This study assessed the socio-demographic profile and level of Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) functional literacy among senior high school students as a basis for developing a work readiness intervention program. Specifically, it examined the respondents’ profiles in terms of age, sex, general academic performance, and availability of TLE-related tools at home, as well as their level of functional literacy in technology and engineering design, food and nutrition, financial literacy, entrepreneurial competence, and agricultural literacy and agri-tech awareness. A descriptive research design was employed involving 406 senior high school students. Data were gathered using a validated researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using frequency, percentage, and mean. Findings showed that the majority of respondents were 17–18 years old, with male students slightly outnumbering female students. Most respondents demonstrated favorable academic performance, with the largest proportion obtaining grades of 90 and above. In terms of available TLE-related resources at home, students had greater access to common cooking and household tools than to sewing and agricultural equipment. The findings further revealed varying levels of TLE functional literacy across the identified domains. Technology and engineering design literacy, food and nutrition literacy, and financial literacy were assessed as Needs Improvement, indicating areas requiring strengthened practical knowledge and skills. Agricultural literacy and agri-tech awareness reflected a relatively higher level of performance, while entrepreneurial competence was assessed as Very Satisfactory, indicating a notable strength among the respondents. Based on these findings, a work readiness intervention program entitled “Ready for Work: A Work Readiness Intervention Program for Enhancing TLE Functional Literacy among Senior High School Students” was proposed to address identified areas for improvement through hands-on, skill-based, and experiential learning activities. The study concludes that although students demonstrate strengths in entrepreneurial competence and academic performance, targeted instructional support and practical learning opportunities are needed to strengthen TLE functional literacy relevant to employment, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning. It is recommended that schools provide structured work readiness interventions, expand opportunities for experiential and hands-on learning, and integrate practical financial, technological, and livelihood skills into TLE instruction to better prepare students for future work environments.
This study examined the usability of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools, teacher cognition regarding ICT integration, and students’ technical proficiency in Electrical Installation and Maintenance (EIM) among junior high school students in pasig. Specifically, it investigated how teachers use simulation software, computer-aided design (CAD) tools, and instructional videos/multimedia resources, the relationship between ICT usability and teacher cognition, and the influence of teacher demographics on these variables. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed, with data collected from 33 teacher-respondents through total enumeration, representing the entire available population of EIM educators in the selected schools. Statistical analyses, including means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVA, and pearson correlation, were used to interpret the results. Findings revealed that teachers extensively used instructional videos and multimedia resources, while simulation software and CAD tools were underutilized. Teacher cognition regarding ICT integration was generally high in multimedia resources but low for specialized CAD tools in terms of awareness, knowledge, and operational skills. Students demonstrated proficiency in wiring diagram accuracy and installation skills and were highly proficient in safety practices. Significant differences in ICT usability and teacher cognition were influenced by age, sex, grade level taught, and years of teaching experience, whereas students’ technical proficiency was not significantly affected by these demographic factors. Correlational analysis showed that simulation software, CAD tools, and multimedia resources positively influenced teacher cognition, while only instructional videos and multimedia resources significantly impacted students’ safety practices. Based on these findings, a blended ICT-based instructional framework was proposed, integrating simulation software, CAD tools, and multimedia resources with hands-on practice, assessment, and feedback to enhance both teacher competence and student technical proficiency. This study highlights the importance of ICT integration in technical education, emphasizing that teacher competence with ICT tools enhances instructional delivery, while practical application remains essential for developing students’ technical skills in EIM.
This study examined the lived experiences of teachers handling students with special needs in mainstream classrooms at Holy Cross Colleges, Inc. Pampanga during the 2026–2027 school year. Anchored in Husserlian descriptive phenomenology and informed by Social Cognitive Theory and Social Constructivist Theory, the study described how nine purposively selected teachers experienced, responded to, and made meaning of teaching learners with special needs without specialized preparation. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and field notes and analyzed using Colaizzi's method, involving the extraction of significant statements, formulation of meanings, and clustering of themes into a synthesized essential structure. Four themes emerged: Thrown Into Inclusion: Teaching Without a Map, describing participants' unplanned, unsupported entry into inclusive teaching; Reading the Signs: Identifying and Managing Crisis in the Classroom, capturing their reliance on sustained observation and the hidden emotional labor of crisis response; Crafting a Classroom That Fits: Individualized and Relational Pedagogy, describing instructional strategies built through trial and adjustment; and It Takes a School: Collaboration, Gaps, and Shared Responsibility, documenting the collaborative networks and institutional gaps participants navigated. Together, these themes revealed that teaching a student with special needs in a mainstream classroom was experienced as a largely unassisted process of improvisation, sustainable only when a supportive relational and institutional network was present or actively built by the teacher. These findings informed the Teacher Inclusive Practice and Support Framework, proposed as the study's practical output, with implications for classroom practice, institutional policy, and future research on inclusive education.
