Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 25 Alignment of The Holy Cross College STA. Rosa Student’s program with their Interest and Skills Abie Shane B. Perez1, John Vincent L. Santos2 Undergraduate Researcher, Holy Cross College, Sta. Rosa, NE, Inc. Philippines1 Adviser, Holy Cross College, Sta. Rosa, NE, Inc. Philippines2 j.vince103@gmail.com Accepted: Jan 17th 2022 Reviewed: March 12th 2022 Published: May 30th 2022 Abstract: There are several elements that impact individuals' college program selection. Most students choose their college program based on parental influence, often overlooking some aspects such as whether they are fit or interested in the programs. This research focused on finding if there’s a significant relationship between the alignment of students’ programs with their interests and skills to their academic performance. The test was conducted on the 3rd-year students of Holy Cross College enrolled in the year 2021-2022. The researchers conducted the survey on the selected programs of Holy Cross College which is from the Education, Computer Science, Business Management, and Hospitality Management. This study used a quantitative, non-experimental design using a correlational approach. Spearman Rank Correlation, a non-parametric test was used to find the relationships between the alignment of the students and their academic performance. In testing the alignment of the students, the researchers used the Holland Theory. The data show that the obtained value is rs = -0.004 and the critical value is set at 0.206. Failure to pass certain criteria we fail to reject our null hypothesis (rs = -0.004, ρ>0.05). Therefore, we can say that there is no significant relationship between the alignment of students’ programs with their skills and interests, and performance. Whether the student’s programs are aligned or not aligned with their interest and skills they can still have good performance in their chosen programs. Although from the data obtained we can notice that students aligned with their programs have better performance academically. Keyword: Holland’s Career Theory of Choice, Student Traits, Performance, Work Preference, Skills, Interest Introduction A career is exciting and at the same time, a very tough decision to make. There are a lot of factors that influence the students in choosing their program in college, studies show the parent's influence as most significant, followed by influence from peers, gender, print media, financial reasons, interest, and others1. Most of the students chose their program in college based on the influence of their parents and most of the time disregarding some factors if they are fitted or interested in the programs2. Roese and Summerville (2005) provided meta-analytical evidence that 1 Asma Shahid Kazi and Abeeda Akhlaq, “Factors Affecting Students’ Career Choice.,” Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE) 11, no. 2 (2017). 2 Christian Kuswibowo, “Analisis Pengaruh Kompetensi, Motivasi Kerja Dan Pengembangan Karir Terhadap Produktivitas Kerja Guru Pada Lembaga Pendidikan Islam,” Journal of Islamic Education and Innovation (2021): 153–164; C Kuswibowo - International Journal of Business Studies and undefined 2022, “The Impact of Service Performance on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Bank BTN,” mailto:riyu.choirul57@gmail.com EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 26 the most frequently identified life regret for Americans involves their educational choice3. Any student's academic success is the consequence of a complex interaction of elements such as study habits, personality traits, and personal interests, as well as the teaching abilities of concerned faculties4. The teachers are tasked with responsibilities of making sure that students achieve the objectives of their lessons5. However, Students' eagerness is a major motivator for academic achievement6. Their interest in the subject is distinct and appears to be self-sustaining; it has a positive impact on their ability to accomplish and thrive in their occupations by improving their attention, goal-setting, comprehension, motivation, and learning7. Second, the student's abilities were discovered to predict academic success8. Students' study habits, skills, attitudes, and motivation are all linked to their academic achievement9. Many students are disregarding these factors that cause a varied response to their performance in their programs. According to Wallace, P., & Clariana, R. B. (2005), upon entering a program like a computer science, students are expected to have prior computer knowledge and skill from their previous experience, to have a good performance in their chosen program10. When we’re talking about alignment this pertains to the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts. A work being fit for its users can be linked with students being aligned with their capabilities11. According to Roese, N. J., & Summerville, A. (2005), Education is the most common life regret, followed by profession, romance, parenthood, and self-discovery12. The majority of Americans regret their college degrees and programs, which leads to career regrets. Based upon the study of Kazi, A. S., & Akhlaq, A. (2017), The impact of their parents, friends, gender, and social media have a role in determining their major and programs1. In the the meta-analysis of Robbins 2004, Which underlined the significance of a student's skills to forecast academic achievement success7. In addition to this, the theory based on Harackiewicz, J.et al. (2016), according to the findings, a student's interest may be a potent motivator for academic achievement5. Fig. 1 Research Paradigm ijbs.ipmi.ac.id (n.d.), accessed June 23, 2022, http://ijbs.ipmi.ac.id/index.php/ijbs/article/view/211. 3 Neal J Roese and Amy Summerville, “What We Regret Most... and Why,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31, no. 9 (2005): 1273–1285. 4 Arora, N., & Singh, N. (2017). Factors Affecting the Academic Performance of College Students. Journal of Educational Technology, 14(1), 47-53. 5 Santos, J. V. L. (2021). Contingency Theories of Leadership: Effectiveness of the College Instructor’s Leadership Sty le. EDUCATIO: Journal of Education, 6(2), 107-113. 