Determinants of NSTP Component Selection and Perceptions of the ROTC Program among First-Year Students of Sultan Kudarat State University: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study

Only about 16% of first-year students at Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU) enrol in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Most pick the Civic Welfare Training Service; a smaller group takes Literacy Training Service. With a mandatory ROTC bill back before Congress, the question of why so few students choose ROTC voluntarily is not merely academic. This study put it to 515 first-year students through a survey and to roughly two dozen more through five focus groups, one of them with current 4th-class cadets. Three of the five concerns non-cadets reported about ROTC — hazing, equipment cost, and time burden — were rated much more severely by students outside the program than by cadets inside it (all p < .001). Two others, heat and discipline, were rated about the same by both. What the cadets themselves chose to talk about was telling: they had plenty to say about how the program is administered, almost nothing to say about hazing, cost, or hours. The single barrier that came up most often, however, was one I had not thought to ask about on the survey at all: simply getting to the Access campus, where ROTC is held, from the satellite campuses where many students actually live. The picture sketched here is one university’s. The sample skews toward cadets, so any read of how the broader Philippine first-year cohort feels about ROTC will need data from somewhere else.Only about 16% of first-year students at Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU) enrol in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Most pick the Civic Welfare Training Service; a smaller group takes Literacy Training Service. With a mandatory ROTC bill back before Congress, the question of why so few students choose ROTC voluntarily is not merely academic. This study put it to 515 first-year students through a survey and to roughly two dozen more through five focus groups, one of them with current 4th-class cadets. Three of the five concerns non-cadets reported about ROTC — hazing, equipment cost, and time burden — were rated much more severely by students outside the program than by cadets inside it (all p < .001). Two others, heat and discipline, were rated about the same by both. What the cadets themselves chose to talk about was telling: they had plenty to say about how the program is administered, almost nothing to say about hazing, cost, or hours. The single barrier that came up most often, however, was one I had not thought to ask about on the survey at all: simply getting to the Access campus, where ROTC is held, from the satellite campuses where many students actually live. The picture sketched here is one university’s. The sample skews toward cadets, so any read of how the broader Philippine first-year cohort feels about ROTC will need data from somewhere else.

National Service Training Program, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, mixed-methods research, student perceptions, inclusive program access, Philippine Higher Education, Sultan Kudarat

1. Bagundol, D. B., Balan, A. J. D., Calunia, J. A. A., Lumactod, L. B., Valdez, T. D. T., Alvarico, A. B., & Cuevas, J. F., Jr. (2023). The perception of the senior high students in the implementation of Reserve Officers' Training Corps. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(6), 903–913. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000104 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, & Department of National Defense. (2009). Revised implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9163, otherwise known as the National Service Training Program Act of 2001 (CHED-CMO No. 02 s. 2009). Republic of the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Crisostomo, L. C., Genereales, M. T. G., & De Guzman, A. L. (2018). Benefits and difficulties of the National Service Training Program in Rizal Technological University. KnE Social Sciences, 3(6), 829–846. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i6.2423 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Dianga, Bhanessa O. (2023). The sentiments of stakeholders on mandatory Reserve Officer Training Corps program: A case in Tarlac. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 11(12), e924–e932. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Dunn, O. J. (1964). Multiple comparisons using rank sums. Technometrics, 6(3), 241–252. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00401706.1964.10490181 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Fetters, M. D., Curry, L. A., & Creswell, J. W. (2013). Achieving integration in mixed methods designs—Principles and practices. Health Services Research, 48(6 Pt 2), 2134–2156. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12117 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Greene, J. C., Caracelli, V. J., & Graham, W. F. (1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11(3), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737011003255 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Guetterman, T. C., Fetters, M. D., & Creswell, J. W. (2015). Integrating quantitative and qualitative results in health science mixed methods research through joint displays. Annals of Family Medicine, 13(6), 554–561. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1865 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. House of Representatives. (2022). House Bill No. 6687: An act instituting the National Citizens Service Training Program (Approved on third reading, December 15, 2022, 19th Congress). Republic of the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Itorralba, M. T. (2023). Perception of Filipino parents on the proposed mandatory ROTC. Multidisciplinary International Journal of Research and Development, 3(3). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Kruskal, W. H., & Wallis, W. A. (1952). Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 47(260), 583–621. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1952.10483441 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Mann, H. B., & Whitney, D. R. (1947). On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 18(1), 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1214/aoms/1177730491 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. McHugh, M. L. (2012). Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic. Biochemia Medica, 22(3), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2012.031 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. O'Cathain, A., Murphy, E., & Nicholl, J. (2010). Three techniques for integrating data in mixed methods studies. BMJ, 341, c4587. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c4587 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Pasion, R. R., Cruz, R. P., Deles, E. P., & Abuan, O. G. (2024). Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in local colleges and universities in Metro Manila: A multi-dimensional analysis. EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 10(2), 248–263. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. https://doi.org/10.36713/epra15869 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Republic Act No. 9163. (2001). National Service Training Program Act of 2001. Republic of the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Republic Act No. 10173. (2012). Data Privacy Act of 2012. Republic of the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Saban, M. V. E., & Saban, G. A. S. (2020). Sense of civic responsibility of National Service Training Program completers and non-completers in a university setting in the Philippines. International Forum Journal, 23(2), 163–177. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach's alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53–55. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Tomczak, M., & Tomczak, E. (2014). The need to report effect size estimates revisited: An overview of some recommended measures of effect size. Trends in Sport Sciences, 1(21), 19–25. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar