Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region XII
Division of Sultan Kudarat
LEBAK LEGISLATED NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Poblacion III, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat

Students’ Pressures: Motivational Factors in

Getting Honors and its Sustentation

A study presented to the Senior High School Department in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements in Practical Research I

Presented by:

Amirol A. Mohammad

Gero Mark A. Marquez

Jemark B. Fusingan

MARVIN RIC E. MENDOZA

Adviser

MARCH 2018
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

According to Ravitch (n.d.) most students believe their ability and effort are the main

reasons for school achievement. By the same token, if asked whether they would prefer

to be called smart or hard-working, they will choose smart almost every time. Because

they believe that hard-working students risk being considered either excessively

ambitious or of limited ability, both of which they would find embarrassing. To avoid

unpopular labels, students—especially the brightest—believe they must strike a balance

between the extremes of achievement, not too high and not too low. Many students

adopt an attitude of difference to hard work, a stance that implies both confidences in

their own ability and a casual regard for academic success. At the extreme, many low-

achieving students deny the importance of learning and withhold the effort it requires in

order to avoid the stigma of having tried and failed.

Ravitch also stated that students have few incentives to study. Most educators

believe that, as an ideal, all students should learn as much as their ability and effort will

permit. Yet, most school rewards high achievements alone, apparently assuming that

the lure of high grades and test scores will inspire effort in all. Because high ability

students usually capture the best grades and test score, the labor of less-talented

students is seldom acknowledgeable and the grades they receive for it do not inspire

effort. Hence, low-ability students and those who are disadvantaged—students who

must work hardest—have the least incentive to do so. They find this relationship
between high effort and low grades unacceptable; something to be evaded if possible.

Some of them express their displeasure by simple indifference, others by disruption and

deception. Many school policies discourage student effort. Many well-intended

education policies and practices have unwittingly worked against the goal of higher

achievement. For example, to increase graduation rates, some school have allowed

students do design their own courses of study, offered credit for less-rigorous

alternatives to core subjects, and warded diplomas to student who merely stayed the

course and accumulated credits. While such step may have been taken to ease the task

of learning and boost the educational progress of the nation’s neediest students, they

have also allowed students to evade difficult academic tasks, undercut the need to

make the effort, and substituted the appearance of educational attainment for its reality.

Students are obsessed over the grades that expected of them to please those that

push them, and in turn, lose sleep and give up other aspects of their lives that are

important to them such as time with friends and family as well as activities that they

enjoy (Blazer, 2010). A child who performs in school to gain parents approval, grades,

or rewards is externally motivated. Parents who ask questions that lead to more

questions for a child are more successful in developing intrinsic motivation. For

example, a parent gives a child special toy as a rewards for reading a lesson about how

an airplane works and for completing the related homework that requires answers to

questions about part of an airplane will stimulate less motivations than the parent who

helps a child discover how planes work by building a balsam plane and letting the child

practice flying it. This parent can ask what changes the plane’s flight pattern. The child

can then experiment, discover and generate new questions and new discoveries.
Motivation, as parents and teachers know, often varies depending on the setting, the

people involved, the task and the situation. Since their grades often seem lower than

those earned by other children they may not see a relationship between effort expended

in school and academic success. Thus, to motivate them to achieve academically can

be especially challenging. Popular opinion has it that students’ academic success

depends on the quality of their teachers and textbooks (“Motivation: The Key To

Academic Success,” n.d.).

Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate

behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a

person does something.

Motivation is the driving force that keeps pushing us to reach a certain goal through

our actions. When you do a work without motivation, you fail to do it with full dedication

and efficiency. Motivation helps to increase work productivity and brings out the best of

a person’s true potential. For example, when you do a job where you get paid low and

never appreciated for good works and accomplishments, you get no motivation to work

every day with the same enthusiasm you started on the first day. Soon, the job turns

boring, and if you stretch it further, you get tired and if you still continue, you are going

to get stressed and quitting will be the only way out (Sairaman, n.d.).

There are basically two types of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic. For example,

James and Peter are students. James loves to study and studies hard to secure a top

rank in the class. Peter, on the other hand, does not like to study and is satisfied with

whatever marks he gets. But his father has told him that he would give him a high-end
smartphone if he can secure a top rank in the class. Therefore, he has started studying

as hard as James now. So, in the case of James, it is intrinsic motivate where interest

and passion are the driving forces, and it is also called self-motivation. On the other

hand, Peter’s case is extrinsic motivation where the driving force is something external

like reward and better recognition (Sairaman, n.d.).

Nothing could be better when you are motivated by your own motives. It is found that

a person continues to do something eternally when motivation is intrinsic, and he has no

hesitation investing most of his time in a task that is dedicated to achieving his motives

and goals. As a matter of fact, a person is likely to be successful when he can motivate

himself internally. Therefore, it is safe to say that intrinsic motivation is always better

than extrinsic motivation (Sairaman, n.d.) .

But, in reality, some of the essential driving forces in a person’s life are extrinsic.

Without extrinsic motivation, most of the people would not ever do any good work in life.

For example, when you are working for a company, if the pay is low, your work quality

and productivity would be low, and you would not feel like doing anything for the

company. But when the manager announces a huge bonus for the top performers of the

month, everyone including you would put the best effort and work productivity and

output would be at its peak (Sairaman, n.d.).

As intrinsic motivation is always a better option due to its unending and continuous

flow, you should find out ways to self-motivation. Motivation comes from passion and

goals. Always do jobs where you have a genuine interest, and motivation will be a

natural companion in your journey. For example, if you like computer programming from
your school days, you should choose computer science for graduation even though

some other streams might have higher salary jobs. When you get a job in an IT

company, and the reward and appreciation are not at par, you would still be motivated

to do your work because you love what you do and you will do your job as if nothing

matters. You know that eventually you will switch the company and get in a better

company that will value your talent. So, the absence of extrinsic motivation will never

bother you, unlike others who would be stressed, curse the company and feel like

quitting (Sairaman, n.d.).

Secondly, set short-term and long-term goals in life. Your goals are your motivation.

You should set achievable goals so that motivation does not die down after some time.

As a matter of fact, you should be clear about how you should achieve your goals. You

can know it by interacting with people who have already achieved it. Once you know the

way to reach your dream destination, even if the surrounding extrinsic factors are

degrading, you will be able to keep walking the way without any hesitation. To stay

motivated, you have to surround yourself with people who are also highly motivated

themselves. Sometimes, watching motivation videos, speech and movies renews the

positive energy in you and gives you positive vibes to keep up the good work

(Sairaman, n.d.).

Working without motivation is like living a life without goals. You should accept the

fact that motivation is a part of your journey both in your personal and professional life.

You have to find out the best way to keep yourself motivated all the time, and you will

find that work will be your only pleasure. Once you have motivation backing you up,
there is no stopping you from achieving anything that you can with your talent, skill, and

willpower (Sairaman, n.d.).

Before the added economic pressures, the definition of an honor student was

someone who cared about schoolwork enough to want to take an honors class or was

simply smart enough to want the challenge. Now parents push them to take weighted

classes even if they aren't interested in the subject. But it's okay because they're smart

and they can handle it. In truth, handling stress is extremely difficult. Students are driven

by pressure and fear for their futures. This leads some of them used to cheat, or use

their brains to find the easiest way with the result that they probably don't get a lot out of

the hard classes they take or the clubs they join.

The sad truth is that (like many other things in America) the honors system is

corrupt. Merriam Webster's definition of honor is “good name or public esteem,” and

sadly believe that holds true here. People feel that many students who take honors

classes don't take them to become academically enriched. They do it because it will

look good on a college application. They play competitive sports because they want to

seem well rounded. They study hard because they understand it will lead them to a

better life. And that's all honor students really want. They dream of the day when they

can sit in their larger-than-average house, kiss their loving family good-night, put their

feet up, watch their big-screen TV and think, Thank God they did their freshman English

homework.

In order to attract highly motivated students, many universities will create an honors

college within their institution or develop a college honors program. The university's
objective in developing such a program is to gain high-performing students that might

otherwise go to a smaller, private school. These programs are specifically designed for

the best and most motivated students. If you are qualified and have received an offer to

participate in an honors college or a college honors program, here are some things to

consider.

Honors college should not be the only factor in your decision:

Many students who are faced with an opportunity to participate in honors college can

forget about other factors, or quickly move that college to the top of their list. That may

not always be wise. Honors college does provide many unique opportunities, but it

should not be the only thing considered. Always keep in mind the other factors you've

been using all along to make your decision, such as the size and location of the school,

the culture of the school and the degree programs offered.

The benefits of honors college

 Class Size: Many of your classes will be specifically part of the honors program.

These classes tend to be smaller, and more intensive. This allows more time with

professors and other students that may help you truly master the material being

presented. This experience gives you some of the benefits of being in a liberal

arts school or private college with the lower tuition costs of a university.

 Class Structure: In college honors programs, often there is more discussion and

debate than lecture. This means that you will read assigned material before

class. This creates a situation that is almost the opposite of a traditional

classroom, where you study the material before-hand, rather than sitting through
 a lecture, and then spend class time working with other students on the analysis

of the lecture that would typically be done as homework.

 Diploma; Both honors programs and honors colleges provide special diplomas at

the end of your college career that indicate you participated in and completed the

honors college or program. While not all of your classes will be within the honors

program, the diploma will show that you participated in a more academically

rigorous degree program. This can be attractive to recruiters and possibly set you

above other applicants when it comes time to enter the work force.

 Housing: Typically, both honors colleges and college honors programs offer

special housing for the students selected for their program. Sometimes these

dorms are a little nicer and more spacious than other dorms. They put you

together with other students in the program, the people who you will already be

working with on a daily basis.

Keep in mind that expectations of honors colleges are higher

If you've been offered admissions into an honors college or honors program, you were

picked because you display a high level of academic achievement. You will be expected

to excel in your classes and the honors program will demand more academic rigor from

you. You will get a great education, but expect to work very hard for it.

Stress has been defined as perceiving oneself as unable to meet the demands or

expectations of the environment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Although one can

seemingly choose which demands are most essential, within Asian society, meeting the

expectations of significant others are a critical aspect of fulfilling one’s duty to one’s
family, maintaining family honor, and showing respect (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

Likewise, not fulfilling family expectations can be a sign of shame, dishonor, and loss of

respect not only for the individual but also for the family and the community as a whole

(Mohan, 1975). Given the central role of academics in the lives of Asian youth, school

related stress, also known as academic stress, has often been cited as the main cause

of adolescent distress (i.e., Rao, 2009).

The concept of duty and responsibility to one’s parents is a particularly salient value

in Asian culture. Asian parents take deep pride in the success of their children and are

often willing to make significant time-related and economic sacrifices to encourage their

children’s academic endeavors (Fuligni & Pederson, 2002). As a result, however, Asian

children tend to internalize a sense of responsibility to their parents and feel driven to

meet their parents’ high expectations (Chow & Chu, 2007). This may cause Asian youth

to feel pressure, both directly and indirectly, from their parents to achieve academic

success.

"There are two main features that seem to distinguish teenagers from adults in their

decision making," says Laurence Steinberg, a researcher at Temple University in

Philadelphia. "During early adolescence in particular, teenagers are drawn to the

immediate rewards of a potential choice and are less attentive to the possible risks.

Second, teenagers in general are still learning to control their impulses, to think ahead,

and to resist pressure from others." These skills develop gradually, as a teen's ability to

control his or her behavior gets better throughout adolescence.

 According to Dr. B. J. Casey from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University,

teens are very quick and accurate in making judgments and decisions on their own and

in situations where they have time to think. However, when they have to make decisions

in the heat of the moment or in social situations, their decisions are often influenced by

external factors like peers. In a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse

(NIDA), teen volunteers played a video driving game, either alone or with friends

watching. What the researchers discovered was that the number of risks teens took in

the driving game more than doubled when their friends were watching as compared to

when the teens played the game alone. This outcome indicates that teens may find it

more difficult to control impulsive or risky behaviors when their friends are around, or in

situations that are emotionally charged.

The Positive Side

While it can be hard for teens to resist peer influence sometimes, especially in the

heat of the moment, it can also have a positive effect. Just as people can influence

others to make negative choices, they can also influence them to make positive ones. A

teen might join a volunteer project because all of his or her friends are doing it, or get

good grades because the social group he or she belongs to thinks getting good grades

is important. In fact, friends often encourage each other to study, try out for sports, or

follow new artistic interests.

In this way, peer influence can lead teens to engage in new activities that can help

build strong pathways in the brain. As described in the article "Teens and Decision

Making: What Brain Science Reveals," neural connections that are weak or seldom
used are removed during adolescence through a process called synaptic pruning,

allowing the brain to redirect precious resources toward more active connections. This

means that teens have the potential, through their choices and the behaviors they

engage in, to shape their own brain development. Therefore, skill-building activities—

such as those physical, learning, and creative endeavors that teens are often

encouraged to try through positive peer influence—not only provide stimulating

challenges, but can simultaneously build strong pathways in the brain.

While we are constantly influenced by those around us, ultimately the decision to act

(or not to act) is up to us as individuals. So when it comes to decision making, the

choice is up to you.