6 Harackiewicz, J. M., Smith, J. L., & Priniski, S. J. (2016). Interest matters: The importance of promoting interest in education. Policy insights from the behavioral and brain sciences, 3(2), 220-227 7 Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. E. (2015). The power of interest for motivation and engagement. Routledge. 8 Robbins, S. B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., Langley, R., & Carlstrom, A. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 130(2), 261. 9 McKenzie, K., & Schweitzer, R. (2001). Who succeeds at university? Factors predicting academic performance in first year Australian university students. Higher education research & development, 20(1), 21-33. 10 Wallace, P., & Clariana, R. B. (2005). Perception versus reality—Determining business students’ computer literacy skills and need for instruction in information concepts and technology. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 4(1), 141-151. 11 Santos, J. V., & Gallardo, D. L. (2021). Ergonomic hazards in the workplace: Assessment, evaluation and prevention in the educational environment of Holy Cross College. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 4(07). 12 Roese, N. J., & Summerville, A. (2005). What we regret most... and why. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(9), 1273-1285. EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 27 Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success5. According to Robbins et al. (2004), in their meta- analysis found that the academic-related skills have predicted students to succeed academically and more motivated to do well in academic environments7. Many students are disregarding these factors when they are considering their career path. Through this study, we are going to investigate the following: 1) How may the students alignment to their program be described in terms of their performance? 2) Is there a significant relationship between the Student's alignment to their program with their academic performance? 3) How can the institution help the students in choosing their career path that is relevant to their interests and skills? The general purpose of this study is to find out how many students are enrolled in programs that match their interests and abilities. The researchers also wants to discover if there is a significant effect on their academic achievement. This study will be conducted in Holy Cross College, Sta. Rosa, N.E. Inc. Each of the respondents is given the same questionnaire through the form to answer. The study will be conducted on the third-year students in different programs under Education, Business, Hospitality, and Computer Science. However, there are some limitations to this study: the sample for this study was limited to third-year students enrolled in programs such as Education, Business Administration, Hospitality Management, and Computer Science. This course may not be appropriate for students who do not fit into these categories. Instead, the survey generated a number of case studies from which the researchers might draw conclusions. One of the reasons for the paper's weak foundation is the lack of previous research papers in the studied areas. METHODS This study uses a quantitative, non-experimental design using a correlational approach. Quantitative research design is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the variables. It is used to describe and examine relationships between and among variables. Correlational research is a quantitative research approach in which two or more quantitative variables are from the same group of subjects. The respondent in this study was selected using non-probability sampling strategy that included voluntary response and convenience sampling. Non-random sampling is a sampling method in which the sample is chosen based on criteria other than chance. The convenience of access is a major factor in the voluntary response sample. People volunteer themselves rather than the researchers selecting and physically approaching them (e.g. by responding to a public online survey). A convenience sample is made up of people who are most easily accessible to the researchers. This study's respondents were the third-year students of Holy Cross College, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, Inc. Before conducting the study to the students, the researchers asked permission to conduct the survey. The researchers sent a letter and a copy of the questionnaire to Holy Cross College, EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 28 Sta. Rosa, N.E. Inc. asking permission to conduct a study in all the third-year college students. After the approval of the letter, the researchers will conduct an online survey through an closed- ended questionnaire in the Google form and survey questionnaire. The questionnaire undergoes a series of approval and validity to ensure the relevance to the study. The researchers made use of a multiple-choice questionnaire to gather the necessary data needed. The first part of the multiple-choice questionnaire consisting of seven (7) questions was based on Holland's Theory on the six categories of people based on personality, interests, and skills. Holland found that people needing help with career decisions can be supported by understanding their resemblance to the following six ideal vocational personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional. This test will determine what are the skills and interests of the students and if it’s aligned to their programs. The second part of the survey will be focused on the academic performance of the students. In determining the alignment of the student’s interest and skills, the researchers made use of Holland Theory, the data was interpreted by getting the skills and interest code which compose of the initials of the three personality types that the respondent selected, in order, then interpret the results through the given table to know what programs are aligned based on their interest and skills. Table 1 – Skills and Interest with Sample Occupation Skills and Interest Sample