Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines (ABC+)

March 2, 2023
RTI International has extended its contract with the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University to continue supporting the Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines activity. Specifically, the LSI team will use its extensive experience to build the research capacity of Bicol University (BU), West Visayas State University (WVSU), and Department of Education (DoE) stakeholders, focusing on early literacy.

“The faculty from Bicol University and West Visayas State University, in addition to the COE Deans, had shared with us their need to build their research abilities,” said Principal Investigator Dr. Ana Marty. “We are excited about this contract extension because it allows us to work with the faculty and the DepEd official to strengthen their research skills while generating evidence that responds to the unique needs of the Philippines education system.”

LSI will engage the university faculty and staff from the Department of Education offices in regions 5 and 6 in participatory action research experiences to develop their research skills and provide opportunities to engage in rigorous education research. In addition to learning about literacy-based research methods, the goal of this activity will be to produce evidence that is contextually relevant to Filipino stakeholders and beneficial for early literacy instruction at schools and in pre-service training.

In the last three years, LSI partnered with RTI International strengthening the ability of the Philippines' pre-service teacher training institutions. LSI's primary responsibility was to strengthen the capacity of BU and WVSU to deliver the curricula for pre-service education through technical support in the development of early literacy syllabi and corresponding modules, as well as the enhancement of the capacities of faculty in the use of these modules.

LSI built the capacity of these two universities in implementing the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECEd) and the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) curricula, with particular emphasis on early literacy instruction in the context of DOE’s Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program.

The USAID ABC+: Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines project worked with DepEd, local governments, and the private sector to address factors that contribute to low learning outcomes in Bicol (Region V) and Western Visayas (Region VI) and implemented a smaller set of interventions in select School Divisions in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The project also focused on fostering a more equitable, inclusive, and nurturing climate for learning in the early grades as part of its social and emotional learning (SEL) focus.

As part of their partnership with USAID ABC+, LSI worked with Bicol University and West Visayas State University to develop modules for university courses on early literacy development and enhance their capacity to use these modules to strengthen the pre-service preparation of future teachers in the context of DepEd's Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program. The LSI team trained BU and WSU faculty on delivering the Literacy Development course and Teaching Beginning Reading course using modules jointly developed with the Filipino teaching faculty. Over 300 undergraduate students enrolled in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Bachelor of Elementary Education took the courses and reported that, in contrast to other courses, these were more rigorous but provided multiple opportunities for pedagogical practice, increasing their teaching capacity and confidence.

In addition, LSI built the research capacity of BU and WVSU teaching faculty and DepEd stakeholders, with a particular focus on early literacy, by engaging them in participatory action research experiences. For five months, 32 participants met with the LSI faculty in person and remotely to develop their research skills and engage in rigorous education research. In addition to learning about research methods, the participants designed research studies to produce contextually relevant evidence useful for early literacy instruction at schools and in pre-service training. These studies have been presented at local and regional professional conferences, participants are working on manuscripts for publication, and BU and WVSU faculty are integrating their newly acquired skills into their courses and master’s and doctoral supervisory roles.