CATHOLIC CENTRAL SCHOOL

Formerly: ST. LOUISE DE MARILLAC SCHOOL OF TABACO

TABACO CITY

S.Y. 2018-2019

THE MOST PREFERRED STRAND UNDER THE ACADEMIC TRACK BY THE

GRADE 10 STUDENTS OF CATHOLIC CENTRAL SCHOOL SY. 2018-2019

A Baby Thesis

Presented to the Faculty and Staff of Catholic Central School

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Practical Research

The Researchers:

Dave Andrei Benig

Bianca Carinan

Marife Molato, PhD

Thesis Professor

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 Chapter I

The Problem and its Background

Introduction

The K-12 Curriculum has been implemented by the Department of Education

since 2012 but later on passed as a law by President Benigno Aquino III on 2013 known

as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. The schools and institutions then have

provided facilities and study materials for the Senior High School program.

The Senior High School program is the preparation for the college courses in

lined with its tracks. The Senior High School program of the Philippines consists of four

tracks namely: Academic Track, Technical/Vocational Track, Sports Track, and Arts and

Design Track. Under the Academic Track are strands: Humanities and Social Sciences

(HUMSS), General Academic Strand (GAS), Accountancy and Business Management

(ABM), and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Under the

Technical/Vocational Track are strands: Home Economics (HE), Information and

Communications Technology (ICT), Agri-Fishery Arts (AFA), and Industrial Arts (IA). The

Sports Track may consider specialization in Human Movement, Sports Officiating, and

Activity Management. While the Arts and Design Track may focus on Developing Filipino

Identity in the Arts, Leadership, and Management in Different Art Fields.

It is said that upon completion of the Senior High School Program, many

possible jobs are waiting for the Senior High School graduates. This may give

opportunities to the graduates to support themselves or their families financially because

there are many high-paying jobs available today and has more chances than those

students who haven’t undergo Senior High School at the time because it was

implemented later on. Although success is highly probable as companies and

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employment agencies are picky of employing them because they are “incompetent”, an

article once stated.

Tabaco City has many schools and institutions that offer Senior High School

Program and one of it is the Catholic Central School. The Catholic Central School offers

strands under the Academic Track such as Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)

and General Academic Strand (GAS). The school will later on offer strands under the said

category such as Accounting and Business Management (ABM) and Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The aim of researchers for this study is to know the most preferred strand, to

determine the factors and show the connection on pursuing those preferred strands.

It is important to address the decisions of the students on these matters because

it will give the school a hint on which strand should they be prepared most although equal

treatment is natural and necessary. With this hint such as the number of population of

students that will pursue this strand, they may provide more facilities or improve them to

accommodate this large number of students or improve on promoting the strand that

needs it.

Furthermore, this study explores the factors that affect the decisions of the

students. It is important to know these because it helps to determine and completely

understand why these reasons affect their decisions.

Statement of the Problem

● What are the factors that affect the Grade 10 students’ decision in choosing a

strand?

● How can these factors affect their decision?

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● What are the implications of each strand and specifically the most preferred ones to

the students?

Conceptual Framework

This study is entitled “The Most Preferred Strand under the Academic Track by

Grade 10 Students of Catholic Central School (CCS)”.

In this study, the researchers would survey Grade 10 students on what strand they

will pursue on Senior High School of the S.Y. 2018-2019. The researchers would like to

know the factors that affect their decisions and the implications of each strand on their

decisions.

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 Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework

Significance of the Study

This research study could provide information regarding which strand is

preferred most by the Grade 10 students of Catholic Central School. The findings of this

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study could serve as a guide for the institution to provide and maximize the resources,

facilities and study materials allotted for the Senior High School program and may grasp

the opportunity to offer all of the strands under the Academic Track.

