A school-based psychosocial program

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Adolescence is often described as an age of turbulence, where for a brief

yet enduring moment in the lifespan, the individual goes through a plethora of

physical, cognitive, and psychological changes with lasting ramifications to the

personhood of the individual. It is during the adolescent period when the body

spurts towards the adult body form – taller, curvy, and slender for females and

lankier, broad, and firmer for males. Aside from this, the human brain during the

adolescent period becomes alive with the creation and pruning of neural

pathways. Heightened brain activity in turn manifests outwardly in volatile

behavior characteristically described in legendary terms such as impulsive,

daring, and rebellious. Hence, adolescence translates into an age of self-

exploration, where personal identities are forged, where a person, for better or for

worst learns how to relate with himself, relate with one’s family members, and

relate with one’s greater community through valuable lessons picked up along

the way. The process of learning in the midst of these developmental realities

becomes the subject of concern by educational as well as by helping

professionals who utilize the scope of theories to understand by means of

identification, particular issues in the developmental phase where the individual

needs assistance to transition into a psychologically mature and capable human

person. Particularly, as adolescence is the age of what Erickson calls Identity Vs

Role Confusion, efforts have come together, particularly, by school-based social

work to find out what particular influencers from the external domain do

teenagers respond to as well as how these young individuals draw meaning and

significance from personal experiences. An understanding of the subjective

reality of individuals after childhood and before adulthood implicates

developmental programs launched to establish the foundations for a wholesome

human being. This study aims to identify the viewpoint of teenagers and develop
a school-based psychosocial program to address the psychological and social

issues that prevent students from maturing positively and progressing

academically.

International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) defined social work

profession as to promotion of social change, problem solving in human

relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-

being. As such, social workers are agents of change which enable individuals,

families, group or communities to develop their full potential and maintain

equilibrium. They recognize the complexity of interactions by the individual and

the environment as well as their capacity to cope in the multiple influences

including bio-psychosocial factors. To address the person-focused psychosocial

needs, social work interventions includes counseling, group work, family therapy

and resource mobilization/complementation while agency administrations,

community organizing and social action for social policy and economic

development.

In other countries, school social workers are vital link between the home,

the school and the community. Thus, they hire social workers to improve

students’ attendance, address family problems and any form of abuse and help

parents as well as students to understand the school policies and procedures.

On the other hand, Filipino social worker in the school setting are hired to

oversee/manage the community extension unit or as a National Service Training

Program (NSTP) facilitator in the college or university. Social workers also work

in the public sector through the Department of Education.

The Department of Education (DEPEd) is the national agency that

provided primary and secondary education for Filipino learners. It envisions to

nurture Filipinos driven to not only excel academically, but also who are

competent and value laden. The Department of Education’s mission is to:

culture-based, and complete basic education where students learn in a safe,

gender sensitive, and motivating environment, encouraged by teachers who

constantly nurture along with stakeholders (administrators, school staff,

community & family), lifelong learners.” (Department of Education, 2017 qtd).

Today, the Department of Education is reorganized in its internal

organizational structure. This allowed for new creation and definition of roles

more specific in providing ancillary services in response to DepEd goals and

thrust. One such role is the Project Development Officer.

The Project Development Office (PDO) acts as the Department of

Education’s service arm in providing assistance in local districts. In particular, the

Project Development Office shall partake in developing and implementing district-

wide programs that in the end assists its primary clientele (students) towards

holistic self-development.

A Project Development Officer assists in data analysis, interpretation, and

analysis of reports. The Officer also coordinates with regional and schools

division task force personnel to generate research essential for the successful

evaluation of programs and the gathering of pertinent information (Department of

Education, 2017).

As a Project Development Officer herself, the researcher would like to

contribute in finding out baseline information about students nowadays. Today,

more than ever, efforts geared towards the formation of youth are essential in

that this, when placed under the context of character development will aid in

molding learners who are essentially good individuals with accompanying

strength of character.
Statement of the Problem

The study aims to identify viewpoint of teenagers wherein result will be

used in the development of a school-based psychosocial program in addressing

youth’s existing problem today.

Specifically, this study will answer the following questions:

1. What is the description/profile of the students IN TERMS OF:

 GENDER

 AGE

 YEAR LEVEL

 SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

 LOCALE

 PARENT MARITAL STATUS

 TYPE OF FAMILY

2. What are the major problems they encounter and how do they solve it?

3. What implications can be derived from the study in relation to

 THE STUDENTS

 FAMILIES

 SCHOOL PERSONNEL

 COMMUNITY

 social work PROFESSION

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study will cover the viewpoint of 30 teenagers in-school from public

institutions who are in their sophomore to senior high whose age range from 14-

19 years old.

