EVALUATION OF THE OPEN HIGH SCHOOL

PROGRAM (OHSP) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED)

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY One of the major problems concerning the Philippine

education today is the rapid increase of drop-out rate. It is alarming that of the 100 students who would start out in Grade 1, only 66 of them would complete their elementary education. Fifty-eight of these students would enroll in First Year but only 43 would complete their secondary education (Andrada, 2006).

According to the Department of Education (DepED) record, most of the drop-outs were forced to stop their schooling because of financial problem. Parents sometimes asked their children to help them in providing their basic needs. Because of these reasons, their eagerness to have an education becomes only a dream.

To make the dream a reality, the Open High School Program (OHSP) was introduced. It is one of the alternative schemes under the Drop-Out Reduction Program (DORP) of the DepED funded by the Asian Development Bank. The OHSP was first started in 1998 and is now offered by an increasing number of public schools across the country. Through OHSP, students can complete their high school education even if they find themselves in situation that would not allow them to continue going to school under the regular system.

The OHSP as a DORP intervention aims to provide opportunity to all high school dropouts to complete secondary education; prevent potential school learners from dropping-out and encourages those who are out of school to finish secondary education; reduce high school drop-outs and increase achievement rate through quality distance education (OHSP handbook, 2008).

The primary goal of the program is to give access to secondary education. “If you can give access to all those of high school age, your participation rates will go up,” Prudence Sanoy, coordinator of the OHSP said.

The OHSP program is considered formal and structured. Students learn the eight core subjects in English, Science, Mathematics, Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga, and Music and Arts and Physical Education and Health (MAPEH). They graduate by completing the four levels from first year to fourth year. In here, the schools who are implementing this program will arrange the schedule of the OHSP students according to their availability.

Having the OHSP, an evaluation is needed in order to know the result of the program, if the DepEd officials and school officials join force together for this breakthrough in Philippine education.

 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study will evaluate the OHSP as a strategic component of the DORP implemented by the Department of Education.Specifically, it will answer the following questions:

What is the extent of performance of the students under the OHSP, in terms of oral and written examination, and projects/outputs submitted?

What teaching methodologies or approaches used by the teachers in teaching the OHSP students?

How effective is the OHSP as an intervention of the DORP in reducing the dropout rate?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study will only cover the Open High School Program of Pallas Integrated School and Isic-isic National High School of Vintar for the school year 2011-2012.

The outcome of this study will be limited only from the primary data gathered from the results of questionnaire survey and interview

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be a significant endeavor in promoting the importance of education among students. It will be beneficial to DepEd future leaders as one way of achieving the “Education for All” (EFA) goal of making every Filipino functionally literate by 2015. By understanding the needs of the students and the benefits of quality education, the OHSP students will be assured of a larger progress performance.

Moreover, this study will serve as a guide for other researchers to have clear understanding of the Open High School Program (OHSP). And finally, the results of this study will also contribute to the researcher’s professional growth as an educator.

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Why are there Early-School Leavers?

Who are the Early-School Leavers?The Nature of Open High School Program Goal and Objectives The Management of the OHSP

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

OPEN HIGH SCHOOL

PROGRAM

LEARNERS’ PERFORMANCE

TEACHING METHOD

DECREASE DROPOUT RATE

INCREASE LITERACY

LEVEL

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Research Design and InstrumentThis study will employ single participant design which seeks to

evaluate the Open High School Program.The researcher will be preparing questionnaire and a set of guide questions for the interview that will be asked to the intended respondents. The respondents will be graded each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents are given five response choices. The equivalent weights for the answers are:Range                                                 Interpretation4.50 – 5.00                                                      Strongly Agree3.50 – 4.00                                                      Agree2.50 – 3.49                                                      Uncertain1.50 – 2.49                                                      Disagree0.00 – 1.49                                                      Strongly Disagree 

Population and Sampling Procedure

From the OHSP students, teachers and school heads of Pallas Integrated School and Isic-isic National High School will be chosen to be the respondents in each school. Non random sampling method will be used in this research.

 

Data Gathering Procedure

Close coordination with the school heads, teachers and students of the OHSP through a letter will be done to ensure protocol and gather information about the program.

Interviews will be done individually and personally by the researcher. The respondents will be asked also to complete the survey questionnaire for additional information.

Statistical Treatment of Data

Descriptive statistic such as mean will be employed to describe the performance of the students, and the level of implementation of the program and effectiveness in reducing the dropout rate.