Social Development Research Center (SDRC)

At the MMSU College of Teacher Education, numerous students have become recipients of scholarships and assistantships. Many have enjoyed the financial aids, thus, have been successfully employed and became contributors in the improvement of education. As Ilocanos, these chances for financial aids have become answers to the dream of every Ilocano (especially the poor) to get education. This study explored scholars’ experiences, self-efficacy, success, and commitments, and the implications of these student services to policy making and Ilocanos’ valuing of education. Additionally, this study analyzed a) the reasons for Ilocano students to apply for scholarship , b) their experiences and problems, c) their levels of success , d) their commitment after scholarship, and f) the implications of these scholarships to the Ilocano values on education and policy-making.

Changing career paths by the teacher education graduates does not only happen right after graduation. It also happens during the course of their four-year degree training and even after having a number of years of teaching experiences in the field. This study analyzed and described the changing career paths of teacher education graduates and the implications of this in the educational system. Knowing data about career change or shift provided additional data for the teacher education graduates. These made the researchers interested in this graduate tracer study which is an analysis of shifting or changing in career paths among teacher education graduates in the region; to include their motivations for changing, their challenges met and the implications of such phenomenon to students, TEIs and to national educational system

The competencies (knowledge and skills) of teachers towards classroom assessment may influence the way they conduct their classroom instruction. This study was conceptualized and implemented in order to determine and analyze teachers’ competencies in designing assessment tools and utilizing assessment strategies. By employing the descriptive research design of the survey type, this study sought to find teachers’ competencies in terms of their level of knowledge and skills in designing assessment tools and utilizing assessment strategies; to provide a list of commonly used assessment strategies by teachers, and to determine the training needs of teachers in designing assessment tools and utilizing assessment strategies.

This study explored the paraphrasing skills of freshman students of MMSU-College of Teacher Education. It is expected that the said students already encountered and practiced paraphrasing since they underwent two research subjects in the Senior High School, which are Practical Research / Research in Daily Life 1 and 2. They also had a subject titled, English for Academic Purposes (EAPP) where academic writing is taught. The exploration and description of the paraphrasing skills of students through their written outputs revealed the students’ level of language proficiency and served as bases for determining implications on language teaching and learning in the Senior High School and Tertiary Levels.

This study aimed to calculate the carbon footprint of all elementary pupils of MMSU-College of Teacher Education using the Philippine version of the Carbon Footprint Calculator developed by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The results were used as bases for developing a school-based environmental program that seeks to promote awareness to pupils and to serve as a guide in the proper implementation of conserving the environment. This school-based environmental program could be the foundation in the promotion of proper waste management system in the school unit, and shall eventually be extended to communities through trainings from experts.

The stigma of the public towards detention facilities has been increasingly horrible, and this often leads to unfavorable outlook of public towards people who are incarcerated especially for women who are discriminately seen as inferior to man. It is for this reason that this qualitative study was undertaken. More specifically, this study aimed at knowing what kind of life women inmates experience inside the jail, and what struggles and concerns these inmates experience that affect their traditional roles as mothers. Furthermore, it investigated how the participants cope with the struggles and concerns they confront while inside the jail. Ultimately, this study purports to increase the awareness and consciousness of the public towards the experiences and lives of women prisoners toward just social integration after being granted liberty.

The study utilized the mixed-methods approach, where the quantitative inquiry for measuring the level of preparedness related to risk perception were combined with qualitative methods to explore gender roles, belief systems, and values in order to elicit the connections and disconnections between the various factors. This study generated baseline data on the Ilokano gender roles, belief systems, and values during natural risk disaster rescue and recovery as perceived by the Ilokano community folks. The MMSU-College of Teacher Education faculty shall employ the results of this study as baseline data in constructing gender-sensitive and value-enhanced information, education and communication materials in disaster risk reduction management for classroom instruction and extension purposes.

The study sought to introduce translanguaging as an approach to Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in Ilokano speaking provinces. This objective takes the argument that multilingual speakers like Ilokanos are translanguaging. According to Garcia and Vogel (2017), translanguaging posits that rather than possessing two or more autonomous language systems, users of language select and deploy particular features from a unitary linguistic repertoire to make meaning and to negotiate particular communicative contexts. It is therefore instructive that MTB-MLE to Ilokano learners must consider translanguaging as an approach. To develop the Ilokano-Based Translanguaging Approach (IBTA, this study identified the language background of pupils in Ilokano-speaking elementary schools, described how translanguaging takes place in learners’ natural communicative practices, enumerated the role of Ilokano in the languaging/ translanguaging of Ilokano learners, and described how translanguaging can be used as an approach to MTB-MLE.

