Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Web Programming using PHP among BSIT Students in Bicol University

Abstract

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is one of the top server-side scripting languages used worldwide; taking 78.3% of the server-side programming language. It has become the de-facto for web programming not just in the Philippines but around the globe. Programming skills are vital to academics and professionals. It empowers the ability to analyze, manipulate, create and support this digital landscape as a way of solving complex problems. This quantitative research investigates the competencies of the Bicol University College of Science, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) in terms of their self-assessed familiarity with PHP of fifty one (51) BSIT students. The researcher made use of Likert scale in Student’s Demographic, Attitude towards Web Programming and Practice in Web Programming to measure the PHP Programming familiarity of the students. Analyzed data revealed an average level of familiarity of 3.16 indicating moderate competency in PHP programming. Gender distribution was balanced with 27 male and 24 female respondents and an average level of programming attitude of 2.75 indicating a fair level of time devoted to PHP practices. Additionally, 43 out of 44 students reported experience in developing PHP applications. Confidence was highest for locally hosted environments but declined for cloud-hosted applications. There is a high-level of hands-on experience in terms of building PHP projects which shows that majority of the students have created web applications. Further, this highlights potential curriculum gaps in hands-on PHP projects and advanced programming topics and recommends the need for curriculum enhancement and exposure to cloud-hosted applications to better equip students with the necessary skills for real-world web development challenges.