Academic stress is an issue of great significance among adolescents globally but

particularly so among Asians. Examining the pressures and expectations from Asian

families to “be the best” and Asian cultural norms that value education, hard work,

persistence, and constant self-improvement, cross-cultural studies in the U.S. and the

United Kingdom have found that Asians are more stressed than are their Western

counterparts (Archer & Francis, 2006; Schneider & Lee, 1990). The dangers of severe

and chronic stress have been documented in the U.S. literature by studies that indicated

an inverse relationship between stress and mental and physical health (i.e., Sherman,

Bunyan, Creswell, & Jaremka, 2009). A meta-analytic review of over 300 empirical

articles suggested that stress affects immune system functioning differently based on

whether the stress is acute or chronic, with more severe health consequences for

chronic stress resulting in increased vulnerability to disease and infection (Segerstrom &

Miller, 2004).
Statement of the Problem

This study was conducted to recognize and identify the different pressures that

motivate students to get honors and how they maintain it until the end of the semesters.

Thus, this study aims to give answers for the following questions:

1. What are the factors and pressures that motivate students to get honors and

maintain it?

2. How students maintain their honors and academic standing in school?

3. What are the fears students considering to maintain their honors?

Hypotheses

Alternative:

1. Parents are one the main pressures do students considered with in getting

honors and maintaining it.

2. Peer pressure serve also as the reason why students pursuing to get honors in

school.

3. Pleased personal image is one of the pressures which motivated students to get

honors and maintain their academic standings.

Null:

1. Parents are not one of the main pressures do students considered with in getting

honors and maintaining it.

2. Peer pressure do not serve also as the main reason why students pursuing to get

honors in school.
 3. Pleased personal image is not one of the pressures which motivated students to

get honors and maintain their academic standings.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused on the honor students from Grade 7-12 of the school which

served as the main participants of the study. This was conducted inside the campus of

Lebak Legislated National High School, Poblacion III, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat from

January 25- March 30, 2018. This determined the students’ pressures which stand as

motivational factors to get honors and its sustentation. This study was conducted to

promote and establish a permanent solution in connection with students’ pressures to

avoid rebellion and insanity. Thus, it also aimed to change the perceptions of the people

regarding honor students’ situations inside the school campus. And also lessened the

judgments, discrimination, and misunderstandings. However, in getting the results of the

study the researchers obtained information and data through providing survey papers

and administered to every honor student in the school campus, where in students were

not forcedly interviewed and asked to answer the survey papers and questionnaires.

Some students were personally interviewed purposely to describe their experiences.

They were also those who expressed their willingness to be interviewed.

Significance of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to recognize and determine the pressures of the

students that serve as the motivational factors for them to get honors and how they

maintain for it until the end of the semesters. Significantly, this will be purposive for the

students to enlighten minds and give an information regarding the possible motivational
factors that could give an inspiration for them to strive and study hard. Thus, students

will realize why some students choose to have honors and give sustentation for it. And

also to find out the reasons behind every honor students perceptions in life. This will

also help empower the honor students’ voices despite of all judgements and

discriminations they are experiencing. Lastly, this will increase the level of students’

confidence and self-esteem as well as boosting the social and mental health. To sum up

all, this will be a big motivation and help to the students, parents, teachers, peers, and

community.

Social health: This will supervise and strengthen students’ relationships by

understanding their reasons and stories behind every honor student.

Mental health: This will promote peace of minds with the normal students, honor

students, and will improve students’ health mentally through acquiring the existing

information.

Students and Peers: Realizations will conquer every student mind. It will lead them to

correct the wrong beliefs and judgements. It will lessen the existence of discriminations.

They will be able to keep themselves from thinking wrong to those students who made

on top in the school.

Parents and Teachers: They will be able to put limitations regarding the pressures they

are giving their children with. They can be the people of comforts while their children are

suffering from pressures. They will be one of the guidance and adviser of the honor

students as well as the normal students to lead them in good ways, and also one source

of motivation.
Community: They will be stand as a motivator. Thus, their perceptions about honors’

students will change. Curiosity will be filled by giving the right information after the

results of the study.

Definition of Terms

The following definitions are provided to ensure the uniformity in understanding the

given terms throughout the study. Thus, the definitions without citations are developed

by the researchers themselves.

Honor students- students who reached 90 percent of their grades in academic

standings. The students who made it on top in terms of academic.

Motivation- a force or influence that causes someone to do something.

Pressures- force that is produced when something presses or pushes against

something else.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDY

According to Ravitch (n.d.) many teachers are at cross purpose about setting

expectation for low-achieving students, especially who are disadvantaged. Simply put,

teachers seek to reconcile the added student effort that higher expectation require with

their concern that disadvantage and low-ability children may be excessively burdened.

In their attempt to be fair and to protect their pupil’s self-esteem, teachers often excuse

disadvantaged children from the effort that learning requires. This practice obscures the

connection between effort and accomplishment and shield children from the

consequences. The practice also sets the stage for later failure.

We would probably all acknowledge that consistently receiving low grades could

lower intrinsic motivation to continue persevering with similar tasks, but do high grades

increase motivation. One argument is that receiving high grades can satisfy our need for

feeling competent and that this can in turn increase subsequence intrinsic motivation to

continue pursuing an initially interesting task. Even receiving high grades may decrease

intrinsic motivation due to the perceived external pressure for reward eroding our need

for autonomy (Eldridge, 2015).

In the book “Motivation: The Key to Academic Success” (n.d.) motivation, as parents

and teachers know, often varies depending on the setting, the people involved, the task

and the situation. A child with a learning disability may be a very reluctant reader who

resists reading a science assignment or writing the homework but eagerly absorb all the

teacher shows about vaporization of water in a science class. The key for each learner
is to find that which motivates. Unfortunately, other factors often intervene to lessen a

student’s motivation. Some of these factors are:

Fear of failure

Children can be afraid to complete work because they are afraid to make mistakes.

They don’t want to look foolish in front of their peers, teachers, siblings, or parents. A

child with a learning disability might, for example, constantly distract the class with

wonderful humor but never complete an assignment or answer a question in class. The

humor covers his reading difficulty and is a cover-up for his inability to complete his

work as well as most of the student in the class.

Lack of challenge

Children can be bored with schoolwork. This may be for good reason. A gifted

student may be “unmotivated” in a class that repeatedly explains a concept she/he

already understands. A child with a learning disability may be bored if the materials

available to study a concept is written far below the child’s cognitive ability. The child

with LD may also be unmotivated if it is apparent that the teacher attributes a lack of

potentials success to the child based on the label LD. If the teacher, in this case, does

not challenge the student, the student may discern the teacher’s apparent assessment

of ability or simply not demand more stimulating content.

