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THE INFLUENCE OF PEER GROUP TO THE CAREER CHOICE OF SENIOR

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SAPANG BIABAS RESETTLEMENT
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

A Research Proposal Presented

to the Faculty of the Senior High School within SBRES
Sapang Biabas Mabalacat City Pampanga
Mabalacat City Pampanga

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Practical Research 2

MARK CARLOS
ARJAY G. DATILES
RYAN G. DELA CRUZ
ANALISA LALISON
JOHANN STEVEN LUCILO
DIMPLE SHY S. PONTECHA
PAULA JANE D. QUIAZON
JERACHELLE T. VIADO

January 2023
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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Peer influence occurs when you choose to do something you would not do
otherwise in order to feel accepted and valued by your friends. It is not always just or
necessary to do something against your will. You may have heard the term "peer
pressure" a lot. Peer influence, on the other hand, is a better way to describe how
teenagers' behavior is shaped by a desire to belong to a group of friends or peers. Peer
pressure can swing both the negative and the positive side. It has a deep impact on one's
decision making ability, especially when it comes to choosing a course or a career path.

Castrogiovanni (2002), defined a peer group is a few people with similar ages
who are fairly close friends and share similar activities . According to Olalekan (2016),
the peer group has a significant influence on students. This is evident from the role of the
peer group in a child's life and learning; past research shows that students feel more
comfortable and relaxed among their peers.

According to Rama Sasank, Director of Conduira, peer pressure has a significant

impact on three fronts: career choice, higher education, and personal life. "The most
critical factor is when they realize, somewhere down the line, that the decision was
influenced and was wrong," he says. But, in most cases, it is too late by then."

Peer pressure can be beneficial or harmful. It has a significant impact on one's

decision-making capacity, especially when it comes to choosing a course of study or a
vocation. According to Hashim and Embong (2015), the student's peer group is the single
most powerful source of influence in terms of career choices. Adolescents are easily
influenced by their peers because they rely on their peers to validate their decisions,
including career choices.

There is widespread agreement that the high school years are critical in preparing
teenagers for the transition from school to work or college (Amoah, Kwofei & Kwofei,
2015 p. 57; Ombaba, Keraro, Sindabi & Asiengo, 2014; Rowland, 2004). Almost half of
our lives will be spent on occupational activities; therefore, we want to inform students to
choose their courses carefully and to know what they truly want to do in the near future,
rather than being influenced by others.

Peers influence career choice through peer interactions. It was revealed in Uganda
(Okiror & Otabong, 2015) and in Kenya (Walaba & Kiboss, 2013) that peer interactions
influence students in choosing careers.
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We researchers want to conduct this study to discover the connection between

peer pressure and career choice or to discover if there's an  impact of peer pressure on the
career choice of selected senior high school students at Sapang Biabas Resettlement
Elementary School.

Hence, the researchers wanted to conduct this study to figure out the influence of
peer group on the career choice of senior high school students in Sapang Biabas
Resettlement Elementary School. This study will be an essential step to determine the
influence of peer group on the career choices of a student. This research study also
intends to help students on how they perceived one’s suggestions influence by their
peers.
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Statement of the Problem

This study aims to identify the influence of peer group on the career choice of
Senior High School Students in Sapang Biabas Resettlement Elementary School.

    Especially, it seeks to answer the following questions;

1. How may the discussion of the Senior High School Students be influenced by their:

        1.1 Family;
        1.2 Friends; and
        1.3 Classmates;
2. What is the level of peer group influence on career choice?
3. What action plan can be formulated to address the issue on the influence of peer group
on the career choice of senior high school students?

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study prove its worth on the following reasons:

To the Parents:  The results of this study will give them awareness that they are
forcing their child to take that course because they said so.

To the Friends: The results of this study will help them to make their own choice
to select what they really want and not because they want to follow their friends.

To the Students: The result of this study will help the students to not follow the
crowd to get to their destination, this mindset can cause fail to succeed in their career and
just keep on it with an average performance.

To the School Admin: Our study can help school admins, they can do some
events like Career choice guidance so that students have an idea of what they want to be
in the near future. and also they will not be pressured. They can do some event so that the
students don't get culture shock in college. 

To the Future Researchers: The result of this study can serve as a basis for the
further study on the influence of peer group on the career choice of students
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Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The researchers aim to discover the relationship between the peer influence and

career choice that are faced by the student that involves the pressure given by their peers

that may affect in choosing their career choice. Furthermore, this research will be

conducted at Sapang Biabas Senior High School for the academic year 2022-2023, in

which the eligible participants of the study are the senior high students.

