The challenge of finishing school is not only focused on one specific country. Millions of children and youth all over the world are deprived of not having limited access to education. Edwards (2012) expressed that for those who are lucky enough to have the opportunity for some level of public education; it is often limited to a elementary education. For children who attend school, the promise for a future based on their education is not that clear which causes large numbers school drop outs and seem continue to live, in spite of danger or hardship especially on the streets.
With fervent hope that this global issue be addressed, The National Dropout Prevention Center, Clemson University, USA strongly suggests the proven effective strategies and techniques to reduce school dropouts be applied globally. The said strategies and techniques are focused on School and Community Perspective, Early Interventions, Basic Core Strategies and Making the most Instruction.
In our Country, School dropout has become the main concern of the Department of Education because of the alarming dropout rates. According to reports, since 1960’s, dropout rates have been continuously increasing. Monsod (2009) in her program on News on Q cited the report of the Philippine Human Development that out of 1,000 Filipinos who start grade 1, only 120 of them will finish college; the other 880 will have dropped out along the way.
Similarly, in 1999, the data of Department of Education showed that the high school dropout rate reached to 10.81% which is considered by experts as the highest rate for the last decade. Chua (2016) reported that the dropout rate declined in 2014 at about 9.256%, but it shot up to 12.188% in 2015. From 2013 to 2015, more boys failed to complete schooling as compared to girls nationwide. As per DepEd data, dropout rate in girls alone reached to 6.5%. The region which the highest dropout rates during that three year period was the Region II.
Also, Porcalla (2017) reported that the number of elementary and high school dropouts in the country has risen; reaching 4.8 million or an 11 percent in 2012. Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas believed that this this will continue to increase because of poverty. Showing his concern, Vargas suggested that the government, through the Department of Education should make education more accessible to the youth by providing more programs like night classes for elementary and high school students who have dropped to ensure that Filipino students are able to complete their basic education,
Tucker (2017) explained that some reasons why students dropped from school include teenage pregnancy, poor parenting style, boredom, academic struggles, lack of parental support, and financial instability. Similarly, Verma (2015) listed 10 common reasons why students drop out from school. These include unable to fit in ranking first, followed by too much of academic pressure. Other reasons are grabbing hold of other opportunities; need to support an ailing family member and severe bullying; constant failure, working in family shops, supporting family delinquency and lack of interest were also considered as the reasons of dropping out.
Also, Schargel (2014) enumerated five major reasons why children leave school: (1) the students themselves do not see the reasons they need to go to school. They make wrong decisions. They get into vices with gangs, get pregnant and commit crimes. Hence, they are disconnected to their families, and life; (2) the family they come from where many of them are products of divorce, separation or, sometimes, family violence. Some are not being raised by parents, but rather by aunts, uncles and grandparents. Families do not meet some children’s basic needs; (3) the community they come from wherein many of them were brought up in places where education is not given importance, they are deprived of community and health support. Instead, various vices such as drugs, gangs and violence uncontrollably exist; (4) the schools they attend have a culture of low expectations. Passive instructional strategies are being used without regard to individual student learning styles. Teachers are not trained in the latest teaching/learning/technology techniques. Finally, (5) the teachers they have are least-experienced, least classroom-trained and are often assigned to the most difficult schools.
This global issue in education is being seriously attended to by the Division of City Schools (DCS) Quezon City. The DCS Quezon City would like to bring back in school the entire dropout and out of school youth in the area it comprises in order for this children to finish their studies so that they will be able to harness their talents and skills not only academically but also practically so that they may able to prepare themselves in their life journey and to support their respective families; of great help in the community and to the development of the nation.
To address this perennial problem, the Division of City Schools, Quezon City implemented in 2011 the School Initiated Intervention Program (SIIP) to reduce the dropout rate in the entire division.
The SIIP was created a couple of years prior to the implementation of the K-12 program. It is one of the strategic components of Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) of Department of Education developed and implemented to address specific problems of students who are at risk of dropping out and keeping them in school to continue and finish their schooling.
To further enhance this program, the search for the best school initiated interventions on Dropout reduction was conducted in the entire division. Every school was enjoined to participate and Ismael Mathay Sr. High School (IMSHS) was one of the contenders.
In order to lessen the dropout rate of the school, each school developed their own initiated interventions in which the focus of attention are the Student- At-Risk of dropping out (SARDO) and help them concentrate in their studies to achieve their dreams. IMSHS developed and implemented its program dubbed Capability Building for Productivity and Responsibility (CBPR) in which every department actively took part, which later on was renamed Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP).
To find out the validity of this program, it is the interest of this researcher that this research study is proposed in order to help students, parents and other stakeholders realize that one without education will unable to get jobs and more likely to spend their lives jobless and they will be dependent on their immediate family’s support or in the assistance of government. Quarles (2009) cited some implications such in financial aspect, dropout of high school are more likely to live in poverty. Socially, they are not just affecting themselves but also the entire economy. Children are the hopes of every Filipino parent in improving their lives. They are the major factor in the process of our nation building.
Statement of the Problem
The general problem of this study is: How may a school intervention program aimed at mitigating the dropout rate of the Ismael Mathay, Sr. High School (IMSHS) be developed?
Specifically, the study seeks answers to the following questions;
1. How may the status of implementation of the current intervention program aimed at reducing dropout rate be described in terms of;
1.1 teacher’s capabilities in identifying SARDOs,
1.2 stakeholders,
1.3 guidance and counselling services,
1.4 resources?
2. What has been the dropout rate of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School in the last five years?
3. What are the reasons why students drop out of school?
4. How may the level of effectiveness of the intervention program be measured in terms of;
4.1 attainment of objectives,
4.2 adequacy of materials,
4.3 appropriateness of approaches used by teacher-implementers,
4.4 adequacy of time, and
4.5 support of the stakeholders?
5. What are the frailties of the current implemented intervention program?
6. What intensified implementation measures may be proposed to reduce the dropout rate?
Significance of the Study
Primarily, this research study is very significant in assessing the performance indicators on students’ achievement through promotion and reducing the dropout rate.
To the School Administrators. This will give valuable insights on the current situation of the schools’ initiative to promote quality and life-long learning. It will make them aware of the school status in terms of its promotion and dropout rates and also to strengthen their holding power in keeping the SARDOs remain in school and improving their lives and to bring back to school those who have dropped out of school
To the Teachers and other stakeholders. This will motivate them to find ways and means to achieve zero-dropout rate of students. This may be a benchmark for the school leaders, teachers and other education-inclined individuals to be more inspired and determined in handling students-at-risk of dropping out. This will help teacher enhance more their skills and talents as well as able to maximize their resources and creativity in dealing with their problem students. Being an expert in this undertaking, each teacher may able to achieve the so-called “Pygmalion effect” among their students as a product of their artistry and master piece.
To the Students. This study will enable the students understand at great extent the importance of education in order for them to become future leaders. It will also help them realize that learning in school does not promise a bed of roses rather it needs focus and strong determination and perseverance to be fully equipped in towards personal and professional growth, preparedness and in global competition in terms of talents and skills as well as to be of help in improvement of the family status, community and country.
To the Parents. This undertaking may lead to enlighten parents on how to deal with their growing up children and learn to encourage them to pursue their studies not only to improve their lives. Furthermore, this may help them realize that they are the school’s partner in the total development of their children.
To the Research-inclined individuals. The research findings of this study may serve as the basis for other related researches in the future. This may also provide future researchers ample knowledge and information beneficial to the future enhancement of initiated intervention on reducing dropout rates of other schools.