Lack of meaning

A student may simply believe that the schoolwork is not important because s/he

cannot see how it relates to everyday life. This can be especially troubling for student
with LD. A student with a visual-motor problem, for example, may find it very difficult to

organized math problem in order to assure the correct answer the student always gets

the problem wrong because the columns of a long addition problem get mixed up. That

student knows the calculator can do the problem correctly in a second. The student is

likely to see no meaning to a class on addition, division, or any other math concept.

Emotional problems

A child with an emotional problem may have difficulty learning because s/he cannot

focus in class. Anxiety, fear, depression or perhaps problems related to home could

interfere, children with LD often have emotion related to the frustration of the learning

this disability or other related emotional patterns that limit motivation for schoolwork

Anger

Some children use schoolwork, or lack of school work, is an expression of anger

towards the parents. This is often called a passive-aggressive approach. For example, if

a child feels intense pressure to succeed academically, a factor the student cannot

control, the student may yell or argue with the parent. Rather, low grades are earned

this is something within the student’s ranges of control. The more the parent tries to

control and structure reinforces, the lower the grade fall

Desire for attention

 Unfortunately, some children use lack of academic success as a way of getting

parent or teacher attention. Too often is today’s rapid paced word parents may not give

children who are not doing well the attention they need children that come home, do

their chores, complete their homework, and achieve academically can be ignored simply

they are not causing problem. Children who act out or who seem “helpless” with often

can gain support and attention. Attention for children is a powerful motivator. It is

important to periodically review what types of behavior earn a child attention at home or

at school.

What exactly lies behind the motivations for why we act? Psychologists have

proposed different theories of motivation, including drive theory, instinct theory, and

humanistic theory. The reality is that there are many different forces that guide and

direct our motivations.

Components of Motivation

Anyone who has ever had a goal (like wanting to lose 20 pounds or run a marathon)

probably immediately realizes that simply having the desire to accomplish something is

not enough.

Achieving such a goal requires the ability to persist through obstacles and endurance

to keep going in spite of difficulties.

There are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence, and intensity.

1. Activation involves the decision to initiate a behavior, such as enrolling in a

psychology class.
 1. Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may

exist. An example of persistence would be taking more psychology courses in

order to earn a degree although it requires a significant investment of time,

energy, and resources.

2. Intensity can be seen in the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a

goal. For example, one student might coast by without much effort, while another

student will study regularly, participate in discussions, and take advantage of

research opportunities outside of class. The first student lacks intensity, while the

second pursues his educational goals with greater intensity.

Theories of Motivation

What are the things that actually motivate us to act? Psychologists have proposed

different theories to explain motivation:

 Instincts: The instinct theory of motivation suggests that behaviors are motivated

by instincts, which are fixed and inborn patterns of behavior. Psychologists

including William James, Sigmund Freud, and William McDougal have proposed

a number of basic human drives that motivate behavior. Such instincts might

include biological instincts that are important for an organism's survival such as

fear, cleanliness, and love.

 Drives and Needs: Many of your behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sleeping

are motivated by biology. You have a biological need for food, water, and sleep.

Therefore, you are motivated to eat, drink, and sleep. Drive theory suggests that
 people have basic biological drives and that your behaviors are motivated by the

need to fulfill these drives.

 Arousal Levels: The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people are

motivated to engage in behaviors that help them maintain their optimal level of

arousal. A person with low arousal needs might pursue relaxing activities such as

reading a book, while those with high arousal needs might be motivated to

engage in exciting, thrill-seeking behaviors, such as motorcycle racing.

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Different types of motivation are frequently described as being either extrinsic or

intrinsic. Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and

often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise.Intrinsic

motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated

crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a problem.

A Word from Very Well

Understanding motivation is important in many areas of life, from parenting to the

workplace. You may want to set the best goals and establish the right reward systems

to motivate others as well as to increase your own motivation. Knowledge of motivating

factors and manipulating them is used in marketing and other aspects of industrial

psychology. It's an area where there are many myths and everyone can benefit from

knowing what works and what doesn't (Nevid & Belmont, 2013).
 Parental Pressure in Asian Culture. Parental pressure for academics is a concept

widely recognized in Asian culture. In a qualitative investigation of academic

achievement among Chinese immigrants in Britain, Archer and Francis (2006)

interviewed 80 British Chinese adolescents between the ages of 14 and 16, 30 Chinese

immigrant parents living in Britain, and 30 British teachers. Adolescents consistently

described their family as their major source of inspiration, motivation, and support. Both

parents and adolescents discussed the role of social competition as a form of social

capital among Chinese families to motivate youth to achieve high standards.

Achievement was described in collective terms, such as not wanting to disappoint

one’s family and wanting to bring honor to the family. Parents displayed strong

commitment to their children’s education by providing them with extra paid tutoring and

expressing willingness to provide support in whatever ways they can, regardless of

social class.

Many of the parents expressed a desire to help their children achieve what they

could not achieve due to limited economic and practical resources they had

experienced in their lives. The adolescents expressed awareness about their parents’

aspirations for them and a desire to meet their family’s expectations. However, they

struggled with the idea that “‘doing your best’” was not good enough in Asian culture,

and it was only by striving to “‘[be] the best’” that they could align with their parents’

values (p. 41). While the success of relatives was often held up as a standard for at

least how much one should strive to achieve, only traditional career choices that had a

known track record for providing successful results were encouraged on the basis of

what others within the community had accomplished.

 Many of the findings discussed in Archer and Francis’s (2006) study explain the

foundation of parental valuing of education and the process by which adolescents begin

internalizing messages from their parents. While the benefits of the “be the best”

philosophy creates a culture where one always has room for improvement, upward

mobility, and self-growth, with it may come a “psychic cost” of “‘never feeling good

enough’” and perpetual self-doubt in spite of high achievement (p. 42). The collective

value that the culture places on educational success intensifies the drive to succeed for

the individual.

The family plays a pivotal role in pushing, or pressuring, the child to succeed but

often does so in a way that also bolsters and supports their child’s progress toward

academic and professional success. Parental support, however, also becomes

intertwined with the underlying pressure to succeed, because it often increases feelings

of indebtedness to one’s parents for their support and sacrifice.

