Understanding the Experiences in Same-Sex Relationships of Grade 11 Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics Students from Naga College Foundation, Inc.

A Thesis Concept Paper

Presented to
The Faculty of Senior High School Department
Naga College Foundation, Inc
Naga City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement in Research in Daily Life 1

Bragais, Karl F.
Delos Santos, Beatriz B.
Lopez, Maja Diana N.
Margallo, Lovely Angel B.
Martinez, Shyrra Alexie M.
Postrado, Avril Ellise P.

Grade 11 Gennaios
Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics

2024
Rationale of the Study
Same-sex relationships have been controversial issues in the world. Webb et al., 2017, Costa et
al., (2014) State that discipline of same-sex parents towards their children are different from the
male and females couples, in the same sense they affect the social behavior of the child and
possible influences in future same sex family. Attitudes are extremely important to create social
change that reflects these legal changes. According to Fischer & Kalmijn, (2021) some male in
same-sex relationships show harmonious relationships with their mothers while their connection
with their fathers are surprisingly lower. The females in same-sex relationships have a small
amount of contact with both of their parents while women in opposite gender relationships. The
LeBlanc & Frost(2020) & Gilmour et al. (2022) study says that most of the people that have been
in a same sex relationship have a high likelihood to experience stress and mental health problems.
The bound increases through psychological distress, depressive and complicated drinking habits.
Couple level minority stress played a vital role in overcritical stress continuing of minority stress.
In accordance with Tran (2020) it was proven that cross-country reflects the policies through the
attitudes and behavior of citizenry but also that such policies do have a real effect in shaping the
attitude of the community. With the result given it suggests that marriage equality and other
relationship recognition policies continue to expand throughout the world. To improve mental
health for sexual minorities and range of other potential benefits with less anti-LGBT sentiment.
Following Costa et al., (2014) where it was indicated that while some people in Portugal
legislative change that equality for LGBT, development of attitudes is important to create a social
change that reflects legal changes.

As stated by Edwards et al., (2015) to understand the importance within group sexualminority
individuals. Sexual identity and the gender composition of the relationship in which violence
occurs to those people who identify themselves as something else. In line with Alejo, (2014)
Relationships between LGBT community and law enforcement are complicated because many
officers believed that homosexuality was immortal. Law enforcement officers will allow them to
understand the effects of same sex domestic violence and learn the proper procedures for
handling. According to Thomas et al. (2017) relationships with a family members are significant
for well-being across the life course. Future research should consider the impact of intersecting
structural locations that place unique constraints on family relationships, producing greater stress
or providing greater resources at the intersections of different statuses.

There are multiple articles, research and study down in relation to the same-sex relationship, such
as, law about same sex parenting is affecting the behavior of the child, the right of the LGBT
community to have the same quality of service the world receives, and many many other more.
Most of this study is conducted internationally, as well as the majority of the study uses a
quantitative research method. None of this mention study talks nor mention about the personal
experience of the people who are in a same sex relationship. It is written to understand same sex
relationships based on other people's point of view. This study aims to understand the personal
experience of those people who are in a same sex relationship, to understand the challenges and
to understand the coping strategies of each of the participants. Understand and gain insights into
the lives of individuals engaged in same sex relationships. By understanding both the simplicities
and difficulties every individual experiences, this research has helpful perspectives and
discoveries for improving the point of view towards the people that are in same sex relationships.
Statement of the Problem
This study will be conducted to understand the experiences in same-sex relationships of the
Grade 11 STEM students of Naga College Foundation.

The study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the experiences of Grade 11 STEM students in same-sex relationships?
2. What are the challenges the students have encountered in the same-sex relationship?
3. How do the students cope with the problems they have encountered?

Theoretical Construct

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development focuses on the social nature of our lives
development. Erikson’s theory proposes that our psychological development happens throughout
their life span. He states that how we communicate with others is what affects our sense of our
own, or in other words the self ego. It includes the 8 stages of human development of social
changes. Additionally, we are interested and motivated by a need to accomplish certain goals and
tasks in our lives.

In connection to the study, psychosocial development which consists of 8 stages plays an

important role in our lives and it aims to understand their social crisis, experiences, and identity
throughout their everyday life. With that statement, this theory can provide an understanding of
the experiences of Grade 11 STEM Students of Naga College Foundation.

Freudian Theory
The Freudian construction of sexuality: the gay foundations of heterosexuality and straight
homophobia by E de Kuyper (1993). Freudian Theory is a psychological theory that assumes that
sexual desire is influenced by both heterosexual and homosexual factors. In the oedipus, it says
that the sexual desire that a son or daughter feels towards their parents who are of opposite sexes
and the jealousy of the other parents who are of the same gender as the child. The heterosexual is
considered a normal resolution because it is romantically falling in love with the opposite sex
outcome, and the homosexual is romantically falling in love with its own sex, which appears to
be the arrested sexual desire.

In connection to the study, the Freudian theory aims to understand the complex of sociality and
human sexuality and he argued about heterosexuality, saying that it basically affects the
homosexual and that seeing a homophobic stems from the fear of acknowledging the connection
to it, just like the experiences of the Grade 11 STEM Students of Naga College Foundation.