This study can be useful not just for the institution and its administration but also

the Department of Education, Teachers, Parents, and the students themselves.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION- The Department of Education may use the findings of

this research to a collective study on which strand is preferred most by the students. This

may help to improve on effectively promoting the Academic Strands and help many

schools or institutions on providing resources such as facilities, teachers and study

materials for the Senior High School Program.

INSTITUTION AND ITS ADMINISTRATORS- The findings of this research may help

guide the school to provide resources for the Senior High School to enable

accommodating large number of population of Senior High School Students.

TEACHERS- The Senior High School teachers may help brief the students to be prepared

for the college setup in lined with the strand they pursue or even not in lined with it.

STUDENTS- The students may be able to choose their preferred strand with proper

teaching and conducting seminars about the Senior High School Program. The students

will then determine if the decision made will benefit him in the future.

PARENTS- The parents, once properly briefed about the Senior High School program,

may be able to correctly consider the decisions made by their children and support them

with their choice.

Scope and Delimitation

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The coverage of this study is only limited to the strands under the Academic Track.

1. HUMSS

2. STEM

3. ABM

4. GAS

The survey occurs on the two sections of Grade 10 of Catholic Central School of the

school year 2018-2019.

This study covers the collective opinion of these students as to which is their preferred

strands to determine the factors in choosing that strand and its implications on their future.

The researchers focused only on the upcoming Senior High School students specifically

the Grade 10 level on the school year 2018-2019 only.

This study does not cover other tracks because most schools and institutions offer

Academic Track only.

The preferred strand may change overtime as another school year is implemented

and new batch of students is being surveyed.

Definition of Terms

Implication- The conclusion that can be drawn from something, although it is not explicitly

stated

Track- It is separating students by academic ability into groups for all subjects or certain

classes and curriculum within a school. It may be referred to as streaming or phrasing in

certain schools.

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Strand- Strand is a consistent thread running through a course after irrespective of its

subject content.

K-12 Program- From Kindergarten to 12th grade, indicates the sum of primary and

secondary education in several nations such as Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Ecuador,

Egypt, India, Iran, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and the United States, for publicly

supported school grades prior to college.

Academic Track- It defines a set of possible course selections available to a specific group

of students. They are analogous to the colored course selection sheets common in a

paper-based course selection process.

Technical/Vocational Track- This track focuses on technical and livelihood skills

development.

Sports Track- This aims to give you an understanding of the basic principles and

techniques in relation to physical education and recreation. It will also offer you

discussions about various factors that affect social, psychological, and cognitive

development in sports leadership and management.

Arts and Design Track- This track allows you to discover your interests in various fields

circling around designing, visual and media arts, performing arts and literary arts. The

program improves artists’ and designers’ skill.

HUMSS Strand- Its acronym stands for Humanities and Social Sciences. It covers not

just political science but literature, anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, communication

and psychology.

STEM Strand- Its acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics. An educational program developed to prepare primary and secondary

students for college and to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and

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mathematics. In addition to subject- specific learning, STEM aims to foster inquiring

minds, logical reasoning and collaboration skills.

ABM Strand- Its acronym stands for Accountancy and Business Management. This strand

focuses on the basic concepts of financial management, business management,

corporate operations, and all things that are accounted for.

GAS Strand- Its acronym stands for General Academic Strand. It is a strand for students

who are still undecided on which track to take.

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

Related Reading

On May 15, 2013, Republic Act No. 10533 or widely known as the Enhanced Basic

Education Act of 2013 was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino and took effect

on June 8, 2013 which formalized the K-12 program. The K-12 program makes the

Philippine Education System adhere to the international standard of 12-year basic

education which in turn provides an enhanced and better educated society capable of

pursuing productive employment, entrepreneurship, or higher education studies. The

students which were affected by the time of the implementation of the K-12 program (from

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kindergarten, elementary, junior high and a specialized senior high school program which

consists of two years) and later on become K-12 graduates are ready to pursue different

paths (higher education, middle level skills development or entrepreneurship). They are

also expected to be equipped with 21st century skills like information, media and

technology skills, learning innovation skills, and life and career skills.