Five (5) teenagers will represent each age group who are students of

Francisco G. Nepomuceno Memorial High School and Angeles City National

Trade School.
 The study will include responses and discussions during the interview of

the student-respondents from the said group belonging in their respective

institutions. The study is hoped to finish by third (3rd) quarter of 2017 to serve as

a basis of the upcoming planning session of the upcoming academic year.

Significance of the study

The study hopes to benefit various members of the local community, the

division office, the faculty members, the student body including the students’

families. The study provides effort for the students to share their experiences and

possible sentiments and suggestion in the continuous development,

implementation and improvement of DEPEd Students Services in partnership

with other departments specifically the Guidance and Counseling Offices and the

Student Conduct and Formation Office.

The study will also be of significance to the following:

Administrators. The result of the study will provide an opportunity for the

administrators to know the experiences of the students and how they perceived

their life and experiences as teenagers who can contribute in establishing

standards and mechanisms in the implementation of programs on the students’

psychosocial development when it is time for them to enter college or venture

into gainful employment.

Researcher. It hopes to provide insights to the researcher from the respondents

stories and experiences that may help her in performing her task more effectively

and see the value of her work in understanding the situations of their clients, the

students.

Department of Education. With the result of the study, it is hoped that public

educational institutions will be able to learn more insights as how to further

improve their non-academic programs which will help in addressing the students’

concerns. It is further hoped that programs on community extension, guidance

the studies.

Students. The result of the study maybe a way for them to share their

experiences to the various sectors and levels, specifically to the members from

the management level who has the mandate to further develop and strengthen

DEPEd’s Student Development Programs. Hopefully the study will help address

their concerns and issues in their current education that would later on contribute

in the possibility of success of them finishing their education. That they may be

given an opportunity to socialized and further participate in the non-academic

projects and activities of their respective schools with a strengthened and

improved framework and structure of the programs as a result of the study.

Social Work Practice. That the value of the social work profession be realized in

the management of extension programs and its relation to the profession. It

opens doors to students and social work practitioners of other settings where

they can practice their profession.

Definition of Terms

In order to set a common understanding of the different terms used in this

study, operational definitions of the said terms are discussed below:

Student – is any person who is between the ages of 14 and 19 who will

serve as the participant in the study

FGNMHS – one of the biggest public high school in Angeles City

development of students non-academically.

HEALTH – refers to the actual physical and psychological state/condition

of an individual

WELLNESS – pertains to an individual’s holistic quality of health

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF YOUTH

Youth are easily persuaded to do wrong when they are emotionally

and psychologically unstable during their puberty. Several factors

contributing to these problems are broken and dysfunctional families, not

attending regular classes due to peer pressure, vices which includes

drugs and alcohol, being neglected or abused, insufficient family income

and lack of understanding on the school policies and procedures.

According to Fagan (1999), young individuals who are born in

broken and dysfunctional families stand being exposed to an environment

that diminishes opportunities for healthy physical, mental, and

psychological development. While young individuals raised in broken

families may experience the challenge growing up with diminished

opportunities in relating personally to an absent parent, other issues

arising from such a dynamic includes financial challenges (Hoeve et al

2014) wherein links between poverty and academic achievement are

recognized. Based from the research by Lacour and Tissington (2011), on

low-income families, indigent circumstances affect school performance

due to the lack of learning materials to assist the young individual excel in

one’s school work. This phenomenon is not only observed to take place in

broken families, but also in families classified as dysfunctional.

Young individuals raised under dysfunctional families are placed in

even more greater danger. The constellation of such families

“pathological”, a term which comes to mean in its minimal sense as an

originator of ill habits and relationships. Characteristically, dysfunctional

families are family groups wherein there might be a little room for respect

among all of its members. In particular, the role of the father or the mother

aren’t undertaken very well. So called parents, for one reason or another
might treat their offspring with little care and with much neglect. They

might not provide their children with the physiological and psychological

needs that they require, oftentimes bordering on the threshold of abuse

and worst, physical assault. Abuse does not need to be directed at

children to bear profound trauma on their self-concept of the world and

development. According to Moylan et al (2011), exposure to domestic

violence leaves young individuals not only scarred for life, but this has also

leaves a major effect when it comes to internalizing and externalizing

behavior. Internalizing behavior in its simplest explanation refers to an

individual’s tendency to think and cope in the face of ill events while

externalizing behavior pertains to outward expressions of coping to the ill

event transpiring within the dysfunctional family. Based from the results of

Moylan and her associates, adolescents who are long exposed to

domestic violence tend to display negative externalizing and internalizing

behaviors such as hatred turned inward, and externally, the inability to

focus on normal developmental tasks, and even ill scholastic achievement

(Moylan et al, 2011).

