum, training in life skills, the identification and analysis of values, and the recognition of multiple intelligences permeate all the learning areas. However, for quite sometimes that RBEC was implemented there are still inadequacies in terms of developing competencies of students on basic tools, like English, Mathematics and Science. Evidence of this loophole are results of international and national student assessment tests (TIMMS, National Diagnostic and Achievement Tests and the high School Readiness Test, 1997), which indicate the low performance levels of Filipino students in areas like application, comprehension, problem solving and what is generally referred to as the higher order thinking skills (HOTS). These results tend to indicate that the development of these skills, often considered key elements of quality education, are not given appropriate focus in classrooms.

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Obviously, many teachers teach and assess students in a manner that focuses on factual recall and rote memorization (DepEd Bulletin, 2005). Due to these inadequacies, the Department of Education exerted efforts to remedy the situation. Linkages with the international organization were established. One of these linkages is the Australian education aid called the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM). BEAM (Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao) is a project jointly funded by the Government of the Philippines (GoP) and the Government of Australia (GoA) through its International Development Agency (AuSAID). Objective of the Study (1) Determine the degree of implementation of the BEAM program for secondary teachers on teaching strategies, assessment of students’ output/ performance and integration if information and communication technology in teaching mathematics; (2) Find out the degree of occurrence of problems encountered by the teachers in implementing the BEAM program; (3) Determine the benefits by the teachers from the BEAM program; and (4) Establish the specific program and activities that can be instituted to enhance the teaching competencies of secondary school teachers. Statement of the Problem This study attempts to determine the problems and benefits of the BEAM program for Secondary School Teachers in Lanao del Sur I from SY 2002 – 2006, bases for a proposed program in enhancing Mathematics teachers’ competencies. Significance of the Study The results of the study will provide the school administrator an insight of a specific program to be developed in enhancing the competencies of the teachers, especially mathematics teachers. It will also help him identify the strengths and weaknesses of the teachers that may surface in the attainment of educational goals and objectives of DepEd - Lanao del Sur I in particular. The findings of the study will encourage teachers to re – think their teaching methodologies and incorporate innovative teaching strategies to enhance their teaching competencies for quality learning outcomes. It will also help teachers to perform their task as secondary school teacher. This will maximize the use of time with minimum efforts but with good quality outputs. In addition, the results of the study will yield information which can help the students to be cognizant of the benefits of the BEAM program can contribute to teaching – learning process. The study also will inform parents of the schools’ effort in enhancing competencies of teachers in teaching which are useful to their children. The findings of the study are also useful to the community leaders and local officials since it provides them information about the efforts of the DepEd in raising the academic standards of secondary schools. Finally, the study will bring awareness to the BEAM management that teachers are actively involved in their program and research studies are conducted to help find ways to improve and sustain the program. And, this study will serve as a reference for other researchers who would like to undergo studies related to BEAM and to the improvements of teaching competencies. Research Design of the Study The descriptive method of research is employed in the study with the use of questionnaire checklist as the main instrument in gathering the needed data. This is supplemented by informal interviews and observations. 133