This Republic Act encourages to upgrade the old education system by adding 2

years of specialized high school program in which the students will choose one of the four

tracks namely: Academic Track, Technical/Vocational Track, Sports Track, and Arts and

Design Track. Under the Academic Track are strands: Humanities and Social Sciences

(HUMSS), General Academic Strand (GAS), Accountancy and Business Management

(ABM), and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Under the

Technical/Vocational Track are strands: Home Economics (HE), Information and

Communications Technology (ICT), Agri-Fishery Arts (AFA), and Industrial Arts (IA). The

Sports Track may consider specialization in Human Movement, Sports Officiating, and

Activity Management. While the Arts and Design Track may focus on Developing Filipino

Identity in the Arts, Leadership, and Management in Different Art Fields.

The Kindergarten Education is the first stage of compulsory and mandatory

education of one year of preparatory education for children with the age of at least five

years old. The Elementary Education is the second stage of compulsory basic education

which is composed of six years in which the entrant age level is at least six years old.

Secondary Education is the third stage of compulsory basic Education which consists of

four years of junior high school education and two years of senior high school education

which was tackled previously. The entrant age to the junior and senior high school levels

are at least 12 and 16 years old, respectively. The Enhanced Basic Education

inclusiveness shall include but shall not be limited to the students who are gifted and

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talented, learners with disabilities, Muslim Filipinos, indigenous people, and learners

under difficult circumstances.

The Act also prioritizes the funding and maximization of resources and facilities,

training teachers, improving and producing more study materials. The formulation and

design of the curriculum is expected to be developed hand-in-hand by Deped

(Department of Education). CHED (Commission on Higher Education), and TESDA

(Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) for the Filipinos to be locally and

globally competitive. The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 follows these standards

in which the curriculum developers adhered to on crafting the K-12 curriculum: a) The

curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally appropriate; b) The

curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based; c) The curriculum shall be

culture-sensitive; d) The curriculum shall be contextualized and global; e) The curriculum

shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective,

collaborative and integrative; f) The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and

framework of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE); g) The

curriculum shall use the spiral progression and approach to ensure mastery of knowledge

and skills after each level; and h) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and

allow schools to localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective

educational and social contexts.

Related Studies

The choice of the Career Tracks of the students play a great role in the preparation

of the schedule for the Senior High School. These career tracks are associated with

career preferences which were the bases in the conduct of the present study. Career

preferences as defined by Martinez and Fuller (1999) pertains to the identification of one’s

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work schedules and activities in relation to an individual's abilities, skills, competencies

and with the assistance of management in order that he can take greater job and personal

responsibility for his future. In other words, this is the preferred choice of an individual

that should be decided ahead of time.

On this review of Abarro (2016), the students should plan, decide, and prepare on

which career track they should pursue. That is because it will result to wasting time,

resources, and learning when you choose to specialize in this specific area and ending

up on a different career. Career Track should be carefully decided ahead of time to

prevent circumstances of mismatched jobs in the future.

According to the research conducted by Abarro (2016) on the Grade 9 students in

the division of Antipolo and in Rizal, most students are in favor to take Accountancy and

Business Management (ABM) courses in Senior High School and in the college level due

to these factors: a) sex; b) average family income; c) school preference; d) occupation of

the head of the family; and e) average scholastic ratings in the preceding years.

Meanwhile, the highest educational attainment of the head of the family, and persons

influential in the choice of the career track are not associated with the Career Track

Choices. According to his collected data and results, the Academic Track with the strand

Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) has the highest frequency of 164 or

21.55% which ranked first followed by Technical-Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track with a

strand of Home Economics with frequency of 152 or 19.97% which ranked second.

