1

A Qualitative Inquiry on the Experiences of Senior High School Students in Going Back

to Full Face-to-Face Learning Set-Up

A Thesis Presented to the

Senior High School Department

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject

Practical Research 2

Cayetano, Nana

De Leon, Jasmin G.

Marcelo, Angelica M.

Mendoza, Clariz Joern P.

Sotero, Kimberly Rose S.

Tolentino, Rica Mae D.

November 2023
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page ……………………………………… 1

Introduction ……………………………………… 3

Background of the Study ……………………………………… 3

Short Introduction ……………………………………… 4

Review of Related Literature ……………………………………… 5

Statement of the Problem ……………………………………… 7

Significance of the Study ……………………………………… 8

Method ……………………………………… 10

Research Design ……………………………………… 10

Participants ……………………………………… 10

Instruments ……………………………………… 12

Data Gathering ……………………………………… 12

Data Analysis ……………………………………… 13

Ethical Considerations ……………………………………… 14

References ….…………………………………… 15
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A Qualitative Inquiry on the Experiences of Senior High School Students in Going Back to Full

Face-to-Face Learning Set-Up

Introduction

The Covid-19 brought a huge impact on the living of society. According to Preeti Tarkar

(2020), Covid-19 originated in China and is now permeating the entire world. A pandemic health

issue is hindering the nation's economy from growing. Normal daily life has been disrupted

because of the COVID-19 epidemic. All schools, colleges, and institutions have been ordered

closed due to the pandemic. For the past three (3) years, it has been a challenge for everyone.

Institutions, specifically, schools, transitioned from traditional learning to online learning. They did

learn to adapt to various changes. Although, it does not end there.

As stated by Angeline Marcelino (2023), the agency issued the directive in a memorandum

on Thursday. "All in-person classes in public elementary and secondary schools, including

community learning centers of the Alternative Learning System, shall shift to the various blended

learning modalities," the statement said. Students, teachers and learning institutions were

challenged to adapt again to the new change. Alfredo D. Beringuel Jr., Ma. Syril P. Duag and

Eloisa Lumacang (2022) stated that learners felt satisfied during the limited face-to-face classes

because they were happy that someone was explaining the difficult lessons to them. They also

see the limited face-to-face classes as beneficial to their social and mental health. On the other

hand, learners were constantly challenged because they found it difficult to concentrate during

class discussions due to the existing health and safety protocols that must be strictly followed

inside the classes. In overall, the findings of this article demonstrated that learners see the limited

face-to-face lessons as a progressively useful step toward the educational system's rehabilitation

following the onslaught of the COVID-19 epidemic. There were advantages and disadvantages

going through these transitions. Like as what Joylene V. Francisco, Aurelio C. Cagang, and

Geraldine D. Rodriguez (2022) elaborated, the Senior High School students' lives during the new
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normal. Senior High School saw a beneficial impact on time flexibility and independence, as well

as a negative impact on learning and behavior of the new normal in the educational setting among

Senior High School learners.

As stated by Bonz Magsambol (2022), after more than two (2) years of mandatory campus

closures brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, as indicated by the Deped Order No. 34, s. 2022,

beginning on November 2, 2022, public and private schools shall have returned to the traditional

five days of full face-to-face classes a week. The transition from online mode to new normal is the

bridge for them adjusting back to normal. Since they already had adjusted with the new normal,

it would be then hard for them to adjust to the changes.

The Researchers make the decision to carry out this study to know the experiences of

senior high school students returning to fully face-to-face learning in order to comprehend the

distinct obstacles and feelings that these students encounter during this transition. The

researchers can learn a great deal about how to better support and meet their needs by studying

their experiences. This study will give educators and educational institutions crucial knowledge to

enhance the learning environment and guarantee a seamless transition for students. It all comes

down to providing these students with an effective and encouraging learning environment.

In this qualitative inquiry, the researchers aim to explore the experiences of senior high

school students as they transition back to a face-to-face learning environment. The COVID-19

pandemic has significantly impacted education, leading to a shift towards online and hybrid modes

of instruction. As schools gradually return to in-person classes, it is crucial to understand how

students perceive and adapt to this change. This study delves into the unique challenges,

opportunities, and emotions that senior high school students encounter during this transition,

shedding light on their journey in the post-pandemic educational landscape.

