Download - SEEing CWTS
College of Mass Communication Department of Communication Research
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
SEEing CWTS: Surveying, Exploring and Evaluating CWTS Implementation in the
University of the Philippines Diliman
By the Communication Research 165 Class 1st semester, AY 2010-2011
Submitted to
Communication Research Department University of the Philippines Diliman
In partial fulfillment of the requirements in Communication Research 165: Data Interpretation and Reporting
October 2010
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ABSTRACT
This study being the first university-wide evaluation of the Civic Welfare Training
Program (CWTS) in the University of the Philippines Diliman focused on how CWTS
programs have been able to communicate the three key dimensions of citizenship,
volunteerism, and career exploration and development based on the students’
perspective. It aimed to evaluate the learning outcomes of CWTS courses in the
students in terms of knowledge gained about citizenship and volunteerism, life skills
developed in relation to volunteerism, and attitude toward the program. A survey of 770
students who have completed CWTS 1 and 2 between AY 2008-2010, and three focus
group discussions were employed.
Results of the study show that UP Diliman students across all colleges generally
have broad knowledge of citizenship. Their most common understanding of volunteerism
include those of taking initiative, act of doing good without reward, and unconditional
service. Moreover, CWTS activities cited as acts of volunteerism mostly involve
teaching, community service, and outreach programs.
As a course, CWTS was evaluated to be relevant, fun and interesting.
Furthermore, taking CWTS outside home college afforded students new knowledge.
Students also observed that the specialization of the college was incorporated into the
manner CWTS was taught to them. Lastly, CWTS courses have influenced the students
to explore other career paths.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The researchers are third year Communication Research students currently
taking up Communication Research 165: Data Interpretation and Reporting. Having
completed other Communication Research courses, the researchers have been trained
in both qualitative and quantitative research.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract 2
About the Authors 3
Introduction 6
Review of Related Literature 9
Study Framework 17
Methodology 21
Results and Discussion 24
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation 41
Bibliography 44
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LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
Figure Title Page
1 Conceptual Framework 18 2 Operational Framework 20 3 Percentage Distribution of Students According to Year Level 24 4 Frequency Distribution of Students According to their
Reasons in Choosing where to take CWTS Courses 27 5 Reasons for Enrolling: Categorized 28 6 Individual Item Index for Citizenship Measures 29 7 Frequency Distribution of Students According to
Citizenship Score Value 30 8 Frequency Distribution of Students According to
Responses on Definition of Volunteerism 32 9 Individual Item Graph for Osgood Semantic Differential
Scale Items 34 10 Individual Item Graph for Students’ Evaluation of CWTS 38
Table Title Page
1 Frequency Distribution of Students According to their CWTS 1 Course Self-Rating 37
2 Frequency Distribution of Students According to their CWTS 2 Course Self-Rating 37
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I. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Republic Act No. 9163 establishes the National Service Training Program
(NSTP) for tertiary level students. It affirms the prime duty of the government to serve
and protect the citizens within its territory. To aid in that duty, all citizens are then
invested by this act with a responsibility to defend the State’s security. Citizens may be
required by the government to render personal, military, or civil service.
Tertiary level students are well within the range of the youth and the State
recognizes that the youth is a major sector in nation-building. It is in the State’s best
interests to invest time and effort in building up this sector. The NSTP Act makes it the
State’s role to promote civic consciousness and to develop the youth’s physical, moral,
spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. The program then inculcates in the youth the
values of patriotism, volunteerism and involvement in public affairs. It encourages the
youth to become civic and/or military leaders and volunteers.
The National Service Training Program aims to develop and train the youth in
areas of military duties, literacy and civic welfare. Three components were
institutionalized under the program, and each component is specially and specifically
designed to enhance the youth’s activity in contributing to the general welfare of the
State.
The three components are the following:
1) The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC):
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This component is designed to provide military training to tertiary level
students in order to motivate, train, organize, and mobilize them for national
defense preparedness.
2) Literacy Training Service (LTS):
This component is designed to train students to become teachers of
literacy and numeracy skills to school children, out of school youth, and other
sectors in society who is in need of their service.
3) Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS):
This component refers to programs and activities contributory to the
general welfare and the betterment of life for the members of the community
or the enhancement of its facilities with focus to those devoted to the
improvement of health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety,
recreation, and morals of citizenry.
Amongst the three components, the ROTC program is optional and voluntary
while the LTS and CWTS programs are a requisite for graduation. All students of any
baccalaureate and vocational degree are to undergo and complete one of the NSTP
components. All three components of the NSTP program are to be taken for an
academic period of two semesters. However, in lieu of the two semester programs, a
one-summer program is also provided.
There will be no fees for any of the NSTP programs except for the basic tuition
fees in higher and technical vocational institutions. The fees shall not exceed 50% of
what is currently being charged by the schools per unit.
In management of these programs, school authorities are called to exercise
academic and administrative supervision over the design, formation, adoption, and
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implementation of the different components; unless a CHED- or TESDA-accredited non-
government organization (NGO) has been contacted to do all these for the school.
In the University of the Philippines-Diliman, only two of the NSTP’s components
are provided, namely, the Reserve Officers’ Training Course (ROTC) and the Civic
Welfare Training Service (CWTS).
The ROTC program is handled by the Department of Military Science and
Tactics, while different colleges offer the CWTS program with the incorporation of each
college’s thrusts and concepts.
The program in the university need not be taken in the first two years; it can be
taken by the students anytime before their graduation.