Scope and Delimitation of the study
This study described the following; (1) status of the intervention program in terms of teachers’ capability in identifying SARDOs, stakeholders, guidance and counselling services and resources. (2) the dropout rate of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School in the last five years, (3) the reasons why students drop out of school, (4) the level of effectiveness of the program which are measured in terms of; attainment of objectives, adequacy of materials, approaches used by teacher-implementers, adequacy of time and support of external stakeholders, (5) frailties of the current implemented intervention of the program, and (6) the proposed intensified implementation measures to reduce the dropout rate.
The respondents of this study were the Department Heads of every subject area, coordinator of the intervention program of the school, guidance counsellor, the class advisers and the subject teachers.
This study is limited only to the Ismael Mathay Sr. High School considering that it is one of the big schools in the Division of Quezon City that has a high dropout rate.
The statistical treatment to be used in this study will be frequency count, Percentage, and Mean scores.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter presents the Relevant Theories, Related Literatures, Related Studies, Conceptual Framework, and Definition of Variables in order to establish the backdrop and provide information to close the gap between the cited bodies of knowledge.
Relevant Theories
This study is anchored on the four theories; the Theory of In Loco Parentis, the Program Theory, the Cause and effect Relationship Theory, and The Persuasion Theory.
The theory of In Loco Parentis. In loco Parentis is a Latin phrase for “in the place of a parent”. It refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. It originally derived from English common law which is applied in two separate areas of the law; (1) it allows institutions such as colleges and schools to act in the best interests of the students as they see fit, although not allowing what would be considered violations of the students’ civil liberties, (2) this doctrine can provide a non-biological parent to be given the legal rights and responsibilities of a biological parent if they have held themselves out as the parent. This also emphasized by Blackstone in his doctrine that parents, in effect, delegate to schoolmasters the powers of “restraint and correction” that may be necessary to educate their children. Schoolmasters are defined by Blackstone as those who were often the sole individuals responsible for the children’s education.
In Loco Parentis is performed by all teachers in every school but it is highly observed in IMSHS in dealing with SARDOs.
The Program Theory. Program theory is better known in various terms such as logic model or impact pathway, logical framework, theory of change, or program matrix. It is a tool used by funders, managers, and program evaluators to assess the effectiveness of a certain program. It can also be used during program planning and implementation (Funnell & Rogers, 2011). It indicates how a certain program is designed. It describes how the program’s goals are achieve. It further explains how an intervention (a project, a program, a policy, a strategy) is understood to provide a sequential results or actual impacts.
This theory is depicted in the implementation of the School Initiated intervention program on reducing dropout rate of the Ismael Mathay Sr. High School, Quezon City in which several activities are performed to meet the program’s goal. The activities involve are collecting and analysing information relative to the program as well as evaluating either on the process of implementation or after the implementation is done.
The Cause and Effect Theory. The Cause and Effect Relationship Theory as explained by Williams (2015) is a relationship in which one event (the cause) makes another event happens (the effect). One cause can have several effects. To determine the validity of this relationship theory, Williams cited two criteria to be achieved: (1) the cause has to occur before the effect (otherwise known as the temporal precedence), (2) when the cause happens, the effect follows.
This theory best describes the situation of the School in terms of student’s dropout and students-at-risk of dropping out (SARDOs) which are currently prevalent.
Correlating this theory, the researcher would say that the drop out and SARDOs rate may be considered the effect and the various reasons for dropping out of school would be the cause and this falls on the two criteria stated by Williams; First, the cause has to occur before the effect. It is evident that because of the various reasons why students drop out of school. The prevalence of the school’s dropout and SARDOs prompted the school authorities to implement the School Initiated Intervention Program (SIIP) to lessen if not totally eradicate them.
Linking the school initiated intervention program (SIIP) to the cause and effect relationship theory, it can be described that SIIP is the cause and the reduction or eradication of Dropout and SARDOs is the effect.
To qualify for the cause and effect relationship theory criteria, the following should be noted.1) in order for the dropout reduction or eradication result is achieved the school initiated intervention program must be first implemented, 2) when the SIIP be implemented, SARDOs and Dropouts reduction or eradication result must be immediately observed.
The Theory of Influence. This study also anchored to the Theory of Influence by Cialdini (2014) which is based on the six Key Principles (Reciprocity, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Authority, Liking, and Scarcity). The researcher believes that applying this theory to his present study would make students motivated to exert effort to concentrate in their studies and even avoid themselves from not going to school which eventually lead them to dropping out of school.
Cialdini elaborated these six principles in the following manner: (1) Reciprocity, which described how people value gratitude and indebtedness to others. Many tend to return favor when they are given or showed a bit of kindness. (2) Commitment and consistency- people value the so called “word of honor”. If people commit orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image. In other term it is known as” Hiya” or self -respect. Traditionally, this is one of the Filipino values that continuously pass on up to the present generation. Because of “hiya”, one must commit to what has been promised or agreed upon. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. (3) Social proof- people will do things that they see other people are doing regardless whether it is right or wrong, proper or improper. This has become the trend among young adults in school. (4) Authority – people tend to obey authority figures even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. People listen to person in authority not only because of fear but because they pay respect. (5) Liking- people are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Students in school usually listen to and easily get convinced by their schoolmates, favourite teachers and other school personnel they like most. (6) Scarcity – perceived scarcity will generate demand. Many people appreciate and follow the pieces of advice of some authority figures that seldom show concerned at them.
The researcher firmly believes that this Theory of Influence is essential in the implementation of the initiated intervention in the division of Quezon City. The use of reciprocity will have a positive effect in the study because doing something good to students or showing kindness to them would make them feel they are indebted, thus students will give something in return. Establishing Commitment and consistency among them will possibly bring out a good outcome by letting them choose the right decision and taking pride in taking a stand for the commitment he made.
Applying social proof in this study may also be useful. As it is said, people tend to do what others are doing. It is strongly expected that making SARDOs see what positive things others regular students are doing they would also do. Encouragement of the person they like most (liking) would also be of help in eradicating SARDOs and dropouts. Many believe that people are easily persuaded by their favourite person or someone they like most so with the person in Authority. Students respect and obey persons in authority. They tend to do the things they don’t like to because person in authority tells them so. Finally, scarcity is last influence to consider. Credible persons are respected. They seldom talk but with authority when they speak. Listening to their pieces of advice would be of great help
Related Literatures
The following are the related literatures reviewed by the researcher which supports the research study; DepEd is alarmed by the continuously increasing percentage of the school dropout all over the country. Hence, Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) was created and implemented. Prior to the implementation of this program, in December, 2008, the DepEd released a memorandum NO. 553 for all its Regional Directors, Schools Division Superintendents and School heads to actively participate in the seminar workshop entitled “Training workshop on the dropout reduction program n strong republic schools.” It was a 5-day training workshop that focused on identifies major risk factors which prevent students from completing formal education. The training was also intended to identify appropriate interventions for the students-at-risk of dropping out and to formulate dropout reduction plans in the schools and division levels. Students tracking system is also part of the training workshop.