Gloria and Ho’s (2003) study of 160 East Asian American college students further

explained the complex impact of Asian parental involvement in academics. They found

that although participants perceived 88% of their mothers and 81% of their fathers as

providing strong support for getting a college education, students reported that they felt

more supported overall by their friends than by family. Gloria and Ho explained that

adolescents may simultaneously perceive both strong familial support and high

pressure to achieve and that the consequences of academic failure may result in not

only shame, guilt, and feelings of inferiority about not being able to meet family

expectations but also loss of support from the family and community.
 The family is at the center of Asian adolescent lives and, within the hierarchical

family structure, each individual in the family unit knows his or her unique role and

function. The primary responsibility of Asian adolescents is to focus on school and

achieve academic success to bring honor to the family. In Asian culture, this role is

defined as early as primary school. Schneider and Lee (1990) conducted in-depth

qualitative interviews with 73 East Asian American and European American secondary

school children, 16 teachers and administrators, and 62 East Asian immigrant and

European American parents. Nearly 60% of the East Asian parents claimed to have

begun teaching their children reading, writing, and math prior to kindergarten. This

academic focus continued into elementary school and beyond for East Asian immigrant

parents, as over 80% reported having provided additional assignments at home to

supplement their children’s education and also paid for their children to attend additional

recreational classes.

The East Asian American children out-performed the European American children

academically and had higher expectations for academic success from parents,

teachers, and peers as well as from themselves. Schneider and Lee noted, “Parent

expectations are extremely powerful and are transmitted through a cultural context in

which education is highly valued because it leads to self-improvement and increased

self-esteem” (p. 374). They further explained that academic success is influenced by not

only high expectations but also by Asian values that are taught at home and

encouraged at school. East Asian American children expressed frustration at their

parents’ constant push for better performance but acknowledged the importance of their

academic success in bringing happiness, pride, and honor to the family.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

Caroline Pulfrey and Butera from the university of Lausanne, together with Celine

Darnon from Clermot University conducted the series of two experiments designed to

test the mediating role perceived task autonomy might play on the impact of grades on

student motivation.

Across the two experiments 209 students in seventh to ninth to grade in public

secondary school in Switzerland performed a language task where they were given

anagrams of varying length to solve. The experiment comprised three conditions:

(a) A standard-grade condition, where the grading system applied was harsher,

resulting in generally lower grades,

(b) A high-grade condition, where a more lenient grading system was applied,

resulting in generally higher grades for the same level of performance, and

(c) A no-grade condition where students received no grade at all.

These three conditions provide the researchers with two contracts. In the reward

contrast, students’ self-reported level of interest in the task and students’ motivation to

continue pursuing similar task were compared in the standard-grade vs the high-grade

conditions. In the autonomy contrast these factors were compared in the graded vs non-

graded conditions. Students’ level of motivation to continue pursuing similar task was

measured by the survey asking them to indicate whether they would like to receive

similar tasks to do on their own after the experiment and how many they would like to

receive. A measure autonomy was also carried out to allow the researchers to examine
the extent to which perceived task autonomy mediated the result relating to both task

interest and to motivation to continue pursuing the task.

What were the results of the studies?

• Students in the high-grade condition reported higher levels of task interest than

students in the standard-grade condition.

• Students in the no-grade condition reported higher levels of task interest than

students in the standard-grade condition

• Students in the high-grade condition expressed more continuing for the task than

students in the standard-grade condition.

• Students in the no-grade condition expressed more continuing for the task than

those in the standard-grade condition.

When the mediating variable of perceived task autonomy was taken into account, it

was revealed that task performance as indicated by a grade did indeed explain

increased interest in the task, but did not predict continuing motivation for the task. On

the other hand, higher levels of perceived task autonomy in the no-grade condition

explained not only increased interest in the task, but also increased motivation to

continue with similar tasks.

These results align with Butler’s (1998) research, which found that while high grades

can temporarily increase interest in a particular task, once the students do not expect to

be graded on similar tasks in the future, this interest may decline. Pulfrey, Darnon and

Butera’s research explains at least one potential reason for this. It seems that external
rewards in the form of grades may lessen perceptions of task autonomy and in so doing

deduce a student’s motivation to pursue similar task in the future. While we may all work

in contexts where not grading at all is not a possibility, it certainly makes sense for us

both to minimize grades wherever possible and find whatever ways we can to increase

the sense of task autonomy in our students.

Motivation is the underlying reason a person has for behaving in particular way. The default

style management has used to motivate their employees is the stick and carrot incentive. The

weakness of this system is being exposed by numerous scientific studies and experiments. For

starters, if the incentive isn’t compelling it doesn’t work. Not only that, it doesn’t take into

consideration the employees own innate interests, how they are hardwired, and drawing on their

natural sense of intrigue.

So the question becomes, what kinds of needs motivate employees? What kinds of

incentives might a company use to influence employee behavior? What’s the best way

to design jobs? Besides compensation, what other rewards can I use to motivate

people? And a more basic question is, what’s more powerful, intrinsic or extrinsic

motivation?

According to Daniel Pink, in his book, Drive*, there is a mismatch between what

science knows and business does. For the most part managers motivate people around

extrinsic motivators. The stick and carrot was okay for twentieth century tasks, but for

twenty-first century tasks the mechanistic reward and punishment approach doesn’t

work. And further, it often does harm!

According to the science, extrinsic rewards by their very nature, focus the mind.

That’s exactly why they work in many cases. They narrow the focus and work very well
for simple tasks. But in today’s work, the solutions are not so simple or obvious. Often

the solution is on the periphery, maybe not out of the box, but at the boxes edge—at the

intersection of different fields and disciplines. It might even lie in the processes another

unrelated industry uses. (Southwest Airlines learned much about a faster flight

turnaround from the railroad industry). The scientific facts are that extrinsic rewards

narrow our focus when we should be looking around.

Today it’s common for routine accounting and straight forward analysis to be

outsourced or to rely on computers to do it faster and more efficiently. More right brain

conceptual responsibilities are required in today’s world of work. We are faced with

issues that don’t have a clear set of rules with a single solution.

So a good strategy is not to do more of the wrong things like threatening with a

sharper stick or enticing with a bigger carrot. A new approach built around intrinsic

motivation not only makes us more creative, but it also makes us feel like we are a part

of something important.

According to Pink and other scientific researchers, this intrinsic motivation revolves

around three elements: (1) Autonomy, (2) Mastery, and (3) Purpose. We all, no matter

what your age, have the desire to direct our own lives, the desire to get better at

something that matters, and the longing to do our work in service to something bigger

than ourselves.

Stick and carrot management work well if you want compliance. But if you want

engagement, self-direction works better. Many studies and examples across the board

show that productivity goes up, engagement goes up, and turnover goes down. When
engagement goes down, older generations might quit and stay, but Millennials will quit

and leave.

Are the studies saying that money doesn’t matter? Absolutely not! Paying people

adequately and fairly is important. But it’s simply the threshold of motivation. It gets you

in the door. Get the money (and bonuses) off the table, and then start motivating

intrinsically with autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Google engineers can spend 20 percent of their time working on anything they want.