Fifteen colleges are offering CWTS programs molded and formed in relation to
the courses they offer. These colleges are from the four academic clusters found in the
University- Arts and Letters, Social Sciences and Law, Management and Economics,
and, Science and Technology.
Rationale of the Study
After the NSTP program has been passed as a law in January 23, 2002, there
has been no university-wide study aimed at evaluating the CWTS program in the
University of the Philippines Diliman and other institutions of higher education. Primarily
for lack of prior studies on the NSTP law, the researchers aimed to do an evaluative
research on the CWTS program in the University.
Given the relatively free reign afforded to colleges in the implementation of
CWTS, it is imperative to know whether their CWTS programs are aligned with the
University’s objectives.
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The focus of the study is, from the perspective of students, how CWTS programs
communicate the three key dimensions of citizenship, volunteerism, and career
exploration and development. Secondly, measure the learning outcomes of the students
from the CWTS program in terms of knowledge about citizenship and volunteerism, life
skills gained related to volunteerism, and attitude toward the CWTS program.
Statement of the Problem
Faced with scarcity of information on the CWTS program and the goal to pioneer
an evaluative study on the said program, the researchers deemed it necessary to ask:
What are the learning outcomes of CWTS courses in terms of knowledge gained,
life skills developed, and attitude toward CWTS? How do students evaluate CWTS as a
course?
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Studies related to school-mandated service were examined to aid in
understanding the process of evaluating the CWTS program of the university. This
literature review includes three studies done in the United States: the first being a case
study of high school community service in Los Angeles County; the second a
longitudinal-quasi-natural experiment comparing, on measures of civic attitudes and
behaviors, groups of graduating high school students of the year 2000 who have not
experienced the required community service, and those of the year 2001 and 2002 who
had to complete 40 hours of community service; and a qualitative study on student
motivation for community service.
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An evaluation of the CWTS program of the university makes it necessary to know
if it is relevant for the students in the first place. A study in 1999 by Sundeen and Raskoff
examined the role schools played in educating high school students about youth
socialization and civic participation through community service. (Sundeen & Raskoff,
1999) In the authors’ previous study in 1995, it was suggested that the school which
supported or required community service was the strongest factor, other factors being
the family and church, in developing volunteerism among the respondents. For their
study in 1999, Sundeen and Raskoff performed a three-year case study of high school
community service in Los Angeles County. They defined community service as “any
service activity recognized or sponsored by the school, regardless of where it occurs or
how long it takes.”
A three-phase multi-method project was involved in the study. First, 385 public
and private high schools in Los Angeles County were surveyed by mail about their
community service programming , and administrators and faculty of 18 schools in six
areas were subjected to in-depth interviews. The second phase were “in-depth
interviews with representatives of eleven community organizations and eighty-four mail
survey responses regarding the role they play with secondary schools, their perception
of the benefits and costs of student participation, problems they encounter, and best
practices” which studied the “roles and perspectives of community organizations for
which students volunteer.” The last phase focused on the students, wherein 285
students from 22 schools in seven areas were interviewed “descriptions and
assessments of their high school community service experiences.”
The said study found out that schools indeed had a role of socializing their
students to be service-oriented. It is also shown that the success in achieving this
depends on “the program structure, the sponsorship, the mandate, and the social and
cultural diversity of the schools.” Schools and community organizations must also have
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good communication for this can avoid problems that may arise. It is also revealed that
many high schools do not express their community service goals with their educational
mission.
It is, however, not clear as to how successful the schools are in communicating
civic participation in their students. Some students may just see community service as a
fulfillment of personal growth and development than as a help to the community. The
socially-elite students and those from religious schools tend to be aware about the status
of people less fortunate than them. But this does not necessarily mean they would help
those in need. Students from religious schools are more likely to act toward social
change, while non-sectarian and public school students are less likely to be future
volunteers due to their different educational goals and “lack of integration of service and
learning in the curriculum and educational objectives.” Time and money were shown to
be important factors in continuing community service in schools as private schools
demonstrated positive action as opposed to public schools which lacked resources.
This study also suggested that students required to do service are less inclined
to do future volunteer work than others. Types of schools also presented differences in
their students’ wanting to volunteer in the future: public school students are less likely
than private school students to say that they will volunteer in the future. Same goes with
students from non-sectarian schools. Thus, support from the school is deemed important
in shaping the students to be future volunteers.
Sundeen and Raskoff concluded that: “The effective implementation of program
goals requires greater effort in defining the goals of service vis a vis the school's
educational goals; improved coordination with community organizations; heightened
attempts to encourage students to reflect on their experiences and integrate them with
the school's educational mission; increased training opportunities for teachers regarding
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methods of reflection and integration; and greater attention to training, recognition, and
program evaluation.”
Another important idea to think about is whether the presence or absence of
CWTS would have an effect on the students’ inclination to volunteer. Metz and Youniss
studied this in the case of the community service requirement implementation (or non-
implementation) on graduating high school students in the United States. (Metz &
Youniss, 2005) The graduating class of 2000, which did not carry out a community
service requirement, was compared with the graduating classes of 2001 and 2002,
which had required community service, on their inclinations to help and to empathize
with others.
Each group was divided according to the individual students’ likeliness to serve
voluntarily. The study had the following questions: “Does the experience of doing
mandatory service promote civic development as defined by attitudes and behavior, in
high school students? And, does mandatory service add civic value to individual
students beyond that which they bring already to the service experience?”
