An assessment of the home study program : a basis for enrichment / 6
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Armida V. Abad.
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- xiv, 158 pages : illustrations 26 cm.
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Thesis (M.A.) -- Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 2010.;A thesis presented to the Graduate School of Sciences and Education, in partial fulfillment of the requirements in the Degree Master of Arts in Education Major in Educational Administration.;Includes bibliographical references.
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Distance education may be viewed as an alternative system in which students may avail education other than conventional education. Though conventional education has long been adopted in the educational system of the country, and is continuously responding to the needs of the society, several problems arise in its promulgation. These problems which continuously haunt the educational system include: the increase in school dropouts, out-of-school children and youths, emotionally laden students. In these circumstances arise the adaptation of distance education from western countries as an alternative to conventional system. This is widely accepted trend in delivering education in western countries. In the Philippines, distance education is gradually recognized by the society as an option in education. This alternative education comes in different forms such as open learning, home schooling and home study. This study was an attempt to assess the implementation of one of these forms, the home study, particularly, the home study program (HSP) of Colegio San Juan de Letran. The home study program of the Colegio is adopted from Angelicum College, which is also a Dominican Institution. Through the years of its implementation, the Colegio's HSP is slowly increasing and has been recognized by the Department of Education in 2004. The assessment of the home study program of the Colegio focused on the main areas of the development plan. These are the curricular program, student management and development, student services, Christian formation, school and community relations, material resources, human resource development and special projects. This descriptive study used a questionnaire as a data-gathering instrument. Four groups of respondents assessed the status of the home study program. These groups include the current enrollees and alumni of the HSP, parents of the current enrollees and alumni, administrators and learning facilitators. Moreover, the researcher employed convenient sampling due to the fact that the population of the HSP is limited. The profile of students-respondents, administrators and facilitators were determined using frequency and percentage. In order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the home study program of the Colegio, main areas in the development plan were evaluated using the Likert-scale. Weighted mean of responses were computed and interpreted. As to the significant differences between groups of respondents, one-way analysis of variance was used. The development plan that serves as a guide in the implementation of policies of the home study program of the Colegio includes eight main areas. The findings of the study revealed that the main areas mentioned were considered as strengths of the home study program as assessed by the four groups of respondents. Curricular program ranked the highest with an overallmean of 3.35. This denotes the implementation of self-paced and self-learning system. Second in rank is the assessment of material resources (Ẍ=3.30). The result indicated strength of the HSP in providing appropriate study and testing centers and school facilities such as computer and science laboratories for academic enrichment. School and community relations ranked third in the assessment of the respondents (Ẍ=3.12). The result signified the distinct interaction among students, facilitators and parents. The human resource development was considered strength of the program (Ẍ-3.05). This indicated the provision of adequate number of facilitators, competency of facilitators in their field of specialization, and a well-structured academic consultation. Moreover, assessment of the special project of the HSP was also considered as strength of the program (Ẍ=3.03) in extending the program to the qualified members of the adopted community and the support group of the Colegio. Student management and development was perceived as a strength of the program (Ẍ=2.95) in providing a clear enrollment procedure, recognition of achievers for academic enrichment. Student services were also considered strength of the program (Ẍ-2.89). However, health services were rated as a weakness (Ẍ=2.31) in providing annual medical symposium and check up. This result was based on the assessment of facilitators, parents and students. Christian formation has the lowest assessment with an over-all mean of 2.73. Though the mean response is still considered as a strength of the program, it showed weakness (Ẍ=2.25) in providing retreat/ recollection and other activities that develop Christian values. In the one-way analysis of variance test, the responses of the four groups of respondents have showed no significant differences in their assessment of the main areas of the home study program. For each of the variables, the computed p-value of 0.198 to 0.921 were greater than the critical value at 0.05 level. Based on the statistical analysis of data, the study revealed that HSP caters to older school-aged students. Thus, it also confirmed that the HSP follows a self-paced and self-learning system with the provision of a well-structured academic consultation, qualified facilitators and adequate material resources. The study showed no significant difference in the assessment of respondents, thus, the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the perception of the stakeholders on the strengths and weaknesses of the HSP was sustained. This study recommends enhancement of policies, particularly in the areas of student management and development, studies services and Christian formation. AS sufficient hand activities should be included in all subject areas. Research activities with the aid of internet services of the Colegio may be further intensified. The study also suggests the improvement of health services, such as provision of student medical symposium and acquisition of annual medical check-up. Christian formation may be revitalized through reflection papers and spiritual activities such as retreat / recollection which may be required to the students as enrichment activities. These recommendations may further sustain the quality of education that the home study program offers.