Digging Deeper: Understanding the Motivations and Analysing the Academic Performance and Scholastic Status of Student Miners

Abstract

Passed on from generation to generation and rooted to their culture as well as their economic needs, the ethnolinguistic groups of Ibaloi and Kankanaey miners of the Cordilleran region learned the rudiments of small-scale mining at an early age. This study holds significant value in understanding the interplay between student miner’s economic activities and their academic success. Quantitative descriptive survey was used in this study. The respondents were twenty-five enrolled Grade 11 and 12 male student miners. The gathered data was treated with descriptive statistics which include frequency counts, weighted mean, ranking and percentage. Results revealed that economic incentives and entrepreneurial motivation play a significant role in encouraging the student miners’ participation in small-scale mining. It was driven by the absence of alternative livelihood or income-generating opportunities, familial expectations, cultural norms as well as social and environmental factors. Furthermore, the respondents of the study agreed that participating in small-scale mining contributes to their skill development and provides valuable hands-on experience. In terms of their academic performance, majority of the student miners performed within the "satisfactory" range, and they achieved 100% promotion rate in their scholastic status promotion and retention even though their time and attention were divided between academic responsibilities and participation in small-scale mining. In conclusion, participation in small-scale mining activities did not prevent the student miners’ from advancing academically; however, the barely passing grades of some participants signify the need to provide academic assistance. These findings emphasize the need for policies and programs that create more accessible, flexible, and learner friendly employment or training for student miners.