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Review of Related Literature

Alfredo D. Beringuel Jr., Ma. Syril P. Duag and Eloisa Lumacang (2022) stated that

learners felt satisfied during the limited face-to-face classes because they were happy that

someone was explaining the difficult lessons to them. They also see the limited face-to-face

classes as beneficial to their social and mental health. On the other hand, learners were constantly

challenged because they found it difficult to concentrate during class discussions due to the

existing health and safety protocols that must be strictly followed inside the classes. In overall,

the findings of this article demonstrated that learners see the limited face-to-face lessons as a

progressively useful step toward the educational system's rehabilitation following the onslaught

of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Joylene V. Francisco, Aurelio C. Cagang, and Geraldine D. Rodriguez (2022), elaborated

the Senior High School students' lives during the new normal. Senior High School saw a beneficial

impact on time flexibility and independence, as well as a negative impact on learning and behavior

of the new normal in the educational setting among Senior High School learners.

Haydee D. Villanueva and Jujie A. Buenbrazo (2023) found that in implementing the new

learning modality, learners, parents, and other stakeholders, as well as school officials, face

significant challenges. This study looked into the difficulties that administrators of integrated

schools faced during the School Year 2021-2022. The findings indicated four themes: a lack of

school readiness for the new modality; difficulties in gaining parental participation and

involvement; communication and monitoring hurdles; and doubt about the efficiency of modular

distant learning. The study reveals that, as one of the forerunners of the new learning modality,

school administrators faced various problems in implementing the new standard education.

As examined by Francine Kate R. Tipon, et. al (2021), due to the COVID-19 epidemic,

pupils gained knowledge through an online learning mode. As a result of the internet connectivity

and overflow of classes, reaching their educational goals was difficult. Activities, financial

challenges, a lack of resources for online programs, and mental health issues. Furthermore, this
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study looks into the relationship between senior high students' self-efficacy and academic drive.

School pupils from public schools in the Philippines' new educational norm.

As explored by Jaybel P. Locion, et. al (2022), as the world advances, new difficulties

emerge, creating a greater barrier for students, particularly in the field of education. This paper

investigates students' problems with the new learning modality introduced because of the COVID-

19 epidemic. In summary, the findings revealed the various problems and struggles that these

students had with the new learning modality, as well as how they impacted their performance.

Their study also aims to emphasize to all students that they are not alone in their fight.

Kyle Dela Cruz and Jimmy B. Maming (2021) examined that Covid-19 had an impact on

many areas of the country, particularly education. Schools are forced to transition from brick and

mortar to flexible learning mode. Learners in online learning mode encountered internet

connectivity challenges, insufficient online learning resources, psychological issues, and physical

health issues, according to the conceptions of the respondents. The proposed model for learners

in online learning is the paper's output.

As stated by Mealin Grace B. Pacle, Janice Apura, Russel Joy C. Paran and Denis A. Tan

(2023), in education, lived experiences from many contexts can be transformative. Learning

science relates to diverse experiences, which improve the construction of a science concept,

hence improving students' academic performance. Personal, social, mental, and intellectual

issues produced by the abrupt change from face-to-face to blended learning can be defined as

difficulties encountered by learners in learning science topics during the new normal. Teachers

and parents are encouraged to help pupils, and educational materials must be adequately

prepared. Students must also develop new and productive study habits in order to face future

learning challenges.

Jean Louise L. Hidalgo, et. al (2021) found that it is believed that pupils may face

difficulties learning with this new approach during the pandemic. As a result, in order to maintain

themselves in their own houses, individuals develop strategies to cope that alleviate the weight
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of their difficulties. The data was then evaluated using a theme analysis method, which revealed

a wide range of obstacles faced by senior high school students, ranging from personal, social,

technical, and workplace challenges to diverse coping mechanisms.

Fernando Hernández-Hernández and Juana M. Sancho-Gil (2021) found how university

students saw the Covid19 pandemic, particularly the influx of non-face-to-face classes and hybrid

teaching approaches in this setting. Although the emotional consequences were mostly negative,

they were able to build positive tactics for readaptation and collaboration with other colleagues as

a result of this investigation. All of this points to the need to reconsider the prevalent educational

and knowledge relations in the institution.

As mentioned by Carlo Patilan Cortez (2020), because of the existing threat of CoViD-19,

senior high school students' perceptions of blended, distant, electronic, and virtual learning as a

new manner of delivering courses for the following school year. Despite the fact that the results

of the analysis of variance show that their perceived mathematical capability is significantly

different, the results show that the subjects' perception of the effectiveness of online learning and

their ability to attend the e-learning sessions are independent of their lifestyle and available e-

learning tools.

