Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Urdaneta City Campus

Effectiveness of Cultural Engagement

in Addressing Academic Challenges of Civil Engineering Students
of Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta City Campus

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTED

TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY, URDANETA CITY CAMPUS

IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE SUBJECT CONTEMPORARY WORLD

BY:
AQUINO, ANGELU
CANIEDO, LUIZA I.
FACUNDO, JONATHAN
GOROSPE, JOHN PAUL R.
 CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The essence of this investigation centers around recognizing the obstacles encountered by

students in their educational journey. Diverse challenges, encompassing low motivation, lack of

interest, and difficulties engaging with the curriculum, are commonplace (Anonymous). Cultural

engagement has emerged as a potential solution, fostering a sense of belonging, enhancing

creativity and critical thinking, and promoting overall well-being. Understanding the background

and context of cultural engagement allows for a comprehensive exploration of its efficacy in

mitigating academic challenges.

The concept of culture encompasses shared habits, beliefs, and ideals, influencing

individuals' perspectives, communication styles, and ways of life. Unfortunately, there is no

universal definition of culture, and its interpretation evolves over time. In the educational

context, the interplay between cultural and individual realms emphasizes the importance of

analyzing culture by peeling back layers of identity and practice. Cultural activities, often

relegated to extracurricular events, play a crucial role in instilling skills and promoting diversity.

However, the operationalization of culture as a fixed object in teaching and learning is a

limitation. The cultural diversity of students must be considered in pedagogy, recognizing the

intertwining threads of self and experience.

Today's education system extends beyond academics, emphasizing skills like personality

development, communication, and etiquette. Cultural activities play a vital role in imparting

these skills. Governments recognize the potential of cultural activities in promoting economic

development and societal participation, assuming it improves health and prepares students for
diverse. In the Philippines, culture is reflected in people, places, foods, and traditions like local

festivals. Culture-related activities in schools, such as Buwan ng Wika and United Nations

events, promote Philippine culture and cultural diversities. However, students from diverse

backgrounds may feel marginalized due to a curriculum biased toward one cultural perspective.

Therefore, a cultural activity encompassing various perspectives is crucial in teaching and

learning.

The school culture, shaped over time, plays a pivotal role in influencing every aspect of a

school's function (Peterson & Deal, 2009a, p. 74). Learning from past experiences is essential for

maintaining a positive school culture (Peterson & Deal, 2009a, p. 75). School culture

encompasses beliefs, relationships, attitudes, and rules, influencing physical and emotional

safety, orderliness, and diversity celebration (Glossary of Education, 2013). Filipino culture and

traditions can be preserved through culture-based pedagogy, ensuring meaningful learning

experiences (The Knowledge Review, 2021). Education and culture are interdependent, and

education has the potential to transform societal thinking patterns globally (Yazd, 2020).

Cultural factors facilitate individuals' adaptation to their surroundings, influencing

perceptions and community interpretations (Sarvalooka, 2020). Education teaches about social

and cultural values and provides a foundation for cultural transmission and transformation

(Sarvalooka, 2020). Schools with strong cultures of efficacy, trust, and academic optimism

contribute to higher levels of student achievement (Peterson & Deal, 2009a, p. 11). Cultural

activities are integral to students' overall personality development, providing exposure to various

activities beyond academics (Watson, 2001). These activities educate students about different

cultures, enhance confidence, and promote awareness (Maslowski, 2001). Students participating

in cultural activities are assumed to perform better academically, plan their schedules effectively,
and develop essential life and social skills (Maslowski, 2001). In implementing culture-based

education, the Philippines aims to progress as a nation of culturally empowered and literate

citizens (The Knowledge Review, 2021). Cultural activities, when embedded in school culture,

contribute to students' socio-emotional development and academic success (Peterson & Deal,

2009a, p. 11). It is crucial to create a hospitable learning culture, recognizing the significant

impact of school culture on student progress and achievement (Peterson & Deal, 2009a, p. 11).

The background of this research revolves around the recognition of the barriers faced by

students in their academic journey. Many students encounter various challenges, such as low

motivation, lack of interest, and difficulty in engaging with the curriculum. Cultural engagement

has emerged as a potential solution to address these challenges by enhancing students' sense of

belonging, fostering creativity and critical thinking, and promoting overall well-being.

