1

CHAPTER I

Introduction

The Special Program in Journalism (SPJ) was developed and established under

the government’s vision of refining the experience; improving the journalistic skills and

competencies of student-writers; and strengthening free and responsible journalism. It

was pioneered in Kidapawan City National High School (KCNHS) in 2016 and has been

in the running for three years. The SPJ is set under the provisions provided by Republic

Act No. 7079 or The Campus Journalism Act of 1991.

According to Hanusch and Mellado (2014), the prevailing efforts at

professionalizing journalism have led to the evident acceleration of journalism

education. It has also resulted in the growing grow-over of students’’ motivation for

studying journalism; what happens to students while they are at their respective

institutions; and the extent to which their professional views are influenced by their

experience. Journalism education in the Philippines is set under the notion of being able

to produce competent and honest bearers of media. Journalism education in prevailing

different countries across the world is influenced by the historical and cultural

background of the country and of the media structure along with its normative and

economic background variables (Hanusch, et al., 2014). Campus journalism, in the

Philippines, is deemed to have contributed greatly to the academe as it hones students

to be responsible members of the society (Laya, Aleria, & Laroya, 2013).

The study aims to understand how Special Program in Journalism students

respond to the demands of their specialized curriculum and to have insights on to what
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lead Special Program in Journalism students to have chosen the Special Program in

Journalism program.

Since the SPJ of KCNHS has already been running for three years, the

researchers are interested in knowing how the academic live of SPJ students work. The

researchers want to know how different their programs is form the other existing

specialized curricula of the institution; considering their subjects, activities,

specialization, and overall scholastic requirements.

Objectives of the Study

1. To understand how Special Program in Journalism students respond to the demands

of their specialized curriculum

2. To have insights on to what led Special Program in Journalism students to have

chosen the Special Program in Journalism as their academic curriculum

Scope and Delimitation

The main purpose of the study is to provide information regarding the inner

workings of the students of the Special Program in Journalism Curriculum including their

academic lifestyle and their outlook in life.

The researchers limited the study to four male and female secondary education

students enrolled in the second semester of school year 2018-2019 of Kidapawan City

National High School. Each of the participants will be presented with a series of

questions through an interview. The selected students will be coming from three

different grade levels to prevent bias and get objective perspectives.

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Definition of Terms

Journalism - the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and

information

- medium in which activities and experiences of Special Program in

Journalism are based upon

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This part of the study will be discussing the relevant literature connected with the

study on the everyday life of SPJ students of Kidapawan City National High School.

This part accounts to the works that have been published on a topic by accredited

scholars and researchers.

Lifestyle of High School Students

High school students live differently compared to the other age groups. With that,

they also have various ways of dealing life. High school students often get insufficient

amount of sleep. In a study by Samson, Blunden and Banks (2013), healthy, adequate

sleep is integral to the process of growth and development during adolescence.

At puberty, maturational changes in the underlying homeostatic and circadian sleep

regulatory mechanisms influence the sleep-wake patterns of adolescents. These

changes interact with psychosocial factors, such as increasing academic demands,

hours spent in paid employment, electronic media use, and social opportunities,

and constrict the time available for adolescents to sleep. Survey studies reveal that

adolescents’ habitual sleep schedules are associated with cumulative sleep loss. As a

consequence, there is growing concern about the effects of insufficient sleep on

adolescents’ waking function.

The food that high school students also intake has an effect to the productivity of

these student. Since, these students are more aware of their body they try to pick foods

that will make them look and feel good. Regardless of gender, less than half of the

sample ate breakfast every day, and their consumption of fruits and vegetables was
 5

below recommended daily intakes. No significant differences were observed between

respondents' eating habits and levels of food knowledge. Female students were more

weight conscious than male students. Dissatisfaction about body weight was common

among normal and underweight students. Cooking skills were generally valued as

important life skills by both genders, though cooking skills were seen to be more

relevant for girls (Lai-Yeung, 2010).

Journalism Education

Journalism education came to life in the “age of the reporter” when the role of a

journalist was to find information, shape it into a story, edit, and then transmit it as

accurately and quickly as possible to a mass audience via a mass medium. While

journalism schools have diversified and now graduate a large percentage of students

who never pursue reporting, the idealized perception of journalism education still

centers on the reporter and the basic functions of information gathering, evaluation,

production, and distribution (Mensing & Franklin, 2010).

Today, information is no longer scarce, breaking news is no longer the province

of professional journalists, mass media are declining in influence and news is easily

personalized. Like many news organizations, journalism education programs are

distinctly unprepared to respond to such deeply structural changes in the environment

(Mensing, 2010).

