Career Choice of Grade Students: Basis for Additional Curricular Offerings in the Senior High Schools

The primary purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the career choice of students as baseline data for curricular offering of senior high schools in Region XI with 3,840 respondents using multi-stage sampling. Results showed that the popularity among the majority of students and parents of such academic track strands as Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences (HESS), Liberal Arts (LA), Science, technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Business, Accountancy and Management (BAM) indicates the status quo in the choice of career or future employment in Region XI. This traditional frame of mind adheres to the idea that white collar jobs are still the most wanted designations that future graduates look forward to. Hence, for each of the strands mentioned, Nursing, BEED, Communications, Civil Engineering and Accountancy, respectively, top the preferred courses. On the other hand, Physical Therapy, Theology, math or geodetic Engineering and Entrepreneurship figure as the top choices from among the less popular courses. In the choice of career, students are likely to consider their own personality as gauge of the academic program they would go into in Senior High School (SHS); thus, it has become the most dominant factor in the pursuit of higher studies. This influence is followed closely by parents, which also play critical role in directing their children as regards the career choice. It is interesting to know that students and parents preferred public urban type of institutions for SHS. This findings implies that stakeholders, specifically students and parents of region XI trust the capability of state colleges and universities or national high schools as provider of quality basic education (Grades 11 and 12). The lack of parents’ interest for their children to pursue the other three tracks: Technical Vocational Track, Sports Track and Arts Track) implies prevailing mind set of parents that a college degree is the only key factor to reach a higher socioeconomic ladder. This calls for the need to advocate Technical Vocational, Sports and Arts Tracks while strengthening the career guidance and coaching of parents and students. On the other hand, TESDA, National Sports Commission and the National Arts should hold information campaigns to advertise careers in technical vocational, sports, and arts, respectively. Also school administrators in higher institutions may strengthen their existing curricular programs aligned with the SHS academic track as highly preferred by both the parents and students. KEYWORDS: Career choice, grade 12 students, Senior High School, Curricular Offering