ANGELIKA FAE AMADO (LA SALLE GREEN HILLS)
AURELIO VILBAR (University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu)

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE PDL: ONLINE VOLUNTEERISM TO DEVELOP THE PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY STUDENTS’ RESEARCH WRITING SKILLS : EQUITY AND LEARNER DIVERSITY

La Salle Green Hills – Alternative Education (LSGH – Alt.Ed.) is an initiative that provides free, quality education to marginalized adults through the Adult Night High School (ANHS), Alternative Learning System, and Technical-Vocational Education and Training programs. This program is extended to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from various Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Metro Manila. In this case study, LSGH–ANHS that offered Senior High School to 28 Grade 12 persons deprived of liberty collaborated with the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Ugnayan ng Pahinungod (Volunteerism) in coaching their PDL students in writing their academic research. 18 UP Cebu volunteer professors, students, alumni, and staff coached the PDLs in drafting, editing, and revising their research output via Google Meet for 5 weeks. 7 different PDL research groups were coached by 1-2 volunteers synchronously and asynchronously. The volunteers coached them in editing, paraphrasing, summarizing, contextualizing related literature to their study, and writing a conclusion. The pretest-posttest outputs were evaluated by independent raters. Findings showed that the students’ writing organization, content, and paraphrasing skills improved. In the interviews, they claimed that the volunteers dedicated their time to coaching them on paraphrasing, demonstrating how to organize ideas, and giving constructive criticisms. The PDL students added that they appreciated how the coaches listened attentively, communicated with them, and gave detailed feedback that helped them with their research.

Angelika Fae Amado is a licensed professional teacher with a master’s in English as a Second Language. She started as a Senior High School teacher in a private institution before serving as an Undergraduate Faculty in a state university. Currently, she teaches language, literature, and research courses at La Salle Green Hills – Alternative Education.

Aurelio Vilbar is a Professor at the College of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Cebu where he serves as the Director of Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, the Volunteer Service Program. He has conducted research on service learning, language and technology, curriculum and materials production which received the UP International Publication Awards and TESOL Awards in Philadelphia, USA. He has worked with UNESCO Bangkok and UNESCO Seoul on sustainability and global citizenship education. Dr. Vilbar was a Visiting Professor in Japan.