The Experiences and Challenges of

Working While Studying of Senior High School Students: A Phenomenological

Study
Abstract

The study explores how the students creates ways to maximize their time in working and

in studying. The said study also aims to investigate and identify students experiences and

challenges while working. They are starting at how difficult their situation. Next, the

problems they encounter. Then, how they deal and cope with such difficulties. The

purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences and challenges of working students

while studying. In this study, a qualitative study is used. It is a subjective report which

made utilization of a phenomenological way to deal with accumulating important

information. The method that is used in the process of making this part of the study is the

snowball technique. Based on the participants responses on their perceptions on working

while studying, it is confirmed that financial support, self-development and eternal

motivation to integrate theories and practice or among the driving forces of working

while studying of senior high school students the findings also show that the participants

have happy feeling and good time management. Moreover, it shows that the effective

ways of overcoming the problems they encounter is through good time management and

self-reflection the last research question intended to ask the participants their suggestions

and recommendation for students who have similar condition. Among the suggestions are

the students who decide to work while studying must be fist of all committed and

disciplined.
 CHAPTER I

Introduction

Background of the Study

Filipino students are still able to support themselves financially through working

although they have financial problems. Working while studying is driven fundamentally

by budgetary need: to cover setbacks in different types of understudy bolster, to top up

salary to give a superior understudy understanding or to help towars future future

objectives. Students face different difficulties that might affect their academic

performances. This may include factors like working while attending school. Many

students force themselves to work while studying. One of the causes of this is not being

able to support their education financially. Yet it seems like other working students don't

really have a problem financially. They do part-time jobs related to their future career to

help them enhance their skills. Nevertheless most of the students work because of

financial complications. Being a working student is stressful most likely in balancing

your social life, time for family, school, and work. Figuring out how to manage the

pressure that pursues with being a working students and ensuring you have no less than

one night off a week, can bring down your stress levels 10 times (Mitchell, 2016).

According to The Working Student (2016), to set down the job options of Filipino

working students namely online jobs, paid corporate internship, fast-food crew, and

school jobs.

According to the finding of the study conducted by Williams (2014), the reasons why

students work is due to budgetary need, meet quick or basic necessity, and to help the
understudies in their future objectives. Aside from this reasons, there were also

consequences of working while studying and that is according to the findings of the study

of Darolia (2014), where understudies take fewer attributes in school because of work

duties.

This study explores how the student creates ways to maximise their time in working and

in studying. The said study also aims to investigate and identify students experiences and

challenges while working. The problems they encounter. Then, how they deal and cope

with such difficulties finally, to provide a solution that might help the working students

shortly.

Statement of the Problem

The proposed research has questions that must be answered by the respondent and is

summarized as follows:

What are the post pandemic challenges that working students met?

What are the experiences of Grade 12 working students during post pandemic?

What are the learning experiences did they gained?

Significance of the Study

This study aims to investigate the experiences and challenges of working students in Glan

School of Arts and Trades. This research can be a source of information about students

who are working and studying simultaneously. This study is beneficial to;

Working Students this study will motivate them to manage their responsibilities

towards school and work even though they faced a lot of difficult experiences and
challenges so that their academic performance will not be affected in favor of their work

or vice-versa.

Teachers will gain an idea on the experiences and challenges encountered by working

students. Thus, they will understand them better.

Parents and Guardians will benefit because the findings will enlighten them on the

experiences and challenges of those working students, allowing them to use this study as

a guide to learn about their child's experiences and challenges, as well as help them by

lessening the burden in household chores, and allowing the students to use their free time

at work to do their schoolwork.

School Head/Administrators will benefit from the results of the study by applying the

proposed solution which will help minimize drop-outs among working students.

Future Researchers will deepen the future researcher’s knowledge of the experiences

and challenges of the working students. The future researcher’s also benefit from the

study and this will serve as their source and guide for future studies.

Scope and Delimitation

The study focused on the experiences and challenges encountered by working students of

Glan School of Arts and Trade. The study also encompasses the reason of students of

Glan School of Arts and Trade to work and study simultaneously, the advantage and

disadvantages of being a working student, and their aspirations in life to pursue working

even if it causes problems to them.

The main location of the study will be the Glan School of Arts and Trade and the most

target respondents would be the working students specially the Senior High School
Students, but possibly, the researcher will also request other students and also school

administrator and faculty members to gather some information and will use other

resources to be able for this research to become possible and effective.

CHAPTER II
 Review of Related Literature and Studies

According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), around 216,000 students in

the country are currently misrepresenting school and work and this figure is about 8% of

the total number of college students in the country. CHED said that working students

today are mostly into food service, entertainment and sales, apart from their usual stints

as librarians and research assistants. "One of the reasons why students need an extra

income is due to a financial crisis," according to officer-in-charge at CHED's office of the

executive director, Atty. Julito Vitriolo. He also added that because of higher commodity

prices and tuition fees, these students are forced to work independently. The CHED

stated that only half of working students get to finish college, as many cannot adapt and

cannot concentrate on their studies, while some have poor health, while others didn't

continue because of financial problems. CHED recommended working students to have

jobs that are not too demanding and that is more related to their courses so that they can

work comfortably.