This study is anchored on a priority research area in program/curricular studies on higher education of the MMSU R&D Agenda, which involves transition programs or policies from K to 12 to higher education. Placing the spotlight on the gap in the CHED college admission policy for SHS graduates allowed for the understanding of who the entrants are in relation to their SHS educational profile, and how they performed academically in college during their first, critical year. This study, thus, opened up a process of self-reflection for the entrants as they were given the opportunity to realize how they situated themselves in educational conditions that may not necessarily be favorable to them. Also, they were guided on what courses are aligned to their SHS strand that will lead them toward college success. At the level of educational policy and curricular planning, the comparative analysis of the college academic performances of the aligned entrants and alternative entrants could provide significant insights on potential teaching-learning dilemmas and future disadvantageous trajectories. These information could be used as bases for recommending changes in the present CHED college admission policy for SHS graduates, or for the proposal of a bridging program specifically intended for alternative entrants.

This study was conceptualized due to the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since educational institutions are shifting to the online set-up, it would be beneficial to know the readiness level of the students

Participants were 2,035 university students who completed a restricted online survey. As regards the profile of the respondents: 1) 85% of the students live in urban areas, 2) 49.73% are generally academically excellent; 3) 62.36% belong to the ‘poor’ class; 4) 60.35% of them spend Php 501.00 to Php 2, 000 a month; 5) the respondents are visual learners, and 6) mobile phones through mobile data are commonly used to connect online. Meanwhile, regarding the students' experiences for e-learning, the study found that the mVLE is the commonly used platform of the students and that financial difficulty due to internet data expenses and internet connectivity issues remain to be the common problem for e-learning. As regards students’ readiness for e-learning, it was found that the students are generally ready for e-learning as they exhibit readiness in three of five areas of e-learning readiness (computer self-efficacy, self-directed learning, and learning motivations). However, the students have low mean score ratings for learner control and online communication self-efficacy which reflects their unpreparedness to express their ideas and direct their learning online.

For the students’ level of acceptance for e-learning, the data showed that the students do not accept all constructs of acceptability such as performance expectancy, attitude, image, social influence, and compatibility. Additionally, students mildly experience signs of anxiety when they get to think about the threats and risks of the health crisis. The different items for anxiety have gained average to low scores.

In order to make more sense of the data gathered, the relationships of the variables involved were determined: 1) the level of online readiness of the students has a strong association with their level of acceptance; 2) the profile of the respondents have no associations with the level of readiness, level of acceptance, and level of anxiety of the students; and 3) the level of anxiety has no associations with the student's level of readiness and level of acceptance for e-learning of the students. Based on the data gathered, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) students experience difficulty when learning online; 2) they are not ready fully to learn online; 3) they have not accepted fully the new learning modality; 4) the levels of readiness and acceptance affect one another; 5) the students’ level of anxiety does not affect their level of readiness and acceptance; and 6) their profile does not affect their level of anxiety, level of readiness, and level of acceptance for e-learning.

This study aimed to assess the performance of Northern Foods Corporation (NFC), a GOCC, vis-à-vis its declared objectives of quality performance along: efficiency and effectivity of staff and organization; quality of products and services; effectiveness of trainings and workshops; handling complaints and records keeping; ease of information and communication; facilities; and sources of information. The results showed that for five (5) consecutive years now, the Northern Foods Corporation (NFC) has delivered exceptional quality services to its valued tomato contract growing farmers and institutional buyers. Though farmer-cooperators are generally satisfied with the implementation of the Contract Growing System (CGS) of NFC, policies to further improve the farmer-enterprise relationship are needed in order to enhance small farmer’s participation in contract growing schemes in the country as studies have shown that contract farmers have relatively higher net farm income per hectare than noncontract farmers.

This study aims to develop value-added products of native chicken and determine its feasibility as an enterprise. Native chicken lechon and pickled native eggs were developed following good manufacturing practices. The microbial analysis of the pickled eggs turned negative hence, safe for consumption. There is a distinct Ilokano taste of the native chicken lechon. Based on the acceptability analysis, both products were Like Very Much. Optimization of the products are being done and there is potential for commercialization by potential entrepreneurs. The target market of the two value-added products are the restaurants where customers usually look for different and unique dishes offered and those who are health conscious.

The supply chain of native chicken in the region is characterized as simple. Native chicken production remained as backyard activity of a farm household. Most of the time, the raisers of native chicken are also the market sellers, hence, there is no standard pricing and measurement of native chicken in the market which encourages unfair marketing practices.

In Region 1, three marketing channels of native chicken were observed which involve raisers, market sellers (resellers and assembler/traders), institutional buyers, and consumers (households and fellow farmers). Native chickens are sold either in per head or per weight basis. At the raiser’s level, the price of native chicken across the provinces ranges from Php110 to Php200 kg-1 and Php80 to Php550 per head while at the market seller’s level, Php150 to Php300 kg-1 and Php120 to Php475 per head. Overall, when compared with the price offered by the raisers, the price of native chicken from market sellers is relatively higher because there are marketing costs that are incurred when products are moved from the farm/farmer’s house to the final market.

The project involves the establishment of nucleus and multiplier farms using the technologies developed for the sustainability of supply of Bolinao chicken in selected local government units in the four provinces of Ilocos Region. The demonstration farms showcase the economic viability Bolinao chicken and further creation of a more profitable enterprise for this commodity.