DMMMSU OUS Executive Director is co-investigator in a CHED-Funded Transnational Research Project
Posted on by Maricon C. Viduya

The DMMMSU Open University System (DOUS) Executive Director, Dr. Joanne C. Rivera, joins as co-investigator in the transnational research project entitled “Investigating Adult Education in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia Towards Empowering Higher Education Institutions in Implementing Sustainable Adult Education Programs” which has a Php 10M grant from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The research project which runs for two (2) years and led by Dr. Felixberto M. Mercado, Dean of the Research and Knowledge Management Institute of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation (MSEUF) in Lucena City, aims to enhance and generate innovations in adult education in higher education (AEHE) and lifelong learning in the Philippines.  Its specific objectives are the following:

  • Describe the academic quality and current status, trends, and directions of adult education programs in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines and Southeast Asia;
  • Identify the enabling conditions that foster AEHE;
  • Assess the needs of the local and global market for adult education;
  • Evaluate existing adult education programs and initiatives in  higher education in the Philippines;
  • Develop a grounded theory and framework for creating and sustaining adult education programs and initiatives in the Philippine HEIs;
  • Develop a Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP) for quality assessment of adult education programs in higher education; and
  • Develop a database of adult education programs for exchange of probes, learnings, and research outputs in adult education.

The research project consists of seven study areas, namely:

  • Study 1: Status, Trends, and Directions of Adult Education in Philippines Higher Education and in Southeast Asia
  • Study 2: Needs Assessment in Adult Education in Philippine Higher Education;
  • Study 3: Evaluation of Existing Adult Education Programs in Philippine HEIs;
  • Study 4: Development of Adult Education Framework for Philippine Higher Education;
  • Study 5: Development of a Standard Evaluation Protocol for Quality Assessment of Adult Education Programs in Higher Education;
  • Study 6: Development of a Toolkit for Adult Education in Higher Education; and
  • Study 7: Development of a Database of Adult Education Programs in Philippine HEIs.

The research project’s Php 10 million grant from the CHED Office of Planning, Research, and Knowledge Management (OPRKM) shall be downloaded to MSEUF where the Principal Investigator is affiliated. 

The members of the research team are as follows:

  • Dr. Felixberto M. Mercado (Principal Investigator),
  • Dr. Joanne C. Rivera (Executive Director, DMMMSU OUS),
  • Dr. Johnny B. Dolor (Dean/Associate Professor V, Iloilo State College of Fisheries),
  • Dr. Marilou D. Junsay (VP for Administration and Finance, Davao del Norte State College),
  • Asst. Prof. Jason Orozco (Director of Admissions, Philippine Normal University-Manila),
  • Ms. Ayessa Marie N. Velasquez (Director, Academy of Lifelong Learning, Ateneo de Davao University), and
  • Dr. Yvonne P. Velaso (Director, Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College).