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Descriptive design was used because it sought to provide information about variables which are the personal and professional profile of the respondents that includes age, gender, civil status, highest educational attainment, position, eligibility, length of service and seminars and trainings attended 5 years back as well as the profile of the BEAM target secondary schools. Method of Procedure With the use of the descriptive design, information about problems confronting the teachers and benefit derived in the implementation of the BEAM program are identified. Results and findings of the study would become the basis for proposed program in enhancing the teaching competencies of mathematics teachers. Collection of Data After the approval of the research proposal, permission from the Schools Division Superintendent was secured. The researcher personally distributed the questionnaire to the respondents. Immediately, after the approval of the request, the researcher met the groups during their free time and explained to them the nature of the study in order to get their support and cooperation in answering the questionnaire. In administering the instruments, the researcher explained the instruction, the purpose of the study as well as the encouragement of the respondents to ask questions before they start answering the questionnaire in case f doubt about the direction to avoid confusion as much as possible. Findings The BEAM program on teaching strategies had an overall average mean of 2.07 which means teaching strategies of BEAM are “sometimes” implemented by the teachers; an average mean o 1.96 resulted or the indicator assessment of students’ output/performance which means that the BEAM strategies in assessing students’ output/performance is “sometimes” implemented by the teachers. With regards to integration of information and communication technology to lessons in mathematics, it is “never” implemented by the teachers. The problem encountered by the teachers in implementing the program on teaching strategies had an average mean of 2.365 which is described “always” encountered by teachers. With regards to assessment of students’ output/performance, teachers “seldom” encountered a problem as it yield an average mean of 1.905. An average mean of 2.29 resulted on the integration of ICT which means integration of ICT in teaching mathematics is “seldom” encountered by teachers. Benefits of the BEAM program of teaching strategies as perceived by teachers yield an average mean of 2.24 which means that teachers are “sometimes” satisfied on the teaching strategies of the BEAM program. Benefits gained on the BEAM program on the assessment of students’ output or performance had an average mean of 2.13 which means teachers are “sometimes” satisfied on the BEAM program on assessment of students’ output or performance. An average mean of 2.15 resulted in the integration of ICT which means that teachers are “sometimes” satisfied on the BEAM program on the integration of ICT in teaching mathematics.

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Conclusion A typical teacher from any of the secondary schools of Division of Lanao del Sur I is female, married, aged 31 – 35 years, a BSE graduate, attending 50 hours and above in seminars trainings, and workshops, had other eligibility like PRC - Category B and C, rendering services in teaching for 5 – 9 years and with a position of Secondary School Teachers 1 (SST 1). In the implementation of the BEAM program on teaching strategies, assessment of students’ output or performance and integration of ICT in teaching mathematics, the teachers sometimes implemented. However, there are problems sometimes encountered by the teachers in the implementation of the said program. Although, teachers sometimes encountered problems in the implementation of the BEAM program, at the same time, they also satisfied in its implementation. Finally, on the three indicators of the BEAM program to secondary mathematics teachers, degree of occurrence of problems met by teachers ranks first followed by the level of satisfaction of the benefits gained from the implementation of the BEAM program; and degree of implementation of the BEAM program ranks last. Implications Mathematics teachers are in their middle age, dominated by females, still new in the profession bur have complied with the minimum requirements for teaching not only educational attainment but also attained the required eligibility. Teachers aspire for academic promotions as shown by their eagerness in attending seminars, conferences and trainings. Secondary schools in Division of Lanao del Sur I have the least number of teachers which may be attributed to the year the school was established and number of students is decreasing as the curriculum years increases. These schools are implementing the BEAM program to enhance the teaching competencies of Math teachers; however problems are met, specifically on the application of concepts related to teaching strategies. Integration of ICT was also a problem in the sense that teachers are not equipped with necessary skills in computer and lack computer machines. As to benefits, there is an application of the techniques and strategies in teaching Mathematics, though there is slight evidence of full adoption of techniques due to inadequate instructional materials. Nevertheless, it was observed that Math teachers are trying hard to adopt and implement the BEAM program. References Brooks, Ian (2009) Organizational behavior. Great Britain: Ashford Colour Press Ltd., Gasport, Hants Bustos, Alicia S. and Soccoro Espiritu (2007) Psychological, anthropological, and sociological foundation of education. Manila: Katha Publishing Co., Inc. BEAM Newsletter (April 2002-December 2006) Bourne, Alec (December 2005) “Doing it the effective way,” BEAM Newsletter, Vol. 4, Issue 3 Bruce, Joyce C. (December 1985) “What we need to do thinking effectively,” The Educational Digest Calderon, Jose F. (2088) Foundation of education. Manila, Philippines: Rex Books Store Calmorin, Laurantina P. (1998) Statistics in education and the sciences. Manila, Philippines: Rex Books Store