According to the research of Gestiada, Nazareno, and Roxas-Villanueva (2017),

Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) and Science, Technology, Engineering

and Mathematics (STEM) ranked first both with 27%. General Academic Strand (GAS)

ranked third with 22%, Information and Communication Technology ranked fourth with

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21%, Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) ranked fifth with 14%, Arts and Design

ranked sixth with 12%, Home Economics ranked seventh with 12%, Sports ranked eighth

with 11%, Industrial Arts ranked ninth with 3%, and Agri-fishery Arts ranked tenth with

2%. They used a Career SOS Tool software program to conduct this survey with 159

Grade 10 respondents.

Chapter 3

Methodology

Research Design

The research design that will be used for this study is the descriptive research

design. According to the journal of Helen Dulock, the gathered definitions of the

descriptive research design are as follows: (1) to describe systematically and accurately

the facts and characteristics of a given population or area of interest; (2) to provide an

accurate portrayal or account of the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or

group; these studies are a means of discovering new meaning, describing what exists,

determining the frequency with which something occurs and/or categorizing information;

(3) to portray the characteristics of persons, situations, or groups and the frequency with

which certain phenomenon occur; (4) to discover associations or relationships between

or among selected variables; (5) to answer questions based on the ongoing events of the

present.

Respondent of the Study

The subjects to be conducted for this study are the Grade 10 students of Catholic

Central School (CCS). The school has 2 sections of the Grade 10 level, Reverence and

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Respect, and both consists of 49 students each. The section of Grade 10 - Reverence

consists of 22 boys and 27 girls while the section of Grade 10 - Respect consists of 21

boys and 28 girls. The number of students that will be surveyed for this study is limited to

47 students each which sums to 94 students in total. The population is determined due

to time constraint and the unavailability of the four respondents.

Research Instrument

The research instrument used is in the form of questionnaires in which the

researchers provided and formulated. The questionnaire consists of five questions in

which two of it can be answered by given options through checking the box while the

remaining three questions should be answered through descriptive opinionated answers.

The first item has one question; “What Strand under the Academic Track will you

choose/pursue in Grade 11?”, which seeks to answer in which strand is mostly preferred

by the respondents of the survey. The respondents are given five options, Humanities

and Social Sciences (HUMSS), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

(STEM), Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM), General Academic Strand

(GAS), and undecided. The “undecided” option is for the respondents who are incapable

yet in answering the first question which will be provided an explanation on the second

question.

The second item has two questions, “Why did you choose that Strand?”, which

seeks to answer in a descriptive manner why the respondents have chosen one of the

options (the four strands) in the question of the first item and, “Why are you still

undecided?”, is for the respondents that answered the “undecided” option which seeks to

give explanation on why they are still undecided.

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 The third item has one question,”Which of the following factors affect your decision

in choosing that strand?”, which seeks to determine which factors greatly contribute in

choosing one of the options from the question of the first item. The respondents are given

with these options: (1) Interests (2) Parents’ Decision (3) In line with preferred career/job

(4) Financial Capability (5) Financial Incapability (6) The school (CCS) offer this strand

(7) Other school offer this strand and (8) “Others” if the following options are not

encountered by the respondents (this option should be given with specific factor/s if the

options given above were not met).

The fourth item has two questions,”What kind of job do you wish to work on?

Why?”, which seeks the answer of the job the respondent wish to work on later after

school years and should be provided with further explanations. This item is a

supplementary question that seeks the answer if the job is related to the strands of the

Academic Track towards building a career path under this category.

The fifth and the last item has one question,”How can you say that the strand you’ll

pursue will help you in the future?”, which seeks the opinion of the respondents on how

each strand of the Academic Track is beneficial for them in establishing their future. This

question is a determinant on what are the possible benefits of each strand on the

respondents themselves.

Data Gathering Procedure

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 Given that the research instrument has been approved, the researchers will then

proceed to ask permission from the current subject teacher to allow the conduction of

survey to each present and available respondent in each class of the Grade 10 level.

Prior to this, the researchers have already gathered the list of the students of each section

that will be conducted for the study by requesting the secretary of each class to provide

the researchers of their students list.