DepEd’s DORP as an intervention is believed to significantly help each school to realize its objectives to reduce dropout rate. This does not only keep Students-at-Risk of Dropping out (SARDOs) in school but also making them understands and learns the basic learning competencies. It also seeks to retrieve those who dropped out and educate them to become independent, critical, and creative and problem solvers. (DepEd Handbook for DORP, 2011)
To fully address the long recurrent and perennial problem on school dropout, the DORP intensify its activity through the following four innovative strategic components; (1) The Open High School Program (OHSP) which addresses learning problems of students who cannot attend regular program due to valid and acceptable reasons that may include physical disabilities or impairment, employment, distance of home to school, family problems, etc., (2) Effective Alternative Secondary Education (EASE) is an alternative learning mode which uses modules for students who temporarily leave the school due to justifiable and legitimate reasons like having part-time jobs, illness in the family, seasonal work , force majeure etc.. (3) School Initiated Interventions (SII) is an innovative and home grown interventions created by the school to prevent the Students-at-Risk of dropping out (SARDOs), (4) Other Interventions (OIs) are interventions initiated and developed by the external stakeholders like the local government units (LGUs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), philanthropists, kind-hearted individuals which help alleviate the school dropout problem as well as decreasing the community issues. (DepEd Handbook for DORP, 2011).
To properly addressed the school dropout problem, Crisol (2012) identified the key persons involved the managing of school dropout. These are the DORP Council, School Heads, School DORP Coordinators Class Advisers/ Subject Teachers, Guidance Counsellors and Parents. Each of this authority has duties and responsibilities to perform. The S-DORP Council Sets policies and standards on school DORP management, Resolves sensitive DORP-related issues and concerns, Advises the School Head on DORP related matters and Provides oversight information to decision makers in the school.
The School Head Leads in designing DORP management structure in making it functional as well as in managing the school DORP plan. He Spearhead the planning, benchmarking of best DORP practices in his school and conduct of DORP advocacy. He needs to participate in DORP trainings and Conduct a school level enhancement and training. He should Submits DORP reports to the Division DORP Coordinator.
The School DORP Coordinator in charge of gathering and synthesizing the data for the S-DORP plan. He assists the school head and the DORP team in preparing the S-DORP plan and synchronizes the DORP activities. He is also in charge of monitoring the implementation of the program and provides the implementers feedbacks.
The Class Advisers/Subject Teachers and Guidance counsellors are tasked to Identify SARDO by subject area and year level. He has to Prepare SARDO monitoring list and assess students’ strengths, weaknesses, interests and learning difficulties. It is also his responsibility to coordinate with his colleagues and create an appropriate intervention for the SARDOs. He has to get involve and Assist the School Head in formulating DORP Plan Conduct advocacy to the internal and external stakeholders. Submission of a regular progress report on SARDO to the school head is also his duty. Furthermore, he has to attend training-workshop on DORP, Assist in the conduct of in-service training for DORP implementers and Update information about SARDOs.
The Parent/Guardian’s responsibility as an immediate partner, sign the agreement if necessary, help the SARDO implement the agreement, Assist the teachers in managing and evaluating the school intervention program. Take effort to Participate in school related activities and work as partners of the class adviser/subject teachers in monitoring the SARDOs.
To strengthen at great extent the DEpEd dropout reduction program, each school had developed their own SII to stop SARDOs from dropping out and to bring back all those who have already dropped of school. SII is formed based on the analysis of identified problem factors in the school such as student, family, community and school (DepEd-QC DORP Journal, SY2011-2012).
The SII outlines the school in six aspects: (1) The situation. The SII looks into the low participation rate of the students especially in the secondary level, student’s high rate of absences, high dropout rate and poor achievement. (2) The problem. The SII deals on how the school, family, community and the individual himself help lessen if not prevent the dropout rate. (3) The solution. SII encourage the school authorities to create strategic interventions, to be validated by themselves. (4) Guiding principles. The SII should be collaboratively designed and developed in consultation with the target users, benefit from existing approaches, material and experiences of literacy researches, teachers, managers and parents and finally, it should embrace the intrinsic human values of freedom, self-determination, choice and respect to ensure its success. (5) Features. SII is a program validated in practice though action research, technology transfer through bench marking and student-profile based (information based). (6) Development. The SII is developed based on a comprehensive analysis of the problems reflected on the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and school DORP Plan in relation to high cases of dropouts and low participation rate in the school’s catchment area (Handbook for the School Initiated Interventions (SII), 2011)
It is said that if the continued increase of school dropout rate is not properly addressed, the 2015 goal of Education For All (EFA) which is making every Filipino functionally literate will not be achieved (Crisol, 2012). As stated, the DORP assumes that the increase in dropout rate will possibly be lessened if not totally eradicated if the causes of problem are properly identified and adaption of appropriate interventions is implemented such as making students satisfy of their needs and making learning experience more enjoyable. Implementers of this program believe that for DORP to be successful, school partners like the home and the community should be encouraged to actively participate in planning, developing, implementing the program.
Department of Education has intensified its search for the causes and interventions of the unstoppable increase of School dropout in the country to support the Philippine Education For All (EFA) 2015 National Action Plan.
Based on The EFA 2015 National Plan that the country should provide basic competencies to everyone to achieve functional literacy through the four EFA component objectives which are (1) Universal coverage of out of school youth and adults in the provision of learning needs, (2) Universal school participation and total elimination of dropouts and repetition in grades 1 to 3, (3) Universal completion of full cycle of basic education schooling with satisfactory achievement level by all at every grade or year and (4) Commitment by all Philippine communities to the attainment of basic education competencies for all- Education for all by all (Philippine Education for all 2015 Assessment, p.8).
Valisno, former DEPEd Secretary during their interview with LGB and RJAB Jr. (2010) at the GMA News Online explained that students failed to report to class regularly because of the various reasons such as work, financial problems, physical disabilities, family and health issues. Prudencia Martines-Sanoy, DepEd Education Program Specialist and Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) Coordinator added that during the conduct of the FICS (Family, Individual, Community or School Assessment) it is found out that those who are dropping out of school are both coming from rich and poor families. Sanoy further claimed that some children are temporarily absent from class because of justifiable reasons such as natural calamity or an illness. Others were experiencing abuse from family members and some were undergoing pregnancy.
Because of this alarming situation, Department of Education (DepEd ) took extra efforts to reduce if not totally eradicate high school dropouts by innovating program using various approaches through its Dropout Reduction program (DORP). As a result, many of the schools in other regions of the country have successfully lessened the dropout rates. The Department of Education (2010), claimed that they have been successful making zero dropout rate in at least four provinces, namely Zamboanga Sibugay, Cotabato, Southern Leyte and Romblon from the school years 2009 to 2011. The report also said that the Province of Masbate was also taking intense effort and it made a 0.95 per cent dropout. Secretary Valisno proudly claimed saying “We have experienced remarkable success in reducing the dropout rate in many high schools because of our effective intervention programs through DORP.
In the same report, there are several innovative measures to be implemented in order to rescue Students-At–Risk of Dropping out (SARDO) from discontinuing schooling and being considered school failure as what DepEd Director Bureau of Secondary Education Lolita Andrada said. Director Andrada further explained the prepared program to bring back to school those at the brink of dropping out and those students in difficult circumstances; The Open High School Program (OHSP) is a distance education program that allows working students or previously Out-of-School-Youth (OSY) to continue studying using a specialized module. The Effective Alternative Secondary Education (EASE) provides an innovative learning tool that allows students to pursue lessons outside school using modules.
This LGB and RJAB Jr. report is focused on the intense effort of the Deped to reduce dropout rates. The causes of dropout were also enumerated but percentage of tendencies to discontinue schooling of both genders was not mentioned. Other reports showed that males have much tendency to drop out of school.
