The Normal Lights https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights <p>The Normal Lights (TNL) is a peer-reviewed journal in education and educational innovations and development. TNL aims to publish original research papers in the domain of education which may be, but not limited to the following areas: teacher education, theories of education, sociology of education, curriculum, assessment, technology, innovations, Action Research, education in the non-formal context, governance in education. Theories of education may cover the following sub-fields: scholarship of teaching, learning, and assessment; educational administration and strategy; learning courses; science and technology education. The journal’s main emphasis is on systematic inquiry and bridging the gap between theory and practice in education and different educational systems. Specifically, the journal intends to: 1) promote understanding of issues on education through publication of high-quality empirical research articles and theoretical papers/articles; 2) provide an avenue for education researchers and practitioners to disseminate their critical perspectives on the current trends, problems, and challenges in this field, and related fields and 3) foster the contribution of education to society. The journal encourages submissions across all levels of education throughout the learner lifespan. It also accepts articles written in the Philippine national language or Filipino.</p> Philippine Normal University-Publication Office en-US The Normal Lights 2350-6733 Effect of Environmental Knowledge and Awareness on Green Behavior: Testing Behavioral Intentions, Environmental Attitude, and Green Commitment as Mediators https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/35 <p>Schools have recognized the significance of incorporating sustainability into their curriculum to make a more visible societal and environmental impact. This causal research study determined the effect of environmental knowledge and awareness (EKA) on the green behavior (GB) of public elementary teachers. A simple random sampling technique is utilized to identify 89 study participants for the survey. For data analysis, regression and process mediation are employed. Results revealed that the more knowledgeable and aware the teachers are about the environment, the more they will participate in the environmentally friendly practices and programs of the schools. The relationship between EKA and GB is significantly and fully mediated by behavioral intentions (BI). Furthermore, this relationship is significant but partially mediated by environmental attitude (EA) and green commitment (GC). Therefore, this study suggests that the Department of Education develops the environmental knowledge and awareness of teachers through the practical application of Education for Sustainable Development with the help of project-based Schools have recognized the significance of incorporating sustainability into their curriculum to make a more visible societal and environmental impact. This causal research study determined the effect of environmental knowledge and awareness (EKA) on the green behavior (GB) of public elementary teachers. A simple random sampling technique is utilized to identify 89 study participants for the survey. For data analysis, regression and process mediation are employed. Results revealed that the more knowledgeable and aware the teachers are about the environment, the more they will participate in the environmentally friendly practices and programs of the schools. The relationship between EKA and GB is significantly and fully mediated by behavioral intentions (BI). Furthermore, this relationship is significant but partially mediated by environmental attitude (EA) and green commitment (GC). Therefore, this study suggests that the Department of Education develops the environmental knowledge and awareness of teachers through the practical application of Education for Sustainable Development with the help of project-based Schools have recognized the significance of incorporating sustainability into their curriculum to make a more visible societal and environmental impact. This causal research study determined the effect of environmental knowledge and awareness (EKA) on the green behavior (GB) of public elementary teachers. A simple random sampling technique is utilized to identify 89 study participants for the survey. For data analysis, regression and process mediation are employed. Results revealed that the more knowledgeable and aware the teachers are about the environment, the more they will participate in the environmentally friendly practices and programs of the schools. The relationship between EKA and GB is significantly and fully mediated by behavioral intentions (BI). Furthermore, this relationship is significant but partially mediated by environmental attitude (EA) and green commitment (GC). Therefore, this study suggests that the Department of Education develops the environmental knowledge and awareness of teachers through the practical application of Education for Sustainable Development with the help of project-based learning competition, environmental education-focused modules, and the creation of school-based programs.<br><br></p> Lanie Santos Cyren Grace Ramirez Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-21 2022-12-21 16 2 A Phenomenological Inquiry of Graduate School Students' Silence in Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/31 <p>COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way how Higher Education Institutions deliver the teaching and learning process in an online modality. This phenomenological study inquired the lived experiences and the contexts of graduate school students' silence in online learning during the pandemic. Transcendental research design following Moustakas's Stevick-ColaizziKeen process was utilized to generate the emerging themes and essence of the study’s findings. Eight graduate school students from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Northern Mindanao were selected as participants through purposive sampling. Analysis of data revealed that silence for graduate school students means emotional exhaustion and lack of academic preparedness due to physical, cognitive, and affective factors in online classes. It reflects their struggles in online learning which is the essence of silence. Silence in online learning without these struggles cannot become an experience of silence. Furthermore, their experiences of silence are diverse depending on how they are shaped or re-shaped by their current contexts. As the study speaks a volume of unfavorable insights on the meaning of silence, an intervention on students’ wellbeing may be proposed to foster a positive disposition in an online learning environment.</p> Kurt Candilas Salome Escalona Melody Agcito Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-18 2022-12-18 16 2 Priorities and Intentions of Working-Students Working amidst COVID-19 Pandemic https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/40 <p>The study explored the priorities and intentions of working students who manage the challengingroles of being a student and a worker. This qualitative study used a descriptive phenomenological design. Five (5) working students from a state university volunteered to be the informants of the study and were selected through the snowball sampling technique. Data collected were<br>analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-step thematic analysis resulting in five themes. Results showed that working while studying was perceived to be challenging yet financially helpful. Students faced time constraints with school tasks, leading to poor grades. Hence, working students tended to have difficulty managing both roles, and the pandemic forced them to work that negatively impacted their academic performance. The study suggested that universities provide more flexibility for working students with options to adjust study loads for working students.