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Disomangcop, Hedjara M. (2001) “In- service training of secondary teachers in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur I as it relates to job performance.” Unpublished Dissertation, Mindanao State University, Marawi City Edris, Taha C. (2005) “Some selected variables and teaching competencies of secondary school teachers of MSU – External Units.” Unpublished Dissertation, Mindanao State University, Marawi City Gatab, Erlinda M. (2003) “Factors affecting performance and management of learning outcomes of fourth year public secondary teachers of Lanao del Norte: basis for intervention program.” Unpublished Dissertation, Mindanao State University, Marawi City Good, Carter V. (1987) Dictionary of education. USA: McGraw Hill Book Company Gregorio, Herman C. (2000) Administration and supervision in education. Quezon City: RP Garcia Publishing Company Gregorio, Herman C. (2005) Introduction to education in philippine setting. Quezon City: RP Garcia Publishing Company Harrison, Raymond H. (2006) Supervisory leadership in education. New York: America Book Company Kapunan, Rocio R. (2010) Educational psychology. Quezon City; Typography and Creative Lithography Kochhar, S. K. (1985) Methods and techniques of teaching. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Lardizabal, A. S. et. al. (2009) Principles and methods of teaching. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Lindgren, Henry C. (1984) Educational psychology in the classroom. New York: Wiley and Sons, Inc. PACER (1995) Computers and you. Quezon City: Philippine Academy for Continuing Education and Research Padua, Roberto N. and Santos, Rosita D. (2010) Fundamental of educational research and data analysis. Quezon City: Katha Publishing, Inc. Rivera, Maximiano, jr. M. and Rivera, Roela V. (1996) Practical guide to thesis and dissertation writing. Quezon City: Katha Publishing, Inc. Rodriguez, Lolita E. (2005) Readings in research, thesis and dissertation writing. Iligan City: Ivory Printing Press Salandanan, Gloria G. (2001) Teacher education journal. Quezon City: Katha Publishing ., Co., Inc. Valdez, Anabelie V. (2008) “Effects of HOTs techniques through modular instruction in teaching chemistry among high school students in MSU- Balindong Community College.” Unpublished Thesis, Dissertation, Mindanao State University, Marawi City

The Authors Noraida P. Mecampong presentlyworking her dissertation to finish the degree leading to PhD educational management at the Mindanao Staten UniversityMarwi City, Philippines. She graduated MAED in school admin., and BS in accountancy in Mindanao State University, Marawi City. She is the Education Program Supervisor in English and a regular lecturer in seminars and trainings in the Division of Lanao del Sur I. She received awards and plaque of appreciations as mentors in seminars and trainings of the Division of Lanao del Sur I. Supervisor Mecampong is a member of the Professional Association for Teacher Education (PAFTE) and licensed secondary mathematics teacher.

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Cabib B. Mecampong graduated PhD educational mgt., MST physical Science. CPT high school chemistry in Mindanao State University and finished BSE in Pacasum College, Marawi City Philippines. He is a science coordinator at MSU- Masiu Community High School and a special assistant at University Extension Services Center, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension MSU-Main Campus, Marawi City. Dr. Mecampong is eligible in Professional Board or Teachers and a member and press relation information officer of the Science Club Advisers Association of the Philippines (MSU-Main Campus, Marawi City Chapter)

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences p-ISSN: 1694-2620 e-ISSN: 1694-2639 Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 138-144, ÂŠIJHSS