Occupation Description Realistic • Contractor • Emergency medical technician (EMT) • Mechanic • Military career • Packaging engineer • Structured • Clear lines of authority • Work with things and tools • Casual dress • Focus on tangible results or well-thought-out goals Investigative • Pharmacist • Lab technician • Nanotechnologist • Geologist • College professor • Nonstructured • Research oriented • Intellectual • Work with ideas and data Artistic • Advertising career • Architect • Animator • Musician • Journalist • Nonstructured • Creative • Rewards unconventional and aesthetic approaches • Creation of products and ideas Social • Teacher • Geriatric counselor • Correctional officer • Coach • Nurse • Collaborative • Collegial • Work with people and on people-related problems/issues • Work as a team or community Enterprising • Sales manager • Banker • Lawyer • Business owner • Restaurant manager • Typical business environment • Results oriented • Driven • Work with people and data • Entrepreneurial • Power focused Conventional • Auditor • Insurance • Orderly • Clear rules and policies EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 29 underwriter • Bank teller • Office manager • Database manager • Consistent processes • Work with systems to manipulate and organize data • Control and handling of money The researchers used the Correlation Analysis to measure the strength of the linear relationship and association between students’ alignment to their program and their academic performance. The analysis also identify the relationship, patterns, significant connections, and trends between two variables. The researchers test the relationship with the use of Spearman Rank- Ordered correlation test. The Spearman Rank-Ordered Correlation, this statistical test was used to determine the significant relationship of two variables that are either ordinal, interval, or ratio. Spearman's correlation coefficient, (ρ, also signified by rs) measures the strength and direction of association between two ranked variables. This is used to determine if there’s a relationship between the student’s programs' alignment in their interest and skills relating to their academic performance. The researchers separates the students aligned and those who are not to their programs and test their relationship to their academic performance. The researchers also used the Correlation Analysis to measure the strength of the linear relationship and association between students’ alignment to their program and their academic performance. The analysis also identify the relationship, patterns, significant connections, and trends between two variables. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Table 2 – Demographic Profile Demographic Profile Percentage Sex Male 26.37% Female 73.63% Senior High School Strand ABM 28.57% HUMSS 6.59% STEM 7.69% GAS 13.19% TVL 7.69% College Program Education 45.05% Computer Science 27.47% Hospitality Management 15.38% Business Management 12.09% After the tabulation of the data, 91 students from the Department of Education, Computer Science, Hospitality Management and Business Administration of Holy Cross College voluntarily participated in the study. The age of the respondents are ranging from 20 to 37 years old, most of the respondents are at the age of 21 (48.35%), the lowest are at the age of 30,31,and 37 (1.09%) and there is no record for the age of 26 and 27. While most of them are female (73.63%) compare to the male (26.37%) who participate on the survey. Comparing the strand of the students from senior high school from ABM(28.57%), HUMSS (6.59%),STEM(7.69%), GAS (13.19%), TVL (7.69%) most of the respondents are from Alternative Learning System (36,36%). The dominant respondents who participated on the study is from the Education Department (45.05%), next to EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 30 the list are the from the Computer Science (27.47%), Hospitality Management (15.38%), and lastly the Business Management (12.09%). The students were tasted if their interests and skill are aligned with their program which is done through the Holland Theory. The data shows that 63.73% of the students are aligned with their program and 36.26% from the different departments are not aligned with their program. The respondents were asked about their grades last semester and were computed through general weighted mean. The performance of the students aligned with their program resulted in a general weighted average of 3.53, verbally, they are having a very good performance which falls under the grades of 1.75-2.00. This goes the same with the students not aligned with their program, the data shows the general weighted average of 3.60, which still fall in the bracket of 1.75-2.00. Table 3 – Performance and Alignment Cross Tabulation Fig. 2 Frequency of Performance with Alignment The cross tabulation of data shows the alignment and the performance of the students, if we going to compare the data obtained, we can notice that students who are aligned with their programs mostly get very good performance rather than the students who are not aligned. In addition, we can observe that there are more students who have excellent performance when their program is aligned with their interests and skills. Although, we have 3 students with the lowest performance under the students aligned. The overall graphical representation shows that students who are aligned have a better performance than the students who are not aligned but we cannot disregard the data that students who are not aligned still performed well academically. Table 4 – Spearman’s Rho Correlation Coefficient Spearman's rho Alignment Correlation Coefficient 1.000 -0.004 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.972 Performance Total Passing Fair Good Very Good Excellent Alignment Not Aligned 0 3 11 15 4 33 Aligned 3 6 15 25 9 58 Total 3 9 26 40 13 91 EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 31 N 91 91 Performance Correlation Coefficient -0.004 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.972 N 91 91 To test the relationship of the student’s academic performance with their interest and skills, the