Understanding the background and context of cultural engagement will enable a comprehensive

exploration of its effectiveness in mitigating academic challenges.

 CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

LOCAL LITERATURE

Through the years, culture related activities in schools helped many learners in

overcoming academic challenges in terms of communication, relationship, and values. Buwan ng

Wika or Language Month as relative to cultural events, made the students become more cultural

enthusiasts and literate. This event is one of the activities that has inspired students to become

more culturally aware. For every Filipino student, such activities are extremely important since

they believe that it's a termination of life. Cultural activities not only allow the students to have

fun, but also to offer them opportunities to learn new things, communicate with each other, form

relationships, and learn important values through Philippine cultural events. The purpose of this

program is to highlight the importance of the Filipino language and the "unity" it has brought to

the country. Buwan ng Wika is a program designed to encourage children to engage in and be

taught in Filipino, the official language of the Philippines. Cultural activities or events play an

important part in bringing the country together by establishing a more uniform language. Thus,

in order to make the celebration more exciting and enjoyable, the coordinators of the Filipino and

English departments plan the activities that will benefit the students, such as the Buwan ng Wika

dance competition with the new movements toward more sophisticated katutubong sayaw or

mostly known as the delightful folk dance. They also include Poetic Debate which demonstrates

how the Philippine language can be created in an artistic manner. Selected performances include

spoken poetry and poetic debates, both of which are popular across the country today. Moreover,
there are also Exhibits and Parades during this program that focuses on the Philippines cultural

events strategy which represent arts and culture that indicates the Filipinos way of living in the

Philippines- the tradition, beliefs, and principles. This particular program is filled with tons of

educational activities and occasions, usually toward children and younger generations. Moreover,

as part of the celebration, every year there’s a new Buwan ng Wika theme, focusing on a specific

aspect of the language or culture. Because of the growing cultural activities in the Philippine

schools today, it has created a big impact on the students to overcome their fear of

communicating, creating a relationship, and learning new things that will mold them into a better

version of themselves. Implementing Buwan ng Wika as part of the cultural events was one of

the meaningful months for the country and to its nation since it develops, creates, and gives a

sense of pride to the million lives of the Filipinos. Practicing and embracing cultural activities in

school will help the students to acquire a great feeling of love, adherence, and a sense of

commitment to their own country. As of today, schools in different places of the Philippines still

honor and celebrate the cultural events as they want to impart a sentimental value to their

students- and that is the good effect of knowing and acknowledging the cultures, beliefs, and

traditions in the country.

LOCAL LITERATURE

School is where the students start to shape the social, psychological, emotional, and

spiritual formation of each and one of them. It's where they start to socialize, communicate, build

relationships, and broaden their knowledge about the good values they must acquire. School is a

place where students can improve and develop their skills, abilities, and talents in order to

become a better man after going through the learning process. According to Tubaon (2018),

Filipinos often refer to their school as their second home because they spend most of their time
there. Various schools have developed their own set of rules, values, and cultures over

time.Learners' culture is the result of consistent engagement and involvement in all cultural

activities inside the school grounds. According to Georgia's Department of Education (2019),

school culture is the quality and character of life that is founded on the academic community's

patterns of experiences.

Thus, school culture is the continuous series of acts and behaviors of everyone in the school. The

information, wisdom, and experiences gained from other people by a learner are passed down the

generations. The explanation for the ongoing evolution and visibility of Filipino culture. Others

define school culture as a joint effort between instructors and staff members to fulfill the school's

goal and vision in terms of the beliefs, values, and assumptions they want to impart in students.

Cultural activities and a nice environment in each school will undoubtedly have a positive impact

on each student's performance. Furthermore, a student's high accomplishment is closely tied to

the teacher's hard effort, positive attitude, task completion, and stimulation of the student's

enthusiasm to study. The context's major goal is to evaluate students' perceptions of their school

culture and how it affects their academic achievement. The creation and program for the

advancement of culture begins with cultural activities held in schools or on campuses.