Status of Chemistry Teaching of the MSU Community High Schools and the National High Schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur Cabib B. Mecampong drcbmecampong@gmail.com Mindanao State University Marawi City, Philippines 09073691771 Abstract The scenario depicted in the findings of this study is a showcase of non-existence of procedural literacy, depriving the young learners to experience exposures to the methods and procedures used in scientific literacy, of which such exposures cannot be separated from the presence of adequate equipment, instructional materials, and administratorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; support. Undoubtedly, the low chemistry achievement of the students can be attributed to the deplorable situation experienced in the different high school respondents. It is therefore, recommended that science teachers must strengthen their pedagogy, content and knowledge (PCK) in science; chemistry teachers must undergo regular professional growth through advanced studies, trainings, seminars and conferences; school administrators must perform the roles on focusing to manage teacher effectiveness and effective classroom instruction; manage the provisions on the adequacy and functionality of instructional materials, supplies, laboratory equipment and facilities necessary for the quality chemistry teaching. Keywords: methods and procedures, quality chemistry teaching, science teachers, teacher effectiveness Introduction Teaching and learning are two very important aspects of educational system. The two aspects are inseparable; one aspect is the complement of the other. If one of the two aspects is absent educational system is impossible to exist. Teaching is the responsibility of the teacher, a professional adult person trained for the job. It involves the intelligent arrangement of the environment and resources of learning that will look the right kind of responses from the learners. Learning is done by the learners by using optimally the learning resources. Learners are a group of maturing individuals under the care of the teacher. In the Philippines, quality teaching is very important in all subject areas in every level of learning. So, teacher in every field must be effective and efficient in order to yield meaningful learning. In fact Calmorin (1994) stressed that the kind of teacher needed in the field is both diligent and intelligent who can deliver the goods and services to the students efficiently, effectively, and

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economically. In other words, competent and efficient teacher is needed so that instruction can be improved to attain quality education. Laws mandating for quality education include some provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution where one of the sections states “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all” (DECS Service Manual, 2000). With respect to this mandate, the teachers play the significant role with regards to the educational aspect of society. They are responsible to educate the individual members in society. The future progress and development of society depend on them. But often, teachers are blamed for the many ills in society because accordingly they do not teach effectively, efficiently, and competently. Consequently, quality education is not achieved by the society due to this reason. Progress and development may not reach by the nation because of the poor quality of education. This is always true in the Philippines as Bilbao et al., (2006) opined that in 1991, the Congressional Commission to Review and Assess Philippine Education (EDCOM) came out with the finding that the quality of Philippine education is continuously declining and that the teachers are at the heart of the problem. This is due to the reason that many teachers at all levels do not have the minimum qualifications for teaching. In particular, the proportion of high school teachers of science and mathematics who do not have even the minimal preparation for teaching the subject ranges from 54.6 percent to 60.0 percent. This report is confirmed in Angara’s message during the SUCTEA Convention on February 16-18, 2011, for having remarked that many teachers in the public school system who teach mathematics and science in elementary and high school are not qualified. Only about nine of every 100 mathematics and science teachers hold a master degree while only two pursued doctoral studies. In the earlier years where the national performance of the students was measured by National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) where the input of the teachers reflects on the outcome of students, EDCOM (1992) findings revealed that the results of NCEE and the International Assessment Examination (IEA) showed that Filipino students generally perform poorly in mathematics and science. Cognizant to this deplorable status of the Philippine education, it requires the present educational system to strengthen the teaching and learning of science particularly the field of chemistry because it is the partner of society for technological advancement. Teachers who are competent in teaching the field are highly needed, as outlined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution in Article XIV, Section 10, it is stressed that “science and technology are essential for national development and progress; the State shall give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their utilization, and other services; it shall support indigenous people, appropriate and self-reliant, scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country’s productive system and national life” (Salandanan et al., 2006). Foundation on this national requirement should stem from the basic education especially in the secondary level. However, as observed, secondary graduates coming from some high schools in the country find difficulty to take up chemistry when they reach college level. The main reason for the claimed gap rests on the poor foundation in high school chemistry. Maranao educational area is not exempted from the problem. Both teaching and learning processes in the field of chemistry are not in good quality. Generally, high school graduates coming from different secondary schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur are behind in the content knowledge in chemistry compared to the other regions of the country. Chemistry is an area of concern of the researcher because of its importance as a partner of society in the technological advancement. This is one of the basic subject areas in the third year 139

