A Phenomenological Inquiry of Experiences of Pioneer Senior High School Graduates under General Academic Strand: Influence on Career Decision Making

As Philippines fully implemented one of the biggest changes in its educational system, the impact of the new K to 12 curriculum to pioneer senior high school (SHS) graduates in their selection of career after completing the basic education is described. Thus, this paper presents the experiences of General Academic Strand (GAS) graduates in different subjects which they find significant and influential in their development and career choice to come up with recommendations on how to improve teachers’ subject instruction and the implementation of the school GAS program itself. The main sources of data are from the survey, interviews participated in by pioneer graduates and documentary analysis of their individual portfolio. All fifty-seven graduates were asked to rate the level of influence of thirty-one subjects in their personal and skills development and eventually to their career choice. Seven interviewed co-researchers who shared their individual experiences were purposefully selected based on the ratio of the outcome of the survey about their plan as they exit SHS: four will pursue college, one will enter the military, one is planning to look for a job and one is undecided on the day the interview was conducted. Clark Muostaka’s phenomenological treatment of qualitative data is used to analyze and interpret the individual transcript of interviews. Findings from the study show individual textural description of experiences: “A More Responsible and Compassionate Research Leader”, “Built Character through Various Social Sciences Disciplines”, “Fascinated by Technology, From Carefree to a Disciplined Man”, Mystified by Philosophy”, “Enlightened by World Religions” and “The Accidental Writer”. Though reduction, eidetic insights to serve as the essence of the experiences include “Self-discovery and Awareness”, “Guided by Educators” and “Learners’ Transformation”.