Palanca (2015), at the GMA News Online revealed the actual situation of the Philippine education system where dropout rate is a long, recurrent and permanent problem. The report further identified the dropout hotspots in some regions of the country like the Zamboanga-ARMM region because of Conflict-torn and the Eastern Visayas as a result of migration out of the region and exacerbated by the effects of typhoons, like Yolanda. These dropout hotspots regions showed that males have a higher propensity of dropping out of school compared to females. Based on the report, it is suggested that these ‘hotspot’ regions should be prioritized for intervention and determine the causes behind the dropouts in order to resolve the issue. Moreover, Programs such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) may be of great help in the mentioned hotspots regions in terms of reducing dropouts.
The continuous progress of student dropout rates in the country has reached the house of the Senate. Some politicians had shown their concern. According to Torregoza of Manila Bulletin (2015), Senator Francis Escudero was quite alarmed when the DepEd report revealed that there was no significant change in the dropout rates among elementary and secondary schools from SY 2007-2013. Based on the DepEd data, for high school alone, the dropout rates from school year 2007-2008 to school year 2011-2012 were continuously increasing. During the school year 2007-2008 the dropout rate was 7.45 percent, and in school year 2011-2012 it reached 7.82 percent. . It was also revealed that most of the students who dropped out were those who belong to the poorest sector of the society and has no capacity to pay a cost of daily living even with free basic education. Because of this, Escudero urged the government to resolve the dropout rate among elementary and high school students after statistics shows it remained the same since 2007. He appealed that the government should trace the root causes of why many of the youths dropped out of school. The senator expressed the government must ensure a zero dropout rate and has to develop more programs to encourage students and their parents to stay in schools.
It is true that DepEd is continuously taking effort not only to make students stay in school but also providing innovative programs to help them prepare their future, hence the K-12 program is implemented through the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 wherein two years is added to the basic education system of the Philippines. However students drop out problem is still at its peak, the reason for another Solon to take part on the said issue. According to Geronimo (2015), Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is calling for the suspension of the K-12 program on the grounds that the country is not yet prepared for its full implementation. He strongly believes that more students most likely to drop out of school because of additional expenses needed in order to finish two additional years in high school. He said “How can parents afford additional expenses? As it is, they are already having a hard time because of the high prices of basic commodities they need at home.” The senator visualized the dropout rate in the country will continue to worsen starting 2016 if the program pushes through. In resolving the issue, Trillanes appealed to all his fellow senators to create a congressional oversight committee to assess the K to 12 program and the country’s preparations for it.
The school dropout problem is not only the Philippines’ concern but other countries as well. In the United States of America, the government showed concerned on the alarming percentage of dropout rates in different schools.
The Office of the Press Secretary of White House (2010) revealed the President’s concern on the 50% or more America’s dropout in various key cities like Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. President Obama in his speech in one of the events at the America’s Promise Alliance GradNation, he emphasized that the dropout problem is unacceptable and cannot be ignored. He appealed to all Americans that for the sake of their children, economy and country, they have to come together to end the nation’s dropout. The President is committed to a strategy for reform in America’s middle and high schools including intensive interventions to improve America’s lowest performing schools in order to help all students to graduate in college and be career ready. Obama believes that through his partnership with the America’s Promise Alliance they would be able to improve the lives of the American children and youths.
In response to the call of President Obama to come together stop dropout crises in various schools, many Universities have come up with interventions. The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) (2017) collaborated with a variety of practitioners and conducted research, sponsored extensive workshops, to enhance further the mission of reducing school dropout rates by responding to the needs of the students in at-risk situations and students with disabilities.
The NDPC/N at Clemson University (Schargel, 2013) upon discovering a variety of student’s reasons for dropping out of school, they had identified effective dimensional strategies which successfully implemented at all education levels and environments throughout the nation. The said strategies which have the most positive impact on the dropout rate are divided into four general categories: (1) school and community perspective, (2) early interventions, (3) basic core strategies, and 4) making the most of instruction.
The first category which is School and Community Perspective is divided into three aspects which are the Systemic Renewal, School-Community Collaboration, and Safe Learning Environments. Systemic Renewal is a continuous process of assessing goals and objectives of the school policies, practices, and organizational structures as it strongly affect a diverse group of learners. The School-Community Collaboration refers to a collective effort of both support partners- the school and the community that build strong ties in sustaining a caring environment that hep youth thrive and achieve their dreams. The Safe Learning Environments is a comprehensive violence prevention plan that includes conflict resolution and crisis management providing all grade levels daily experiences that enhance student’s positive social attitudes and effective interpersonal skills.
The second category is Early Interventions which composed of thee aspect; (1) Family Engagement, (2) Early Childhood Education and 3) early Literacy Development. The Family Engagement is the most accurate predictor of a student’s success in school. Studies revealed that family engagement has a direct, positive effect on children’s achievement. The Early Childhood Education provides intervention the so-called “Birth-to-five” which claims that providing a child additional enrichment can enhance brain development. The said intervention claimed that the most effective way to reduce the number of children who will ultimately drop out is to provide the best possible classroom instruction from the beginning of their school experience through the primary grades. The Early Literacy Development is the early interventions helping low-achieving students to improve their reading and writing skills which establish the necessary foundation for effective learning in all other subjects.
The third category is the Basic Core Strategies which is composed of Mentoring/Tutoring Service-Learning, Alternative Schooling and After-School Opportunities.
Mentoring is a one-to-one teaching approach between a mentor and a mentee that is based on trust. Tutoring on the other hand is an effective one-to-one activity in addressing specific needs on academic such as reading, writing, or math competencies. Service-Learning is a teaching-learning method that promotes personal and social growth, career development, and civic responsibility among students at all grade levels. The Alternative schooling provides programs that focus on the potential dropout student’s individual social needs as well as academic requirements for high school diploma. After-School Opportunities are the after school or summer enhancement programs offered for students at risk of school failure. The last and final category is the Making the Most of Instruction which is composed of Professional Development, Active Learning, Educational Technology, Individualized Instruction, Career and Technology Education (CTE).
Professional Development provides venue for teachers who work with youth at high risk of academic failure to learn more innovative strategies to enhance their skills, techniques. Active learning embraces worthwhile teaching-learning strategies whereby Students find and create ways in solving problems towards success and become lifelong learners. Educational Technology offers some of the best instruction which addresses multiple intelligences that adapts to the student’s learning styles suitable for authentic learning. Individualized Instruction is a program offered for individual student that addresses individual differences. Career and Technology Education (CTE) is a guidance related program provide for all students. That enhances specific skills to prepare them to measure up to the larger demands of today’s workplace.
In Massachusetts, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is aware that dropout reduction is not about one single program or initiative. It is very complex and it takes a long process to resolve. Reducing the number of students who drop out of school should be a joint effort of the community, district, school, classroom, and individual student levels.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts (Chester, 2010) has designed Dropout Reduction program for the entire district and even nationwide that involves Prevention, Intervention and Recovery. These are; 1) State Dropout Reduction Activities, 2) College & Career Readiness and Learning Supports and Early Learning (OLSEL) Units, 3) Early Warning Indicator System, 4) Strengthening the Field of Alternative Education 5) Online Courses and Modules for At-Risk Students 6) Massachusetts High School Case Study Project 2015.
