Mind your own Business: A Case Study on the Non-cognitive Skills of Senior High School Graduates Ending Up as Business Owners
Hazel S. Capili | Marleonie M. Bauyot
Discipline: Education
Abstract:
The study aimed to describe the experiences of Filipino K-12 graduates who chose to set
up their businesses after finishing Senior High School rather than entering into other K-12
exits like employment, University education, and skills enhancement. Filipino Senior High
School (SHS) graduates proceeded to entrepreneurship due to immediate family needs
and other economic and practical reasons. Thus, this study determined why the SHS
graduates directly proceeded with entrepreneurship, described the challenges they
encountered, acknowledged the coping strategies they used to solve them, and gathered
the insights they obtained in their business venture. The study's respondents were SHS
graduates from batch 2018-2023 who were able to establish an entrepreneurial activity in
at least two years. The researchers collected the data through a semi-structured interview
to obtain the respondents' experiences, such as challenges, coping, and insights. The study
reveals that Filipino SHS graduates often pursue entrepreneurship directly after graduation
for practical reasons. These reasons included saving money for college, preparing for
future financial responsibilities, and addressing immediate family needs. Additionally,
while the K-12 program equipped these graduates with essential skills for managing their
businesses, they still encountered significant challenges beyond the scope of their
education. In light of these, the study encourages further investigation of the
entrepreneurship preparation element of the K–12 curriculum, which addresses concerns
like access to capital, regulatory challenges, or the practicalities of day-to-day business
operations that require more than simply theoretical knowledge. Overall, the findings of the
study offer a perspective into SHS graduates' preparedness for entrepreneurship in the
Philippines and suggest that the current curriculum be reevaluated to enhance its efficacy
through the inclusion of more real-world applications, practical problem-solving
experiences and support systems that assist graduates navigate the challenges of starting
and sustaining a business.
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