Almost all their good ideas have come from that 20 percent (Gmail, Orchid, and Google

News).

Is this utopian? Not at all. Autonomy, mastery, and purpose will win every time over

carrots and sticks—in a KNOCK OUT punch. For simple tasks, carrot rewards can work.

But for more complex tasks our motivation for high performance is in our drive to do

things for their own sake because they matter.

Academic achievement among Asians has been widely recognized in the literature,

but the costs of this success may be tied to significant mental health consequences.

Three samples of undergraduate students in India were recruited from cities such as

Chennai, Kerala, and Delhi totaling 608 (303 males, 301 females). Both online and in

class recruitment occurred.

There were three main purposes of this study: 1) to construct a quantitative measure

of parental pressure, 2) to evaluate whether self-esteem was a potential buffer of the

negative impacts of parental pressure and academic stress, and 3) to understand better

the factors impacting suicidality among adolescents in India by testing a path model of
possible predictors suggested by the literature. Prevalence data of suicidal ideation and

attempt history were also collected. Reporting on their experience over the past six

months, 14.5% (n = 82) of the participants endorsed suicidal ideation and 12.3% (n =

69) of the participants admitted to having deliberately attempted to hurt or kill

themselves.

Five constructs were explored in this study: parental pressure, academic stress,

depression, suicidality, and self-esteem. The Parental Pressure for Success Scale,

designed for this study, was used to measure parental pressure. The Educational

Stress Scale-Adolescents was used to measure academic stress. The Center for

Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale was used to measure depressive

symptomology. Two items from the Youth Self-Report Checklist were used as a

measure of suicidality in the past six months. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was

used to measure global self-esteem. Preliminary support for the reliability and validity of

the Parental Pressure for Success Scale was found. While self-esteem was not a

significant moderator in this study, it was a predictor of both stress and depression.

Results of the path analysis indicated that parental pressure predicted academic

stress, stress predicted depression, and depression predicted suicidality. Parental

pressure indirectly predicted suicidality through academic stress and depression.

Results were discussed in the context of cultural influences on study findings such as

the central role of parents in the family unit, the impact of cultural valuing of education,

collectivistic society, and the Hindu concept of dharma, or duty.

 In spite of the limitations present in this study, a number of important objectives were

accomplished. First, a preliminary measure of parental pressure for success, the PPSS,

was constructed. Based on the participants in this sample, the PPSS appears to have

good preliminary reliability for use with college students in different states in India. The

expert reviewers who participated in the pilot phase of the study endorsed the construct

validity of the PPSS and eliminated items that did not appear to contribute to the

construct of parental pressure, aiding in tightening the scale. The PPSS also

demonstrated good convergent validity in being correlated with the personal pressure

scale (not analyzed in this study). Future studies are needed to further validate this

instrument.

While self-esteem was not a significant moderator in this study, parental pressure did

predict academic stress among the undergraduates in this study. The more perceived

parental pressure a student noted, the more reported academic stress they felt.

Additionally, academic stress did predict depression. The more academic stress a

student reported, the more depressed they tended to feel. Although self-esteem was not

a significant moderator, it did predict both academic stress and depression. Self-esteem

was negatively correlated with both stress and depression, indicating that the more self-

esteem an individual had, the less stressed or depressed they felt. These relationships

were further explained by the path model that included their relationships to suicidality,

a serious issue facing Indian youth. The final model indicated that parental pressure

impacts academic stress directly, and that academic stress impacts depression – as

suggested by the literature. A unique finding was the indirect effect parental pressure

has on suicidality through academic stress and depression. In this case, academic
stress and depression were key intervening variables in the relationship between

parental pressure and suicidality. This supports popular belief that parental pressure for

academic success in India is a key player in adolescent suicides, even if it is through its

indirect impact on feelings of stress and depression.

These findings present empirical support for the argument that parental pressure,

academic stress, depression and suicidality are significant concerns for Indian

undergraduate students. Furthermore, it highlights significant risk factors for Indian

youth and potential causes of suicide, including parental pressure, academic stress, and

depression. Parental pressure impacted perceptions of academic stress which, in turn,

impacted feelings of depression, which then led to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. As

predicted, parental pressure and academic stress were implicated in the development of

these negative, sometimes deadly, risk factors – albeit indirectly through the

development of depressive symptomology. Adolescent distress and suicide are issues

of key concern and need to be addressed.

Implications of this study for parents, teachers, administrators, and policy makers

include having more formal empirical support for the trends recognized informally by the

media following tragic incidents of student suicide. The Indian government appears

aware of this woeful trend and has been taking some initiatives to increase access to

social programs to educate the public about the negative consequences of academic

stress and parental pressure. A systemic shift can be difficult to orchestrate given the

embeddedness of these social values of achievement in a highly competitive job market

with limited access to resources. Further educating the public about research that
supports the use of authoritative versus authoritarian or permissive parenting styles in

actually enhancing student success may be beneficial. Additionally, describing the

construct of parental pressure as discussed in this study – as containing both overt and

covert dimensions and even taking the form of seemingly harmless or “supportive” acts

of sacrifice – may help parents better understand the impact their beliefs and behaviors

have on their children.

A study of 2,142 secondary school students in Hong Kong and the Mainland of

China similarly found that over-expectations from families and pressure to succeed led

to adolescent distress, regardless of perceptions of familial support (Ngai & Cheung,

2000). Academic over-expectation was the strongest and most frequently reported

cause of stress for the adolescents in the study, even above more direct confrontations

such as quarrels in the family.

Investigating the role of family obligation among different ethnic groups in the United

States (U.S.) including European Americans, as well as a group of Latin Americans and

Asians from countries such as the Philippines, China, and Taiwan who were mostly

immigrants, Fuligni (2007) conducted a 14-year longitudinal study of over 600 students

and in-depth interviews with 35 participants during the final stages of the study. He

found that the Asian and Latin American students consistently reported “a stronger

sense of obligation to support, assist, and respect the authority of the family” than did

European American students, with increases in these feelings between the ages of 19

and 21 and among foreign-born students (p. 97). Fuligni explained the tendency among

these ethnic groups to feel indebted to their parents for the sacrifices they had made

and viewed academic success as a form of repayment. Filial piety, one’s sense of duty
to one’s family, is an important Confucian value that has been studied in relation to

academic motivation. For example, Chow and Chu (2007) examined the role of filial

piety and parental involvement on academic achievement among nearly 300 middle

school students in Hong Kong. Reviewing the literature, Chow and Chu discussed the

role of filial piety on parenting styles and intergenerational relations, such as the

hierarchy of elders and honoring of ancestors. They explained that “authoritarian

moralism” is a guiding feature of filial piety, emphasizing respect for authority figures

such as parents and teachers, and values of obedience, self-control, right conduct, and

the needs of others over one’s own (p. 95).

