In line with the celebration of National Women’s Month, the Center for Open and Digital Teaching and Learning (CODTL), in partnership with the Faculty of Education (FEd) and Office of Gender Concerns (OGC), held the 39th episode of OPEN Talk titled “Women in Social Science Research.” The episode was live-streamed on 22 March 2024 via the UPOU Networks Facebook Page.
This OPEN Talk episode aimed to present the women who have contributed to the field of social sciences through their research, perspectives, and discourses. The discussion featured three guest speakers who are faculty members of the Diploma in and Master of Arts in Social Studies Education (D/MASSE) programs of UPOU: (1) Dr. Gloria Luz M. Nelson, former Professor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños under the Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences; Institute for Governance and Rural Development, College of Public Affairs and Development; and School of Environmental Science and Management, (2) Assoc. Prof. Myla M. Arcinas of the Department of Sociology and Behavioral Sciences, De La Salle University Manila, and (3) Asst. Prof. Hanna May F. Rosario, a recent FEd faculty member at UPOU. Asst. Prof. Mark Pere Madrona, FEd Faculty member and Program Development Associate of the UPOU D/MASSE programs served as moderator of the forum.
The first part of the OPEN Talk revolved around the career beginnings of the speakers, particularly the reasons they decided to have a career as a social science researcher. Multiple factors have influenced the career choices of the speakers, with Dr. Nelson identifying her keen interest in human behavior as the catalyst of her career choice. She stated that the interplay of society’s effects on an individual’s behavior, particularly her pursuit of Sociology during her Master’s Studies, is where it all began.
The second part discussed their experiences as researchers and the different challenges they have encountered. Dr. Arcinas, for instance, served as the Country Director in a four-country project funded by the International Federation of Catholic Universities. This includes the Philippines, India, South Korea, and Indonesia. She also emphasized the importance of time, especially when undertaking research projects. According to her, time is the biggest investment researchers make in their projects, so one must account for how this will affect other facets of his/her life.
Asst. Prof. Madrona asked follow-up questions about work and life balance and how researchers can achieve this. For Asst. Prof. Rosario, it is about setting boundaries, particularly between work and relaxation. She advised creating a schedule purely for work and being able to incorporate moments of relaxation outside of that schedule to maintain that balance. According to her, these boundaries will help researchers attain inner peace, secure mental health, and achieve goals. After all, it is hard to remain passionate and strong when people are in a constant state of exhaustion.
The third and final question was on what advice could be given by the speakers to aspiring researchers. First, Asst. Prof. Rosario provided her insights on continuing the discourse on women’s rights and how the youth can contribute beyond observation but through active participation and leadership. Dr. Arcinas added her thoughts and stated, “It can’t be done alone, and you need to learn from people around you — colleagues, mentors, collaborators, other cultures.” She believes that research is done well through collaboration and networking. Finally, Dr. Nelson weighed in and stated that knowing one’s capabilities and listening to what resonates is the best way to carry out one’s research duties. “Tackle what is relevant at the moment, and do not be afraid of experimenting with new methods to try new things. We do these in order to discover what is called “value-added knowledge,” says Dr. Nelson.
The OPEN Talk episode concluded with Asst. Prof. Madrona sharing five key takeaways from the research journeys and career trajectories of these women alongside their life goals and the nature of Social Science Research. These include (1) the value of curiosity and the importance of acting on curiosity begin with asking; (2) the value of collaboration and how it is a necessity to be able to work with other people, highlighting this as a necessary 21st-century skill; (3) the importance of commitment as a work ethic from which passion and progress are rooted; (4) versatility as a key factor in becoming an excellent researcher; and, (5) openness to new learnings, particularly how excellent mentors will shape and create even more excellent mentors.
In the spirit of a Social Science research mindset, new observations, trends, and phenomena mean new questions. New questions create new answers that will add to our current understanding of the world. To close the OPEN Talk episode, Dr. J. Aleta Villanueva, Deputy Director for the UPOU CODTL Learning Design Unit, shared parting words for the speakers, highlighting the importance of their love, care, and contributions to Social Studies education and Social Science research, which resulted in valuable contributions to the youth, and more importantly to women in the society.
Open Talk is a one-hour magazine program that targets the general public and aims to clarify the featured topics, change the target audience’s attitude towards the topics, and inspire the audience to improve their practices towards or against the topics featured. This OPEN Talk episode is a product of the meeting of minds among the Program Chair and faculty members of the FEd D/MASSE program, namely Aleta, Mark, and Hanna, who are bent on empowering their research students and other teacher-researchers out there to sustain their engagements with the FEd teacher education programs, their advocacies for Social Studies education in school or community-based settings, and through Social Science research. Their utmost gratitude to Dr. Charisse T. Reyes, Dean of FEd, and Dr. Finaflor F. Taylan, Director of OGC, for their avid support.
Written by Samuel Benjamin Zach III Basiao ♦ Edited by Dr. Finaflor Taylan, Dr. Aleta Villanueva, and Anna Cañas-Llamas ♦ Contributed by UPOU OGC
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