Campus journalism plays an important role in the academe. It trains students to

be responsible members of the society (Laya, Aleria, & Laroya, 2013). Continuing

efforts at professionalizing journalism around the world have led to the veritable boom in

journalism education (Hanusch & Mellado, 2014). The most powerful influences for
 6

journalism education are the system including the historical and the cultural background

of a country, as well as the media structure with its normative and economic

background variables (Hanusch, et al., 2014). In a study conducted by Andersson and

Wadbring (2015), journalism students have moved slightly towards an increased market

orientation but similarly also towards an increased focus on public interest.

Hanusch and Mellado (2014) described journalism in their own words as an

“academization” or “graduatization” that has led to a slowly growing scrutiny of students’

motivations for studying journalism, what happens to students while they are at

university, and the extent to which their professional views may be shaped during this

experience.

The field of journalism studies is growing globally, and the training of journalists

is increasingly conducted within higher education institutions at both undergraduate and

postgraduate level, even in countries that previously eschewed university education of

journalists. Journalism studies goes beyond the training and education of journalists to

encompass scholarly inquiry into journalism (Harcup, 2010).

Journalism doesn’t only come in written form; it is also found online. Research

about online journalism has been dominated by a discourse of technological innovation.

The “success” of online journalism is often measured by the extent to which it utilizes

technological assets like interactivity, multimedia and hypertext. The paper of Steensen

(2010), critically examines the technologically oriented research about online journalism

in the second decade of its existence. The aim is twofold. First, to investigate to what

degree online journalism, as it is portrayed in empirical research, utilizes new

technology more than previously. Second, the paper points to the limitations of
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technologically oriented research and suggests alternative research approaches that

might be more effective in explaining why online journalism develops as it does.

The networked journalism of the digital age is not a threat to the independence

and quality of professional journalism, but liberation from strict corporate control. It is an

opportunity for journalists to each excel in a unique way, and for society to benefit, both

from an endless expansion of information, and from meaningful interpretation of this

information in a world characterized by informed confusion (Haak, Parks, & Castells,

2012).

Special Program in Journalism in the Philippine Secondary Education System

It has already been 3 years since the SPJ curriculum was first implemented to

the educational system of the Philippines. The Special Program in Journalism (SPJ) is a

four-year course in journalism at the secondary level. It is designed to develop the

learners’ skills in mass communication, print, online and broadcast media. Its main

focus is primarily on writing as a process and as an art (2012).

The SPJ is developed to enrich the experiences and hone the journalistic skills

and competencies of student-writers. The DepEd-BSE perceives it as fit and proper to

strengthen the program by way of implementing a four-year journalism course at the

secondary level (2012).

The SPJ aims to strengthen free and responsible journalism in schools; Identify

areas of development in various aspects of journalism; Formulate concrete plans of

action for the pilot implementation of the program; Orient participant on the program, its

scope, target clientele, implementing guidelines, and its learning standard; Enhance

students’ and teachers’ journalistic skills and competencies; Promote a spirit of

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camaraderie, cooperation and commitment of our youths to contribute to the common

good, national unity and progress; Ensure commitment and shared responsibility

towards attainment of program goals (2012).

The admission to the SPJ curriculum is open to incoming First year high school

learners who have obtained an average of at least 88% in English and Filipino and a

general average of 85% and above in Grade Six, who exhibit talent in journalism and

who have passed the qualifying test and interview to be conducted by the school

(2012).

Subjects Taken Up by SPJ Students

First year SPJ students will be taking Journalism I and Advanced English I. In

Journalism I, the course introduces the learners to the basics of journalism. It prepares

them for the tasks of writing articles for publication, and facilitates them in editing

articles in the newsroom. In Advanced English I, the course will further develop the

learners’ language proficiency to equip them with the enabling tools in journalistic

writing.

Journalism II and Advanced English II are the major subjects of second year SPJ

students. In Journalism II, the course will develop the learners’ skills in scriptwriting and

broadcasting. In the Advanced English II, the course will further develop the learners’

skills in speech development and public speaking.

Third year SPJ students will have Journalism III and Advanced English III as their

major subjects. In Journalism III, the course will enhance the learners’ talent in radio

and television news script production and broadcasting. In Advanced English III, the

course will further develop the learners’ skills in technical writing and research.
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During the fourth year, SPJ students will be taking up Journalism IV and

Advanced English IV as their major subjects. In Journalism IV, the course will provide

the learners with hands-on experience in producing a school paper through print and

online publishing through the World Wide Web (WWW). In the Advanced English IV, the

course will provide the learners complete exposure and hands–on experience in the

actual workplace (2012).