The study made use of a quasi-natural experiment in that a public high school
which was about to implement a 40-hour required community service allowed the
authors to study one class who had no such requirement and two, that succeeded the
first class, who were subjected to the service requirement. The individual students were
also differentiated on their tendencies to serve as others were already involved in
volunteering while others did only some or had no background in serving at all. A
longitudinal design was also involved in that the students were tracked “on a variety of
measures that indexed their intended civic engagement and current attention and
understanding of politics.” By recording the changes on these measures after the final
two grades of high school enabled the authors to identify whether school-required
service influenced civic development in students.
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Four groups of students were identified. Two of them were from the graduating
class of 2000 (the class before the mandated service was implemented), where some
did regular volunteering while others did not. The two other groups were from the
graduating classes of 2001 and 2002 (which had to fulfill the required community
service). One of these groups was more likely to serve. This posed the question: “Did
having to meet the requirement add civic value for these students who were already
inclined to do service in the first place?” The other group comprised of 2001 and 2002
students who were not likely to serve. They did not have prior experience of volunteering
and waited until their senior year to complete the service requirement. For this group, the
question was: “Do students who are not inclined toward service and might otherwise not
do it show positive gains after they have fulfilled their service requirement?”
Five-point scales were used to measure helping and empathy among students.
“For the Helping measure, students indicated how often they had done activities relating
to helping.” “Students responded on a 5-point scale (from 1 = "never" to 5 = "very
often")”. “For the Empathy measure, students agreed or disagreed on a statement about
how they feel in situations involving others' welfare.” “Students responded on a 5-point
scale (from 1 = "totally disagree" to 5 = "agree completely").”
In general, the students of class 2000 had higher scores on the helping measure
than the students of class 2001 or 2002. However, there were no differences between
them on the empathy measure. School involvement was also assessed by asking about
the students’ participation in extra-curriculars like the school government, sports and
other clubs. There were no differences between the classes. The work in the community
service included: “tutoring, coaching, assisting at shelters or nursing homes, organizing
food or clothing drives, and assisting value-centered service organizations or churches.”
Students who were already inclined to serve had high scores on all measures
throughout and did not show any advantage after having met the community service
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requirement. On the other hand, students who were not likely to serve had higher scores
on three of four civic measures after having completed the community service
requirement. Contrary to what Sundeen and Raskoff found out, Metz and Youniss
discovered that service, even when required, may increase volunteerism in people. The
study also found out that students who were less likely to serve had changed
perspectives after having completed the required community service.
Regarding the students’ background: their parents had higher educational
attainments, had experience in volunteering, and were religious. At least two of these
characteristics had a direct effect on students’ tendency to serve. As all youth undergo
education in schools, a service requirement under it can make up for the differences in
the students’ upbringing, therefore giving all the opportunity for community service.
One weakness of this study is that it was unable to pinpoint which activities in the
40 hours of community service were responsible for improving volunteerism on students.
But it could be concluded that: “a consciously designed service program which espouses
civic responsibility in the community and offers students opportunities to do service at
worthwhile sites at the very least gets students to take their requirement seriously and
stimulates their interest in various aspects of the civic domain.”
Studies by Sundeen & Raskoff and Metz & Youniss have provided the answers
to the relevance of school-mandated service, while Jones and Hill looked into the
reasons for students’ motivation to serve in their qualitative study of student motivation
for community service in 2003. (Jones & Hill, 2003) The study aimed to discover the
meaning students give to their participation in and motivations for community service
and to understand how the students perceived their own patterns of involvement in
community service. The relationship between high school involvement and college
participation was particularly dealt with. The study inquired: “What are students' reasons
for participation in community service in high school? What are students' reasons for
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participation in community service (or not) in college? How do students explain and
understand the relationship between high school and college involvement? To what do
students attribute differences/changes in their motivations as well as experiences?”
Being an exploratory study, it had a constructivist approach to the design.
Purposeful sampling was used in identifying both the schools and the individual students
from each school. The schools invited were only from the Ohio Campus Compact which
were colleges and universities that supported the development of social responsibility
and citizenship. Directors of Community Service from the schools that joined were asked
to nominate four students each, all of whom participated in community service in high
school, where two continued in college while the other two discontinued. The study
defined community service as “any form of service (curricular or co-curricular) performed
in an off-campus community context and for which payment was not received.”
Data collection mainly involved in-depth interviewing of the students. Questions
were about “nature of community service involvement in high school and college, the
reasons students attributed to their participation, and the meaning they attached to
community service.” Data analysis was done by using “the constant comparative method
characteristic of grounded theory methodology,” moving from concrete ideas to abstract
themes of the meaning the students gave to their experiences. Thus data analysis
moved in a cycle, going back to the data with new questions until a story about the
essence of the experience for the informants surfaced.
For the students who continued to do community service, a commitment on their
part was developed. They began to do service with internal motivation, unlike those who
discontinued service in college whose service was affected by external factors.
Moreover, if teachers or family members explained to them the importance of community
service, it was more meaningful for them. Having experienced being marginalized also
influenced a person’s will to serve. Also, continued service in college was more of a
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result of voluntary service in high school. Students who were required of community
service in high school were more likely to discontinue it in college, supporting Sundeen
and Raskoff’s findings. This negative effect can be countered by having students
perform high-quality service rather than service that may seem meaningless to them,
such as raking a neighbor’s yard. Colleges and universities, if they want to attain positive
results in their community service programs must make the environment engaging for
their students by providing many opportunities and helping students negotiate requests
on time. Not only must they focus on those who are more inclined to continue, but much
more on those who are not that interested to serve.
