By: Yzel Joy Amoyoc
DIFFICULTIES AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY GREEN AMBASSADOR COLLEGE WORKING STUDENTS IN SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
Robert Bainton Jr., Jessamae Albiendo, Yzel Joy Amoyoc, Ivanna Kate Banzuela, Mariefer Baario
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Nature and Background of the Study
Working through college will not cover all of a student’s education expenses. It can lighten the debt burden, though, and pay off in other ways good news for the growing number of students who work while attending school (Rapacon, 2015).
According to Perna (2010), stated that one obvious approach is for colleges and universities to reduce students’ financial need to work by reducing the rate of tuition growth and increasing need-based grants. Colleges and universities can also reduce the prevalence and intensity of employment through financial aid counseling that inform students of both the consequences of working and alternative mechanism of paying for college.
In the Philippines, many students must work to pay the costs of attending college. Regardless of the reason for working, trying to meet the multiple and sometimes conflicting simultaneous demands of the roles of student, employee, parent, and so on often creates high levels of stress and anxiety, making it less likely that students will complete their degrees (Perna, 2010).
Statement of the Problem
The study will seek to answer the following questions:
- The demographic profile of the working students that we will take, as our respondents?
- What is the family problem of college students that leads them to be working students?
- What are the common problem and difficulties encountered by the working student?; and
- What are the strategies used by the working students to overcome their problems?
Objectives of the study
The aims to:
- Determine the demographic profile of the working students that we will take as our respondents.
- Determining the family problem of college students that leads them to be working students.
- Determining the common problem and difficulties encountered by the working student; and
- Determining the strategies used by the working students to overcome their problems.
Significance of the Study
The information gathered will serves as a reference and will be beneficial to:
The Students. This study may benefit to the students who work and even the students who are not, for them to be more confident and possess better time-management skills to have a focus on class and work. To make themselves more responsible as a student.
The Teachers. The result of this study may benefit for them to know the struggles that their students encountered as a working student. The reasons why their students have a promissory note in every exam. Furthermore, for they will also know why their students get a low performance in their perspective subjects.
The Future Psychologies. The result of this study will provide relevant information and serves for them as a reference about the College working student for future related studies.
The Parents. This study may bring awareness to them on what are the difficulties that their children encountered as a working student.
Scope and Limitation
This study is mainly focused among College working student in Southern Christian College. The study is limited to the Green Ambassador College working student’s school year 2016-2017 in Poblacion 5, Midsayap, North Cotabato.
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW AND RELATED LITERATURE
Working Students
As a working student, you will be able to put theory into practice while continuing with your studies. You will work in specialized areas that give you real insights into your subject and make a huge contribution to your studies. You will also make important contacts among your colleagues and managers – the first step in creating your own network. In addition, of course you will get to know the company from the inside. Taken together, all these benefits will offer you excellent prospects for a future career (Daimler AG, 2017).
Reasons of Students to Work on Campus
Depending on their financial aid packages, students may qualify for work-study positions that would allow them to receive funding to work on campus. Most campuses maintain a central listing of work-study positions. The financial aid office typically houses such listings, and academic advisers are well positioned to share this important information with students. Depending on the campus size, students may be able to find on-campus employment that will enhance their personal and professional development (Presley, 2013).
According to Rapacon (2015), stated that even if you work in an unrelated field, the experience can help you develop highly desirable professional skill. Working while one is still in school enhances the ability to meet deadlines. Work under pressure and effectively structure time blocks.
Benefits of Working Students
A part-time job, whether on-campus or off-campus, can help the student become a better student and get a jump on his/her career track.
Nearly 40% of undergraduates nationwide hold part-time jobs while attending college, and nearly half of these students work on-campus. Part-time work allows students to:
- Perfect time-management skills necessary for academic success
- Reduce reliance on student loans
- Gain career-related experience as they clarify goals, acquire skills and self-confidence, and build a network of contacts
Most college students take a job for the financial benefits associated with it. For some, work is absolutely necessary to help them pay for education-related expenses. For others, employment provides some basic spending money for incidentals and for treating themselves to the occasional eating out and entertainment (Levy, 2017).
Problems of Working Students
Student jobs have become sort of a trend among students around the world primarily college students whereas college tuitions and finances are more high-priced and costly than high school learners. In short, the term that suits this trend is ‘Earn and Learn’ policy. Another factor is students who have no relatives or family who aspire to fulfil studies prefer to be a working student unless they are students who comprise scholarship. Every student has their own aspirations in life, and that is the reason why some students are now working by virtue of aiming those aspirations (Study Moose, 2017).