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high schools prescribed in the General Education Curriculum. The subject is included in the curriculum as Science and Technology III in which the description is Chemistry and Technology (DECS Service Manual, 2000). Motivated by this concern, the researcher tried to assess the status of chemistry teaching in the different MSU community high schools and the DepEd national high schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur. Chemistry performance of the students is equally important to be determined. Objectives of the Study 1. To evaluate the level of the students’ chemistry achievement of the respondent high schools; 2. To relate the chemistry teachers’ profile with the status of chemistry teaching of the respondent high schools; 3. To relate the status of chemistry teaching with students’ achievement of the respondent high schools; and 4. To design training program for chemistry teachers in order to improve the status of chemistry teaching of the respondent high schools. Statement of the Problem Educators and researchers exert their efforts to evaluate and assess chemistry teaching-learning process through research so as to update themselves with its present status. It is a fact that assessment of teaching-learning plays an important role to improve educational system. According to Corpuz and Salandanan (2007) assessment of learning is an integral part of the teaching-learning process.

Significance of the Study Results of this study will benefit the different stakeholders of the educational system. The school administrators may provide enhancement program to improve the chemistry teaching in the region and the locale of the study in particular. Results will provide them vital information to design other effective specific program to intensify the teaching competence of the chemistry teachers. The findings of the study may give information to parents concerning the importance of their cooperation as partners of the school in educating their children. Furthermore, the findings may bring information to every community constituents on what particular supports that they will provide for the benefit of chemistry teaching in the respective high schools situated in their localities. The findings may also provide baseline data for the curriculum planners and makers to give some important revisions in the chemistry program purposely to make it relevant to the needs of the students studying along the areas where respondent high schools are established. Finally, the future researchers also may gain some necessary information about the process of assessing the status of other subject areas included in the present curriculum designed by the Department of Education (DepEd) purposely to enhance students’ achievement in other subjects. Research Design of the Study The research employed the descriptive-correlation design. This research design is appropriate for the study because it provided description of the different variables investigated in the study which include the profile of the chemistry teacher respondents, teaching-learning process methodologies, association between variables like aspects of status of chemistry teaching and profiles of teacher respondents. The study focused only on assessment of chemistry teaching of 140

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the MSU community high schools and the national high schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur. The researcher used the grade point average (GPA) in chemistry at the end of the academic year 2010-2011 as a measure of the students’ chemistry achievement of the high school respondents. Method of Procedure Descriptive-correlation design was employed to correlate teachers’ personal and professional profiles with teaching approaches and methods used by the chemistry teachers. These variables together with instructional materials and supplies; laboratory equipment and facilities; and administrators’ support are also correlated with the third year students’ chemistry achievement of the respondent high schools in the school year 2010-2011. Collection of Data After the proposal had been presented and approved by the dissertation committee, permission from the head of each respondent school was sought for the conduct of the study. Upon the issuance of permits from the aforementioned heads of schools, the researcher personally distributed and administered the questionnaire to the chemistry teachers in the different respondent high schools. In the administration of the questionnaire the researcher explained the nature of the study and its purpose in order to get the sympathy of the respondents to answer the questionnaire honestly. Instruction to be followed in answering the questionnaire was also vividly explained to the respondents to avoid misconception. Clarifications of the respondents with regards to some items which are not clearly explained were being entertained by the researcher. Results and Discussion On correlational analysis between the teachers’ profiles and the different aspects describing the status of chemistry teaching, yielded the following: on (a) teaching approaches, the correlation process manifested moderately to highly positive relationship between the following profile variables and approaches of teaching: Age with inquiry, integrated, and interdisciplinary approaches; monthly income with inquiry, integrated, interdisciplinary, and mastery approaches of teaching; ethnicity with multimedia; length of service with integrated, interdisciplinary, and mastery learning; educational attainment with multimedia, interest learning centers, and visiting community resources; field of specialization and professional growth with the conceptual, inquiry, and discovery; lastly, academic rank with interdisciplinary, integrated, mastery and multimedia; those profile variables which did not manifest positive relationship with any of the teaching approaches are civil status, eligibility, and appointment status; for (b) teaching methods, the correlation process manifested moderately to highly positive relationship between the following profile variables and methods of teaching: Age with investigatory and cooperative methods of teaching; gender with reporting; civil status with lecture; monthly income with discussion, reporting, and investigatory methods of teaching; ethnicity with reporting; field of specialization with lecture, discussion, reporting, problem solving, cooperative, and project-based method; eligibility with investigatory; length of service with discussion and investigatory; professional growth with lecture and discussion; and academic rank with discussion, reporting, activity, and investigatory teaching methods; noticeably, no positive relationship ever existed between educational attainment and appointment status with any of the profile variables of the teachers; for (c) instructional materials and supplies, correlation results showed a highly positive relationship with the field of specialization, other profile variables of the teachers did not show any correlation with the instructional materials or supplies necessary for their chemistry teaching; for (d) laboratory equipment and facilities, the correlation results manifested that same aspect of status posed positive relationship with monthly income, educational attainment, field of specialization, professional growth, and a high correlation with academic rank profile; for (e) 141