Synthesis
These studies have noted different findings about the effectiveness of school-
mandated service in developing a sense of voluntarism to its students. Sundeen &
Raskoff (1999) and Jones & Hill (2003) had similar findings that required service tend to
make students less likely to do volunteer work. However, Metz & Youniss (2005) found
out that school-required service can compensate for the difference in the background of
the students and give them all exposure to community service. But above all, it is
important to note that the success of this kind of program is dependent on the support
that the academe gives, especially on how well it will design and implement the program.
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III. STUDY FRAMEWORK
Conceptual Level
Under the CWTS program of UP Diliman, the activities must aim to instill
citizenship and volunteerism, and help the students explore other career paths.
The orientation of the CWTS implementation is college-based, where students
can freely choose where they will take the program. While each college has a distinct
specialization, and may host activities that are in line with the college’s thrust, the
activities must still reflect the objectives of the university. By the end of the program,
each student who took CWTS must have informed knowledge on citizenship and
volunteerism, gained new life skills in relation to volunteerism, developed attitudes
toward what the program offers, explored other career paths, and applied what they
learned from the program.
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CITIZENSHIP
VOLUNTEERISM
CAREER EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
TTHHRRUUSSTTSS OOFF TTHHEE UUPP DDIILLIIMMAANN CCWWTTSS PPRROOGGRRAAMMSS
Knowledge about citizenship and volunteerism
Life skills gained related to
volunteerism Attitude toward the CWTS program
Exploration of other career paths
Development of new skills
Application of skills learned in degree program
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Figure 1. Conceptual Framework
Operational Level
Values such as citizenship and volunteerism, and exploration of career paths are
further specified, based on the university objectives and the existing law mandating the
implementation of the program. Furthermore, the various colleges offering CWTS
incorporate the college’s thrust in the program, hence re-shaping how the three
dimensions will be communicated to the students.
On the whole, under citizenship, a student who underwent activities in the CWTS
program must have developed loyalty to the country, pride of being a Filipino, abidance
to the law like being an honest tax payer, concern for the country’s natural resources,
and general sense of service to the communities of the country. Also, a student who took
CWTS must have developed a sense of volunteerism such as defining what
volunteerism is and applying it by volunteering or being willing to volunteer. Also,
exploration of other career paths must be realized.
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CITIZENSHIP
• Loyalty to the country
• Filipino pride • Observance of the
law (i.e. payment of taxes and suffrage)
• Concern for the environment
• Service to the country
TTHHRRUUSSTTSS OOFF TTHHEE UUPP DDIILLIIMMAANN CCWWTTSS PPRROOGGRRAAMMSS
Knowledge about citizenship and volunteerism
Life skills gained related to
volunteerism Attitude toward the CWTS program
Exploration of other career paths
Development of new skills
Application of skills learned in degree program
VOLUNTEERISM
• Helping out communities
• Offering service to the less privileged sectors of society
CAREER EXPLORATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Figure 2. Operational Framework
IV. METHODOLOGY
The discussion of the methodological considerations of this study is divided into
the following parts: research design, research methods, sampling scheme, and variables
and measures.
Research Design
This study aimed to evaluate the CWTS programs of thirteen colleges in the
University of the Philippines- Diliman based on the three key dimensions set by the
university, which are citizenship, volunteerism, and career exploration and development.
To address the research questions posed by this study, both quantitative and qualitative
approaches were employed.
Methods
A survey of students who already took a CWTS program were employed in order
to assess the programs’ effectiveness in communicating the values of citizenship,
volunteerism, and career exploration and development.
Furthermore, focus group discussions were employed to discuss more deeply the
perceptions of the students on what they have learned from the program and what they
want to suggest for the program’s improvement and enhancement. They were also
asked about the benefits brought about by their CWTS courses.
Sampling Scheme
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Multi-stage sampling was employed in determining the colleges whose CWTS
programs will be evaluated. From 18 colleges that are classified into four academic
clusters, the researchers randomly selected two colleges from each cluster. The table
below shows the selected colleges from each cluster.
A CWTS program was identified from each selected college. From the eight
selected colleges, only the College of Science offers various CWTS programs, so the
researchers used the fishbowl method and randomly selected the National Institute of
Physics-CWTS program to represent the College of Science.
For the survey method, quota sampling was used. The researchers identified 100
student-respondents from each CWTS program. The students must have taken the
CWTS programs within the academic years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 and must have
taken it in UP-Diliman and not in any other UP unit.
Since there are colleges who have a small population, a back-up college per
cluster was also randomly selected through the fishbowl method to complete the said
quota. These colleges were: College of Arts and Letters and College of Mass
Communication for the Arts and Letters cluster; College of Social Work and Community
Development for the Social Sciences and Law cluster; College of Home Economics for
the Management and Economics cluster; and the National Institute of Molecular Biology
Arts and Letters Social Science and Law
Management and Economics
Science and Technology
College of Music College of Education
School of Economics
College of Science (National Institute of Physics)
College of Fine Arts College of Social Science and Philosophy
National Center for Public Administration and Governance
School of Statistics
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and Biotechnology, and the College of Engineering for the Science and Technology
cluster.
For the focus group discussion, purposive sampling was used to draw
participants from the same colleges in the sample. Three focus group discussions were
conducted with 8-10 student-participants for each discussion.
Variables and Measures
The three key dimensions set by the university upon the CWTS program were
given modalities. The developed modalities provide the means of measurement, as well
as further elaboration to what the dimensions are about.
