Internal Assessment of a Physical Education Teacher Education Program in the Philippines using the Engagement Theory of Program Quality (ETPQ)

[EN] The presence of various quality assurance measures was evidenced in the mainstream of higher education across the world and is a well-accepted normative standard of excellence even in the Philippines. However, there is a need to examine programs that strongly manifest students engagement in the educational system. Hence, this study was sought to facilitate the conduct of an internal quality assessment of the Bachelor of Physical Education program from a teacher education institution in a state university in Pampanga, Philippines grounded on the Engagement Theory of Program Quality (ETPQ) (Haworth & Conrad, 1997). A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design (follow-up variant explanatory model) was used to examine the importance, concreteness, and effectiveness of the 16 attributes of the ETPQ model by the students and faculty members of the program. Results of the quantitative strand revealed that the ETPQ attributes are generally perceived to be extremely important, highly evident, and highly to extremely effective, and yielded no significant differences between the two groups. Moreover, linear regression (forward selection method) revealed ten (10) attributes of the ETPQ in terms of concreteness to be significant predictors of effectiveness. Additionally, the qualitative strand further explored these attributes to reveal the best practices in the program. Congruence between the respondents assessment and their narrative experiences was also confirmed. The inputs derived may pave the way for the institutionalization of quality assurance mechanisms that put into premium the strong engagement of the students complementary with other stakeholders.Dizon, SG.; Tolentino, JCG. (2022). Internal Assessment of a Physical Education Teacher Education Program in the Philippines using the Engagement Theory of Program Quality (ETPQ). Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 9(2):46-80. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2022.1695946809

Sustaining Pre-Service Teachers’ Virtual Engagement in a Health Education Course through Interactive Buzz Sessions

Distance learning manifested an increasing growth in the field of higher education. Although it may not be exactly comparable to a residential face-to-face encounter, considering the engagement of the students in learning within a virtual context is still significant. Thus, this action research was conducted to sustain the level of virtual engagement among undergraduate teacher education students specializing in Physical Education when interactive buzz breaks are introduced in their online synchronous sessions. This study utilized a mixed-method collaborative action research approach. The participants included 48 second-year Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) students enrolled in the course, “Drug Education, Consumer Health, and Nutrition”, from a teacher education institution (TEI) in Central Luzon, Philippines during the second semester of the academic year 2021-2022. Multiple sources of data were collected and analyzed which included teacher’s observation notes, Student Engagement Survey Questionnaire, and reflective journals. Five (5) interactive buzz break activities were implemented using the “Wordwall” as an intervention within twelve synchronous sessions. The survey questionnaire was administered before (pre-assessment) and after (post-assessment) the intervention to describe the students’ level of virtual engagement. Results of the quantitative phase revealed that there is a high level of students’ behavioral, cognitive, and emotional virtual engagement before and after the strategy. The qualitative phase further promoted these results to reveal the remarkable experiences encountered by students during the intervention implementation that contributed to sustaining their virtual engagement. The derived results and findings posit that administering various interactive buzz break activities with the utilization of various educational platforms synchronously and asynchronously may sustain and further improve students’ virtual engagement

Nutritional Knowledge and Dietary Habits of Student-Athletes in a State University: Towards a Contextualized Nutrition Education Plan

Sustainable Development Goal 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote healthy and sustainable diets. Student-athletes deal with unique challenges due to the demands of physical and mental requirements of their sports, making proper nutrition and dietary habits crucial for their overall health and performance. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits among State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) Athletes at a state university in Pampanga, Philippines, as a basis for the development of a contextualized Nutrition Education Plan (NEP). The study was grounded on a postpositivist philosophical worldview that employed a quantitative non-experimental approach, specifically a correlational design. A total of 177 student-athletes were assessed for their nutritional knowledge and dietary habits using survey questionnaires. It was determined that student-athletes’ level of nutritional knowledge was described as “knowledgeable” while their perceived dietary habits were described as “good”, but still, there is an area for continued improvement. Meanwhile, it was found that there was no significant difference between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits of student-athletes when grouped according to their demographic profile. On the other hand, there was a significant but weak positive relationship between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits of student-athletes. The results of student-athletes’ nutritional knowledge and dietary habits paved the way for a contextualized NEP anchored on the student-athlete. The study recommends generalizing the NEP and considering the other athletes who also need nutrition and dietary habits improvement