The survey is conducted on the following dates: October 18, 19, and 24 of the year

2018. On the first day, the researchers conducted the survey with 37 respondents from

the class of Reverence and 34 respondents from the class of Respect. The aim of the

researchers is to conduct the survey with 49 respondents each that is why the researchers

still conduct it on the second day. On the second day, the researchers managed to

conduct the survey with 9 respondents from the class of Reverence and 7 respondents

from the class of Respect. Some respondents are still unavailable because some are

absent and some are submitting their requirements and the researchers still have classes

after the break time. On the third and last day of exam, the researchers managed to obtain

the answered questionnaires with 1 respondent from the class of reverence and 6

respondents from the class of respect. Due to time constraints and the unavailability of

the four remaining respondents, the researchers limited the population size from 98 to 94.

Statistical Treatment

The data collected from the research instrument were tallied and interpreted. The

following formula was used:

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 In finding the Frequency:

In finding the Percentage:

Where:

= the scores

= the population of respondents

= the sum of the answers given per item

Chapter 4

Results, Analysis, and Interpretation

Table 1

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 The Most Preferred Strand under the Academic Track

Frequency
Strands Rank
Total Percentage

Humanities and Social Sciences

14 15% 4th
(HUMSS)

Science,Technology, Engineering
36 38% 1st
and Mathematics (STEM)

Accountancy, Business and

17 18% 3rd
Management (ABM)

General Academic Strand (GAS) 5 5% 5th

Undecided 22 23% 2nd

The first question was about the most preferred strand by the Grade 10 students. As

shown on Table 1, the most preferred strand by the Grade 10 students is the

Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand with 38% while the

least preferred strand is the General Academic Strand (GAS) with 5%.

Table 2

Factors that Greatly Affect the Decision in Choosing an Academic Strand

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 Frequency
Factors Rank
Total Percentage

Interest 61 44% 1st

Parents’ Decision 26 18% 3rd

Financial Capability 4 2% 5th

Financial Incapability 4 2% 5th

In line with preferred career/job 33 24% 2nd

The school (CCS) offer this

3 2% 6th
strand

Other school offer this strand 7 5% 4th

Others 0 0% 7th

The third question is about the factors that greatly affect the decisions in choosing the

strand. As shown in Table 2, the most contributing factor is the interest of the students

towards the strand with 44%, followed by the strand’s relevance to the career/job that the

students will pursue with 24%.

The researchers discovered the following reasons on why they have chosen their

preferred strand and how it can help them in the future: (1) It is related to the course they

will take on college and the job/career they will pursue in the future; (2) With the job/career

they will pursue on that strand, they will be able to help more the society and fulfill their

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parents’ dream for them; (3) It can help improve their self-growth and character

development; and (4) The strand they have chosen offers high-paying jobs/careers.

Chapter 5

Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

According to the results from the gathered data, it shows that the

Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand is the most preferred

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strand among the Grade 10 students of Catholic Central School (CCS). It is no doubt that

the potential jobs/careers under this strand constitutes the highest-paying jobs/careers

for example, an engineer can earn a salary of PHP. 200,000 - PHP. 1.2 million per year

(varies depending on the type of engineer and experience). Meanwhile, a doctor or

physician can earn an average salary of PHP 466,611 per year.The next strand that also

offers the potential highest-paying jobs/careers is the Accountancy, Business and

Management (ABM) strand. For example, an accountant can earn a salary of PHP.

290,000 - PHP. 700,000 per year. It is also because the respondents are long-term

thinkers meaning that they consider the welfare and the future of their family. Aside from

the financial benefits earned from the jobs/careers under those strands, they can help

provide services through a large scale meaning all will benefit from the services provided

by the workers under those jobs/careers. With them the welfare of the society can improve

through their great effort and perseverance. For example, civil engineering provides the

society well-developed infrastructures such as bridges, dams, roads, railways, etc. Which

is essential for city-development.