As a result of a polarizing home environment, young individuals

born to dysfunctional families thus fail to form secure attachments to

people who are the most crucial part of their life. They would have not

known how it is to be truly loved or cared for. As a result of this, they might

find themselves being challenged in developing a lasting bond to another

person. In the absence of an early intervention or a substitute for the

absent love of a parent, the young person can potentially grow up to be an

individual with issues to authority or they might even be lured into conflict

with the law.

One avenue for this to happen is through acquaintance with other

young individuals from dysfunctional families who might together form a

pact of camaraderie that compensates where their original family group

learning things on their own together, young individuals in the adolescent

stage can become in danger of engaging in risky behaviors and

developing an erroneous value system through social learning via peer

influence and peer pressure (Esiri, 2016).

A study by Gardner & Steinberg (2005) demonstrates the tendency

of adolescents for precarious behavior. Three groups of respondents

participated in the study. The first group composed of young individuals

ranging from 13-16 years old. The second group are young individuals

ranging from 18-22 years old. The last group are individuals who are 24-

over years of age. Each respondent from these three groups were given

each a behavioral task to accomplish as well as self-report questionnaires

to glean information on whether the influence of friends initiates risk and

risky decision-making in adolescents. The outcome of the study revealed

that young people belonging to the middle group (18-22 years) were prone

to take greater risks when tested in groups than when tested alone, thus

demonstrating that young individuals are more responsive to the urging of

their peers (Gardner & Steiner, 2005 qtd).

Comparably, a research by Steinberg and Monahan (2007) yielded

contradictory results in that respondents constellating around the 18-years

old and above bracket expressed resistance to peer influences. What

could be the cause of this disparity? Answer lies in the distinct

methodologies used wherein the first study had undertaken a behavioral

task, the antecedent of an empirical observation that provides the

researcher with an actual scenario to view how such risk taking behaviors

materialize in the first place. Disparity in the results suggest further studies

in the local setting to pinpoint the sociocultural factors that influence

motivation and peer impact towards what can only be described as

impulsive behavior.
 Aside from negative peer influence, an adolescent’s exposure to

vices such as smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs,

and even role playing online games by means of one’s primary (family and

friends) and secondary groups (institutions and the greater society) can

lead young individuals spiraling towards a destructive lifestyle pattern that

can potentially impede the fostering of positive self-concept, positive

relationships, and even scholastic achievement at school (Whitesell et al,

2016).

Through the avenue of one’s peers for example, studies such as

the one initiated by Simons-Morton and Farhat (2010) has revealed that

peer groups significantly influence the regularity and constancy of vices

such as smoking behavior. Another research reveals how other forms of

substance abuse are perpetuated through similar circumstances.

Fuentes et al (2011) studied how self-concept is shaken by the

usage of illegal or recreational drugs. Based from the results, it was

revealed that the usage of drugs had a negative relationship to a young

person’s family, scholastic, and personal self-concept. Aside from drugs,

mass media also contributes to juvenile delinquency and out-of-school

youth due to easy access to media violence, pornography and wrong

social values (Earles et al, 2002).

Even if a review of related literature has revealed the extent on

which habits are acquired through constant camaraderie and interaction

with individuals who are engaged in the behavior, understanding the

personal account of participants regarding how and why their habits

formed would be an enlightening information that would not just confirm

existing research in the local setting, but it would also guide helping

professionals such as school personnel involved in social work to have

baseline material to serve basis for enrichment programs that would assist

students steer the personal direction of their life for the better.
 Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development refers to an

understanding of how personality and behavior develop or mold people.

His theory is relevant to the modern life and very useful in dealing with

conflict as well as understanding self and others. In his theory, Erickson

postulates stages of development that must be navigated through by each

individual in order to grow into a psychologically healthy and well-adjusted

human person. Among the eight stages of development, Identity Vs Role

Confusion is the task associated with adolescence. It is within this period

where an individual tries to make himself aware of who he is as a human

person by realizing his own uniqueness as an individual. It is also within

this time when the adolescent is striving to become independent. The

unique problem in youths who were not sufficiently nurtured and securely

attached during the early part of their lives is that upon their arrival to the

task of independence and identity expression of adolescence, they might

find difficulty directing their lives towards later years of self-actualization

(Feist & Feist, 2009). Because seeds for self-nurturance and self-

knowledge wasn’t successfully planted early on, young individuals who

were raised in abuse and dysfunction will find it difficult to know what they

want out of life. Schoolwork, which is an essential baseline for social

actualization will have little interest. Being around equally lost peers and

engaging in debilitating pastimes such as engaging in role-playing games

over the internet or drinking and sleeping around does not help in self-

realization essential for the person to become a future productive member

of the society.

It is here where the school and the community can greatly help by

assisting youths through the guidance of social workers and other allied

helping professionals. By finding out the truth behind the personal

experiences of young individuals as well as their personal realities, school

social workers in particular would be able to develop schemes and

personal direction while they are still attending school.

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