The study determined the level of work immersion readiness and career plan preparedness among Senior High School learners and examined their relationship as a basis for developing a Career Readiness Enhancement Program (CREP). A descriptive-correlational research design was used, with 509 Senior High School learners in the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track as respondents; most were 17 years old or below (77%), in Grade 12 (95%), and from the Home Economics strand (92%). Data were gathered through a structured questionnaire measuring work immersion readiness in terms of communication skills, technical and vocational skills, work attitude and discipline, and adaptability and problem-solving skills, and career plan preparedness in terms of self-awareness and interest alignment, career exploration and knowledge, decision-making and goal-setting, and understanding of career pathways. The findings showed high levels of work immersion readiness (general assessment means of 3.52 to 3.61) and career plan preparedness (general assessment means of 3.48 to 3.52), all interpreted as Strongly Agree. Significant positive relationships were found between all dimensions of work immersion readiness and all dimensions of career plan preparedness (r = 0.345 to 0.858, p < .001), including communication skills and self-awareness and interest alignment (r = 0.697), technical and vocational skills and career exploration and knowledge (r = 0.817), work attitude and discipline and self-awareness and interest alignment (r = 0.777), and adaptability and problem-solving skills and self-awareness and interest alignment (r = 0.858). The strongest relationship was between adaptability and problem-solving skills and self-awareness and interest alignment, while the weakest was between communication skills and decision-making and goal-setting (r = 0.345). Decision-making and goal-setting showed the weakest correlations with all four dimensions of work immersion readiness. The findings indicate that workplace-related competencies are significantly associated with career planning preparedness, while decision-making and goal-setting and awareness of certification and training requirements require further strengthening. Based on the findings, a proposed Career Readiness Enhancement Program (CREP) was developed focusing on workplace competencies, career exploration, decision-making, pathway awareness, work immersion preparation, and career portfolio development and monitoring.
With the continuous advancement of the construction of a national lifelong learning system and the deepening reform of the modern vocational education system, exploring the internal and external driving factors underlying the high-quality development of higher vocational colleges in border regions can effectively address several prominent challenges faced by northern higher vocational institutions, including insufficient connotative development in relation to construction requirements, inadequate motivation for autonomous learning among teachers and students, and difficulties in adapting lifelong education services to the needs of regional industries. Therefore, this research has significant practical implications.Drawing on self-efficacy theory and lifelong education theory, this study clarifies the transmission mechanisms among variables and constructs a theoretical model centered on lifelong education driving factors, teachers’ and students’ self-efficacy, and the high-quality development of higher vocational colleges. The study conducted a survey among 14 public higher vocational colleges in Heilongjiang Province, collecting 628 valid teacher questionnaires and 864 valid student questionnaires. Empirical analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 and the PROCESS macro, including reliability and validity tests, correlation analysis, and Bootstrap tests of mediating effects.The empirical results reveal several key findings. First, four driving factors associated with lifelong education—digital learning resource provision, the implementation of industry–education integration, the cultivation of a lifelong learning-oriented campus environment, and modern institutional governance—can all positively promote the high-quality development of higher vocational colleges. Second, these four types of factors significantly enhance the self-efficacy levels of both teachers and students. Finally, teachers’ and students’ self-efficacy plays a mediating role in this process: various lifelong education-related factors not only directly improve the quality of institutional development but also indirectly facilitate the connotative development of colleges by strengthening teachers’ and students’ confidence in learning and career development.Based on the practical context of higher vocational education in Heilongjiang Province, this study enriches the theoretical framework concerning institutional development from the perspective of lifelong education and provides two practical implications for higher vocational colleges in northern border regions. Higher vocational institutions should not only align their educational practices with local industrial characteristics but also focus on stimulating the subjective initiative of teachers and students, thereby establishing a sustainable and stable model of high-quality development.