According to Edison (2016), stated that working while in college gives you a different perspective on the college experience. Ranging from friends to classes to jobs, all working students will understand how difficult it can get. Throughout college, you get to know all the ways that students finance their education. Some, like a student, work numerous jobs on top of going to school full-time. Some have a part-time job, others do miscellaneous work from time to time, and there are those who do not work and/or have never worked a day in their life. When faced with having friends who have an unlimited amount of time to do whatever they want to do outside of their class and homework time, working folk have a time-management dilemma.
Definition of Terms
Factors. The reasons and problems of the College Working Student why they work on campus.
Green Ambassador College Working Students. These are students of Southern Christian College taking-up a job as a working student to support their studies.
Benefits. Being a worker’s students it may help them to support their fees and their financials.
Teachers. Providing knowledge and learnings to the working students by managing their time both studies and works.
Theoretical Framework
There are some theories related to our study which all about working students. According to the Social Work License Map (Social workers can encounter many different obstacles in their line of work. Each obstacle faced represents a different kind of challenge. However, there are a few theories that can help social workers deal with some of the challenges they are facing, and how they can be utilized to achieve positive solutions.
In general, a theory is a statement backed by evidence gathered through the scientific method intended to explain something. Theoretical approaches for social work are often used to explain human behavior and serve as starting points for practice models and treatments. For example, Psychodynamic Theory explains how internal and external forces interact to influence emotional development. Conflict Theory explains how power structures and disparities affect people’s lives. This post concentrates on how Systems Theory was developed and how it can be applied to assisting a client.
- Systems Theory
Systems Theory explains human behavior as the intersection of the influences of multiple interrelated systems. Even for individual issues, families, organizations, societies, and other systems are inherently involved and must be considered when attempting to understand and assist the individual. According to this theory, all systems are interrelated parts constituting an ordered whole and each subsystem influences other parts of the whole.
There have been dozens of unofficial iterations of Systems Theory over the past few hundred years, applied to society, science, and many other areas. In the 20th century, multiple scientists, philosophers, and academics began to outline and define the structure of Systems Theory in their various disciplines; there are now systems theories for biology, cybernetics, and for social work. While the applications obviously vary depending on the discipline, all systems theories follow the concept of interrelated parts influencing one another as part of an ordered whole.
Several prominent thinkers advanced Systems Theory in social work. Talcott Parsons was an economist and sociologist at Harvard University, whose book “Social System” helped steer the conversation on systematic determinants of behavior. Robert Merton is considered one of the founding fathers of modern sociology and significantly advanced Systems Theory through his progressive theories on functional analysis. Merton also coined the now ubiquitous terms “self-fulfilling prophecy” and “role model.” Carel Germain is internationally recognized for her work on explaining human behavior in a social environment. She mentored and worked extensively with Alex Gitterman, who continues to develop Systems Theory through the Life Model.
- Case Study in Systems Theory
The Pruett case study provides a concrete, real-world example of how Systems Theory is applied to understand how interrelated factors contribute to unhealthy actions. In this case, the client was engaging in risky behaviors (drug abuse and unprotected sex) and not attending school. She had not had contact with her father for five years, and some of her only memories of him involved him abusing drugs and arguing with her mother at home.
In the Family Systems Theory, individuals must not be evaluated in isolation, but in the context of the family, as the family operates as a unit. One of the core concepts of this theory is the triangle, whose most common form is a parent-parent-child relationship — aka “two helping one”). Clearly, the client was missing one of the corners of the triangle and thus one of the pillars of healthy emotional development.
Another concept is the family projection process, wherein the client suffers from the emotional dysfunction of the family unit. In this case, the client witnessed her father abusing drugs to self-medicate, so she imitated that behavior, thinking it might help her. The full complexities of this case go beyond the scope of this post, but it serves as an example of how a social worker must understand interrelated systems (e.g., school-family-individual) in order to assist the client.
- Issues Addressed by Systems Theory
Systems Theory is used to develop a holistic view of individuals within an environment and is best applied to situations where several systems inextricably connect and influence one another. It can be employed in cases where contextual understandings of behavior will lead to the most appropriate practice interventions.
