FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICES OF FEMALE STUDENTS TOWARD THE MARITIME

PROFESSION

Members:
Almenana, Fort
Jimena, Ashley John
Sertimo, Zynelle John
Villegas, Evan Rey

A Research Proposal
Presented to the Faculty of St. Therese MTC Colleges
Magdalo St, La Paz, Iloilo City

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for Senior High School
Prebacc
 May 2023
CHAPTER 1
Chapter One is divided into five parts: Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem,
Significance of the Study, Definition of Terms and Delimitation of the Study.
Part One, Background of the Study, gives the overview or rationale of the research problem.
Part Two, Statement of the Problem, mentions the general and specific problems.

Part Three, Significance of the Study, gives the importance of the results of the study to different
persons, organizations and institutions that directly or indirectly will benefit from it.
Part Four, Definition of Terms, discusses the terms used in this study, which are defined
conceptually and operationally.
Part Five, Delimitation of the Study, cites the coverage and limitations of the study.
1.1 Background of the Study

Gender equality has gradually become a prominent topic in the field of social science. However, for
employees in traditional industries, such as sailors in the maritime industry, society has long held
preconceived notions regarding gender as well as different societal expectations for different genders. In
the current study, we explored the degree of influence of gender culture beliefs and social information on
female students' choice of maritime majors.

For centuries, the maritime industry has been a recognized place in society dominated solely by
men, and even though there were women involved, they were mostly on the periphery. This research aims
to fill the gap of women’s career development in this field, by investigating the relationships among the
degree of organizational socialization, women’s workplace culture, and the career development of women
in the maritime workplace. The analyses are conducted with the structural equation model with 202 valid
questionnaires. The results indicated that women’s workplace culture has a significantly negative
relationship with the degree of organizational socialization, and then in turn, it has a significantly positive
relationship with women’s career development in the maritime industry. Finally, the results also indicate that
the mediating effect of organisational socialisation existed between women’s workplace culture and
women’s career development.

Over the past years, women experience hardship when it comes to apply a work especially when
they require work is for men. In the maritime, industry females experience gender inequality and
discrimination on board ships. They will experience the discrimination of race and color. They will face
struggles and problems. The training in schools that they may face. The high grades that they need to
achieve. They need to work hard in order to pass the high standards of the school. Despite their growing
presence, female students that are ready to pursue the maritime course, the number of the female students
that are taking the maritime course is increasing. Many female students are fully prepared to face
seafarers’ reality and they are influenced and supported by their parents. This study aims to determine the
level of readiness of female students choosing the course marine transportation as what they want to
pursue. They are moderately ready and level of readiness does not significantly differ when analyzed
according to gender ethnic affiliation, age, skills, and knowledge that they have. In present years, women
are synchronously to what men can undertake. They are not looking at what personality or gender the
person may have. Women choosing marine transportation are associated with their courage and dreams.

Graduating students from secondary schools may not have solid decision on where to go in college
and what degree program they may possibly take. They are planning to enter college without clear idea of
what career to pursue for their future (Ramirez & Dizon, 2014). They may sometimes consider the people
and the information they received within their environment. There are several factors that may affect the
decision of students and parents, where it can be a good source of insight for private higher education
institutions to offer quality services that will suit to the needs, expectations and demands of the community.
Academic institutions sought to observe the requirements of the customers, prospective students and other
clients like industry partners when preparing an educational program (Hrnciar & Madzík, 2013). Degree
programs and other student services are being developed to promote the image of the university
(Nadelson, Semmelroth, Martinez, Featherstone, Fuhriman, & Sell, 2013). With the curricular offerings of
private colleges and universities which are almost identical programs makes diversification very difficult
(Vaz & Mansori, 2013).
Therefore, the competitive edge, uniqueness and quality must be established in educational
marketing through image building while helping and guiding the parents towards the achievement of their
desire for the success of their children. The decision on good career choice and school sometimes depend
on how the way students perceive the world and their future. Some of them may not have enough
knowledge and consciousness about how they should process information from personal, social,
economical, political, spiritual and environmental aspects of putting into context and realization of having a
successful profession. Pafili and Mylonakis (2011) emphasized that in coming up with the right decision of
what profession to take, students can properly utilize their skills and knowledge to gain proper experience
who could contribute to the development and welfare of the society but Koni, Zainal, and Ibrahim (2012)
noted that some studies show that not all students who enter a university have the intention to obtain the
degree.
Choosing a course is one of the greatest decision a person would think deeply. As a woman inside
the business of maritime industry there are many factors that she would consider. We all know working
aboard a ship is something that requires strength, agility and many other more physical attributes. In most
cases, women are limited in terms of those abilities. Despite their growing presence, women’s participation
in the transport industry is still limited, particularly in certain transport subsectors. especially in the maritime
transport. A number of projects have been reported aiming at analysing the increasing role played by
women in the maritime transport and identifying the most significant future challenges facing women
(regarded as workers) and other stakeholders of the maritime industry, in particular ship owners. The
promotion of gender equality and the empowering of women is a goal of most United Nations specialized
agencies. In particular, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) created the Strategy on the
integration of Women in the Maritime Sector as a comprehensive policy to expand women’s capabilities in
the maritime sector through education, training and knowledge transfer.