This aims to increase Filipinos' awareness, comprehension, and enjoyment of their

culture and arts in order to evolve a consciousness that will improve their quality of life. The

Department of Education created a program to make cultural events and activities available to all

segments of Philippine society, including youth, teachers, artists, and cultural workers,

government officials and employees, members of the media, and civil.

LOCAL STUDY
 Cultural tendencies impact the way children participate in education. Teachers who lack

knowledge about a culture might misinterpret the behavior of a child and inaccurately judge

students as poorly behaved or disrespectful. According to Jhoselle Tus in the title, An Assessment

of the School Culture and Its Impact on the Academic Performance of the Students, A school is a

place that molds the individual in a very holistic manner. It is a training ground where students

can develop, harness, and maximize their potentials to be a responsive and excellent man as a

product of their learning process. Furthermore, this study aims to assess the respondents'

perceptions of their school culture and its impact on their academic performance. The research

method utilized in this study was a descriptive correlational approach. The respondents were 141

Grade 11 students from a Public School. Findings were statistically computed with linear

regression analysis and concluded that the respondents' perception of the school culture does not

significantly affect their academic performance. Further, based on the findings of the study it

concluded that (1) the school with its teachers keep them motivated and challenge them to do

their best, (2) the rules and regulations implemented in their school are not punitive, (3) students

who follow the rules and regulations perform better than those who do not, (4) the school

activities are beneficial to the well-being for the students, (5) their assessment tests received

from their teachers provides them preparedness and confidence towards their final examination,

and (6) feedbacking from their teachers provide them ways on improving their academic

performance. Moreover, the implications of the study were discussed, and recommendations

were suggested.

FOREIGN STUDY

Foreign students may become overwhelmed by even seemingly minor cultural

differences, while others may conceal their discomfort and attempt to blend in leading to further
confusion. At some point and to varying degrees, all international students will experience

culture shock. Advisors who learn to assist students in alleviating and mitigating culture shock

can contribute to students success and enjoyment of their time in their host country. Advisors

must understand the cultural and individual characteristics that influence a student's performance.

Foreign students embark on an exciting journey. They travel to other countries in the hopes of

broadening their academic and global knowledge

According to Matthew Lynch (2016), a person’s culture has been a profound effect on

how a person sees the world and how they process the information. And was also It was

determined that the persons way of viewing the world in distinct classes of objects that could

possibly defined by a set of rules. In other words, the Asians see the world in terms of

relationships between things, while the Americans sees the world in terms of the objects as

distinct entities.

In addition, many universities and colleges offer a variety of services and resources to

help students and particularly the international students succeed during their time in college.

These services include student associations, the on-campus counseling center, the on-campus

writing center, recreational clubs and more. In which helps the students to better understand the

culture of the particular country that they were studying and can easily adapt the culturally and

academically, by Mohsen Alzahrini (2017).

In our increasingly diverse and multicultural society, it’s more important for teachers to

incorporate culturally responsive instruction in the classroom. Whether teaching elementary

school, middle school, or high school students. And the increase of diversity doesn’t only relate

to race and ethnicity. It can include students of different religion, economic status, sexual

orientation, gender identity, and language background.

FOREIGN LITERATURE

Culture and education are complex phenomena, and their causal relationship is of a

“chicken or the egg” character. There is of course a great debate over what constitutes both

“education” and “culture”, let alone their relationship with one another. One way or another

social transformation are powerfully affected by cultural developments, some of which may be

clearly thought about in terms of the impacts of deliberate and incidental educational activity. In

the process individuals, communities of various kinds, the state and collectivities and

communities beyond the state are constructed.

The main purpose of education is to bring civilization into the society and if education is

unsuccessful in bringing about enhancement and wellbeing then it is of no utility. (Kapur,2018).

Education is considered to be the most powerful instrument in bringing about changes within an

individual. On one hand, education acculturates an individual; on the other hand, it preserves,

transmits, and develops the culture of the society. It can be stated that education and culture are

mutually interdependent, complementary, and supplementary in all their aspects and activities.