Therefore, the researchers conclude that the Science,Technology, Engineering

and Mathematics (STEM) strand is the most preferred strand because of its potential

financial sustainability from its possible jobs/careers, and its large-scale benefits for the

society.

Recommendations

Provided that this study involves only a few participants and it is limited only to the

Academic Track, the researchers encourage other researchers who will use this study to

involve not just only Grade 10 students but to a larger and wider group of respondents

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and should not only focus on Academic Track but to other tracks as well. The researchers

recommend that the future researchers may develop or discover more new factors in

determining the most preferred strand .

Chapter 6

Bibliography

[1] Dulock, H.L. (1993). Research Design: Descriptive Research. Retrieved from:

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/104345429301000406

[2] Average Salaries in Manila (2013, October 8). Retrieved from:

https://www.payscale.com/research/PH/Location=Manila/Salary

[3] K-12 Program (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/k-12/

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[4] Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of

2013 (2013, September 4). Retrieved from:

http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/09/04/irr-republic-act-no-10533/

[5] Banal-Fermoso C. (2016, May 2). SHS tracks offer career paths to students.

Retrieved from: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/782629/shs-tracks-offer-career-paths-to-

students

[6] Abad R. (2017, December 10). Grade 11 students want to pursue senior high.

Retrieved from: https://businessmirror.com.ph/grade-11-students-want-to-pursue-

senior-high/

[7] Steps to Knowing Which Senior High School Track Best Fits You (2017, Semtember

29). Retrieved from: https://www.ciit.edu.ph/senior-high-school-track/

[8] Mata M. (2017, March 10). Factors Affecting SHS Track Preferences. Retrieved

from: https://www.scribd.com/document/341463187/Factors-Affecting-Senior-High-

School-Tra-2

[9] Ilagan C.E. (2017, September 11). Factors Influencing Secondary Students’

Perception and Preferences in Choosing a Strand in Senior High School. Retrieved

from: https://www.scribd.com/document/358571585/323530478-Final-Thesis-Paper

[10] Abarro J. (2016). Factors Affecting Career Track and Strand Choices of Grade 9

Students in the Division of Antipolo and Rizal, Philippines. Retrieved from:

https://www.ijsrp.org

[11] Pascual N.T. (2014). Factors Affecting High School Students’ Career Preference: A

Basis for Career Planning Program. Retrieved from:

https://gssrr.org/index.php?journal=JournalOfBasicAndApplied

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[12] Ocampo D.S. (2014, January 30). The K to 12 Curriculum. Retrieved from:

https://bit.ly/kto12curriculum

Chapter 7

Appendix

Questionnaire

Name:___________________________________________________________Gr./Se
ction________________ Age:__________

Sex: Male Female

Please answer the following questions as directed.

1.) What Strand under the Academic Track will you choose/pursue in Grade 11?
(Check one)

Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM)

General Academic Strand (GAS)

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 Undecided

2.) Why did you choose that Strand?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

(For undecided) Why are you still undecided?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

3.) Which of the following factors affect your decision in choosing that strand?

Interests
Parents’ Decision
In line with preferred career/job
Financial Capability
Financial Incapability
The school (CCS) offer this strand
Other schools offer this strand
Others (please specify):____________

5.) How can you say that the strand you’ll pursue will help you in the future?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

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 Chapter 8

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Dave Andrei B. Benig

Birthday: September 14, 2001
Age: 17
Address: P-5 Sta. Misericordia, Sto. Domingo, Albay
Contact Number:
Father: Romeo B. Benig
Occupation: Retired
Mother: Aurelia B. Benig

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 Occupation: H.O.A. (Homeowners’ Association) Board member
Number of Guardian: 09101010155
Signature:

Name: Bianca Carinan

Birthday:
Age:
Address:
Contact Number:
Father:
Occupation:
Mother:
Occupation:
Number of Guardian:
Signature:

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