&nbsp;</p> Alnice Payusan Mellicent Jade Arrofo Arrofo Laiza Ann Codilla Stephanie Gaco Darlyn Keth Dakay Angelito Jr. Cabanilla Venus Cortes Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-27 2022-12-27 16 2 Reading Strategies Used by Elementary Students When Comprehending Digital Texts https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/38 <p>Filipino youths are shifting away from reading printed texts in the 21st century as more information becomes accessible via the Internet. This study aims to determine the digital reading comprehension levels of Grade six pupils, their use of online reading strategies, and whether proficient and less proficient digital readers use different reading strategies. One hundred seventy-four sixth-grade students at a public elementary school in Naga City, Philippines, took digital reading comprehension and strategy-use tests during the 2019-2020 academic year to achieve this purpose. Of the three types of online reading strategies (global, problem-solving, and support), the elementary students reported employing more support strategies than the other types. Moreover, proficient digital readers highly use reading strategies across the three types, while less-proficient digital readers employ the strategies moderately. However, most participants showed a lack of proficiency in digital reading skills. It is recommended that literacy teachers teach the judicious use of online reading strategies to assist elementary students in comprehending digital texts.</p> Josemari Tan Margarita Fajardo Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-26 2022-12-26 16 2 Gender-Fair Music Education Practices in Junior High School https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/36 <p>This study explored the gender-fair music education practices of three varying school types (laboratory school, private school, and public school) offering junior high school (JHS) in the National Capital Region. Employing qualitative descriptive research, the researchers collected three types of data (interview, document, and observation/field notes) and subjected them to a two-cycle coding procedure under the lenses of social constructivism and socialist feminism. The results of the study revealed 10 practices, summed up and labeled as GENDER-FAIR, that can be used as foundations to substantiate gender-fair music education in JHS. Qualitative triangulation procedures, in the within-school and crossschool levels, established the validity of the findings. The study acknowledged that educational institutions do their part in promoting and reinforcing gender equality and equity to embrace inclusivity in education. The study suggests that future research endeavors be geared towardsthe exploration of gender-fair practices in other disciplines and grade levels.</p> Joseph Erfe Inero Ancho Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-21 2022-12-21 16 2 Is Academic Self-Efficacy Enough to Activate Instrumental Peer Help-Seeking? https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/34 <p>Academic self-efficacy (ASE) is posited asa strong determinant of adaptive academic behaviors. However, such theoretical assumption has yielded largely inconsistent empirical support when instrumental peer help-seeking is considered. This study tested 12 hypotheses, which mainly expressed that self-efficacy for self- and co-regulated learning (SESCoRL) and the selfefficacy for peer help-seeking (SEPHS) were proximal predictors of instrumental peer help-seeking. A total of 403 college students responded to a digitized self-report questionnaire. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) with mediation in AMOS supported most of the hypotheses. The link between ASE and instrumental peer help-seeking was indeed a distant one as SESCoRL and SEPHS were found to be missing links in the chain. The results of this study could inform teachers' motivational strategies for enhancing complex self-efficacy beliefs and building learning and life skills of college students for the 21st century.</p> Raymon Española Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-21 2022-12-21 16 2 Comprehension Concerns: Signs and Signals for Improving a School-based Reading Intervention https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/39 <p>This qualitative case study explores the school-based reading intervention in a public elementary school by analyzing how the reading teachers viewed the intervention's program objectives, assessed learners' reading levels, employed reading strategies, and utilized reading materials. Through the narrative analyses of interview data coupled with triangulation of observation notes and program artifacts, it was found that the teachers' reading objectives and strategies focused mainly on the development of word reading skills while providing little to no attention to the improvement of comprehension skills. Also, piloted teacher-made and adapted materials may be more beneficial if subjected to further testing and review to be grade-level appropriate and diverse learner sensitive. The reading teachers' illustrative cases, lack of literacy-relevant resources, effective strategy, and assessment in this study may inform school stakeholders, drivers, and the school intervention program for an all-out engagement towards a well-programmed road promoting literacy for all at the school level.</p> Alyssa Heguerra Reynald Cacho Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-27 2022-12-27 16 2 Parents' Perceptions in an Institutional Flexible Learning Program https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/transitionwebsite/index.php/thenormallights/article/view/37 <p>Parents play a vital role in supporting their children's learning. This paper mainly explored parents' perceptions of a flexible learning program in one laboratory school in Metro Manila. Convenient sampling was used to identify the participants. There were 86 parents who voluntarily participated in this study via survey which utilized a convergent parallel mixed-method research design. For the quantitative data, descriptive statistics was employed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Relevant findings revealed three themes namely, home-school communication, facilitation of instruction, and class time. Online communication tools can be maximized to provide feedback, monitor learners’ status, and set up consultation time. The facilitation of instruction provided opportunities for active participation, independent learning, and production of creative outputs. Class time may be designed to provide sufficient synchronous meetings for learning and to accommodate parents’ schedules. The results of the study provided insights to revisit policy implementation in flexible learning and developed preparedness of parents in supporting their children's learning.</p> Charmane Espejo Dhana Canoy Irma Escobia Darryl Roy Montebon Copyright (c) 2022 The Normal Lights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2022-12-21 2022-12-21 16 2