Definition of Terms

To develop a clear view and deeper understanding about the topic itself, the

following terms are defined conceptually and as used in the study:

Peer Influence. It refers to the ability to influence individual behavior among

members of a group based on group norms, a group sense of what is the right thing or

right way to do things, and the need to be valued and accepted by the group.

Decision- Making. The way of deciding a course of action.

Career Choices. It refers to the choice of a vocation, which is usually influenced

by factors such as parental guidance, vocational guidance, identification with admired

figures, trial or part-time jobs, training opportunities, personal interests, and ability tests.

Pressure. Someone is trying to persuade or force someone to do something.

When you try to force someone to do something, you are exerting pressure on them.
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Peer Group. Peer groups are known for their influence because they can

influence the decisions of other group members.

Senior High School. As part of the new educational reforms program on

structured and content, senior high school come after junior high school and it takes 3

years as preparation to enter the tertiary.

Stress. Any kind of change that puts strain on the body, mind, or emotions is

referred to as stress.
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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDY

This chapter presents the different literatures and studies reviewed for this study.

The reviewed literatures and studies include those written by local and foreign authors.

Related Literature

According to Hashim, H. M., & Embong, A. M. (2015). In their study entitled

“Parental and Peer Influences upon Accounting as a Subject and Accountancy as a
Career. Journal of Economics, Business and Management”, the goal of the study was to
find out how much influence parents and peers in Malaysian schools have on students'
decision to become accountants. The study employed a mix of qualitative and
quantitative methods. This study's sample consisted of 309 secondary school students
studying accounting or commerce as respondents. The results showed that secondary
school students' career choices are influenced more by their parents and mothers than by
their peers. The study found that parents' educational backgrounds have no effect on their
children's career choices. Since accounting is a worthy career for students to pursue, his
study's findings will help educators and teachers be more sensitive to and comprehend the
influences of parents and peers on students' career choices.

Related Studies

According to Hallinan, M. T., & Williams, R. A. (1990). In their study entitled

“Students Characteristics and the Peer-Influence Process”, using 20,000 friendship dyads
from the High School and Beyond survey and Parsons' concept of the influence process,
the authors investigate how characteristics of students and their close friends influence
their college aspirations and attendance. Their study, which is described in this article,
was about whether or not different peer-influence processes result from differences in the
ascribed and achieved characteristics, such as gender, race, and other background
characteristics, as well as track placement in high school. It was discovered that
interracial friendships are beneficial to the aspirations of both black and white students
and that the influence of close friends on educational aspirations and outcomes varies
depending on the racial and gender composition of the friendship.
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According to Batool, S. S., & Ghayas, S. (2020). In their study entitled “Process
of Career Identity formation among Adolescents: Components and Factors”, adolescent
career identity formation process: components and factors Syeda Shahida Batool, Saba
Ghayas Heliyon 6 (9), e04905, 2020 In order to qualitatively investigate the process and
factors that influence the formation of a career identity, data were gathered from 18
middle adolescents ranging in age from 15 to 17 years. According to the results of the
thematic analysis, there are elements of exploration, commitment, and reconsideration in
the process of identifying one's career. There are eight factors, The exploration
component of career identity appeared to be influenced by parental influence, peer
influence, religious orientation, the media, nationalism, economic conditions, the power
of teachers, and personal preferences. After being influenced by anticipated outcomes
(economic benefits, religious benefits, social standards, and functional gains), career
exploration leads to commitment.

According to Monahan, K. C., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2009). In their

study entitled “Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and
antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood.” participation in antisocial
behavior as an adult, susceptibility to peer influence, and affiliation with antisocial peers.
Developmental theories suggest that affiliation with deviant peers and susceptibility to
peer influence are significant contributors to adolescent delinquency. However, it is
unclear how these variables impact antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood,
when the majority of delinquent individuals exhibit a decline in antisocial behavior.