For citizenship, the following were developed: Loyalty to the country, Filipino
pride, observance to the law, concern for the environment, and service to the country.
For volunteerism, personal definitions and applications were identified by
researchers for measurement.
For career exploration and development, the following modalities were made: the
College of Choice (where students took their CWTS), College-related Career, and
Improved Skill.
These modalities were measured through acquiring the levels of attitude,
knowledge, and practices students had about the three dimensions and their respective
modalities.
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Majority of the respondents or 480 (62.3%) are female, while 287 (37.3%) are
male. More than half or 379 (51%) are fourth year college students, while 257 (34%) are
third year students. Likewise, more than a hundred respondents (15%) are in their fifth
year, including shiftees from other colleges, and transferees from other universities.
UP Diliman students are expected to take their CWTS courses during or after
their sophomore year in the university. Therefore, the age and year level of the majority
in the sample is very typical to the UP population that is expected to have already taken
CWTS courses.
Academic profile
The respondents were from 13 different colleges in UPD. College of Social
Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) has the highest number in the survey pool with 97
respondents (12.6%), followed closely by College of Fine Arts (CFA) with 95 (12.4%).
Only 26 respondents combined (3.3%) came from College of Social Work and
Development (CSWCD) and College of Home Economics (CHE). The two colleges,
which were initially excluded from the pool, served as back-up colleges to reach the pre-
determined total number of respondents.
Prior to data gathering, the researchers divided the colleges into four clusters:
Arts and Letters, Social Science and Law, Management and Economics, and Science
and Technology (Refer to table in methodology for the colleges in each cluster). Majority
of the respondents or 265 (34.4%) are from the Arts and Letters cluster due to the
inclusion of the College of Mass Communication (CMC).
One in every five took their CWTS 1 and 2 at the College of Engineering (COE).
More than 90 students (almost 12%) out of the total number of respondents took CWTS
1 and 2 at the School of Economics (SOE), while CFA, CSSP, and others, which include
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departments eliminated from the survey pool, have about 80 respondents each (more
than 10%).
CWTS profile
Almost 350 respondents (45.1%) took their CWTS I during the first semester of
academic year 2009 to 2010, while 290 (37.8%) took their CWTS I during the first
semester of 2008 to 2009. For CWTS II, 354 respondents (46.2%) took their classes
during the second semester of academic year 2009 to 2010, while 282 (36.8%) took it
during the second semester of 2008 to 2009.
On the other hand, 87 respondents (11.3%) took joint CWTS I and II classes
during the summer of 2009, while 36 (4.7%) took during the summer of 2010. The
number of enrollees per academic year does not really vary. Students normally take their
CWTS courses during the regular semester more than summer.
Reasons for College choice of CWTS
In line with UP’s aim to give students academic freedom, they were allowed to
choose where they will take their CWTS courses. Aside from the fact that students are
required to take a CWTS course, being housed by their own college emerged as their
primary consideration in choosing where to take their CWTS. Other reasons such as
availability of class slots, opportunity of meeting new people and field work, likeability of
professor, and level of difficulty have little impact for more than 80 percent of the
respondents.
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Figure 4. Frequency Distribution of Students according to their Reasons in Choosing where to take CWTS Courses
These reasons were generalized into broader categories – convenience,
socialization and novelty. Reasons under convenience include the class: being the only
one with available slots, being easy, being a joint CWTS 1 and 2 program, and the
qualities of the professor. Items under socialization comprise: meeting new people,
enrolling together with friends, and being suggested by one’s friend. The CWTS program
having an interesting course title, offering something different to the students, and
involving field work are categorized under novelty.
379
651
544
590
579
579
625
554
668
660
678
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Housed by College
Available Slots
Together with Friends
Course Title
Something Different
Suggested
Easy
Joint
Fieldwork
New People
Professor
28
Figure 5. Reasons for Enrolling: Categorized
Novelty emerged as the second consideration of the students. As one informant
shared, he enjoyed doing new activities such as rappelling:
Other concepts/lessons taught in other CWTS (like entrepreneurship) can be taught/offered by other subjects while skills such as rappelling (one of the CWTS activities offered in the College of Engineering) is hard to miss. -3rd yr, BS GE
II. Learning Outcomes
Knowledge about Citizenship
Students who participated in the focus group discussions shared that they were
able to learn new concepts and skills after taking two semesters of CWTS courses. One
Convenience29%
Socialization27%
Novelty24%
Housed by College20%
29
of the concepts mentioned in the focus group discussions, also one of the three key
dimensions set by the University for CWTS courses, was citizenship. According to one
informant from the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG),
“citizenship and social service” are two of the main concepts which were practically
taught in her CWTS 1 and 2 classes. This was further examined in the survey by
quantitatively measuring the students’ Citizenship score values.
Citizenship was measured using a Likert Scale adapted from a previous study
entitled National Development via NSTP National Service Training Program: Literacy
Training Service 1 in 2005 by Sonia dela Cruz, et al. Students were asked to agree or
disagree to statements pertaining to good citizenship practices.
Figure 6. Individual Item Index for Citizenship Measures
For them, the top five citizenship practices are the following: engaging in gainful
work, respecting rights of others, conserving resources, being proud to be Pinoy, and
661 580 540 512 403627 663 608 509 590 647 713 716
488
0100200300400500600700800900
1000
Index
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25
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31
scored values within this range. Meanwhile, 203 respondents (26.4%) have very high
Citizenship score values.