Queer Theory
The term "queer theory" came out as a result of Teresa de Lauretis (1991) investigation into
differences between "Queer Theory: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities". De Lauretis’s queer theory
can be applied to this study, in order to assess and understand the experiences of the learners who
are in the same-sex relationships. The emphasis of queer theory on challenging heterosexuality
and looking into the variety of gender and sexuality can provide an in-depth understanding of
these student's experiences.

In connection to the study, it can be used for investigating the expectations and the standards of
society that the students may be struggling with, the difficulties that their sexual orientation may
be asking them, and how they control their identities in the context of both their school and in
wider communities. It can also offer a framework for understanding how these experiences affect
the growth, well-being, and self identity of the Grade 11 STEM Students of Naga College
Foundation.

Conceptual Framework

Fig. 1. Understanding the Experiences in Same-Sex Relationship of the Grade 11 Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students of Naga College Foundation, Inc.

This study was conceptualized to understand the experience, the challenges encountered and
coping mechanisms, of Grade 11 STEM students in same-sex relationships of Naga College
Foundation, Inc. The arrows show the flows of information needed as well as its connection to
each other.

Methodology
This study will use phenomenological research design of the qualitative study. According to
Creswell (2013), phenomenological study involves the shared lived experiences of a specific
event or phenomenon among several people. Hence, the research goal is to understand the
experience of the participant in same-sex relationship.

The Grade 11 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Students at Naga
College Foundation who are currently or have previously been in same-sex relationships will be
the source of the data for this study. To make sure the students do have rights to the intended
study, the interviewer will hand-out a (3) letter of consent to both parents and student. Hence, one
(1) to the minor and the two (2) for parents. The total number of interviewees in qualitative,
according to Subedi (2021) interviewee will be dependent on the essence of the study and the data
to be gathered. With that statement, the researcher will have five (5) participants from the Grade
11 Senior High School Students (STEM). Snowball sampling technique is based on the potential
referral of the participants to assist the researchers with the study (Snowball Sampling, 2017).
Thus, the mentioned participants will be selected through snowball sampling technique and the
participants will help the researchers with their recommendations.

An interview protocol of this study will be performed. The interview protocol will consist of four
parts: the introduction, main interview questions, follow-up questions and feedback and over-all
conclusion. This interview protocol will act as a guide for the researchers to conduct interview
questions smoothly and precisely.

The introduction consists of the main idea of the study. The researcher will ask the participants if
they are comfortable and to further understand them or to get to know them much better during
the interview process. Then, the five (5) main interview questions, followed by follow-up
questions will be asked to the participants about the phenomenon study. Lastly, the feedback and
the overall conclusion will be given by the participants that includes their comments and
suggestions for the interviewee, the researchers will appreciate their feedback and will thank the
participants for their participating time.

Moreover, collecting data in qualitative research will help the researcher achieve their personal
insights, feelings and thoughts. Nichols (2023) stated that the interview will run for 30 minutes to
60 minutes with a small number of topics. Then, the data collector or researcher will regulate an
30-minute to 1-hour interview to the participants and it will be achieved face-to-face. The
interview questions will be semi-structured where the participants will be questioned in a logical
order for each respondent will have the same questions and different answers. Semi-structured
interview explores the small set of ideas of their answers to be clarified and to understand
carefully and it cannot be answered in yes or no, so that they can provide their own answers very
well.. To construct the semi-structured questions the interviewer will include the main goal of the
study and the questions will be received by the participants.

The interview schedule will be guided by the participants’ choices to make use of their free time
and to ensure their daily lives as a student will be unnaffected. The participants which hold the
information will be interviewed individually. The nine (9) interview questions will be enough to
conduct the interview process and the answers will be easily comprehend (Schwab, 2020). The
five (5) open-ended interview questions will be given to the respondents to further explain and to
understand their experiences about having a same-sex relationship.

During the interview, audio recordings will be created and their decision whether to record or not,
will be appreciated and their answers will ensure accurate transcription of the conversations. The
main purpose of audio-recording is to have another copy to be checked by the researchers so that
the answers of the participants will be accurate. To gather legal data, the audio-record and the
answers from the five (5) open-ended questions of the interviewee will be formally translated in
English. Ensuring that the translations are correct and the students answers are correct, it will be
given to the teachers with a mastery of English or Filipino Subjects. The finalization of the results
will be checked and corrected by the participants. Furthermore, there will be no unnecessary
interview questions and private details during the interview process to ensure the confidentiality
of the participants. The researchers will use codes such as respondent 1 and 2 to keep the
identities of the participants safely hidden to the public.

In qualitative data, the researcher will use thematic analysis to find the related patterns, themes,
main ideas and topics. According to Caulfield (2023) the proper use of thematic analysis
examines the gathered data that consists of topics, ideas, themes, and related patterns. The points
will be used to explain the meaning and to find the themes further in the study. Thus, the pattern
of the gathered data is the goal of thematic analysis that goes beyond simple details.

In thematically analysis, identifying patterns involves reading a bunch of data to find its related
patterns and understanding the themes (H, 2024). Therefore, the collected data will be done by
the following:
Step 1: To familiarize
Step 2: Look for the themes
Step 3: Study the themes
Step 4: Finalize the overall findings
Step 5: Share the findings
References
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