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administrators’ support, only gender and the academic rank of the teachers have moderately positive relationship with administrative support. On correlation analysis between the students’ achievement and the aspects of status, correlation results showed that only inquiry and discovery teaching approaches, and the problem solving of the teaching methods used have reflected moderately positive relationship with students’ outcome. Other aspects of status like instructional materials or supplies, laboratory equipment or facilities, and administrators’ support did not show correlation with the students’ outcome or achievement. Conclusion Based on the results of the study, the MSU Community High /schools and the National High Schools of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur have inadequate chemistry instructional materials, supplies, laboratory equipment and facilities and if ever there are few of these materials existing in the said high school respondents, these things are not functional. This particular condition is a showcase of non-existence of procedural literacy, as stressed by Bybee (1996, as cited by Tan et al., 2003), where procedural literacy is one dimension of scientific literacy, and such relates to the aim of learning to do science. Learning to do science can be attained by exposing the learners to the methods and procedures used in scientific literacy and such exposure cannot be separated from the presence of adequate equipment and materials support which the settings of the study lacked. Undoubtedly, the low chemistry achievement of the students can be attributed to the adverse situation experienced in the different high school respondents. The teaching approaches and methods of the teachers are far from the standard, much to the extent of the teacher’s educational preparation, as expected. They should become experts of the subjects they were trained on before they can engage in teaching the subjects. In light with the foregoing findings, wherein chemistry achievement of the student-respondents portrayed a mean score lower than the expected student performance in a national level is a compelling reason for the researcher to design a proposed training program to address the discovered gaps and needs in MSU community high schools and the DepEd national high schools in the province of Lanao del Sur. References Abedin, S. (1998). “Determinants of mathematics achievement of fourth year students among public and private secondary schools in Lanao del Sur I, Lanao del Sur II, and Marawi City.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, Marawi City Arends, R. I. (1997). Classroom instruction and management. USA: McGraw-Hill Co., Inc. Arends, R. I. (2001). Learning to Teach. USA: McGraw-Hill Co., Inc Baniamen, N. M. (2003). “The environmental concepts integrated in teaching elementary science in Lanao del Sur I: bases for a proposal intervention program.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, Marawi City Barnes, J. (1987). Teaching experience. In M. S. Dunkin (Ed), International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher. Oxford: Pergamon Press Bichler, R. and Snowman, J. (2000). Psychology applied to teaching. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Bilbao, Purita P. et al., (2006). The teaching profession. QC, Philippines: Loriman Publishing Co, Inc. Block, J. and Hazelip, K. (1995). Teacher beliefs and belief systems. In L. Anderson (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education. Oxford Pergamon Press 142