To find out if the respondents’ knowledge of Citizenship is related to the college
where they took CWTS 1, Chi-Square test was used. The computed Chi Square value is
75.134 with 0.045 significance at alpha=0.05. This reveals that there is no significant
difference among colleges when it comes to citizenship score values. This also means
that the college where students have taken up their CWTS 1 has no relationship to their
knowledge of citizenship.
Respondents who have taken CWTS 1 at the College of Engineering, School of
Economics, College of Fine Arts, College of Mass Communication and the National
College of Public Administration and Governance all yielded high score values for
citizenship. Respondents who have taken CWTS 1 from the College of Home
Economics and the College of Social Work and Community Development are the only
two colleges which have very high score values for Citizenship. However, it should be
noted that these two colleges have a low number of respondents. There are only six
(30%) out of ten respondents who took their CWTS 1 in the College of Home Economics
who have very high Citizenship score values. For students who took their CWTS 1 in the
College of Social Work and Community Development, ten (50%) of the total 20
respondents have very high Citizenship score values.
Knowledge about Volunteerism
Another concept which was mentioned in the focus group discussions that were
carried out was the concept of volunteerism. Volunteerism activities stand as the
students’ application of the concepts they have learned from CWTS 1.
32
To measure students’ volunteerism score value, respondents were asked to
define volunteerism by choosing the words that match their idea of it. The researchers
identified 9 words commonly related to the concept of volunteerism. These were given
corresponding score values based on their magnitude of meaning. “Unpaid labor” was
given a score value of 1, the lowest, while “Selflessness,” the highest, has a score value
of 9. Other terms identified were “Taking Initiative,” “Submitting Oneself,” “Unconditional
Service,” “Philanthropy,” “Humanitarianism,” “Act of Doing Good without Reward,” and
“Sacrifice.”
Figure 8. Frequency Distribution of Students According to Responses on Definition of Volunteerism
The top three concepts most associated to volunteerism are: “Taking initiative”
with 600 (77.9%) respondents in agreement to this, “Act of Doing Good Without Reward”
(71.3%), and “Unconditional Service” (62.1%). Least associated is “Philanthropy” with
only 225 (29.2%) saying such.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Unpaid Labor
Taking Initiative
Submitting Oneself
Unconditional Service
Philanthropy
Humanitarianism
Doing Good Without Reward
Selflessness
SacrificeDefinition of Volunteerism
33
The Chi square test reveals that there is a significant difference among colleges
in terms of volunteerism score values. The computed Chi Square value is 90.191 with
0.003 significance at alpha=0.05. This indicates that the college where students have
taken up their CWTS 2 is associated to their knowledge of volunteerism. This might have
been due to how students felt about the application of CWTS 1 concepts into their
CWTS 2 classes, and on the activities they have carried out while taking the second
installment of the course.
Life skills gained related to Volunteerism
For practices of volunteerism, respondents were asked if there were any
activities in their CWTS courses that they consider as acts of volunteerism and 609
(80%) respondents said yes. Among those who answered yes, 583 (96%) gave
examples of these acts of volunteerism. The answers were grouped by the researchers
into eight categories: teaching, community service, outreach, skills development,
advocacy, rescue, donation, and construction. Among these categories, “teaching” had
the highest turnout with 150 (25.7%) respondents citing this answer. The next two
highest are community service and outreach with 17.7% and 16.3%, respectively.
Likewise, concerning actual practices of volunteerism, the focus group discussion
participants believe CWTS 2 is generally a practical application of the concepts they
have learned in CWTS 1. Most of them cited the activities they have done which include
social work, immersion in the community, helping cancer patients, participating in Gawad
Kalinga, rappelling, lifesaving, camping and teaching kids. Some also recalled the values
they learned such as teamwork, camaraderie, nationalism, service and appreciation of
the arts.
34
Attitude toward CWTS
Attitude towards CWTS was measured in terms of their enjoyment of the course,
perceived relevance, level of difficulty, nature of the course, and load of work involved.
The researchers used Osgood Semantic Differential Scale in order to measure this
attitude.
Figure 9. Individual Item Graph for Osgood Semantic Differential Scale Items
CWTS was found out to be generally fun for more than half of the respondents.
221 respondents (28.7%) claimed that CWTS was fun while 220 (28.6%) said it was
‘semi-fun.’ CWTS was neither boring nor fun for 173 respondents (22.5%). CWTS being
fun was concretely illustrated by the focus group discussion participants. To them, the
fun part was the activities such as teaching kids, rappelling, community outreach, first
aid, and camping.
68 47 56 52 66
11164
125 110174
173
153
312218
294208
268
182
198
162209 235
90188
70
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
negative semi‐negative neutral semi‐positive positive
35
Also in the focus group discussions conducted, the informants were asked to
rate, in a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest possible score, their enjoyment while
taking their CWTS courses. 23 informants all in all were present in the three FGDs. Of
this number, five took their CWTS in Economics, four in Engineering, four in CSSP, two
each in CHE, CAL, FA and others, and 1 each in NCPAG and Music. The average rating
provided by the informants was 7.73 points for enjoyment. Reasons cited by the
informants include: camaraderie among CWTS classmates, sense of fulfillment and fun
activities.
Nonetheless, there were also students who did not find CWTS as a fun course.