Several factors may be considered in selecting school and degree program like quality education,
the people from the environment, personal choice; and accessibility of the school from students'
residences. This study utilized a descriptive type of research method with Freshman Maritime students as
respondents. Findings revealed that it is the personal choice of the students to enrol in maritime program in
Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas (LPU-B) with the support primarily from their parents
wherein quality education through being known as home of board top-notches and its standards are
considered big factor for their decision. They also believed that finishing maritime education would bring
them in employment abroad which is basically the nature of duties and responsibilities of seafarers. High
interest towards the degree program is also manifested among the maritime students. Maritime students
graduated from public schools have significantly higher chance of being influenced by people in choosing
the school and degree program and they also have significantly higher degree of interest towards the
maritime program compared to those graduated from private schools.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Generally, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the students in pursuing Maritime
Course.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

 1.What are the factors affecting the choices of female students toward the maritimeprofession
when taken as an entire group?

2.What are the factors affecting the choices of female students towards the maritime profession
when classified according to year level, place of residence and family income?

1.3 Significance of the Study

This study highlights the significance of the factors affecting the choices of female students toward the
maritime profession including the reasons why it is important, benefits, and disadvantages of not having it.

Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). This study will help the universities that has Maritime
Education will produce a better quality of seafarers someday.

Parents. This study will benefit the parents of the students who are trying to make their children
take the specific course and to know if their children are suited to this kind of course to be taken up.

Students. This study will guide and enlighten them to choose what’s suitable for them in the future.

Future Researchers. The findings of this study will benefit and help the future researchers as their
guide for the development of this study or on similar studies.

1.4 Definition of Terms

For clearer understanding of important concepts in the study the following terms are hereby conceptually
and operationally defined

Maritime Profession--is a four-year degree program that centers on the construction, operation,
and maintenance of different kind of marine vessels such as cargo ships, cruise ships, fishing boats,
submarine and battleships. (Bayadna and Company 2016)

In this study, “maritime Profession” refers to the program that the female students who serve as
respondents of the study are pursuing.

Factor-- anything that contributes causally to a result. (K. F. Hoisler, 2012)

In this study, “Factor” refers to the condition, fact, or influence that contributes to the choice of
female students towards the maritime profession.

Affecting-- have an effect on; make a difference to (Affecting Synonym - Bing, n.d.).
 In this study, “Affecting” refers to the effects and influence to the marinas.

Choices-- an act of choosing; a decision: (Choice, 2023)

In this study, “Choices” refers to an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or
more possibilities.

Students--a person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college.
In this study, “students” are the respondents of this research, specifically female students of
STMCC.

1.5 Scopes and Delimitations

This study is intended to determine the factors affecting the choices of female students toward the
maritime profession. The respondents of the study will be the 20 female BSMT students enrolled during the
SY 2022-2023 identified using complete enumeration. The instrument to be used in the study will be a
validated researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 10 items designed to elicit the contributing factors
influencing female students to pursue the maritime profession. The statistical tools to be utilized in this
study will be frequency, percentage and rank.
 CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature

Chapter Two presents literature such as: Factors that motivates students’ decision in choosing a
profession,

Part One, Factors that motivates female students’ decision in choosing a profession, deal with the
reasons behind the decision of the students in choosing a profession.

