CHAPTER I

Problem and its background

Education is a process of facilitating learning or the investment of knowledge,

capabilities, significance, credence, and traditions. It often takes place in formal or informal

settings and in any experience that has a developmental effect on the way one thinks, feels, acts

maybe considered educational. Education is commonly divided formally into such stages a

preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college, university or

apprenticeship. Educational operations include discussion, instructing, teaching, analyzing, direct

research and storytelling. The tactics or the technique of teaching is called pedagogy.

The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is an equivalent learning system or the

counterpart learning system that provides an applicable option to the existing or the present

formal instruction. The learners are only required to attend the learning activities based on the

agreed schedules between the students and teachers. It is crucial to produce Filipinos who are

more qualified in working. ALS also produces job opportunities with the partnership of the

stakeholders who are really helpful in the programs of the government in order to lessen the

tambay’s and to fight against poverty. Furthermore it is a program of the government to help the

Filipinos who can’t avail to go to school because of the wide range of poverty. This program

helped a lot of out of school youths to attend schooling with the help of the Department of

Education workers. The students are taught with the same lessons in the regular high school but

it is more comprehensive. The importance of having Alternative Learning System is to motivate

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not only the out of schools but also the married ones and the seniors who has not enough time,

money, and effort to pursue their dreams and goals in life.

The Alternative Learning System is important because it is essential in improving our

knowledge, in learning more, in gathering various ideas, and in practicing activities that will

enable us to have indications or clues to think more practically and to prevent the future struggles

in becoming barriers in achieving our goals in life. The middle aged students of ALS who are

married are the ones who are commonly encountering struggles in studying because of their

roles. Most of them are already parents, working at the same time. They need to attend all the

responsibilities so they can support their family needs, they also need to attend the needs of their

children and finish their study. Most of the time, their goals in life will be their inspiration to

continue their journey in life. Alternative Learning System is not only about the out of school

youths but also for some individuals with an age bracket like the middle aged married students,

seniors and others who lost their time and effort in pursuing their dreams.

With the premise cited above, the researchers decided to conduct a study in order to find

out the struggles being faced by the middle aged married ALS students. Likewise, the

researchers would like to know how they cope with these struggles.

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. What are the goals of/in life of the middle aged married students in pursuing

their studies under the ALS program?

2. What are the common challenges/problems that they faced in pursuing their

education under the ALS programs?

3. What are the strategies done by the middle aged married students in order for

them to cope the struggles that they are facing in pursuing their study?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be significant and beneficial to the following;

UNDERGRADUATE

The result of the study will convince the undergraduate students to continue their

education in pursuing their dreams top have a better future.

COMMUNITY

The study will provide the information regarding the goals of the middle aged married

students of ALS. Likewise, the community will learn about the struggles, the situations of the

middle aged students of ALS are going through. This study will be an eye opener to others that

despite their age, the individuals who are willing to study can still pursue their goals through

attending DepEd programs like ALS.

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MIDDLE AGED MARRIED STUDENTS

The respondents of this study will become a model of the becoming ALS students. The

shared experiences of the respondents will serve to the becoming ALS students as an inspiration.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS

The result of the study will help the future researchers to understand the struggles and

goals of the middle aged married students of ALS. Moreover, the findings of the study can serve

as a baseline data or the reference for future related studies.

SCOPE AND DELIMINATION

This study focuses only to the middle aged married students of ALS. It covers the goals,

problems, and strategies in attending the ALS program. To conduct this study the researchers

need at least five respondents in some part of Santa Cruz Marinduque who are married and

experiencing the struggles while studying ALS program.