Most of the informants who rated CWTS enjoyment low attributed their negative attitude
toward their CWTS course as being boring. They were not able to enjoy the course due
to the fact that CWTS is simply another required course for them. Citing one informant,
hindi siya talaga super fun na activity, di katulad sa org, required kasi siya eh kaya namin siya pinagtiyagaang tapusin. -Maria, 4th year, BA Linguistics Their negative experiences while taking CWTS also accounted for their low rating
of CWTS in terms of enjoyment of the course. External factors to CWTS can also inhibit
this.
Ayun parang yung sa CWTS 2, ikaw personally, gusto mong makatulong sa kanila, di ba, gusto mo magturo, kaso minsan parang kalaban mo rin yung pasensya mo kasi sobrang gugulo nung mga bata na hindi mo sila makontrol – Maricar, 3rd year, BS Econ Due to the fact that CWTS activities are less classroom-based, the respondents
also said that the course is generally more interesting than it is dull, aside from being fun
and enjoyable. Students who responded with interesting and ‘semi-interesting’
36
accounted for almost 52% of the total respondents; while a mere 21% said it was ‘semi-
dull’ and dull.
Also, as CWTS activities are more physical than mental, it was evaluated to be
neither difficult nor easy for the majority of the respondents. 312 respondents (40.8%)
expressed neutral feelings, while 177 (23.1%) respondents said that it was ‘semi-easy’
and 130 respondents (17%) said that it was ‘semi-difficult.’ Moreover, CWTS was an
easy course for 86 respondents (11.2%) while it was difficult for 60 respondents (7.8%).
Respondents of the survey said that CWTS neither relaxed nor stressed them
since the course did not require much from the students, aside from their attendance
and participation in the activities. 294 (38.4%) respondents agreed with this.
When the respondents were asked if CWTS was relevant in their lives, they saw
it as a generally relevant program, with 65% leaning towards the positive adjectives,
which are relevant and ‘semi-relevant’. It is also important to note that among all the
adjectives provided in the Osgood Semantic Differential Scale, the students displayed
the most positive attitude towards the relevance of the course.
Each of the categories for the attitudinal component was given score values, the
sum of which measures the respondents’ level of affirmation to CWTS, or otherwise. The
following sum values correspond to the following attitude toward CWTS:
-10 to-6: very negative attitude -5 to-1: negative attitude
0: neutral attitude 1 to 5: positive attitude 6 to 10: very positive attitude
Respondents with a generally positive attitude toward CWTS comprise 46.8% of
the total respondents. With scores ranging from 6 to 10, indicating a very positive
attitude toward CWTS, are 151 (19.6%) respondents. Expressing cynicism by holding
37
negative and very negative attitude toward CWTS respectively are 18.7% and 3.1% of
the respondents.
Knowing the attitudes of the respondents towards CWTS as a course, their self-
rating was looked into next. CWTS being generally fun, easy and interesting, the
respondents rated themselves high in terms of performance in this course.
Grade Frequency
1 576
2 168
3 17
4 4
5 2
Table 1. Frequency Distribution of Students According to their CWTS 1 Course Self-Rating
Grade Frequency
1 595
2 150
3 17
4 2
5 3
Table 2. Frequency Distribution of Students According to their CWTS 2 Course Self-Rating
38
Using the U.P. grading system, 75.1% of the respondents gave themselves a
grade of 1, which is the highest rating, for their performance in CWTS 1. Consequently,
77.6% of the respondents gave themselves the same grade for their performance in
CWTS 2.
III. Students’ Evaluation of the Course
Respondents were asked to evaluate their CWTS program using a set of items
adapted from Students' Evaluation of Teachers (SET).
Figure 10. Individual Item Graph for Students’ Evaluation of CWTS
Majority of the respondents are in agreement that CWTS helped them develop a
greater sense of responsibility. Few respondents (11.9 %) disagreed with the statement.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
39
When respondents were asked if they have worked more conscientiously in their
CWTS course than most of their other courses, the number of respondents who agreed
and disagreed were almost equal. This was observed from respondents who have taken
their CWTS at Music, CSSP, NCPAG and CSWCD. Majority of the CWTS takers of Stat,
COE, CAL, CHE, MBB and CMC agreed that they have worked more diligently in CWTS
compared to other subjects, while those of CFA, EDUC, SOE and Physics claimed
otherwise. This experience might be explained by and reflected in the goals and course
syllabi set for each college or department implementing the program. An attempt was
made by the researchers to obtain course syllabi of different colleges offering CWTS,
however, due to unavailability of the said documents, the researchers were not able to
look into and enrich inquiry on how various colleges implement CWTS based on the
University objectives.
Moreover, when asked if CWTS would be worthwhile taking even if not required,
close to 80% of the students agreed. With regard to satisfaction about the way their
CWTS course was handled, around 75% of the respondents expressed satisfaction;
close to 25% felt unsatisfied. Part of a handling of a course is its pace. When asked to
gauge the overall pace of the course, 85% of the respondents said that their CWTS
courses were taught neither too fast nor too slow, which means that they did not have to
catch up on lessons, nor be tired of having the same lessons over and over.
As to the statement 'CWTS stimulates me to think creatively,' 26.1% of the
respondents strongly agreed and 51.6% agreed. Those who disagreed and strongly
disagreed comprised only 18.3% and 3.8% of the respondents respectively. CWTS was
also believed to have developed critical thinking for 50.5% of the respondents, and
strongly for 24 %.
40
Lastly, respondents generally supported the notion that CWTS was designed to
benefit members of the community and other beneficiaries. 56.5% of the respondents
agreed in the said statement.