Part Two, Students level of interest towards Maritime Education, discusses how interested students
in taking the Maritime Education.
Female Educators and Trainers in Maritime Education and Training Institutions

This paper intends to provide a figure analysis of female students in maritime education and
training (MET) institutions over a decade (2009-2018) with the aim to analyse the possible impact of the
gender equality policies applied. In recent years, while there has been an increase of female students in
many technical degrees, in maritime education, the gender imbalance seems to persist. This study of
female student enrolment and graduation figures of some MET institutions provides a picture of current
trends in the maritime education sector. The results are not very encouraging as they reveal an unchanging
tendency concerning gender equality in this field of studies. In addition, the analysis of gender policies
unveils that there is still a lot of work to be done. Such policies are scarce or inexistent and do not have a
significant effect towards reducing this gender gap. In order to identify possible parallelisms in the
professional sector, we also analyzed the percentages of women in deck and engine positions issued by
the Spanish Maritime Administration during the period studied. The case of Spain shows that this gender
inequality is even more profound in the maritime professional sector. The study concludes that in spite of
an increasing awareness, the gender gap continues both in the educational and professional sector.
Hence, the joint involvement of national maritime administrations and international maritime organizations
and agencies is needed to develop more effective gender equality policies and programs for a more
egalitarian and inclusive maritime training and professional sector.

The Perspectives of Female Students on a Profession in the Maritime Industry

The paper presents the outcome of the research that has been completed recently at the Faculty of
Navigation (FoN); Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland. The aim of the research is to show the maritime
society what female students - future maritime women - think about studying the navigation and future work
at sea. The research has been done by a group of female students prospective seafarers. It is based on a
questionnaire directed to fellow female students which contains 29 questions concerning the motivation for
commencing the study in the field of maritime navigation, aspirations, fears and obstacles faced by female
seafarers related to present study,internship onboard seagoing ships and future work. 128 female students
responded to the questionnaire. The answers have been gathered into groups of interest. The findings are
presented in terms of diagrams and comments. The paper contains valuable information that may be used
by maritime universities, ship owners and other potential employers of maritime female students - in
particular maritime policy makers. One of the interesting findings is that 84% of the female students declare
they would choose the same field of study having experience (including seagoing intership) gained so far.
The paper presents also the change of the number of female students at FoN in the last 10 years. It is the
sign of relatively high interest of young women in maritime navigation in Poland - the country that is one of
the biggest suppliers of officers for seagoing ships.

Career Path Decision Making

 Students' career choices are impacted by a variety of social influences, most notably the parents
as direct family members who play an active part in determining the best education for their children (Pafili
& Mylonakis, 2011). Parents or the elderly are consulted first by their children as a sign of respect for their
parents and culture, because they will be the ones to offer the financial assistance to attend college
(Laguador, 2013). This present study explores the last phase of the Career Decision-Making Process
Model of Hirschi and Läge (2007) which is the step following actual decision-making to see if the maritime
program is indeed the college degree that the students under consideration wish to pursue, either by own
choice or with the cooperation and approval of others. This is also pertinent to Bandura's (1986) social
cognitive theory, which examines the maturation and development of interest and career, as well as how
these things become action.
It is critical for the institution to determine the students' willingness to pursue the program, where
interest can be used as a good indicator of career choice (Hirschi & Läge, 2008), so that if problems arise
in their academic performance because of their negative attitude, the findings of this study can be used to
explain the situation.
Part of the study is the issue of the type of high school where the Maritime students graduated
either from public or private secondary schools. (Stevan, 2014) emphasized that, while the quality of public
schools in Brazil is improving, which may lead to a rise in enrolment, some kids who previously preferred
private education are now choosing public schools. Observation notes, most parents in the Philippines
have shifted their children from private to public schools because of the global economic crisis, which has
resulted in parents working overseas being unemployed or earning a lower wage than before. The parents
are financially impacted by the political issues that the country has encountered in the previous and present
governments. This research also investigates the disparities in how these students from private and public
schools regard their college diplomas as they prepare to become future sailors looking for better pastures
in other countries.
Most parents who can afford to send their children to private schools are able to afford exorbitant
tuition and other extraneous expenses, as well as projects, assignments, and extracurricular activities. Due
to differing degrees of economic status, the nature of student life at public and private schools differs, which
may impact students' attitudes and behaviors toward how they view the world based on their social
orientation within their sphere. Student development may be likened to the kind of activities and quality of
life that a school can give, with the success of each result relying on how students understand and use
what they have learned from varied experiences.