The study of Elisabeth Hovdhaugen (2015), emphasizes that there are many possible

factors why students leave in a specific university before having the degree of

completion, and one of the most commonly cited is being engaged to work while

studying. With the use of survival analysis, this paper evaluates the impact of

employment status on dropout rates. It identifies that employment status does have an

influence on dropout rates to students who are less likely to complete their program due

to working full time alongside studying full time than students working short part-time or

not working at all. However, it seems that working more than 20 hours a week increases

the risk of dropout as much as full-time work as if there is a threshold to how much
students can work. The integration of employment status into the analysis does not

change the effect of variables known to influence on dropouts such as gender, grades,

and social background, but it adds to further explain who the possible students that may

dropout are. This denotes that models for retention and dropout must also take such

external factors into justification, not just consider what happens at the university, as in

the model of student departure.

According to Sandra Franke (2003), the average of over 4 hours a day to their education

and about7 to 8 hours of entertainment finds young people whose primary activity is

attending high school devote. Men spend more than half an hour than women on rest and

about half an hour more on unpaid work. In comparison to groups with other age,

students who are in high school still have the time for personal care and could sleep 9

hours a day. There has a considerable impact on a student's time by adding a paid job to

high school students. In the midst those with paid employment, female students spend an

average of one hour daily which is less than male students on their jobs (0.7 hours versus

1.9 hours per day). Accommodating their entry into the labor market, male high school

students reduce their free time by 1.5 hours. On the other hand, female students sleep for

about one hour less. However, both men and women nearly give the same amount of time

to beneficial activities (paid work, unpaid work, and studies), because female high school

students do about half an hour more unpaid work for a total of 1.4 hours per day than

males.

Relate the experiences of working part-time to enhance and refine their academic

knowledge, motivation and employment prospects (Curtis & Shani, 2002; Curtis &

Williams, 2002). Thus, some researches have concluded that a combination of financial
needs and the opportunity to gain experiences will ultimately enhance career

opportunities in the future (Harvey, 2000; Devlin, James & Grigg, 2008; Nonis &

Hudson, 2006). According to the research conducted by Watts and Pickering (2000),

while working part-time and studying full-time has a variety of positive outcomes,

respondents generally viewed part-time employment as a necessity to survive in the

contemporary higher education sphere. In Manthei and Gilmore's (2005) study, it is

understandable that the money earned from part-time employment is spent usually on

essential living expenses. From the perspective of students themselves, part-time work is

often an introduction to the real world which will assist them both in personal and career

development especially in the higher education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007).

Higher education institutions should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which

students could be more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time

vocational and career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).

Lundberg (2004), evaluated a national sample of 3,774 responses to the College Student

Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) and discovered that students are significantly having

fewer interactions with faculty and lower quality student relationships with peers because

of working more than 20 hours per week. Cheng (2004), examined how work affects the

academic and social experience of college students. Using a mixed method design, it was

found that there is “no significant difference between working and nonworking students

in their academic and social experience, though working students’ GPAs is lower than

those of the nonworking”.

Students can have the prospect to directly relate the experiences of working part-time to

enhance and refine their academic knowledge, motivation and employment prospects
(Curtis & Shani, 2002; Curtis & Williams, 2002). Thus, some researches have

concluded that a combination of financial needs and the opportunity to gain

experiences will ultimately enhance

career opportunities in the future (Harvey, 2000; Devlin, James & Grigg, 2008;

Nonis & Hudson, 2006). According to the research conducted by Watts and

Pickering (2000), while working part-time and studying full-time has a variety of

positive outcomes, respondents generally viewed part-time employment as a

necessity to survive in the contemporary higher education sphere. In Manthei and

Gilmore's (2005) study, it is understandable that the money earned from part-time

employment is spent usually on essential living expenses. From the perspective of

students themselves, part-time work is often an introduction to the real world which

will assist them both in personal and career development especially in the higher

education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007). Higher education institutions

should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which students could be

more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time vocational and

career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).

