La Consolacion College Bacolod hosted a research writeshop to build capabilities of the faculty in publishable collaborative research.
Dr. Genaro Japos, President of the Philippine Association of Institutions for Research (PAIR), served as the resource person in the two full-day events held on February 19 and 26 via web-conferencing.
The writeshop was the starting point of LCC Bacolod’s six-month research program designed to assist the faculty in the development of a collaborative research paper anchored on the institution’s research agenda.
Prior to the writeshop, teams were organized from different programs each with a coordinator to collaborate on an institutional or action research paper.
Their task was to identify problems or concerns in different academic and administrative areas, where possible, taking advantage of available secondary data collected from evaluation surveys, assessments or records if not gather their own within the given timeframe using published tools depending on their research design.
Japos encouraged the faculty participants to go beyond the institutional environment and see the replicability of the study among other HEI’s or expand the collaboration among members of the Association of Schools of the Augustinian Sisters (ASAS) in the Philippines.
Participants appreciated the practical inputs given by Japos and for simplifying concepts and methods in ways that are easy to comprehend even for starting teachers.
“The inputs provide a more evidence-based approach to identifying causes of certain problems and concerns, which is necessary for the institution to provide more specific solutions and interventions to address them, hopefully, more effectively,” said Leilani Dusaban, one of the teachers handling management courses.
Japos gave emphasis on the implementation of research recommendations as he suggested a review of the efficacy of past research conducted and published by the faculty.
Among his suggestions is for the institution to facilitate a written agreement between and among the stakeholders involved in a research project to ensure that the recommendations are developed with inputs from people who have expertise in the field and those involved in the administration for accountability.
VP for Academic Affairs Sr. Joan Infante said, “success in research is not based on the number of papers published but rather about collaboration and what this entails for our community and our mission in light of our accountability and responsibility as an HEI. She said that Gravissimum Educationis, the main Church document for Catholic educational institutions, puts research as central to the pursuit of education.”
“In a world bombarded by fake news, the need to vet information, synthesize and challenge even our own perception are part and parcel of critical thinking, which we strive to equip ourselves and our students in the 21st Century,” Infante also said.
She added that the training gave confidence to the faculty to pursue research, which hopefully will translate to producing the desired results. She suggested that among the ways to ensure that the “fire of enthusiasm” is sustained is to organize a research clinic and follow through with a project plan to ensure that all research teams are on the same page through the course of development of their research.*