Gender Culture and Beliefs

Individuals constantly receive information from their surroundings as they grow up. Traditional
gender culture views have therefore substantially influenced gender identity and evaluation as a result of
socialisation in a changing society. Harrison and Lynch (2005) investigated the elements that influence the
development of gender consciousness in athletes. The findings demonstrated that women's thoughts on
gender consciousness are influenced by their familial history, gender role norms, inspiration discourses,
and female exemplars. This gender awareness can lead to self-awareness and self-transformation (Wood
and Eagly, 2002). Women try to behave according to society's objective role expectations while also being
influenced by the subjective construction of gender roles (Eagly, et al., 2009), both of which limit the growth
of women.
 CHAPTER 3

Methods

Chapter Three includes five parts: Purpose of the Study and Research Design, Respondents,
Instrument, Data Collection, and Data Analysis
Part One, Purpose of the Study and Research Design, presents the reasons on why and how the
study will be conducted.
Part Two, Respondents, presents the participants in this study and how they will be chosen.
Part Three, Instrument, describes the number of items in the questionnaire and structure of
questions and how will they be answered.
Part Four, Data Collection, presents procedures or steps in gathering the data needed for the
present study.
Part Five, Data Analysis, describes the method to be used in analyzing and interpreting the
gathered data in the study.
3.1 Research Design

In this study, qualitative research was used, which results in a more in-depth and broad understanding of
the study. Rather than providing a surface description of a large population sample, qualitative research
seeks to gain a thorough understanding of a specific organization or event using simple random sampling.
A questionnaire, a research tool, is used by the researchers to gather or obtain the information needed to
answer the question posed to our participants. The participants will be given complete freedom during the
interview. The questions posed will allow the researchers to collect the necessary data.

3.2 Participants and Study Site

This study will be conducted at the St. Therese MTC Colleges, Magdalo St. La Paz, Iloilo City. The
respondents of the study will be the 45 female BSMT students currently enrolled in St. Therese MTC
Colleges during SY 2022-2023 chosen through complete enumeration. They will be further classified
according to year level, place of residence and family income.

3.3 Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers prepared the material that will be needed for the proposal. The researchers then wrote a
communication letter, a validation letter, and a letter of conduct. The survey was conducted after the
principal and instructor approved the study proposal. Researchers revised and edited the corrections made.
The data was collected through convenience sampling, which is efficient and simple to implement. The
instrument used is the researcher's validated questionnaire, which is composed of open-ended questions to
collect the needed data from the respondents. The survey was composed of the different perspectives of
the students at St. Therese MTC Colleges.

3.4 Data Interpretation

This study examines the factors AFFECTING THE CHOICES OF FEMALE STUDENTS TOWARD THE MARITIME
PROFESSION by conducting it among female maritime students. The researchers thought about certain ethical
issues. First and foremost, the researchers secured ethical approval from the relevant authorities to vouch that this
particular study was carried out in accordance with a precise procedure that upholds ethical norms. The respondents
are also assured that their responses will be kept confidential and safe in the hands of the researchers and that those
data will only be utilized for the purpose of the study. Along with this, the researchers guaranteed that the
respondents were informed of the study's purpose and that their consent would be obtained prior to participating in
the aforementioned activity. Additionally, the researchers made sure that the respondents were willing to participate
and that they were not under any duress. Additionally, the results of this research study should be distributed fairly
and accurately without falsifying data in order to favor one particular group of people. Since the respondents
participated in this study, the research was conducted honestly and with respect for their rights and privacy. We can
only have these qualities, however, if we uphold ethical standards.
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affecting synonym - Bing. (n.d.-b). Bing. https://www.bing.com/search?q=affecting

%20synonym&FORM=QSRE1&fbclid=IwAR0Le9JiVUab-3ctp4mRUChAs0xmA0O9-
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