Students can have the prospect to directly relate the experiences of working part-time to

enhance and refine their academic knowledge, motivation and employment prospects

(Curtis & Shani, 2002; Curtis & Williams, 2002). Thus, some researches have

concluded that a combination of financial needs and the opportunity to gain

experiences will ultimately enhance

career opportunities in the future (Harvey, 2000; Devlin, James & Grigg, 2008;

Nonis & Hudson, 2006). According to the research conducted by Watts and
Pickering (2000), while working part-time and studying full-time has a variety of

positive outcomes, respondents generally viewed part-time employment as a

necessity to survive in the contemporary higher education sphere. In Manthei and

Gilmore's (2005) study, it is understandable that the money earned from part-time

employment is spent usually on essential living expenses. From the perspective of

students themselves, part-time work is often an introduction to the real world which

will assist them both in personal and career development especially in the higher

education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007). Higher education institutions

should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which students could be

more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time vocational and

career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).

Students can have the prospect to directly relate the experiences of working part-time to

enhance and refine their academic knowledge, motivation and employment prospects

(Curtis & Shani, 2002; Curtis & Williams, 2002). Thus, some researches have

concluded that a combination of financial needs and the opportunity to gain

experiences will ultimately enhance career opportunities in the future (Harvey,

2000; Devlin, James & Grigg, 2008; Nonis & Hudson, 2006). According to the

research conducted by Watts and Pickering (2000), while working part-time and

studying full-time has a variety of positive outcomes, respondents generally viewed

part-time employment as a necessity to survive in the contemporary higher education

sphere. In Manthei and Gilmore's (2005) study, it is understandable that the money

earned from part-time

employment is spent usually on essential living expenses. From the perspective of

will assist them both in personal and career development especially in the higher

education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007). Higher education institutions

should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which students could be

more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time vocational and

career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).

Students can have the prospect to directly relate the experiences of working part-time to

enhance and refine their academic knowledge, motivation and employment prospects

(Curtis & Shani, 2002; Curtis & Williams, 2002). Thus, some researches have concluded

that a combination of financial needs and the opportunity to gain experiences will

ultimately enhance career opportunities in the future (Harvey, 2000; Devlin, James &

Grigg, 2008; Nonis & Hudson, 2006). According to the research conducted by Watts and

Pickering (2000), while working part-time and studying full-time has a variety of positive

outcomes, respondents generally viewed part-time employment as a necessity to survive

in the contemporary higher education sphere. In Manthei and Gilmore's (2005) study, it is

understandable that the money earned from part-time employment is spent usually on

essential living expenses. From the perspective of students themselves, part-time work is

often an introduction to the real world which will assist them both in personal and career

development especially in the higher education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007).

Higher education institutions should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which

students could be more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time

vocational and career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).
 CHAPTER III

Methodology

This chapter presents the methodology that was employed in this study. This includes

research design, sampling procedure, participants of the study, data gathering procedure,

data analysis procedure, and data gathering instrument.

Research Design
A qualitative study is used in this study. It is a subjective report which made utilization of

a phenomenological way to deal with accumulating important information. This approach

concerns about understanding and interpreting the meaning that participants provide to

their everyday lives. The point of such method is not to generalize but to comprehend and

interpret the meanings and intentions that underlie everyday human activities. The

qualitative design manages information that is principally verbal and gets significance

from the participant's point of view and also expects to comprehend the meaning that

individuals append to their daily experience.

Sampling Procedure

Despite their connection to the participants, the researchers chose participants with a

wealth of relevant information to the study. The researcher is in charge of assembling a

diverse sample of people from different backgrounds to get valid data.

Participants of the study

Participants following a careful selection of participants and the acknowledgment of the

appropriate individuals, the researchers approached and extended an invitation to them to

take part in the data collection for the study. An informational document was given to

each participant in order to ensure that their participation was voluntary and to let them

know that they had the option of rejecting the researcher. Following their consent to

participate, participants were immediately informed that the researchers would treat the
material they had collected in a confidential manner and that they were not obliged to

supply any personal information. Finally, they were given consent forms to sign

indicating their agreement to both their participation and the audio recording.

The selected competitors were five (5) Senior High School students in school between

the ages of sixteen (16) and nineteen (19) who are also working. Each participant is

qualified to participate since they have all had prior work-study experience. Information

provided by the participant is disclosed fully, including any personal information or

information that was presented.

Data Gathering Procedure

Upon approval of the title of the study and having found the research instrument was

valid and reliable, the following procedure was undertaken by researchers during the

conduct of the study.

The researchers prepared asked for the total number of Experiences and Challenges of

Working While Studying of Senior High School Students: A Phenomenological study.

The researchers prepared the questionnaires to be used in collecting the data.

Data Gathering Instrument

Results from applying the thematic content analysis method included processed. This

kind of data analysis technique ia reffered to as a bridge by Ezzy (2000) to analyse data

by grouping it according to themes, concepts, or similar features. A lot of data must be

cut down and categorized into more useful categories in order to: The techniques used

are essentially designed as a unit for interpretation. The procedures were based on

Marshall and Rossman (1989) and De Vos (1998). The following steps were a part of this

process that was utilized to produce themes.

CHAPTER IV

Results, Findings, and Discussion

Conclusion and Recommendations