The State Dropout Reduction Activities is one of the Massachusetts intervention programs that focus on the students –at –risk of dropout. One of the activities of this program is the so-called MassGrad – a High School Graduation Initiative which helps Students At risk of dropping out to recover and prevent them from discontinue schooling. The said program is funded by the US government. Other activities under MassGrad are the following; 1)Dropout Prevention & Recovery Work Group 2)MassGrad Implementation and Planning Awards, 3) MassGrad Coalition Challenge Awards, 4) MassGrad Gateway to College Start-Up Awards and 5) MassGrad Leadership Council.
The College & Career Readiness and Learning Supports and Early Learning (OLSEL) Units created a comprehensive strategy to raise graduation rates and students’ readiness for college and employment. They tap districts, community colleges, and other organizations to help find number of grant programs that would support student in their studies.
The Early Warning Indicator System is developed to identify risk levels of Grade 9 students for not graduating on time. It also helps trace students that are potentially “off-track” for grade-level or developmental age from kindergarten through high school. Strengthening the Field of Alternative Education is another intervention program Massachusetts’ Department Education. It is an activity concentrated on the enhancement of the alternative education that provide annual trainings, including regional networking events and state conferences among its school officials to increase capability in sharing of promising practices across the state. Online Courses and Modules for At-Risk Students is a project purposely made to contribute to a states-wide system of online learning options for all students. It is collaborative efforts of grantees in partnership with the department to create, implement, and evaluate online courses/modules for underserved high school students in alternative education, credit recovery, or credit acceleration programs. The Department intends to share the courses and modules with the other districts in the commonwealth free-of-charge for the students.
Massachusetts High School Case Study Project 2015 is also an intervention program which study and profile of high schools in the district of Massachusetts that have made steady progress in increasing high school graduation rates and decreasing high school dropout rates. The program aims to provide information for other school districts on promising strategies to support dropout prevention and increasing graduation rates.
In Arizona, the Department of Education reports that of every 100 students who enter the ninth grade, only 68 will graduate on time (Dryer, 2013). To address this problem, they created an intervention called “Be GREAT: Graduate” through the school organization dubbed “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix “(BGCMP).
Be GREAT: Graduate is a program that made a dramatic change in the student’s’ grades, attendance and behavior. It is a program wherein the volunteer mentor is paired with struggling students in order to raise their grades, boost their moral, prevent them from absenteeism and improve their behaviour. Students to be qualified for this program must live in single-parent households where parent’s income is below the federal poverty line; their parents did not complete their own education, students with failing grades and with records of absenteeism.
The Southeast Comprehensive Centre (2012), recommended six Dropout Preventions: (1) Use data systems that support a realistic diagnosis of the number of students who drop out and that help identify individual students at high risk of dropping out. (2) Assign adult advocates to students at risk of dropping out. (3) Provide academic support and enrichment to improve academic performance. (4) Implement programs to improve students’ classroom behaviour and social skills. (5) Personalize the learning environment and instructional process. (6) Provide rigorous and relevant instruction to better engage students in learning and provide the skills needed to graduate and succeed after they leave school.
Relevant Studies
Irinco and Sioco (2013) conducted a case analysis on dropout reduction program at the Batasan Hills National High School (BHNHS) the biggest school in Quezon City with total student population of 12, 433 in SY 2012-2013 . The School had implemented the Project BHNHS Intensified Dropout Reduction Program (BIDORP) to strengthen the retention rate of the Students At-Risk of Dropping Out from school. The study conducted is only focused on the Home Study Program (HSP) which believed by the program proponents to be much crucial than the regular class. The HSP is an Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) of the school to address classroom congestion and the same time the School Initiated Intervention (SII) to address the increasing number of dropouts otherwise In SY 2012-2013, the HSSP total enrolees from Grades 7 to 10 were 2, 903. Out of these total enrolees, 409 had dropped out of school. 17 of them were SARDOS.
The study revealed that SARDOs have various reasons for their consecutive absences. These were enumerated such as nalelate, lack of interest, barkada (Naghihintayan), Nagkakasakit, Natatakot, tinantamad, walang gamit, walang panggastos, droga (marijuana) and maraming requirements. In addressing the said problem, the Batasan National High School CIT (Continuous Improvement Team) recommended some strategies to improve the scholastic performance of SARDOs. One of the processes they have applied was the CPPTAM process (Coordinator and Parent as Partners of Teachers in Attendance Management) wherein the PTD (Parents-Teachers Dialogue) was conducted. The result showed a difference in the attendance of SARDOs. According to this study, prior to implementation of PTD, there was only 9 or 10 student (SARDOs) coming in to class every Saturday. After the PTD the SARDO attendance rose to 14 for two consecutive Saturdays and it retained throughout the process until 2014.
Irinco and Sioco study is similar to the current dropout intervention program of IMSHS in terms of how the program is implemented in which the group of implementing body is divided into several committees composed of key individuals performing their respective tasks. What differs on the BHNHS implementation of the program from this present study is its scope and delimitations. Irinco and Sioco focused only on the HSP while this study focuses on the entire school student population.
The study conducted by De Guzman, Rentoy & Diezmo (2012), sought to determine the factors responsible to the high dropout rate of students in Cararayan National High School (CNHS), SY2010-2011. The study was done in 38 out of 121 identified SARDOs as SARDOS by the class advisers of all the year levels. Findings revealed that the dropout tendency in the school was high among the boys compared to girls. Although majority of the SARDOs were staying with their parents, few of them stays with their guardian, still they lack parental supervision and support. Most of them belong to a low income families and their parents attained low level of education. Many of them spend most of their time enjoying leisure activities.
The study also found out that most of the SARDOs have well interpersonal relations with their schools mates and they have even a positive attitude towards their teachers, however, they don’t have much involvement in school activities, hence, they lack experience in performing leadership roles.
Finally, to resolve the problems, De Guzman, et.al strongly recommended that the school should create a program that will help build students a positive self-image, enhance parenting and parent child relationship, assists students with difficulties in academic aspect and develop desirable attitudes and values. It is also recommended that the school should provide programs and activities that would give the students the opportunity to participate actively in order to discover and develop their talents and skills. Creating remedies to support students, who belong to low income families is also recommended. Teachers are as well are strongly suggested to always use positive approach to enhance student’s self –image. Integration of values in various subjects and strengthening the values subject is highly recommended by the researchers.
Comparing the study conducted by De Guzman, et.al to this current research study, the former focused on determining the factors that are responsible for making students ‘dropout rate of the CNHS higher whereas, the latter focuses on the improvement of the implemented program on reducing dropout rate.
Aparejo’s study (2012) at Gingoog City Comprehensive National High School, Gingoog City among 69 second year students showed almost the same findings with the study of De Guzman et al. (2012) in Cararayan National High school in which males are more prone to dropout than females. The causes of drop out as gained from personal interview of the respondents were enumerated and mentioned as follows; no parents’ support, teacher’s attitude towards students, subject dislike, teacher’s treatment to students particularly the labelling, and the unfriendly classrooms. Aparejo in her study also identified the months of August, September and October as the risk months of dropping out. Since these months are the season of sport events students who most love sports found no interest in going to school.
Aparejo concluded that students dropped out of school because of several reasons like family problem, school related problem, individual related problem, and environmental, geographical and financial problems.
Aparejo suggested the following intervention plan for the said study; Dissemination of Action Research findings, Opening of Open High School Program and Appointing Coordinators by Year Level. Parents’ Involvement is strongly encouraged through Check and Connect. Strengthening Classroom Guidance Counselling Program and intensify the Values Formation Seminars and Home Visitations.
The study of Aparejo is not quite far from the researcher’s current study of on enhancing the school initiated intervention program on reducing dropout rate because it dug out the root cause and reasons why students stopped schooling. Moreover, Aparejo’s study opens the window to this present study to find an appropriate dropout intervention.