Statement of the Problem

This qualitative study aims to explore the senior high school students’ shared perspectives

and experiences on going back to full face-to-face set up. The central research question raised

to the participants is “What are the experiences of senior high school students in going back to

full face-to-face learning set-up?” Specifically, to answer the following questions:

1. What are the challenges of the senior high school students in going back to full face-to-

face learning?

2. What are the actions or activities used by the senior high school students to cope with the

challenges met in going back to full face-to-face learning?

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3. What are the advantages of performing full face-to-face learning set-up?

4. What are the areas needed to improve by the senior high school students in doing face-

to-face learning?

Significance of the Study

This study aims to provide essential knowledge and information about the coping

mechanism of senior high school students going back to full face-to-face setup. This will benefit

the following people:

Students. This study will be significant to students by gaining an understanding of senior

high school students' coping strategies in a complete face-to-face setting. Researchers may offer

insightful advice and support to help students deal with the difficulties and transition back to a

regular classroom environment. It might enhance both their academic and general well-being.

Teachers. This study can help the teachers by giving them a better knowledge of the coping

strategies employed by senior high school students when they are fully face-to-face. With this

understanding, teachers may better address the specific requirements of their students during

this transition by offering the right support, fostering a good learning atmosphere, and using more

effective teaching techniques.

Parents. This study will benefit the parents because they will see their children or

students studying well and will be proud because they were previously lazy in studying due to

online classes, now have an appetite and the children are working hard because of the full face

to face classes, and school programs will be able to return to what they used to do due to the

return of full face to face classes.

Schools and Learning Institutions. This study will benefit the schools. Just as it turns

out that the things that are usually done at school will gradually be restored. It will be fun to

entertain the students, there are many things that can be restored. It will also help them to think
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of ways to improve the adjustments and learning styles of students going back to full face-to-face

classes.

Future Researchers. This study will benefit them by knowing more about the hardships

and adjustments made by the students when they return to full face to face classes, they will be

able to ready themselves for the possible issues that they might encounter with their generation.
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Method

Research Design

The study will make use of qualitative research. The phenomenological study research

approach will be used in this investigation. By using this kind of approach, the researchers will

get and know the experiences of the participants going back to full face-to-face learning set-up.

The research will be able to deliver the secure, dependable, exact, and correct information

necessary using interview guide questions. To acquire the recurring themes in responses

provided by students, the collected data must be typed and classified using key point coding.

Pritha Bhandari (2020) stated that in qualitative research, ideas, opinions, or experiences

are investigated through the collection and analysis of non-numerical data (written, video, or

audio, for example). It can be applied to provide fresh research ideas or obtain in-depth

understanding of an issue. It is frequently employed in social science and humanities courses

including education, anthropology, sociology, history, and health sciences.

As stated by Dovetail Editorial Team (2023), research on phenomenology aims to

understand the nature of things by using people's experiences as a guide. It literally means "study

of phenomena," which means that it's the study of how these objects, or phenomena, are

understood by the audience you're researching.

Participants

The participants of this study will be ten (10) Grade 12 students currently enrolled at a

specific school in the first semester of this academic year 2023-2024. The maximum number of

allowed participants will be ten because of data saturation. As said by Adam Bin Abu Bakar

(2006), although there is no standard sample size for qualitative research, because of the volume

of data generated and the difficulty of analyzing it, most of them involve six to eight participants

or events. Typically, data from more than ten individuals is only utilized to confirm the conclusions

derived from the original eight to ten participants.

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The ten participants will be chosen from the senior high school department and criteria

were used by the researchers to determine their eligibility; (a) they are grade 12 students this

academic year 2023-2024 of any strand, (b) they are currently enrolled at the said private school,

(c) they have only encountered online and modular mode of learning during the pandemic up to

the academic year 2022 - 2023 and, (d) they have recently transitioned from online and modular

learning to full face-to-face set-up. The researchers will be utilizing Purposive Sampling because

it is a technique used in research when the researchers want to collect data on specific people or

groups to meet the needs of the study. In this sampling method, the researchers will deliberately

select participants based on certain criteria or characteristics that they think will produce the best

results for their study. The idea is to find people who are the most useful for capturing the

information and experiences you are interested in. The advantage of this type of sampling is that

it allows researchers to identify and select individuals or groups that can provide the most insights

into their chosen topics and yield the most useful data. It helps to minimize bias in research by

ensuring that the selected sample is diverse and representative of the target population.