In the Pruett case, for example, the client’s school and family environment heavily influenced her individual actions, and her actions influenced the way she interacted with others at school and in the home. The recommended interventions thus involved strengthening the missing part of her family unit, referring her to counseling services, and connecting her with academic support. There are many practice interventions available to social workers and their applications vary greatly depending on the context, but following are a few common interventions used as part of Systems Theory.
- Strengthen one part of the system to improve the whole
In the Pruett case, the social worker recommended finding a healthy father figure for the client, to strengthen the missing component of the family system.
- Networking and referrals
A critical part of any social worker’s job is to help clients navigate between systems. This often means referring clients to specialists, or connecting them with resources or organizations that can help their situation. In the Pruett case, this meant referral to a counselor and connection to an after school tutor.
- Ecomaps
Is a flow diagram that helps someone understand a family’s and community’s interrelated progression over time. It allows social workers and clients to capture and organize the complexity of a system.
- Genograms
Is a graphic representation of a family tree, constructed with symbols that describe relationships and connections between an extended family, Social workers typically construct them along with clients in order to better understand relationships and identify patterns in the medical history.
Understanding and applying Systems Theory is a critical part of any social worker’s career. One of the most important functions of a social worker is helping clients navigate the various systems that affect their lives, which requires a deep understanding of how subsystems are interrelated and influence one another. This post provides an introduction to Systems Theory and some real life examples of how it is applied. It is just one of the many theoretical approaches that social workers will apply throughout their careers.
Conceptual Framework
In view of the literature presented, figure 1 shows how the difficulties and problems encountered by the working students can affects their studies.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Showing the Variables of the Study
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Descriptive survey design will use in evaluating the College working students belongs to Green Ambassador through survey interviews to know the difficulties and struggles they encountered.
Locale of the Study
The study will be conducted among Green Ambassador College working students in Southern Christian College in Pobalacion 5, Midsayap, Cotabato school year 2016-2017.
Selection of Respondents
The respondents of this study were the working students. Specifically, the Green Ambassador college working student who are still continuing their studies in SCC who only received a monthly salary of 1,100 pesos per month. Limited of 50 respondents.
Research Instruments
The researchers will use a research-made questionnaire in gathering the necessary data. It contained questions on demographic profile of the respondents and identified their background problem and struggles they always encountered as a working student. In addition, we will using convenience sampling to collect data from the respondents.
Data Collection Procedure
Before gathering the data, the researchers will ask the approval and consent to the SAO office and SHS Principal for the survey that will be going to conduct. The questionnaire will be personally distributed and collected by the researchers to the respondents.
Data Analysis
The study will utilize first hand data taken through distributed of the survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion. The researchers will translate the interview from the local language to English if there are some students who do not understand English-word directly. Then transcription will be processed and presented by themes.
Work Schedule
| Activities | November | December | January | February | March |
| Planning for Thesis that we will going to conduct | |||||
| Research Proposal | |||||
| Gathering Data Collection | |||||
| Final Research Defense | |||||
| Final Research Report |
Budgetary Requirements
| Printed for Research Proposal | ₱15.00 |
| Printed Questionnaire | ₱50.00 |
| Snacks while Computing the Data | ₱150.00 |
| Snacks while Editing the Final Research Report | ₱50.00 |
| Printed Final Research Report | ₱35.00 |
| Folders | ₱15.00 |
| Total Amount: | ₱300.00 |
Literature Cited
Daimler AG. (2017). Working student Start your career while still studying. Retrieved from https://www.daimler.com/career/students/student-interns/ on January 8, 2017.
Edison, T. A. (2016). 5 Problems of a Working College Student. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-problems-of-working-college-students on January 25, 2017.
Levy, D. (2017). The Benefits of Working While Enrolled in College. Retrieved from https://www.edvisors.com/student-employment/jobs/benefits-of-working/ on January 15, 2017.
Presley, C. K. (2013). Advising and Engaging the “Working-Class” College Student. Retrieved from http://dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/11/advising-and-engaging-the-“working-class”-college-student/ on January 8, 2017.
Rapacon, S. (2015). More college students are working while studying. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/29/more-college-students-are-working-while-studying.html on December 8, 2016.
Social Workers License Map, (2017).Theoretical Approaches: Social Work Systems Theory. Retrieved from http://socialworklicensemap.com/theoretical-approaches-social-work-systems-theory/ on March 8, 2017.
Study Moose (2017). Problems of Working Students essay. Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/problems-of-working-students-essay on January 25, 2017.
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