In the program launched by the Tagbina Districts 1 and 2 of Department of Education in Surigao City among 171 out of school elementary pupils and 186 out of school high school (Abellanosa and Premarion,2013), All of them are the Pantawid beneficiaries. The program is part of the poverty reduction of the city. It showed that student dropping out of school is caused by several factors such as Transfer of residence, not enrolled; Stop schooling within the school year and Passing away or death. To put an end to this undying issue, DepEd Tagbina further intensified their implemented intervention plan in order to reduce if not to eradicate totally the number of students who drop out from school. The Dropout plan and Intervention dubbed ” School Community Perspective ” is divided into several components; (1) Systemic Renewal is a continuing process of evaluating goals and objectives that concerns school policies, practices, and organizational structures that affect diversity of learners. (2) School-Community Collaboration refers to the strong partnership of the external stakeholders with the school which provide collective support to sustain a caring and supportive environment where students will have the chance to achieve their dreams. (3) Safe Learning Environment is a component that provides daily experiences for all grade levels. It enhances students’ positive social attitudes and effective interpersonal skills. This also offers a wide-range of violence prevention plan that includes conflict resolution as well as crisis management. This component also addresses anti-bullying and arm conflicts. (4) Family Engagement refers to the parents’ participation in school various activities. Studies proved that family engagement has a direct, positive effect on children’s achievement and is believed to be the most accurate predictor of a student’s success in school. (5) Early Childhood Education is an intervention that provides a child additional enrichment from Birth-to-five that can enhance brain development. This component strongly claimed that providing the best possible classroom instruction from the beginning of the child school experience through the primary grades is the most effective way of reducing the number of children who will possibly drop out of school. Early Literacy Development Early intervention helps improve reading and writing skills of low-achieving students. School Readiness Assessment and Partnership in Reading Program are some examples of the activities of this intervention.
The dropout prevention program of Tagbina also strengthened some strategies implemented by DepED as form of interventions which are anchored to the Major Policies, Strategies and Interventions for Education and Learning of Education for All; (1) Mentoring/Tutoring Mentoring is a one-to-one caring, supportive relationship between a mentor and a mentee that is based on trust. This offers remedial teaching to low academic performing students and Students at Risk of Dropping Out. (2) Service-Learning is a teaching –learning method that promotes personal and social growth of students. It also provides career development and enhance learners” civic responsibility. Home visitation and Oplan balik Eskwela are the two of the few activities of this component. (3) Alternative Schooling is an intervention that provides Students-at-risk of dropout a variety of options that can lead them to finish schooling. The best example of the program is Alternative Learning System (ALS) which is a ladderized, modular non- formal education program implemented intended for dropouts in elementary and secondary schools, out-of-school youths, non- readers, working Filipinos and even senior citizens.
The Literacy Mapping Program is purposely taken into effect to identify the number of out of school children in the different localities and encourage them to go back to school to continue their education. Aside from ALS, other interventions include Open High School Program (OHSP) and Effective Alternative Secondary Education Project or EASE.
Part of the alternative learning that is intensified is the After-School Opportunities. It is a program that many schools offer to eliminate information loss and inspire students at risk of dropping out to engage in various learning areas. Project jump start for incoming secondary students is an example of the program.
Making the Most of Instruction is another strengthened component of the program provided for Teachers Professional Development. It is a continuous enhancement of teachers’ knowledge, skills and attitude to improve service for the students. Participating in various seminars and training workshops are one of the activities of this component. Under this component is Active Learning Active learning. It is a learning strategy that made more enhanced to motivate students to maximize their creativity and resourcefulness in solving problems, It is a teaching learning process that uses varied teaching strategies, employ Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), It develops students’ multiple intelligences, and matches teachers’ teaching styles with the students’ learning styles. Teaching methods may involve the use of multi-media devices such as Educational DVDs, PowerPoint Presentations, Downloaded YouTube Educational Videos, Downloaded e-materials from the Learning Resource Management and Development System (LRMDS).
Individualized Instruction is another strategy which allows flexibility in teaching methods and motivational strategies in dealing individual differences of the students. Differentiated Instruction is an example of this intervention wherein teachers are trained to develop students’ multi- intelligences as well as recognizing their diverse learning styles.
The DepEd Tagbina District had tapped several internal and external stakeholders towards the success of the Program. The Barangay and Municipal Local Government Unit MLGU as program partner is said to provide the necessary assistance and support to the implementation of the project of every school in the municipality. Coordinate and conduct consultation, review and evaluation with the school officials.
School and District Offices as implementers of the various plans and interventions of this project – Dropout Reduction Program should conduct monitoring, assessment and evaluation in the school level. School Governing Council and Parents Teachers Association on the other Hand are also expected to exercise full support implementation of the project.
The program launched by the Tagbina Districts 1 and 2 of Surigao City is an ideal dropout intervention program that the department of education is looking for. It depicts the ties and support of the local government with the school. Both the school and the local government are taking the school and community problem seriously by providing various intervention strategies. This is one of the aspects that the researcher will look into in his present study whether the coordination or partnership of the school with the local government is observed.
Some studies conducted abroad have identified determinants of students drop out. Parr (2013) found out that there are various powerful predictors of dropout. 1) Demographic factors and family environment. In her study, students whose parents with a high Socio-Economic Status are associated with a less chance of dropping out and those with a lower Socio-Economic Status have a great chance of dropping out of school. 2) Parents’ level of education. Parr discussed that students whose parents had lower levels of education were associated with a higher likelihood of dropping out compared to students whose parents had higher levels of education. 3) Parental involvement.
According to Parr, parents’ involvement plays a significant role in the education of the child. It composed of two aspects which are family process and social support. The former refers to the extent to which parents monitor their children’s activities and the latter refers to the level importance of the school given by members of the student’s family. 4) Students’ school-related behaviour which includes grade retention. It is found out in this study that there is a great possibility of dropping out when a student had been held back at least one grade level. It is also ruled out that High absenteeism is among the factors most highly associated with dropout. 5) Poor achievement is another factor. The study reveals that students with low academic performance have more chances to drop out of school. 6) Subjective psychological variables. These are constructs referring to students’ beliefs about the importance of school as far as their future is concerned. The findings showed that the dropout rate among those who felt that school was not important and who could not identify a helpful person or class was greater compared to the rate of students who believed that school was important to their future, and who could identify a helpful person or class. 7) Student engagement. Another significant dropout related factor is Global disengagement which composed of behavioural, affective, and cognitive engagement. Students who are less engaged in school are more likely to drop out. 8) Self-efficacy, as discussed by Parr is one’s beliefs about one’s ability to carry out a task. In her study, it is found that students with less self- confidence to complete a task have the intentions to drop out eventually. 9) Academic motivation. It is observed in the study that dropout students have less internal drive to perform the task and they behaved less based on choice and importance of the task than students attending school.
The study of Parr will help the researcher to generate more ideas in finding solutions to the current study.
Other foreign educations Institutions have implemented various interventions to combat the dropout rates. In a study on dropout for Secondary, Aged youth with disabilities in Colorado State University (2006), the Cognitive-behavioural interventions were found to work well. The said interventions were scientifically-based research studies that met minimum standards of internal and external validity. The interventions include teaching learning special education, best practices educational programs, community services, classroom discipline, school counselling, dropout prevention, job coaching, community based instruction, behavioural management, inter-agency collaboration, inclusive education, assistive technology, speech therapy and vocational rehabilitation.
