Research Productivity of Select Secondary Schools in Central Luzon, Philippines

The present demand for institutional research productivity in Philippine Basic Education is triggered by a dismal national literacy rating in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). As 21st century facilitators of learning, teachers are enjoined to conduct education research and utilize its results in the planning, policy and program development as part of Basic Education Research Agenda. The recent statistics of 2019, however, reported only almost one (1) per cent productivity in a select School Division Office of the Department of Education. Using descriptive evaluative research design, 116 proficient teachers, 30 highly proficient teachers and eight (8) administrators – head teachers and school heads , this study evaluated the research productivity/output, needs and competencies and problems encountered in the basic education of a select secondary schools in Pampanga, Philippines though an adopted quantitative and qualitative survey questionnaires. The descriptive statistical analysis identified five (5) or 3.35 % full-blown Basic Education Research Fund (BERF) research output, 17 or 11.04 % full-blown non-BERF research output; 18 or 11.69% approved research proposals and 45 or 29.22% accepted research proposals. Moreover, the grand mean revealed the following as research competencies of the three respondents: grammar and sentence construction, writing introduction, constructing questions, interpretation and analysis of data, formulation of recommendation. On the hand, research format, formulating theoretical framework, using statistical tools, presentation of the data and correlation of the literature and expressing additional value to the present facts were the expressed needs of the thee respondents. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis pinpointed some problems encountered by the respondents/participants in conducting school-based research such as: slow research feedback mechanism, lack of technical skills (language, statistics, ICT), scarcity of available literature, changing research format, financial support, incentive mechanism and substantial workloads. These findings revealed the need for an enhanced and unified research feedback and monitoring mechanism, need-based capacity building, adoption of comprehensive collaborative research dynamics and school-based incentive mechanism

NEMO DAT QUOD NON HABET THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS TEACHING PRACTICAL RESEARCH SUBJECTS

The fourth industrial revolution in education and the K to 12 curriculum require teachers to be facilitators of learning in developing and enhancing students competencies centered on collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking skills.  However, teacher’s lack of expertise in teaching research subjects led the researcher to conduct this phenomenological study which explored on the lived experiences of SHS teachers teaching practical research subjects. Using face-to-face intereview, four themes were identified as challenges encountered by the teachers, namely: students’ low aptitude on the subject, low morale or lack of motivation, scarcity of teaching resources and teachers’ lack of expertise in the subject matter. As a coping mechanism, the following themes were identified: mentoring from peers/colleagues, time management, resourcefulness and professional development. Using Collaizzi’s data analysis. The researcher recommended the need of course rationalization or alignment, need for more mentoring, modeling and research enhancement. &nbsp

Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet the Lived Experience of Senior High School Teachers Teaching Practical Research Subjects

The fourth industrial revolution in education and the K to 12 curriculum require teachers to be facilitators of learning in developing and enhancing students competencies centered on collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking skills.  However, teacher's lack of expertise in teaching research subjects led the researcher to conduct this phenomenological study which explored on the lived experiences of SHS teachers teaching practical research subjects. Using face-to-face intereview, four themes were identified as challenges encountered by the teachers, namely: students' low aptitude on the subject, low morale or lack of motivation, scarcity of teaching resources and teachers' lack of expertise in the subject matter. As a coping mechanism, the following themes were identified: mentoring from peers/colleagues, time management, resourcefulness and professional development. Using Collaizzi's data analysis. The researcher recommended the need of course rationalization or alignment, need for more mentoring, modeling and research enhancement. &nbsp

Immediate Program Learning Outcomes of Information Technology Candidates and their Introspections Towards IT Education Relevance and Global Competence Initiatives

A nation’s economy runs on the knowledge and skills of its people.Quality assurance mechanisms for higher education institutions must take cognizance of the graduates' acquisition of skills to become productive and contributory for societal development. The study is a quantitative survey assessing the attainment of the immediate program learning outcomes of the graduating Bachelor of Science in Information Technology of one campus of a public higher education institution in the Philippines. It also assessed the introspection and level of satisfaction of the graduates in their studies. Findings disclosed that the graduates have a high level of attainment of the program's learning outcomes and a high level of satisfaction. The high school where the respondents graduated is the single variable that defined the difference in attainment of program intended learning outcomes. As to the graduates' introspections, themost significant percentage of them learned the program from family, relatives, and friends. Reasons for pursuing the degree program are because of parents’ influence, prestige of IT profession. Meanwhile, the university's reputation, affordable tuition fees, and proximity to home were the factors affecting the enrolment in the BSIT program. The findings will be the basis for strategic program interventions of the program

Connecting Beyond the Classroom: Use of Viber as a Support Tool for Enhancing Essay Writing Skills and Online Language Learning Engagement among Students

This research study discovered students\u27 online English learning engagement through the use of Viber as a support tool in essay writing by the first-year English majors at a university level with a total of ten participants, five women and five men. It employed the Quasi-experimental design, and pre-and post-test design was used to measure the language learning engagement of the first-year students at a tertiary level. Data were analyzed through frequency count and percentage with the help of SPSS. The result shows that student engagement and level of attitude in language class before the utilization of VST is very low. This means they are very upset in the language class, especially in writing. However, after using VST, their attitude towards writing changes, which means that Viber positively impacts their attitude towards writing. It is also found that they are proficient and well-immersed in writing. Based on the pre-test and post-test scores, they may use Viber as a Support tool or opt to use traditional support because this study revealed that their performance in writing remains good for the two interventions. However, teachers may consider the view of students on using Viber, for this gives them greater efficiency in writing because it makes them focus. Teachers may consider incorporating Viber in their teaching methods to enhance their students\u27 writing skills and overall learning experience