Thus, the relationship between education and culture are indissoluble. Culture plays an

important role in man’s life. Awareness regarding various kinds of culture can help an individual

in adjusting to the natural and social environment, developing an individual’s personality,

socialization of the individual, proper use of freedom, and understanding other cultures and

proper meaning of liberality. Educational aspects and cultural aspects are imparted to an

individual through their families, communities and the educational institutions. Taking into

consideration the significance of culture and the role played by education in the socialization and

the acculturation of an individual, it is meaningful to analyze the changes that have taken shape

in our culture. Before understanding what the impact of education on culture is, it is vital to
understand the meaning of culture. By culture we mean the system of norms and standards that a

society develops over the course of many generations, and which profoundly affects the conduct

of people living in that society. Culture is stated to be the complete package of knowledge,

beliefs, customs, art, morals, law and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as the

member of that society. The purpose of culture is to offer to the society by cognizant process of

learning and experience, patterns of behavior which are found useful for harmonious existence

and smooth functioning in all occupations and interactions and thereby individual and group

survival and perpetuation. It is the integrated, social, biological and ethnic modes of behavior of

a group or a society. It is implied that even the possession of ideas, attitudes, values are from

culture.

Education and culture are intimately and integrally connected. The cultural pattern of the

society specifies its educational patterns. For example, if a society has a spiritual pattern of

culture, then the educational patterns will also emphasize the moral and the spiritual values of

life. Any society which is devoid of culture will not have any definite educational organization.

Therefore, the cultural pattern of any society, region or country will have a strong impact upon

its educational pattern.

 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Research Design

This study will employ a descriptive research design to find out the effects of culture-

related activities in meeting the academic challenges among the Civil Engineering students of

Pangasinan State University Urdaneta City Campus. Descriptive research is a quantitative

research method that attempts to collect quantifiable information to be used for statistical

analysis of the population sample. It describes the characteristics of the population that is being

studied. This methodology will focus more on the “what” of the research subject rather than the

“why” of the research subject. Descriptive research is a purposive process of data gathering,

analyzing, classifying, and tabulating data about prevailing conditions, practices, beliefs,

processes, trends, and cause-effects relationships and then adequate and accurate interpretation

about such data with or without aid of statistical treatment. Descriptive research includes surveys

and fact-finding inquiries of different types. Research is used to further describe, explain, and

fulfil the questions asked in the research. Data is collected using interviews to further understand

the effects of culture-related activities in meeting the academic challenges.

Participants
 The target population for the survey will be the Civil Engineering students from

Pangasinan State University Urdaneta City Campus, and a representative sample of 50 students

will be randomly selected. Participants for the qualitative interviews will be purposively sampled

from the survey respondents, ensuring diverse perspectives.

Data Collection Procedures

The researchers will formulated a formal letter, duly noted by their thesis adviser, asking

permission to the Dean of College, to conduct the study through personal interviews to the

selected respondents.

The purpose of the interview will be fully explained and the interviewee will be assured of

the confidentiality of their responses. Moreover, format of the interview and its nature, purpose

and its expectations and the timeframe of interview will be explained. Lastly, the researchers will

distribute every questionnaire and sent them individually through private messages to the chosen

respondents and collected them for data analysis.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies, and percentages will be used to will be

used to determine the data regarding the student’s profile in terms of age, sex, grade level,

household relationship, cultural background, religion, and mother tongue. The same procedure

will used to determine the effectivity of culture related activities in meeting the academic

challenges in terms of communication, relationship, and values. Additionally, inferential

statistical method, such as a five-point Likert scale, will be employed to examine relationships

between variables.
Ethical Considerations

It is necessary to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of the participants and concerns

was pointed out to prevent problems in the future. The said issues that will be regarded consist of

confidentiality, consent, and protection of their identity. The interview made questions was

written in a brief and clear way to avoid discrepancies among the participants. Participants were

given sufficient time and date to answer the questions provided to them to avoid inaccuracies in

their answers. A waiver will be given to the respondents to ensure their confidentiality and to

secure the information they request not to expose. Their participation will be obtained after, and

they will be guaranteed that the information collected from them was handled with the strictest

confidence. This will be carried out to promote trust within the researcher and the respondents.

Limitations

This study is constrained by its sample size, which is limited to 50 respondents comprising

Civil Engineering students from Pangasinan State University Urdaneta City Campus. The data

collection will solely rely on electronic devices, specifically through the utilization of Google

Forms.
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