Additionally, the researchers can gain insights and understanding that aren't possible with other

sampling methods, as they can choose who to interview and analyze data based on the specific

perspective, experience, and characteristics of a chosen participant. According to Kassiani

Nikolopoulou (2022), a collection of non-probability sampling techniques known as "purposeful

sampling" select units based on the qualities you require in your sample. Put differently, purposive

sampling involves the "on purpose" selection of units. This sampling technique, also known as

judgmental sampling, depends on the researcher's judgment to determine which people,

situations, or events will yield the most information to meet the goals of the study. The study will

use their selection as a means of determining the experiences of the senior high school students

in going back to full face-to-face learning set-up.

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Instruments

The researchers will be going to use interview guide questions as the main data gathering

approach in this study, which involves asking questions within a predetermined theme framework.

In addition, the researchers will provide open-ended questions and follow them up with probe

questions in order to gather responses from the participants. These questions will be developed

by true experts.

As mentioned by Mauldin, R. L. (2020), An interview guide is a set of questions or topics

that the interviewer intends to cover during the interview. It's called a guide for a reason: it's used

to direct the interviewer, but it's not set in stone. Issues that a researcher believes are likely to be

essential should be included in interview guides. Each interview is likely to run differently since

participants are asked to provide responses in their own terms and to highlight topics they believe

are significant.

Data Gathering

The procedure for acquiring the necessary data for the study will be explain in the following

steps:

Step 1. The researchers will first follow conventional guidelines.

Step 2. The researchers will then find the right participants for their study with their criteria.

Step 3. The researchers will then give the found participants orientation where they will

discuss the study and the ethical considerations.

Step 4. After discussing, the researchers will then ask for the participants' permission if

they can be a part of their study.

Step 5. The researchers will make aware the participants that they are going to interview

them during their free time.

Step 6. If the asked participants agreed, the researcher will be able to conduct a face-to-

face interview with the participants in their perspective classroom.

Step 7. The researchers will compile a list of the selected students at the said school.
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Step 8. The researchers will then conduct an in-depth interview with their interview

questions developed by the validators.

Step 9. After the interview, the researchers will ask the participants about the ethics. The

researchers will respect their participants' decisions.

Step 10. The researcher will be reached after point coding analysis, and interpretation.

Data Analysis

After the researchers conduct a semi-structured interview, the researchers will transcribe

the participants' responses and analyze them using key point coding or thematic coding analysis.

According to Jack Caulfield (2019), one way to analyze qualitative data is through thematic

analysis. Usually, it is used in relation to a collection of texts, such transcripts, or interviews. In

order to find recurring themes—topics, concepts, and patterns of meaning—the researcher

carefully scrutinizes the data. The most popular method of thematic analysis involves six steps:

familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and labeling themes, and

writing up. There are other ways to conduct thematic analysis as well. By using this procedure,

the researchers will uncover, analyze, and report patterns or themes in data. It will assist them in

organizing and making sense of the different information gathered during qualitative

investigations, allowing them to extract important insights and comprehend underlying patterns

or trends in the data. By providing a formal framework for analysis, thematic coding aids in

categorizing material into important themes, helping the comprehension of difficult qualitative

data, and increasing the rigor of qualitative research. It may also help ensure that the analysis is

free from confirmation bias.

Furthermore, Creswell (2013) specifies the following six processes in the qualitative data

analysis procedure:

Step 1. Prepare and arrange the data for analysis by transcribing interviews, scanning

materials as efficiently as possible, and documenting all visual materials, among other factors.
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Step 2. Read or examine all the data. The goal of this step is to get an overall sense of

the data and to have time to analyze its overall meaning.

Step 3. Coding the data. In this case, the researchers organize the information by

categorizing the visuals and text and then appointing a term for each category.

Step 4. Create a description of the persons, situation, or categories for research. This

stage is significant since it helps in the creation of correct descriptions for several types of

research initiatives.

Step 5. The researchers must advance the method in which themes and details were

expressed in the qualitative narrative.

Step 6. Interpret the findings or results. The researchers must inquire about the knowledge

gained during this whole phase.

Ethical Considerations

The participants of this study will be assured that all proceedings will be treated with

utmost respect. They will be informed that the researchers will make them participants in their

research study. The researchers will let them know about the procedures and will be given

consent. The researchers will ask permission from the prospective participant, and they will give

them the time to decide if it is okay for them to be part of our research study. Putting the name of

the participants is optional. They will not share any personal information unless they are given

permission from the participants. They guarantee that the participants will not be harmed during

the data collection process, as their dignity as human beings in modern society is prioritized.
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