“Yung akala mo sapat na, pero kulang parin pala”: A Qualitative Study on the Factors Affecting the Compliance of Second-Year Nursing with Incomplete Grades in General Education Subjects

Abstract

Throughout the years, nursing education has been the focus of academic and clinical goals to be able to produce the required healthcare professionals of the future. Only a few students in nursing can synchronize technical subjects with other general education courses, such as Physical Education, Filipino Christian Living, and NSTP. Such an academic imbalance in these student groups frequently leads to incomplete (INC) grades, which in turn could be symbols of lower personal motivation, behavioral patterns, and environmental spheres. To find an answer to this problem, researchers implemented a qualitative phenomenological approach to open the experiences of second-year nursing students who had incomplete grades in non-professional subjects. Using purposive sampling, the pool of participants was fifteen (15) people, and the researchers interviewed them with semi-structured questions that encouraged sharing their opinions, feelings, difficulties, and methods of support. The collected materials were converted to transcripts, coding, and theme-based analysis according to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory principles. Three main thematic clusters outlining the participants' communal experiences surfaced from the analysis: (a) “Alam Ko Pero Di Ko Inuuna” – Personal and Behavioral Struggles in Compliance, which deals with procrastination, low motivation, and prioritization of major subjects; (b) “Natatambakan Na” – Academic Pressure and Environmental Influences, which leads to clinical demands, family expectations, lack of time management, and peer impact; and (c) “Gusto Ko Na Magbago” – Realizations and Attempts Toward Academic Responsibility, presenting recognition, longing for improvement, and understanding the significance of general education in holistic growth. These thematic clusters identified by the authors served as the basis of their conclusion that the issue of non-compliance in non-professional subjects cannot be solely attributed to negligence but rather stems from the ongoing interplay of personal beliefs, behaviors, academic overload, and environmental pressures. Despite the hardships they encountered, students affirmed their readiness to change and acknowledged that their academic lapses should not be considered as a dismissal but rather as an opening for development, introspection, and metamorphosis into more mature ​learners.