SOARING IN WORN-OUT SHOES: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF DETERMINED

UNPRIVILEGED STUDENTS

A
Research Paper Presented to the Research Committee of
Sto. Tomas National High School
Senior High School Department

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Practical Research 1 (Qualitative Research)
By:
MARCO RECAFORTE
AILA ANORA
JHYZEN MOZOL
MARK CANAREJO
ARIEL VILLARIN
MARC JERICK LIM
AL BARREN T. PERALTA
VINNISE BELONIO
 Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Going to school with substantial cash allowance, complete school supplies, shiny shoes,

gadgets, and full financial support from our parents can be very encouraging to continue and

perform our ultimate best in our studies. With today’s educational paradigm shift from traditional

boards and chalks into a more technology-based curriculum, it is essential for students to use

digital technologies, such as smartphones and laptops, as essential tools in our studies. Other

than that, substantial financial capability can lessen a student’s burden and even encourage them

to complete schoolworks with excellence and before deadlines. Indeed, studying with a fair

amount of money to support our educational needs is a worry-free and encouraging privilege.

However, not every student is born with a silver spoon. According to Tissington (2011),

poor financial means indicates the extent to which an individual performs without resources.

Resources can include financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical resources. Financial

problems directly affects academic achievement due to the lack of resources available for student

success. Low achievement is closely correlated with the lack of resources, and a number of

studies have documented the correlation between low socioeconomic status and low

achievement.

Lacking the substantial resources to comply with academic requirements can be troublesome

and a major obstacle to a learner’s interest to study. According to a survey in 2017 by the

Philippine Statistics Authority, the third main reason for children aged 6 to 24 years old not

attending school is financial concern , which accounts for 17 percent of the main reasons of the

out of school youth.

 The survey showed that of the 3.6 million out of school youth in the Philippines, 17 percent

or around 612,000 stopped schooling because of financial reasons. Poverty incidence among

Filipinos families in the first semester of 2018 was estimated at 16.1 percent. This is defined as

the proportion of families whose income is below the poverty line to the total number of families

(Annual Poverty Index Survey, 2018).

This research aims to investigate the experiences of those students didn’t give up and

even exceled in their academic studies despite their lack of financial capability and lack of

adequate materials necessary or essential to their studies, in order to be enlightened and to

understand their different perspectives. It is important that the hardships of the students are

understood, addressed, and be taken lessons as a source of inspiration for others.

Research Questions

1. What are the experiences of students studying with financial struggles?

2. What are the coping mechanisms of students with financial struggles?

3. What are the insights of the students that will be imparted to their peers, family, and in

society?
Theoretical Lens

This study is anchored with the self-determination theory of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan

(1985) which suggested that people tend to be driven by a need to improve and gain fulfillment.

There are two key assumptions of the theory: the need for growth drives behavior and

autonomous motivation is important. The first assumption of the theory is that people are

actively directed towards improvement or growth by gaining mastery over challenges and taking

in new experiences which are essential for a cohesive sense of self. The second one states that it

is important for people to motivate themselves as this is effective in gaining confidence or added

boost to perform tasks in reaching goals.

In addition to this, the achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1984, 1989) proposes that people

approach achievement tasks with qualitatively different types of goals depending on how they

are evaluating their competence and ability. Goal orientation theory, which is theoretically

grounded on achievement goal theory, assumes that persons vary in the way they define

accomplishment and judge perceived competence. Individual goal perspective influences how

one thinks, feels, and acts in achievement situations such as education and sports.

The theory of self-determination and achievement goal theory fits our study of the

exploration of determined students who, despite their struggles financially, continue to excel

academically. This is because it is the students who motivate themselves to perform their best in

their studies and not let their financial struggle deter them from losing interest in studying.
Significance of the Study

The significance of this study is for the exploration about studying with very little financial
means. To be able to understand the different perspectives of those students about this topic. The
researchers wanted to show that financial struggle is not an insurmountable challenge to continue
studying. Perseverance and determination is key to achieve your goals in life. The study will be
significant to:
Students. It will encourage them that despite not being born with a silver spoon, they can
continue their studies if they persevere to achieve their goals in life.
Parents. This is significant to parents to help them be enlightened of their child’s struggle in
studying due to the lack of financial capability and encourage them to find alternatives or
solutions to suffice their child’s financial needs.
Teachers. Teachers are considered as second parents, they play a significant role in a student’s
upbringing and may help in encouraging their students to study or find alternatives in teaching to
help their students cope with schoolworks with lesser financial burden.
Society. It will help people gain understanding of what challenges unprivileged students face
in their studies and how they coped with it to inspire others.

Scope and Delimitations

The main purpose of this study is to explore the various experiences of being a senior high
school student with little financial capability, and how they were able to cope up with the
challenges they faced. This study focuses on “unprivileged” senior high school students who
excel academically despite their financial stuggles in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas, Province
of Davao del Norte.

Definition of Terms

Determined Unprivileged Students– this refers to students who continue to excel in their
studies despite their financial struggles.
 Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researchers will show how they will gather the needed data from their
selected correspondents. It presents the research design, research locale, research participants,
instrument of the study, and data analysis.

Research Design

A qualitative approach was selected as the research procedure for this study since it
describes the experiences, coping mechanisms, and insights of the students who excelled
academically despite their financial struggle. Phenomenology seeks to describe basic lived
experience as a research method.
Phenomenology is an approach to qualitative research that focuses on the commonality of
a lived experience within a particular group. The fundamental goal of the approach is to arrive at
a description of the nature of the particular phenomenon. In addition, a phenomenological study
should be conducted with a common group comprising a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 15
individuals (Creswell, 2013).
The participants of this study will be asked open-ended questions to further indentify
their experiences.

Research Locale
This study was conducted at Sto. Tomas National High School, Sto. Tomas Davao del
Norte, specifically within the Senior High School Building.

Research Participants
In this study, five key informants were students currently enrolled of school year 2019-
2020 of Sto. Tomas National High School. They were chosen in accordance with the statement
of Creswell (2009) that five participants are enough to answer the questions of a qualitative
research study.
The researchers considered the inclusive criteria in finalizing the list of key informants
and participants.

Research Instrument
In this study, research made questionnaires that describes the tools for data collection. The
researchers will ensure that the instrument selected are dependable and credible.
According to Steber (2017), in-depth interviews are a qualitative data collection method that
involves direct, one-on-one engagement between researchers and participants. The advantage of
in-depth interviews is that it establishes rapport with participants making the comfortable which
can help in generating more insightful responses.
Hence, in this study, the researchers will make a draft of questions coming out from one
grand tour question with sub-questions that will help researchers get the information necessary.

Data Gathering Procedure

In-Depth Interview (IDI) was the preferred method for gathering data. Beforehand, the
researchers made sure that the participants were present during the agreed time and place.
Qualitative data collection methods involve providing information useful to understand the
processes behind the observed results and assess changes in people’s perception. This is
important for the researcher to understand the nature of the research to conduct the study.
First, the research-made questions were submitted to the subject teachers for checking. When
the questions were validated, each informant was given a copy of the questions. The informants
were informed before the IDI of the motives and intention of the research study. The participants
of the study were the purposely selected unprivileged senior high school students who excelled
academically of Sto. Tomas National High School.

Data Analysis

In this research, the data to be collected from the interviews to be conducted are going to be
analyzed using thematic analysis. Clarke and Braun (2006) defines thematic analysis as a method
for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within the data. It was selected for the neophyte
researchers like us that are unfamiliar with the more complicated types of qualitative analysis.
Furthermore, it was flexible to use as it was not closely tied to any specific theories like other
methods. Therefore, it provides simple approach in acquiring our desired findings.

References
https://psa.gov.ph/content/nine-percent-filipinos-aged-6-24-years-are-out-school-results-
2017-annual-poverty-indicators
https://psa.gov.ph/poverty-press-releases/nid/138411