This paper reviews Participatory Action Research as an approach to teacher professional development. It maps the origins of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and discusses the benefits and challenges that have been identified by other researchers in utilizing PAR approaches in conducting research. It draws ideas of combining the features of Action Research (AR) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) to plot research cell design or teacher network design to enhance research for action, action for research and creation of knowledge and theories while solving problems occurring in classroom settings. The discussion focuses on reflective practice and andragogy as the featured characteristics of AR and PAR. These are noted to develop quality teachers to attain quality learning and quality assurance. The review also provides probable benefits of PAR framework to Philippine education; probable challenges and issues that may arise in the implementation; and future directions of PAR implementation in the Philippines aimed to attain education quality through teacher quality.

The education sector has to cope with the shifting contour of the global economic landscape, because industries are highly technology-driven, and humans are at the brink of being replaced by machines. New set of skills are required from the human workforce. Higher education institutions (HEIs) need to nurture graduates who demonstrate skills that machines are not capable of. Because most innovations emerge from Science, Technology, Engineering, Agri-Fisheries, and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines, STEAM education needs to be reinvented. This article proposes a framework to reengineer the Philippine STEAM learning ecosystem, inspired by the recently developed Philippine Pedagogical Model of STEAM Education. The proposed framework was developed as a recommendation to the Philippine government on how the current paradigm and practices of STEAM education in the country can be further improved. The proposed framework features a skills-based learning architecture where competencies are mapped primarily from industry requirements and global trends. The proposed framework specifically implies venturing into non-conventional learning modalities to uphold efficient and effective development of emerging and future skills requirements of the labor market, thereby increasing its productivity and innovation indices.

Laro-ng-Lahi (Indigenous Filipino game) based physics activities invigorated the integration of culture in the pre-service physics education to develop students' epistemic beliefs and the notion of conceptual understanding through conceptual change. The study conveniently involved 28 pre-service undergraduate physics students enrolled in an introductory physics course in a Philippine university. Context-culture-based framework dictated how the traditional Filipino games blend with Newtonian concept formation to motivate conditions and conceptual ecology for conceptual change to occur. These physics activities conducted by the participants in each session directed their explicit learning of Mechanics concepts. Pre-post-test design using the Force Concept Inventory and Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science detected the participants' conceptual change and epistemic beliefs improvement respectively. Qualitative data from student interviews and journal insights supplemented the quantitative data. Results showed that these physics activities indicated significant change in the students' conception interpreted as conceptual change. The study also indicated incremental development of epistemic beliefs, however, the progress observed was not statistically significant. Consequently, it is recommended that sustained and prolonged exposure of pre-service undergraduate physics students to culture-influenced instructional designs may lead to eventually developing sophisticated epistemic belief systems consequently providing better teaching and learning framework and service for quality education.

Retrospective analysis and evaluation through tracer studies is one of the most common ways to self-initiated University's self-evaluation scheme to determine adequacy, relevance and alignment of its curricular offerings to the national and international standards for better human resource of the country. The current tracer study determined the same domains through descriptive survey design in order to evaluate the science education curricular program of the graduate education offered by the country's premier teacher education institution. With about 41% retrieval rate; data from the 15 outcomes or products of the aforecited program provided the following: satisfaction (M=2.82) to high satisfaction (M=3.11, 3.38) with the University's facilities, services, and learning environment respectively; high extent of skill-use (knowledge and technical, research, problem-solving, human relations) in their professional careers; and strong agreement on adequacy (M=4.29) and relevance (M=4.17) of the curricular program. Though the products of the program highly regard the program for its relevance and adequacy, more improvement is seen to be done on the other aspects such as the number of graduates produced each year to compensate and fill in the big gap produced by the curricular transition in the national scene. Better mobility may also be achieved if the programs would consider ASEAN and international touch.

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