Review of Related Literature

This chapter will provide evidences and theories from different interrelated

literatures (such as articles, journals, books, novels and statements), originated

from various reliable research resources and materials in order to offer concrete

justification for the authenticity of this research study.

Local Literatures

The Department of Education’s K-12 Basic Education Program recently

added two (2) years extension of Senior High School (SHS) to the curriculum in

2013. The enhanced curriculum program is intended to create a functional basic

education system that will produce productive and responsible citizens equipped

with the essential competencies and skills for both life – long learning and

employment.

The Depart of Education (DepEd) Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro FSC

said that “the extension will give all incoming Senior High School students ample

time to decide on their choice of SHS track. The Secretary added that DepEd

wants the students to be aware of the importance of choosing a track that suits

their interest and matches job opportunities that await them. In order to meet the

goal of this curriculum program and to have a better employment in the near

future, students must undergo to a training process that will contribute to their

experiences and enhance their career skills. Thus, the DepEd implemented Work

Immersion as a training program that will further hone the skills of the students.

The said training program is similar to Internship and On-the-Job Training (OJT)

program taken by the college students.

 According to the Guidelines for Work Immersion enclosed in the DepEd

Order no. 30, series of 2017, it is incorporated in the K-12 Basic Education

Program in order to achieve greater congruence between basic education and

the nation’s development targets. This program can help student trainees to

become familiar with an actual workplace, experience employment simulation

and apply their competencies in areas of specialization. In addition, Work

Immersion program will give students enough time to experience an actual work

simulation that will help them in developing their life and career skills, as well as

to prepare them to make decisions in their postsecondary education or

employment. Similarly, this training program will provide them opportunities to (i)

gain relevant and practical industrial skills under the guidance of industry experts

and workers; (ii) appreciate the importance and application of the principles and

theories taught in school; (iii) enhance their technical knowledge and skills; (iv)

enrich their skills in communications and human relations; and (v) develop good

work habits, attitudes, appreciation, and respect for work.

Work Immersion helps students to acquire knowledge and experience that

can help them grow as professional individuals (Lozada, 2017). Students must

undergone Work Immersion to prepare themselves for the real world by training

them how to work in a company and eventually excel in a specific career.

As stated to the article from Victory Christian International School, the

transition from being a student to being part of the working class could be a

challenge to new graduates. Hence, training programs like Work Immersion that
are provided by various educational institutions, will help students to prepare in

exploring their chosen careers and in acquiring 21 st –century skills.

Assessing and evaluating Work Immersion through experiences and skills

obtained by the students is one way to test the effectiveness of this training

program. These positive learnings of the students are the key unlock the

development of the full potential and personality of an individual.

The positive learning gains suggest that work immersion enables the

students to acquire and develop the skills of teamwork, communication,

attendance and punctuality, productivity and resilience, initiative and proactivity,

judgment and decision making, dependability and reliability, attitude, and

professionalism (Acut et al., 2019). In addition, the students perceived their

experiences as an avenue to test themselves and apply what they have learned

in a non-school scenario where they were not only able to apply their previous

training but are also able to experience the social interactions in a work

environment. Moreover, students’ experiences in science-based work immersion

partner institutions developed many skills and values that would help them as

they move from high school to real life.

In contrary, students cannot prevent to be dared and challenged by the

national and international development goals and targets which includes higher

education and professional qualifications. What they really need now is proper

documentation of evidences of assessments and evaluation on the effectiveness

of the program educational objectives which will prove that the graduates are

really equipped with essential knowledge, values (behaviour) and skills that can
contribute to the development of the community (Laguador & Dotong, 2014). In

that way, students can accomplish the required and desired requirements of the

companies, industries, and institutions for a better work employment in the near

future.

According to Valdez (2010), the curriculum may continue to revisit

periodically to align the skills needed by the industry. The curriculum should be

designed to prepare the graduates and demonstrate the core competencies

expected of them in the workplace.

Foreign Literatures

Effectiveness of training programs will help students to improve their

personality holistically. Through experiences and skills that they can obtain in

undergoing Work Immersion, internship, or on-the-job training (OJT) program,

students can develop their abilities as an employee for the near future.

Internship is similar to Work Immersion and is one of the program of

college institutions in order to improve the skills and to prepare every college

students in their chosen field. Academic internship is defined as an opportunity to

integrate work-related experience into graduate education by participating in

scheduled and supervised work (Gault et al., 2010). Internship provides

extensive training for students that can improve their skills, knowledge, and even

attitude that are necessary for their future work. This training program can give

students enough preparation to their future decisions. With this extensive training

program, students can improve their personality and meet the professional

qualifications and requirements for employees.

 Internship has substantial educational and practical implications for public

administration. Another benefit of quality students participating in internships is

that they may otherwise not consider pursuing a public sector career due to

insufficient knowledge about the way that the government works. Internship

programs can be even more useful for countries that adopt civil service exams as

a primary recruitment instrument. Since civil service exams partially measure the

true capacity of prospective civil servants, internship programs can be used as a

complementary source of recruitment (Ko & Sidhu, 2012). Thus, in order to

make internship as a source of recruitment, graduates should master their field of

specialization. Accordingly, students must have sufficient knowledge and

expertise to their field through work experience and career skills development.

Consequently, an internship combines the theory that students learned in

school with practical work experience and lasts for about three months to a year

(Ebreo et al, 2014). It is said that “learning by doing” is a great tactics to hasten

the improvement and preparation of students. Students that are exposed to a

practical work simulation can learn a lots of things about their specializations in a

short period of time. Thus, giving learning opportunities to students helps them to

expand their knowledge, cultivate their abilities and discover new skills and

talents (Britiller et al., 2014).

On the other hand, a negative internship experience can have an even

more negative impact than no internship at all. This suggests that the

government should pay more attention to the needs of interns and institutionalize

a procedure to evaluate students’ satisfaction with internship programs (Ko &

Sidhu, 2012). Challenges in education, employments, and experiences and skills

obtained by the students are the things to consider in assessing and evaluating

the training programs. With this system, students are expected to have a greater

capabilities of getting work employment in the near future.

Internship differs from cooperative education as it can provide temporary

employment with an emphasis toward on-the-job training, whereas cooperative

education is a structured method of combining classroom-based education and

practical work experience (Walker, 2011). In addition, the response to the

academic challenges of national and international significance, higher education

system needs to focus on systemic reform to strengthen and make more

competitive their output and services (Buted, Felicen & Manzano, 2014). In this

way, testing the effectiveness of Work Immersion, internship and On-the-Job

Training (OJT) program is the first thing to determine in reforming the curriculum.

Hence, this study is believed to have a great contribution to the revision of

the recent curriculum. At the same time, this research is assumed to be a

reference in revitalizing practical methodologies in order to elevate the learning

process of the students’ trainee.