In their study, Chow and Chu found that parental valuing of education and filial piety,

particularly the value of “self-sacrificing obedience,” were positively related to academic

achievement motivation. High parental achievement expectations coupled with little

feedback from the parents, however, were related to academic a motivation or lack of

motivation. Their findings emphasized the importance of parental values, expectations,

and feedback in encouraging Asian youth to succeed academically due to the strong

values of familial duty in Asian culture.

In another study of academic motivation and the role of self- and other- expectations,

Chen and Stevenson (1995) conducted a large-scale cross-cultural study of 11th

graders in the U.S. and in Asia. Participants were 304 Asian Americans, 1,958

European Americans, 1,475 students in Taiwan, and 1,120 students in Japan.

Academic success was related to intrinsic motivation, such as working hard to meet

one’s own high standards or for the sake of knowledge, versus extrinsically driven

goals, such as to get a better job or as a means of getting into college. Asian students
tended to endorse effort as the strongest predictor of academic performance while the

two groups of students in the U.S. tended to believe that the quality of the teacher was

the best predictor. Compared to Asian Americans and European Americans, the

Taiwanese and Japanese students consistently reported the highest standards for

themselves and from their parents and peers, as well as the most investment in

education. The Taiwanese and Japanese students also scored highest on math

achievement. A large percentage of Taiwanese (35%) and Japanese (29%) students

endorsed the view that their parents’ expectations for them were too high. Chen and

Stevenson (1995) described the strong influence that the Asian Confucian belief in hard

work and effort as the route to success has on students in Asia by emphasizing

personal responsibility.

In spite of these pressures, higher standards for Asian youth did not correlate with

psychological maladjustment in their study (Chen & Stevenson, 1995). It is important to

note, however, that Chen and Stevenson (1995) devised their own questionnaire for the

study and did not employ validated instruments to measure the impact of these

variables on psychological maladjustment and distress. The current study conducted a

pilot study to ensure that the parental pressure to succeed instrument designed for this

study displayed adequate reliability. Additionally, the study employed widely accepted

and validated instruments to examine the role that parental expectations and pressures

played on psychological health.

Parental Pressure in Indian Culture. Indian online news media are filled with stories

of “academic pressurization” by parents. These and other articles speculate about the

risk of pushing children “over the edge” from excessive pressure, which has been
hypothesized to be a major cause of adolescent suicides in India (i.e., Bertolote,

Fleischmann, Leo, & Wasserman, 2004). Indian educational culture has been

recognized as “fiercely competitive” due to the density of India’s population set against

limited availability of resources including jobs, seats at prestigious colleges, and

opportunities to work abroad.

One Indian news article discussed the collective experience of academic stress in

Indian families, including both students and their parents (Boruah, 2014). The article

headline, published in The Times of India, read “Exam season puts parents in city in

stress mode.” Boruah (2014) discussed her interview with a local psychologist who was

consultant to 28 cases of parents who had experiences such as a “nervous breakdown,”

“high blood pressure,” sleep deprivation, anxiety, and/or depression due to them

children’s exams. One case described parents of a 10th grader who had been

“spending sleepless nights for the past one month, keeping their daughter company as

she studies through the night. Their lack of sleep, though has left them anxious and

depressed, and with high blood pressure.” Stress levels were noted to be particularly

high around March prior to college entrance exams. Other parents were described as

having taken sabbaticals for up to six months to help their children prepare for the

exams. The psychologist who had been interviewed in the article explained, “It is a

prestige issue for parents, as they too have peer and family pressure burdening them.”

The extent of collectivism within Indian society was highlighted in the article when

counselors from toll-free crisis phone lines in India reported that the total number of

calls they receive has recently doubled and that parents and even grandparents are

frequenters of this service.

 Empirical research studies about the impact of parental pressure in India are scant.

Research in this area generally focuses on pressure for academic achievement or

professional success. Academic subjects are valued in relation to their prestige rather

than their relative fit with the individual’s personal interests or inclinations (Gupta &

Tracey, 2005). Science and mathematics are particularly venerated, while subjects in

the humanities are considered “less than” (Roysircar, Carey, & Koroma, 2010).

A study conducted in the neighboring country of Pakistan, examined the effect of

parental and peer pressure on academic achievement among a sample of 156 graduate

level students (Akhtar & Aziz, 2011). Akhtar and Aziz (2011) distributed “opinionnaires”

to examine students’ perceptions of pressure from their parents and peers. No

information about specific items in the survey was provided. Parental pressure,

however, was conceptualized as expectations from parents to abide by certain values

and norms. The placing of these expectations itself was described as pressure, but they

operationalized pressure as having a more neutral valence and not being either positive

or negative. They further describe past research that categorizes parental pressure into

two domains: pressure to perform and pressure to conform. Graduation examination

scores were used as the measure of academic achievement. Results of their study

indicated that parental pressure and academic achievement were positively correlated.

That is, the more parental pressure the student received the better scores they received

on their exam. Examining how Indians conceptualize their ideal selves as compared to

their Western counterparts, Naidoo and Fielder (1962) surveyed 100 Indian and 100

American male graduate students in the U.S. No further information was provided in

the study about citizenship, race, or ethnicity of the participants. While Indian students
had higher standards for their “ideal self”, they were less likely than American students

to believe that they could meet these expectations. Although Naidoo and Fielder

acknowledged that Indian men who study abroad were likely to be a “highly select

group” (p. 124), the general trend of their finding, that Indians have extraordinarily high

expectations for themselves, has been supported by later research (i.e., Mohan, 1975).

Although their study only investigated self-expectations, it would be reasonable to

surmise that these expectations had at least some origin in what they were taught

growing up. To understand better the qualitative nature of parental pressure and the

severity with which it can influence Indian college students, Mohan (1975) interviewed

25 middle and upper class undergraduate students in an out-patient psychiatric clinic in

India. All participants cited problems with academic distress, including feelings of being

unable to meet their own academic expectations. While students’ initial presenting

concerns related to self-expectations, their struggles with meeting parental demands

and their perceptions of parental pressure were revealed during the in-depth interviews.