The study on dropout for Secondary, Aged youth with disabilities in Colorado State University showed that the intensive effort of the institution is very important not only in the improvement of academic performance of the students but rather in their total being. The researcher will try to find out in his present study how much effort does the respondents takes in order to lessen its drop out cases like what the Colorado University did.
Stid, O’Neill and Colby (2009) shares strategies for addressing dropout rates in Public Schools at Portland, Oregon. They study emphasized in their study that creating a team of core curriculum teachers (Counsellor, special Education and ESL teacher) could help prevent dropout and facilitate strong relationship between teachers and students. Other Interventions that had applied were the following; providing students with mentors, increasing before and after school tutoring, double-blocking ( designating two periods in a row), for core subjects like math and English, increasing staff focus on attendance, increasing the number of conferences held with parents ,students and the academy teachers to discuss opportunities and challenges in real time.
The result of these interventions as reported, increased student feelings of connectedness, facilitated staff communication and increased the level of specificity and therefore productiveness of parent-teachers conferences.
Stid, O’Neill and Colby recommendations to create a team of teachers to be involved in the dropout intervention program is reflected in the DepEd DORP and is adapted by the SII program implementers by various schools especially the IMSHS. The researcher will have to find out the result of this intervention strategies whether they are still going on and if it is he will assess the effectiveness.
Wilson, Tanner-Smith, Lipsey, Steinka-Fry; Morrison (2011) in their study about the dropout prevention and intervention programs its effects on school completion and dropout among school-aged children and youth claimed that high school students dropped out of school due to numerous detrimental consequences like low wages, unemployment, incarceration, and poverty. There are numerous ways of school and community-based prevention and intervention programs implemented for general population especially for students at risk, pregnant and parenting teens. . Findings in general, revealed that most school- and community-based programs were effective in decreasing school dropout. Taking into consideration the minimal variation in effects across program types, the researchers came into conclusion that dropout prevention and intervention programs, irrespective of type, form or kind, , will most likely be successful if they are well implemented and are suitable for environment. Finally, Wilson, et.al recommended that in choosing dropout prevention programs, policy makers and practitioners should consider the cost-effectiveness of programs, and with an assurance that it would best fit with local needs as well as implementer abilities and resources.
Wilson, et al. study gives the researcher an idea on how to create more innovative intervention strategies on dropout prevention. This would make the researcher’s enhancement program more effective given the various interventions presented.
Increased likelihood of living in poverty, being unemployed, unhealthy, and incarcerated are the factors of that came out in the study of Wilkins and Huckabee (2013) on dropout prevention interventions for students with disabilities. It also came out that Student with disabilities has much poorer adult outcomes and higher dropout rates compared to general education students. Although the implementations of dropout prevention programs are present in many schools, their effect is seldom monitored and assessed. As per report, the recent conduct of revisiting the initiatives concerning graduation for students with disabilities happened in the year 2004. There were 19 studies presented in the “literature map including students with disabilities in their sample groups and reported outcomes for these students, describing their interventions, outcomes, sample characteristics, and methodological characteristics.
Findings of the study reveals that there were three most common and effective interventions concerning graduating from school namely; (a) mentoring, (b) interventions targeted to specific disability-related needs such as academic and interpersonal, and lastly, (c) class setting and exit options. Eleven of the nineteen studies have clearly drawn dropout prevention programs with a wide range of components. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) found out that effective dropout Interventions for general education students have many similar practices.
What differs in the study of Wilkins and Huckabee to the researcher’s current study is their respondents in which the former dealt with the students with disabilities whereas the latter deals with the regular and normal students. Nevertheless the former will be of help in the present study for it will provide more knowledge and information on how the program be evaluated to become effective.
Poor academic performance and poor attendance are the common reasons of secondary school students for discontinuing their school as what many studies had found out. These were also ruled out in the research of Christenson and Thurlow (2004) Preventions and interventions addressing the said problem have also no much difference from other intervention programs as claimed by Lehr et al, (2003) as cited by Christensen and Thurlow. Interventions that show similarities from others are individual counselling and participation in an interpersonal-relations class; engage in specialized courses or tutoring, focusing on changeable factors like poor grades, attendance, and attitude toward school. Other interventions that found to be more effective were reading programs and tutoring. Creating caring environment and relationships, offering of block scheduling and other opportunities like community service. In conclusion, Christenson and Thurlow (2004) believed that successful interventions do not only increase student attendance but also help students and families who feel marginalized to be connected with their teachers and peers. Matching students’ characteristics with the school environment will enable learners to handle school’s academic and behavioural demands.
This Christenson and Thurlow’s study will contribute much to the researcher’s undertaking. Given the idea the about various considerations, preventions and interventions as well as challenges, it will make the implemented program more effective.
Many studies had identified a wide variety of individual factors that are associated with dropping out. Just like other researchers, Rumberger (2011) clearly pointed out the same factors as what others had discovered came out. According to him, student’s Attitudes and behaviours predict high dropping out during high school. This happened to those who have low educational and occupational aspirations. Other related factors are Absenteeism, misbehaviour, and pregnancy. In addition, distal factors like residential mobility (changing residence) and school mobility (changing schools), retention or being held back a grade in school also increase the risk of dropping out. But the strong predictor of dropout is poor academic achievement. Rumberger believed that these factors support the idea that dropping out is influenced by both the social and the academic experiences of students.
As an intervention, Rumberger strongly suggested the three most powerful and cost- effective alternative approaches to lessen the dropout and improve the graduation rates. (1) Programmatic approaches. This involves creating programs that focuses on students who are Most at Risk of Dropping Out (or Have Already done so), such as offering supplemental services within an existing school program, providing a complete Alternative school program within a comprehensive high school (school- within- a-school, such as an academy)or in a separate facility (alternative school). (2) Comprehensive approaches. This refers to school’ various reforms that may change the school atmosphere and attitudes of students towards studies. This involves three strategies. First is revising the existing school’s set of practices and programs and adopting an externally developed comprehensive school reform (CSR) model. Second strategy is creating new schools, like charters (public schools that are established and managed outside the regular public education system) which are free from most regulations and requirements of regular public schools. Third strategy would be a combination of the other two mentioned strategies which involves creating collaborative relationships between schools and outside government agencies and local community organizations to offer programs and services that would help students and their families. (3) Systemic approaches involve systemic school reform. This approach believed to be having a great impact in the entire school as well as in the performance and attitudes of the students towards learning.
Rumberger’s study will serve as a guide on how well the researcher work on his present study considering his well-expressed recommendations and various strategies in the prevention of school dropout.
Conceptual Framework
Below is the illustration of the conceptual framework of this study.
It can be noted in the illustration that the input of this study are the related literatures which are the DepEd Quezon City DORP Journal, DepEd Hand Book for the Schools Initiated Interventions (SII), the Handbook for the Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) and Continuous improvement Plan Accomplishment report. It is where the various variables are drawn and to be presented and evaluated. The Process is done through the presentation of the following; (1) Status of the dropout intervention program in terms of qualifications of teachers, persons involved, facilities and materials used, (2) dropout rate of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School for the last five years, (3) reasons why dropped out of school, (4) Level of effectiveness of the SIIP in terms of attainment of objectives, adequacy of materials, appropriateness of approaches used by the teacher-implementers, sufficiency of time, and support of the stakeholders. (5) Frailties in the implementation of the program.