According to Langer, N., & Jain, T. (2015) in their study entitled “Peer Influence
and the Choice of it Careers” Peer Influence and Career Choices Nishtha Langer, Tarun
Jain Indian School of Business, 2015. The supply of high-quality human capital is crucial
to the IT and ITeS industries' productivity. While a lot of research has looked at the
impact of education and training on this industry's human capital, very little has looked at
how peers influence people's decisions about IT/ITeS careers. We examine the influence
of peers on the decision to pursue careers in information technology in India, focusing on
managerial employees. In particular, we examine data on student networks at a renowned
business school, where students are exogenously assigned to peer groups, and make a
connection between these networks and the choices that students make for careers in the
IT industry after graduation. Students may switch roles and/or industries after the
program, despite having experience in both IT and non-IT fields prior to it. For instance,
some individuals might go after IT positions in non-IT industries like retail, while others
might go after non-IT positions like strategy and sales in IT companies. We propose that
peers' influence as well as one's own motivation and skills may influence these career
choices. According to our findings, accepting an offer in the IT industry is more likely
when you are part of a group of peers who have worked in the field. Having IT peers, on
the other hand, decreases a student's likelihood of accepting a job in the IT industry,
which seems counterintuitive. To put it another way, IT peers discourage peers from the
non-IT industry.
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Chapter 3

METHODS OF STUDY AND SOURCES OF DATA

This chapter presents the methods to be utilized in the conduct of the study. It

presents discussion on the following sections: research design, research locale, samples

and sampling technique, instruments, procedure, and statistical treatments in analyzing

and interpreting the collected data.

Research Design

This study will use a quantitative approach of research. Quantitative Research is

the research that places emphasis on numbers and figures in the collection and analysis of

data. (Bryman, 2001, p20). Imperatively, Quantitative Research approach can be seen as

being scientific in nature. Descriptive- survey design will be used in this study.

Researchers will gather information from group of people. Survey questionnaire will be

given to grade 11 and grade 12 students among different strand in Senior High School

within SBRES.

Research Locale

This study is to be conducted at the Senior High School in Sapang Biabas

Resettlement Elementary School; Division of Mabalacat City located at Brgy. Sapang

Biabas, Mabalacat City, Pampanga. This public educational institution is a standalone

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senior high school in the Division of Mabalacat City which has started in the School Year

2016 - 2017 which offers two tracks, the Academic and Technical Vocational Livelihood

Track. The academic track has the following strands: Science, Technology, Engineering

and Mathematics (STEM); General Academic Strand (GAS); Accountancy, Business and

Management (ABM); and Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS). While for the

Technical Vocational Livelihood track it has Automotive Servicing; Information and

Communication Technology; and Electronics Product Assembly Servicing as its strands.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The population of the study are 1002 , we researchers will choose 285

respondents for the sample of the study and they will be selected from grade 11 and 12

with different strand of Shs Students within SBRES. The students were selected using

simple random sampling under the Probability Sampling.

Research Instrument

The Influence of Peer Group to the Career Choice of Senior High School in Sapang
Biabas Resettlement Elementary School

Name: ________________________________
Grade and Section: ______________________

Direction: Assign a rating to each question and the total score of your answers

1- Very low 2- low 3- moderate 4- high 5- very high

S/N To what extent Very Low Moderate High Very

did any of Low (L) (M) (H) High
following items (VL) (VH)
influence your
career choice
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1 Desire to choose a
particular subject
because friends
chose the same
subject.
2 Habit of skipping
some classes
because of friends.
3 Attending a
particular career
workshop/seminar
because of friends.

4 Missing a
particular career
workshop/semina
r because friends
considered it
irrelevant.

5 Influenced to
choose subject
because of friends
good performance
in the subject
6 Choice of subject
because of
anticipated peers
assistance
7 Refusal to choose
certain subject
because of friends
poor performance
in the subject
8 Influence of
tutorial group

9 Sharing of study
materials

10 Friends admission
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into prestigious
professions

Ethical Considerations

The researchers reassured that proper ethics were applied and followed, because
each participants has moral and legal rights, research projects require ethical
consideration. For this study, the researchers make sure that they had a personal
conversation with the participants, that they didn't invade their privacy without their
permission, that the research didn't make them feel bad l, and that all of the information
they got from them was acknowledged and accurately represented. Greetham (2009) and
Walliman and Buckler cite these as crucial characteristics.

Data Collection Procedure

During the data collection procedure quantitative questions would be created and
will be validated. The first step before going to the survey is to make a letter of
requesting permission to the school to conduct the research at Senior High School within
SBRES. If the researchers got the approval, the survey will be begin. Two hundred
eighty-five (285) copies of the questionnaire will be distributed to the selected students in
grade 11 and 12 at Senior High School within SBRES. Interpretation and analysis of data
sheets will follow once the filled-up survey questionnaire was collected.