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the research methodology for this

qualitative research study regarding how life works for Special Program in Journalism

(SPJ) students with respect to know how they respond to the demands of their

specialized curriculum and to have insights on what led them to have chosen the

Special Program in Journalism as their academic curriculum.

The research plan, including the general procedure, study participants, setting,

research design, analysis method, and ethical concerns are also primary components of

this chapter.

General Procedure

The procedure in gathering of data pertinent to this study includes the following:

1. Ask permission to conduct the study from the principal.

2. Identify the participants afterwards give a letter to them asking them of their

approval to be interviewed for the study. They must be assured of their right

to confidentiality and anonymity.

3. Conduct of interview.

4. Data analysis.
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Setting of the Study

The study will be conducted at Kidapawan City National High School, Kidapawan

City.

Fig. 1 Map of Kidapawan City showing the location of Kidapawan City National High

School

Research Participant

There will be four participants in this research. The participants are currently

studying at Kidapawan City National School and are enrolled in the Special Program in

Journalism curriculum.

Research Design

This study uses the qualitative research approaches.

Qualitative research is a process of naturalistic inquiry that seeks an in-depth

understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting (University of Utah).

Qualitative research is a type of social science research that deals with non-numerical
 12

data and that seeks to interpret meaning from these data that may help people

understand social life through the study of targeted populations of places (Crossman,

2019).

This study will be following the framework of the phenomenology research design

as it will focus on knowing the experiences of Special Program in Journalism (SPJ)

students in their chosen academic curriculum. The phenomenology research design

involves following a research method to understand certain experiences from

circumstances in people’s lives.

Sampling Technique

This study will be using the purposive sampling technique as its method of

choosing its appropriate respondents. The purposive sampling technique is a type of

non-probability sampling wherein the researchers are to choose people whom could

correspond adequately to the objectives of their study (Baraceros, 2016). The

researchers of this study are to administer this type of sampling technique by choosing

four respondents, one from each grade level of the SPJ, who the researchers deem

have enough experience in the SPJ.

Research Instrument

The research instruments utilized to gather the needed information was as

follows:

a. Individual Interview. Interview guides were used in individual interview. The

interview guide was intended for the researchers’ guide in determining how life works

for a Special Program in Journalism student of Kidapawan City National High School.
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b. Guide Questions. The following questions will be used as guide on to what to

ask the respondents about their life as an SPJ student:

1. How would you describe the academic demands of the Special Program in

Journalism?

2. What has led you to choose the Special Program in Journalism as your

academic curriculum for junior high school?

Data Analysis

This study used descriptive-evaluative design utilizing the qualitative data

analysis.

Not all topics in language or literature can be measured statistically. Viewpoints,

actions and characteristics cannot always be represented numerically and so the need

of a qualitative data. Questionnaires that gathered data such as the experiences and

views will be subjected to qualitative analysis. Santos (2010) noted that interview is a

flexible way of gathering data and will also be analyzed qualitatively.

Qualitative research involves data that are recorded in words in narrative

descriptions. Researcher use qualitative method to observe and describe conditions

rather than control them. According to APA’s Ethics Code (2002), a basic ethical

principle for qualitative research is for the researcher not to tamper with the natural

setting under study. Participant observations are integral components of qualitative

research and are wdely used in the fields of education, sociology, and anthropology.
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The results of the study were transcribed. Data gathered were analyzed. To

analyze the data, qualitative analysis was done using the interpretation of data to

answer problems.

The qualitative reports were presented, analyzed, and interpreted.

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journalism-spj.html?pid=33410#pid33410

Andersson, U., & Wadbring, I. (2015). Public interest or self-interest? How. Journal of
Media Practice.

Baraceros, E. (2016). Non-Probability Sampling. In Practical Research I (p. 96). Rex

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Crossman, A. (2019, January). An Overview of Qualitative Research Methods.

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Lai-Yeung, W.-l. (2010). Gender Perspectives on Adolescent Eating Behaviors: A Study

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Laya, M., Aleria, J., & Laroya, J. (2013). Campus Journalism Related Factors and
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Mensing, D. (2010). RETHINKING [AGAIN] THE FUTURE OF. Journalism Studies.

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Samson, R., Blunden, S., & Banks, S. (2013). The Characteristics of Sleep and Sleep
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