Also central to the evaluation of CWTS as a course was the extent to which it has
imparted knowledge to students. As the University affords the students freedom to
choose where to take CWTS, there are more students, 510 (66.2%), who took theirs at
their home college. The rest of the respondents took a CWTS course housed outside
their college. Students who took CWTS in another college said they gained new
knowledge while experiencing that college’s thrust and specialization as reflected in
CWTS; 57.9% agreed to the latter and likewise, 78.5% said they gained new knowledge
from the course. Passing of knowledge also extends to enlightening students of other
career paths and options. As a course, CWTS was also able to influence career
exploration for most of the CWTS takers who took the course outside their home college.
Generally, the concepts the respondents have recalled from their CWTS courses
after a year or two are the following: the activities they have done, lessons tackled, and
the three key dimensions set by the University. For CWTS 1, 193 respondents (26.3%)
listed down the activities they did, 189 (25.8%) recalled the lessons, and 93 (12.7%)
thought of the key dimensions. A very similar occurrence can be observed for CWTS 2
where the same concepts were recalled in the same order; 36.7% identified the
activities, 23.4% named the lessons, and 8.2% associated it with the key dimensions.
In consideration of all the findings mentioned, six hundred seven (79.7%) of the
total 770 respondents said that they will recommend the CWTS course they have taken
up to other students.
Although majority of the respondents said that they would recommend the CWTS
courses they have taken up to other students, informants add that the handling of the
41
course still needs improvement. In one of the focus group discussions, one student
suggested that CWTS 2 should have a “design” just like CWTS 1. She said:
halimbawa sa ganitong school, sustained na every year meron kang CWTS students na magtuturo diyan dun sa same group of people para yung effect sa kanila di lang dun sa isang sem o sa ilang araw na pagpunta ninyo dun sa students, bale long-term talga siya.-Maria,4th year, BA Linguistics
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The highlights of the study are as follows:
1. UP Diliman students across all colleges generally have broad knowledge of
citizenship based on their scores on a standardized test of citizenship.
2. Students’ most common understanding of volunteerism include those of
taking initiative, act of doing good without reward, and unconditional service.
3. CWTS activities cited as acts of volunteerism mostly involve teaching,
community service, and outreach programs.
4. As a course, CWTS was evaluated to be relevant, fun and interesting.
However, students were non-committal in assessing its level of difficulty and
work load.
5. Taking CWTS outside home college afforded students new knowledge.
Moreover, students observed that the specialization of the college was
incorporated into the manner CWTS was taught to them. Lastly, CWTS
courses have influenced the students to explore other career paths.
42
Conclusion
University of the Philippines Diliman developed the three key dimensions of
CWTS namely citizenship, volunteerism, and career exploration and development as a
general framework for colleges to implement CWTS. The orientation of students’
learning appears to be geared toward the practical aspects of the program such as
teaching and community service.
Learning outcomes on the conceptual aspect of the three key dimensions,
however, are less evident. Overall, the researchers find that CWTS implementation in
the University has been good. It’s been satisfactory. Not really great.
Nonetheless, CWTS appears too have promoted and enriched students’
knowledge on citizenship and volunteerism. It encouraged more acts of volunteerism. It
facilitated exploration of other career paths. Hence, CWTS earned a positive evaluation
as being relevant to the students and beneficial to the community.
Recommendation
Methodological
A more comprehensive evaluation of the Civil Welfare Training Service, or any
other NSTP unit on the whole, shall include document analyses of the curricula of the
different colleges or units offering the course. Apart from obtaining how the learning
goals are being implemented and operationalized based on the University’s three key
dimensions, this will also allow comparisons of the learning goals and learning outcomes
each unit intends to bring about. An even more extensive evaluation involving the
program per se can be accomplished through focus group discussions with the
implementers of CWTS for every college.
43
For future related studies, the concept of volunteerism should not have only been
measured by its definition, but also through probing into the feelings of the respondents
while doing their supposed activities of volunteerism. More items in the course
assessment embodied in the Osgood Semantic Differential scale of the instrument of
this study is suggested to yield better results and evaluation of the course.
As this evaluative study focused solely on the students’ perspective of the goals
and activities in CWTS, future evaluation of the program shall also examine the impact
of CWTS in the communities.
Practical
As a national program mandated by law, it is imperative to have an evaluation of
the program each semester, at least in the University of the Philippines Diliman, which
shall focus on the course per se to further enhance the implementation of the program,
and to better incorporate and communicate the course’s learning objectives. This shall
be accomplished by the students in an evaluation similar to the Students’ Evaluation of
Teachers, more commonly known as SET.
The lecture-part of the CWTS course (CWTS 1) is suggested to integrate more
creative ways of presenting the three key dimensions set by the University. For CWTS 2,
it is deemed beneficial to have more sustaining projects with particular communities and
locales, and if possible, coordination with Local Government Units can make CWTS and
the outreach programs therewith more relevant to both the students and the
communities.
Furthermore, it is crucial to have the professors and instructors of the CWTS
courses to at least be briefed, trained and informed in a faculty convention which shall
involve discussions of CWTS implementation in universities, colleges and other units.
44
This is presumed to consequently increase, make clear and inform the students well of
the values and goals of the program.
Bibliography
Jones, S., & Hill, K. (2003). Understanding Patterns of Commitment: Student Motivation for
Community Service. The Journal of Higher Education , 74 (5), 516-539.
Metz, E., & Youniss, J. (2005). Longitudinal Gains in Civic Development through School-Based Required Service. Political Psychology , 26 (3), 413-437.