The Output would be the identified level of effectiveness of the SII program, identified frailties in the implementation and finally the proposed enhancement program.
Definition of Variables
The key variables are defined conceptually and /or operationally to avoid ambiguity in its usage.
Adequacy of materials refers to the sufficiency of instructional materials used in the implementation of SII program.
Adequacy of time is a sufficient amount of time spent in dealing with SARDOs and towards performing other tasks as member of the SII program.
Approaches used are various teaching methods adapted by teachers to help learners enhance their thinking, learning, problem solving, understanding, or literary skills.
Appropriateness of approaches means suitability of the teacher’s teaching methods to the learning styles of the students.
Attainment of objectives is the extent or level of program’s aims or goals are achieved which are to be will be assessed by evaluators of the implementers of the program itself.
Dropout of school refers to student who leave the school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.
Dropout rate is a status representing the percentage of students who are not enrolled in school and have not earned a high school credential (either a diploma or an equivalency credential such as a General Education Development Certificate.
Facilities a place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for students to improve their scholastic performance.
Frailties encountered are the difficulties experienced by the authorities towards the implementation of the program.
Guidance and Counselling services are programs offered to promote students’ personal/social, academic, and career development.
Level of effectiveness is the degrees of doing the right thing to which the organization’s objectives are attained and the extent to which targeted problems are solved.
Materials used are the educational and study equipment utilize by teachers and students necessary for the enhancement of SARDO’s academic performance.
Resources refer to monetary fund set aside for the implementation of SII program. It may also be materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by SII implementers in order to function effectively.
Stakeholders are persons with interest or concern in the implementation of the SII program. The may be teachers and other school authorities involved in the said undertaking.
Teacher’s capabilities refer to qualities or competencies that are unique and superior to other mentors. These qualities of mentors make them suitable for the effective implementation of the school dropout intervention program.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods and techniques to be used, population of the study, the research instrument, data gathering procedure and statistical treatment in order to achieve the objectives of the study.
Methods of Research and Techniques
The researcher chose to use the descriptive method of research in this study. Descriptive method explains what is (Joy, 2014) and it has something to do with describing, recording, analysing, and interpreting the present nature, composition or processes of certain phenomena. The focus of this method is on prevailing conditions, or how a person, group, or thing behaves or functions in the current situation. It often involves some type of comparison or contrast. Using this method, the researcher might be able to accumulate findings from all forms of data such as personal accounts or observations. It can provide a number of answers to various aspects being studied because there are several observational elements involved.
Research Design
This study used the interview and descriptive method of research to investigate and provide necessary information on the current situation of the school initiated intervention on reducing dropout rate of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School. Descriptive method involves describing, recording, analysing and interpreting the present situation of the SII program of IMSHS based on the data gathered. Through the use of interview and the researcher-made descriptive questionnaire which is checked and validated by the authorities like the thesis adviser, critic and the dean, the strengths, weaknesses, status and effectiveness of the implemented SIIP of the IMSHS will be fully identified.
Population of the study
This study involved the internal stakeholders who at the same time are the implementers of school initiated intervention program. The total target population is 125 composing of 8 Department Heads, a Guidance Counsellor, 68 class advisers and 48 subject teachers, but there were 15 among the subject teachers who took leave of absence during the conduct of this study, thus the actual total number of respondents who actively participated in this undertaking is 110. It is presented in the table 1below.
Table 1
Respondents of the Study
Respondents Target
Population Actual
Number of Respondents
Head Teachers 8 8
Guidance Counsellor 1 1
Class Advisers
Grade 7 18 18
Grade 8 18 18
Grade 9 16 16
Grade 10 16 16
Subject Teachers 48 33
Total 125 110
Research Instrument
There were two types of instruments used in this study. These were the researcher’s–made questionnaire and the interview.
The researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among the respondents. The questionnaire was constructed based on the statement of the problem. It was submitted to the thesis adviser and critic, checked and validated prior to the distribution to the respondents. The questionnaire is composed of five parts; the first part deals with the status of the intervention program which will be described in terms of teacher’s capabilities in identifying SARDOs. The second part is about the dropout rate of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School for the last five years. The third part presents the reasons why students dropped out of school. The fourth part will describe the effectiveness of the program through measuring the attainment of objectives, adequacy of materials, appropriateness of approaches used by teacher-implementers, adequacy of time, and support of the stakeholders. The last and final part is about the frailties of the current implemented intervention program.
On the other hand, the interview was used to describe the teacher’s capabilities in identifying SARDOs in terms of stakeholders, guidance and counselling services and resources. Furthermore, interview was used to substantiate and justify the statistical results.
Data Gathering Procedure
In gathering the essential data and information needed in this study, a descriptive survey questionnaire and interview were used as tools. The researcher made a descriptive survey questionnaire and had it checked and validated by the thesis adviser, the critic and the dean.
After the validation of the survey questionnaire, the researcher sent a letter to the Schools Division Superintendent of Quezon City thru the Principal of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School asking permission to conduct this research study. The letter was duly signed by the Adviser for thesis and the Dean of the Graduate School respectively. Soon after the request letter was approved, the researcher proceeded to the school where he requested to conduct the said study and began with the distribution of validated questionnaires to the respondents. All the respondents were given ample time to answer the survey questionnaires. After the respondents have answered the questionnaires, these were collected by the researcher, tallied and tabulated. Interpretation of the data was done immediately after. Various statistical tools were used like frequency count, percentage, Mean scores and rank in the interpretation of the data.
Apart from the distribution of the survey questionnaires to the respondents, an interview with the program proponent, the guidance counsellor and teachers were also done in order to have full background knowledge of stakeholders, guidance and counselling services and resources. Other related matters which could help substantiate in the findings of the study were asked among the respondents as part of the interview.
Data Processing and Statistical Treatment
In analysing and interpreting the data gathered in this study, the researcher chose to use the following statistical tools; frequency count, percentage Mean scores, trend analysis, rank and likert scale. It is presented below.
SCALE RANGE VERBAL INTERPRETATION
5 4.50-5.00 Very Great Extent
4 3.50-4.49 Great Extent
3 2.50-3.49 Moderately Extent
2 1.50-2.49 Less Extent
1 1.00-1.49 Not at all Extent
For the status of the intervention program which is measured in terms of teacher’s capabilities in identifying SARDOs, it was expressed using frequency and percentage.
On the other hand, the measures in terms of stakeholders, guidance and counselling services and resources were described through interview with the SII program proponent, guidance counsellor and some teacher-implementers. The dropout rate of IMSHS in the last five years was obtained from the Registrar’s office of IMSHS. Frequency and rank were used in the reasons why students dropped out of school which will be obtained from the guidance center.
The level of effectiveness which was measured in terms of the attainment of objectives, adequacy of materials, appropriateness of approaches used by teacher-implementers, adequacy of time, and support of the stakeholders were interpreted using frequency, mean scores and likert scale. It is presented as follows;
SCALE RANGE Level of Effectiveness of the intervention program
in terms of:
Attainment of objectives
and Appropriateness of approaches Adequacy of materials and time Support of the stake holders
VERBAL INTERPRETATION
5 4.50-5.00 Very
Effective Very
Adequate Always
4 3.50-4.49 Effective Adequate Often
3 2.50-3.49 Moderately
Effective Moderately Adequate Sometimes
2 1.50-2.49 Less
Effective Less
Adequate Seldom
1 1.00-1.49 Not
Effective Not
Adequate Never
The frailties of the current implemented intervention program were analysed through the use of frequency and rank.