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Bracey, G. (1999). Reducing class size. Phi Beta Kappan, 81(3), 246-247 Buad, S. D. (2004). “The science education program of the elementary schools In Lanao del Sur and Marawi City.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, Marawi City Calmorin, Laurenta P. (1994). Educational research, measurement and evaluation. 2nd Ed. Philippines: National Book Store Co., Inc. Chant, P, et al., (1990). Better links: teaching strategies in the science classroom. Australia: STAV Publishing Pty Ltd Cole, A. and Knowles, J. (1993). Shattered images. Teaching and Teacher Education, 9(516), 451-471 Coulter, F. (1987). Affective characteristics of student teachers. In M. J. Dunkin (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education. Oxford: Pergamon Press Corpuz, B.B, Salandanan, G.G., Rigor, D.V. (2006). Principles and strategies of teaching. QC: Lorimar Publishing Co., Inc. Corpuz, B. B. and Salandanan, G. G. (2007). Principles of teaching. QC, Philippines: Lorimar Publishing Co., Inc. Cruickshank, D. R., Jenkins, D. B. and Metcalf, K. K. (2003). The act of teaching. 3rd ed. NY, USA: McGraw-Hill Co., Inc. Department of Education Culture and Sports (2000). Service Manual Dimal, R.-J. M. (2004). “The teaching behaviors of public elementary school teachers and the Pupil academic performance in the Division of Lanao del Sur and Marawi City: bases for a training design.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU Marawi Citry Disomangcop, H. M. (2001). “In-service training of secondary teachers in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur I as it relates job performance.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, marawi City Dumrang, S. P. (2001). “The science teaching approaches and students performance at MSU External Studies High Schools.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, Marawi City Gandamra, A. A. (2000). “Factors related to attitude and achievement in mathematics and chemistry of public secondary students in Lanao del Sur I and Marawi City. Marawi City.” A Doctoral Dissertation, MSU, Marawi City Gatab, E. M. (2003). “Factors affecting performance and management of learnin outcomes of fourth year public secondary teachers of Lanao del Norte: basisfor intervention program.” A Doctoral Dissertation. MSU, MArawi City Manaol, M. P. (2009). “Teachers’ effectiveness and pupils performance in the Regional Assessment for Math, Science and English: Basis for an intervention program.”A Doctoral Dissertation. MSU, Marawi City Mecampong, N. P. and Mecampong, C. B. (2000). “Problems and benefits of the beam program for Secondary mathematics teachers in Lanao del Sur I: Basis for a proposed program enhancing mathematics teachers’ competencies.” A Masteral Thesis, MSU, Marawi City Mortaba, M. M. (2002).”An evaluation of the teaching of social studies in MSU Units:proposed to improve social studies instruction.” A Doctoral Dissertation. MSU Marawi City Ormrod, J. (1995). Educational psychologgy. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall Santos, R.D.G. and Padua, R. N. (1998). Fundamental of educational research. Quezon City: Katha Publishing Co., Inc. Salandanan, G.G. (2009). Methods of teaching.Quezon City: LORIMAR PUBLISHING, INC. Tan, M.C., Treyes, R .S., Bentillo, E.N., Carale, L.R., Galvez, E.R, Magno, M.C, and Talisayon, V.M. (2003). Supervision of science and mathematics teaching. Quezon City: UP NISMED 143

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Valdez, A.V. (2008). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Effects of HOTS techniques through modular instruction teaching chemistry among high school students in MSU-Balindong Community College.â&#x20AC;? A Doctoral Dissertation. MSU, Marawi City Villegas, A. M. (1991). Culturally responsive teaching. Priceton, N. J.: Educational Testing Service Zulucta, F. M. (2006). Principles and Methods of Teaching. Philippines: National Book Store, Inc.

The Author Cabib B. Mecampong graduated PhD educational mgt., MST physical Science, CPT high school chemistry in Mindanao State University and finished BSE in Pacasum College, Marawi City Philippines. He is a science coordinator at MSU-Masiu Community High School and special assistant at University Extension Services Center, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension MSU-Main Campus, Marawi City. Dr. Mecampong is eligible in Professional Board or Teachers and a member and press relation information officer of the Science Club Advisers Association of the Philippines (MSU Chapter)

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