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

15  

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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25  

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

26  

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.

27  

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

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Index

 

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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.