Pinoy teacher wins Southeast Asian award

Dr. Allan B. de Guzman, a professor at the University of Santo Tomas College of Education, has been honored with a prestigious award by a joint award-giving body composed of the Government of Canada and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The professor received the SEAMEO- Jasper Research Award for his paper “Creating Space for Legitimate Participation of Youth in Education for Sustainability (ES) through Service Learning: Toward a ‘liberatory praxis’ for Pedagogy of Sustainability (PS)” It is a study on the impact of a changing education landscape to sustainable development.

The award is an annual grant for outstanding research conducted by SEAMEO Member Country nationals that explore concepts, ideas and practical experience.

Topics include managing social change, good governance, civic consciousness, advocacy for health, environmentally responsible lifestyles, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

De Guzman has served as education instructor since 1998. He is also a professor at the College of Nursing, Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, the Graduate School, and a Faculty of Sacred Theology of UST.

The author is a threetime recipient of the Dangal ng UST Award for Most Outstanding Teaching Performance in 1998 (Instructor Level) and 2000 (Assistant Professor Level). He also received the Hall of Fame Award of the Dangal ng UST for 2007.

De Guzman’s winning paper included 223 students from Western Visayas as respondents. He showed that as an “agent of change,” the student is viewed as an “active player in sustainable development through service learning.”

He also explored how a student and his education is “rooted on and connected to” the community. He explained that “learning is not detached in understanding and addressing” the concerns of community life.

SEAMEO is a regional organization composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

source: http://goodnewspilipinas.com