Press Release - Ateneo and EDCOM 2 join forces, names 16 distinguished fellows for education policy research

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) has awarded on September 25 the research grantees of the Ateneo-EDCOM 2 Research Fellowship. The program brings together 16 distinguished scholars from universities all over the country, to help EDCOM address critical challenges facing the Philippine education sector.

The 16 awarded fellows will conduct in-depth studies on priority areas, ranging from early childhood education to higher education, teacher development, and industry involvement in skills training, in support of EDCOM 2's mandate to assess and reform the country's educational system.

"We are very excited to be EDCOM's conduit that would help them conduct these very important research projects in reforming and transforming Philippine education," said Fr. Bobby Yap, President of the Ateneo de Manila University in his welcome message.

The researchers come not only from Ateneo de Manila University, but also from the top schools around the country, namely: University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, Philippine Normal University, Cavite State University, Eastern Visayas State University, and Batangas State University.

From early childhood to the workforce

Dr. Ma. Josephine Therese Emily G. Teves will study on the supply-side challenges in Early-Childhood Education, particularly the availability of critical learning materials and resources, such as songs, apps, books, and TV shows, examining their respective contributions to learning outcomes. Her study aims to shed light on effective strategies for leveraging alternative resources in ECCD to promote holistic child development.

Dr. Genejane M. Adarlo's study seeks to characterize the Filipino family in the context of labor migration, describe the degree and forms of involvement of migrant parents in the education of their left-behind children, and examine the effects of parental migration on their well-being and educational outcomes The findings of this study can help formulate policies and strategies to support the educational and non-educational needs of left-behind children.

In higher education, Dr. Anne Lan K. Candelaria will focus on reforming graduate