Lived Experiences of Working Senior High School Students: Challenges and Coping Mechanism

Abstract

This research explored the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms, of senior high school students. The respondents were enrolled for the school year 2019-2020 in Sta. Fe Stand Alone Senior High School Santa Fe, Leyte, Philippines. The researcher utilized a descriptive-phenomenological study approach and used a semi-structured interview questionnaire. The in-depth interviews were recorded, transcribed, processed, and interpreted through thematic analysis. There are different kinds of work set-up for working students and ways they were able to land at the job. There are also diverse lived experiences when it comes to their workloads and wages. The key actors experienced various challenges (1) at work, (2) in school, and (3) at home. At work, they are most likely to experience sleep deprivation, pressure to perform well, work-life balance, and exposure to injuries and health hazards. In school, their academic performance and interpersonal relationships are challenged. At home, the struggle lies in financial constraint and quality family time. Further, in this study, coping mechanisms that were practiced by working students were explicitly classified into (1) fight, (2) flight, and (3) freeze mechanisms. Some of these practices are time-management, entertainment or hobbies, and not doing anything at all, respectively. The study also concluded that a sense of independence, self-motivation, self-esteem, and other soft skills are developed when a student is working while studying.