researchers used the Spearman Rank-Ordered Correlation, setting the margin of error at 5%, the critical value for rejecting the null hypothesis is 0.206. The tabulation of data shows that the obtained value is rs = -0.004. To reject the null hypothesis, the obtained value should be greater than or equal to the critical value which only means that we fail to reject our null hypothesis (rs = -0.004, ρ>0.05). The correlation coefficient implies a trivial or no relationship at all between the alignment and self-assessed performance of the students. CONCLUSION Upon analyzing the data, most of the students studying at Holy Cross College in the Department of Education, Business Administration, Hospitality Management, and Computer Science are aligned with their program. Regardless of their alignment with their skills and interests, students can have a very good performance academically in their chosen programs. In terms of relationship, we fail to reject our null hypothesis, which suggest that there is no relationship between the performance of the students and their alignment to their programs. In conclusion, the interests and skills of the students have no relationship to their academic performance, whether their aligned or not to their chosen program. RECOMMENDATIONS The study shows that even if the interest and skills of students are not aligned with their chosen program, they can still attained a good performance. So if you are someone who thinks that your skills and interest are not aligned with your desired program, you can try and pursue what you love. Should the future researchers desire to study the interest and skills of the student's alignment to their programs, the researchers suggests another survey technique in getting the performance of the students and have an additional interpretation to test the alignment of the programs. In addition, the future researchers should include all the programs to further expand the coverage of the data, the sampling method should be more specific and the location of the study should be more accessible to the researchers. The researchers also suggests finding more related literature and theory to support the study. REFERENCES Arora, Nisha, And Neetu Singh. “Factors Affecting the Academic Performance of College Students.” i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology 14, no. 1 (2017): 47. http://dx.doi.org/10.26634/jet.14.1.13586. Development, S Eagle - Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural, and Undefined 1999. “The Language Situation in Nepal.” Taylor & Francis (1999). Dulock, Helen L. “Research Design: Descriptive Research.” Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 10, no. 4 (1993): 154–157. Eagle, Sonia. “The Language Situation in Nepal.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural EDUCATIO : Journal Of Education Volume 7 , Number 1, May 2022 ISSN : 2579-8383 (Print) ISSN : 2579-8405 (Online)_____________________________________________________________ Volume 7, Number 1, May 2022 | 32 Development 20, no. 4–5 (1999): 272–327. education, K Lamichhane - International journal of inclusive, and undefined 2017. “Teaching Students with Visual Impairments in an Inclusive Educational Setting: A Case from Nepal.” Taylor & Francis 21, no. 1 (January 2017): 1–13. Ezaki, Naruho. “Enrolment Patterns of Individual Children Left behind in the Trend towards ‘Quality Education’: A Case Study of Primary Education in Nepal.” Education 3-13 47, no. 5 (July 2019): 520–533. Harackiewicz, Judith M, Jessi L Smith, and Stacy J Priniski. “Interest Matters: The Importance of Promoting Interest in Education.” Policy insights from the behavioral and brain sciences 3, no. 2 (October 2016): 220–227. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29520371. Kazi, Asma Shahid, and Abeeda Akhlaq. “Factors Affecting Students’ Career Choice.” Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE) 11, no. 2 (2017). Kuswibowo, Christian. “Analisis Pengaruh Kompetensi, Motivasi Kerja Dan Pengembangan Karir Terhadap Produktivitas Kerja Guru Pada Lembaga Pendidikan Islam.” Journal of Islamic Education and Innovation (2021): 153–164. McKenzie, Kirsten, and Robert Schweitzer. “Who Succeeds at University? Factors Predicting Academic Performance in First Year Australian University Students.” Higher Education Research & Development 20, no. 1 (2001): 21–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07924360120043621. Morine-Dershimer, Greta, and Todd Kent. “The Complex Nature and Sources of Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge.” Examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge (March 2006): 21– 50. Poudel, PP, TH Choi - Current Issues in Language Planning, and undefined 2021. “Discourses Shaping the Language-in-Education Policy and Foreign Language Education in Nepal: An Intersectional Perspective.” Taylor & Francis (December 2021): 1–19. Renninger, K Ann, and Suzanne E Hidi. “The Power of Interest for Motivation and Engagement.” Routledge, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315771045. Robbins, Steven B, Kristy Lauver, Huy Le, Daniel Davis, Ronelle Langley, and Aaron Carlstrom. “Do Psychosocial and Study Skill Factors Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 130, no. 2 (2004): 261–288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033- 2909.130.2.261. Roese, Neal J, and Amy Summerville. “What We Regret Most... and Why.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31, no. 9 (2005): 1273–1285. Rosenthal, SS, WC Strange - Handbook of regional and urban Economics, and Undefined 2004. “Evidence on the Nature and Sources of Agglomeration Economies.” Elsevier (2004). Swinhoe, K. “Factors Affecting Career Choice among Full-Time Students in a College of Commerce.” The Vocational Aspect of Education 19, no. 43 (1967): 139–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057876780000161. Wallace, Patricia, and Roy B. Clariana. “Perception versus Reality—Determining Business Students’ Computer Literacy Skills and Need for Instruction in Information Concepts and Technology.” Journal of Information Technology Education: Research 4 (2005): 141–151. http://dx.doi.org/10.28945/269.