Themes included having a parent who had to work hard to progress up the socio-

economic ladder, being pressured to surpass their parents’ achievements, being

prevented from socializing to avoid interference with academics, and experiencing

extreme guilt and fear of disappointing parents by not studying hard enough or passing

all the exams. Perceiving their parents’ push for educational success as pressure, which

resulted in severe stress, was a theme present across the cases. Mohan (1975) noted

that Indian parents demonstrated their own commitment to their children’s education in

this study. He described cases of mothers who would during exam time provide special

meals, make frequent visits to their children in the dormitories (known as hostels),
create an environment at home conducive to studying, and pay for extra coaching

classes to help their children be successful on exams. Mohan explained the importance

of academic achievement in post-independence India as a source of social mobility for

the individual, family, and the caste group, since formerly oppressed groups depended

heavily on the successes of individuals within their group to obtain greater acceptance

within society.

Of the few published empirical studies about parental pressure in India, many are

dated or have limited information on validity and reliability of instruments used, dearth of

information on the construct of parental pressure, and scant descriptions of

methodology. In some cases, reliability information was provided, but no explanation

was offered when instruments indicating low Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities were used to

draw conclusions about the findings.

 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methods and procedures used in conducting this study. It

includes the research design, locale of the study, research participants, sources of data,

instruments, data gatherings, and the data analysis.

Lebak Legislated National High School,

Locale of the Study
Students’ Pressures: Motivational Factors in

Poblacion III, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat

Getting Honors and its Sustentation

Honor Students of Lebak Legislated

Research Participants National High School

Interviews, Survey Papers or

Sources of Data Questionnaires

Data Gathering

Data Analysis

Figure 1. Research Design

Research Design

The study used phenomenological method using interviews and also In-Depth

interviews was used in the gathering of information, experiences, responses and

answers of the students which was accomplished by providing survey papers and

questionnaires to the respondents which are the honor students of the Lebak Legislated

National High School.

Locale of the study

This study was conducted in Lebak legislated National High School, Poblacion III,

Lebak, Province of Sultan, Kudarat. Generally, the research area consists mainly with

the honor students and their pressure in getting honor and its sustentation. The

students perform their task to have an efficient work habits as their main purpose to get

high grades. The school served as the locale of the study for this school is one of the

schools in the province where in honor students are being recognized and awarded.

Thus, in relation to the study honors students were interviewed to recognize and identify

the results of the problem. In addition, the study was conducted from January 25-March

30, 2018.

Research Participants

The participants of the study are the honor students of Lebak Legislated National

High School from Grade 7-12 and enrolled during school year 2018-2019. This group of

respondents were chosen because more or less they are the students who are mostly

experiencing pressures in terms of academic standings and their level of understanding

could also warrant good responses which were essentially critical to the survey

questionnaires.
Ethical Consideration

In consideration for the respondents, students were interviewed and was given

survey questionnaires during their free time such as lunch time, rest time and some

factors the researchers allowed the respondents to bring home the survey papers for

the purpose that it will be answered freely, correctly and essentially and also for them to

focused on the questions of the study, furthermore, it would was not stressful for them

for it wasn’t inserted to their schedules forcedly but they were dependent to answer the

question of what allotted time they spent with just to answer the survey papers. Their

answers and responds to the question was not questioned and deprived but it was

openly accepted and considered by the researchers. However, for the protection

purpose, the personalities and identities of the respondents were not exposed and was

privately kept by the researchers of the study. And before the questions were given,

consents from students’ parents, advisers and teachers were asked and sought to

validly implement the surveys.

Sampling Method

The study applied the theoretical sampling in identifying and determining the

respondents or participants. Since the research is phenomenological, the researcher

utilized the theoretical sampling which is most convenient for phenomenological

research. In fact, the researchers were convinced that this was also the most

appropriate way to identify the samples of the current issues related to the study.

Crabtree (2006) said that this method is best used when the research focuses on theory
and concept development, and thus the research aims to develop and improve theory

and concepts regarding the students’ pressures and motivations and make essential

changes in students’ life perceptions. Theoretical sampling necessitates building

interpretative theories from the emerging data and selecting a new sample to examine

and elaborate on this theory (Marshall, 1996 in Pomponio, 2008).

The researchers also used stratified sampling in determining the respondents of the

study. The participants were identified through getting the list of honor students in every

class section which has students who are qualified for honors and though reach 90 and

above average grades which was committed from Grade 7-12. However, the affiliated

reason why honor students were chosen as participants of the study is because they

are the usual students who are mostly experiencing pressures and extremity. And also

the students who are outstanding enough to simply answer the questions given in the

questionnaires. Furthermore, they can easily relate their experiences and life as honor

students in the study. Through this they could clearly give the asked answers, ideas

and information needed in the study.

In the sample of the study, researchers determined and recognized the respondents

through criterion sampling. Whereas the criterions of the study are the following:

 Certified honor students of the grade level and section

 Experienced pressures in getting honors

 Motivated to get honors because of the pressures experienced

Instrumentation

The researcher utilized a researcher-made survey questionnaires and interview

guides to obtain and collect data, ideas, and information. In relation to the formulation of

the survey questionnaires and interview guides, the researcher made a temporary

questionnaires and draft and was referred to the teachers, grammar checker, and

research adviser for evaluation and asked comments and suggestions which was

openly accepted by the researcher for the improvements and corrections. Then the

suggestions and comments were included in the second draft, and again referred to

evaluators and validators for the final manifestation and publication of the

questionnaires. The final questionnaires were validated through trials and test, it was

given to the 3 students temporarily and given time to answer the question to determine

if the questions will be easily understanding and answered, however the answers were

not included in the study. For the purpose, the validations were done to ensure that the

critics, corrections, comments, suggestions, and evaluation were included and covered

for the improvement aspects. The results of validations and evaluations were also used

in adjusting the tone and language of the questions so that it can be easily understand,

as well as the flow and sequences of the main questions together with the probing

questions.

After the interview guides were finalized, it was presented to the Research Adviser

for final comments and approval. To further make the questions easily understand, the

researcher also made a Tagalog version of the questionnaires for the interviewees or

respondents to be cleared on the questions asked.

Data Gathering Procedures

To officially conduct the study, the researchers sought and asked approvals from the

School Principal, classroom advisers and teachers, particularly the classrooms of the

honor students. When the study was approved for the conduct in the school, the

approved letter presented to the Research Adviser and the researchers scheduled the

dates for the interviews and survey to the honor students.

The researcher used recorder device such as cellular phones and others with

capacity to record bulk amount of voice data to legibly obtain the answers and response

of the participants in the questions. The gathered interviews were also written and jotted

notes used to guide the transcriptions of the responses to the interviews. And the

gathered data in both recorded and written were analyzed using comparative technique

where the two materials used in the interviews were compared to obtain the final and

legit answers.

While during the actual interviews the two ways of obtaining information were

regularly compared, as the usual case in phenomenological research. Thus, before

gathered data officially implemented and established, further comparison with all the

answers in all the questionnaires were compared firstly to cognize the similarities and

differences between the answers.