On 4 May 2024, several faculty, staff, and students of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) participated in the 4th Passion for Scholarship And Love for Mission (PSALM) International Conference for Teacher Education and Formation hosted by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) College of Education in partnership with the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Saint Louis University, and UPOU Faculty of Education (FEd). Held at the Frassati Building of UST in Manila, the conference consisted of several plenary and panel sessions as well as multiple parallel paper and poster presentations.
The Conference themed “Beyond Vision: Embracing Change for Transformative Teacher Education” was opened through a warm welcoming remarks by Prof. Cheryl R. Peralta, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of UST. The morning session began with an onsite keynote address by Dr. Jennie V. Jocson, Standing Committee Member in the Subcommittee on Teacher Education and Development (EDCOM 2 – Second Congressional Commission on Education), in which she discussed “Teacher Quality using the EDCOM2 Year 1 Findings as Lens.”
A series of plenary sessions were included in this one-day Conference discussing various aspects of “transformative education” such as that of “Evolving Teachers’ Competencies” as discussed by Dr. Edizon A. Fermin (Chair of the Technical Panel for Teacher Education of the Commission on Higher Education), “Evolving Learners’ Characteristics” presented by Asst. Prof. Jacklyn Santiago from the College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman and on “Microcredentials as the Driver to Addressing Emerging Teacher Competencies” as introduced by Prof. Joane V. Serrano, Dean of UPOU Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS).
Transformative education in the perspective of various Southeast Asian countries were also discussed in a plenary session with Dr. Joseph M. Velarde (Deputy Director of the Education for All Impact and Laboratory Lecturer of the School of Education of Taylor’s University, Malaysia), Dr. Kamonwat Phuwuchit (Head of International Relations of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University, Thailand) and in a panel session with. Asst. Prof. Charisse T. Reyes (Dean, UPOU FEd), Dr. Dorothy Silva (Chair of the Teacher Education Department, Saint Louis University), and Asst. Prof. Eleanor Bahrami (College of Education, University of Santo Tomas).
The afternoon session of the conference began with the presentation of poster exhibits, which was followed by several simultaneous onsite parallel paper presentations, both in which several UPOU faculty and staff participated.
The conference ended with closing remarks from Dr. Pilar I. Romero and Dr. Louie B. Dasas, Dean and Assistant Dean of the UST College of Education. In the months to come, UPOU FEd plans to collaborate with more institutions to uphold and contribute to the evolving field of transformative education.
Written by Krista Marie L. Fama ♦ Edited by Asst. Prof. Ana Katrina T. Marcial and Asst. Prof. Charisse T. Reyes ♦ Photo by UST Education Courier ♦ Cross-posted from the UPOU Faculty of Education Website
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