Parental Influence, Environment, and Personality Factors on Strand Selection of Grade 10 Students: A Structural Equation Model (SEM)

Abstract

This study focused on determining the impact of parental influence, environment, and personality factors on the strand selection of Grade 10 students and proposed a best fit model. A Raosoft sample size calculator was used to determine the 328 randomly selected respondents currently enrolled at Esperanza National High School. A descriptive-causal research design was employed through the structural equation model (SEM). The mean, standard deviation, correlation, and path analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Assumptions were checked to ensure the proper utilization of inferential statistics. The path analysis was used to examine the three hypothesized models for the strand selection model. The findings of the study revealed a positive significant correlation between the strand selection and parental influence (r = .441, p = 0.00), environment (r = .545, p = 0.00), and personality factors (r = .726, p = 0.00). The findings further revealed that hypothesized Model 3 was the best-fit model for strand selection where parental influence (β = -0.2) reduces personality factors. In contrast, environmental factors (β = .66) increase personality factors (β = .64) on strand selection. Likewise, it was also noticed that environmental factors have a direct effect (β = .13) on strand selection. Thus, it is concluded that hypothesized model 3 is the best fit model for Grade 10 strand selection.