Priority Areas for Research

Teacher Education

On Teachers

• Quality of tests/ examinations given
• Modes of instructional delivery/ Instructional Practice
• Development and Validation of teaching strategies
• Research on the three core competencies for teachers, namely, teaching competency, professional competency, and punctuality and attendance
• Assessment of performance standards for teaching competency
• Teacher education in the region (total development of a person)
• Case study of elementary and secondary teachers in terms of field of specialization and handling of multigrade level combinations
• Time Management

On Students

• Performance evaluation on national achievement tests
• Factors affecting participation rate, cohort survival rate, and drop-out rate
• Student Performance/ Assessment of Student Learning
• Teaching-Learning Process

On Facilities and Resource

• Effect of the lack of material resources and facility on the teachers' capacity
• Instructional Materials Development
• Review and evaluation of the quality of instructional materials
• Access of ICT facilities of teachers and students
• Access and quality of ICT used in teaching
• Learning Environment
• Educational Technologies

On Curriculum

• Adoption of the native language of students as the medium of instruction
• Review and development of teaching strategies and learning systems
• Research on educational programs: ladderized programs versus degree-oriented; vocational and technical trainings
• Access to different programs in the tertiary level
• Shifting of programs among students
• Learning improvement through information technology
• Acceptability of technical-vocational curriculum
• Curriculum Reforms/Revisions

Access to Education

• Factors affecting access to education
• Access to education versus quality

Management and Governance

• managerial capability and preparedness of school administrators
• Value system of school administrators and teachers
• School-based policy and management studies
• School Organization/Administration
• Policy Research
• School Effectiveness

Economics and Higher Education

• Level of Education versus earning capacity
• Economics of community colleges and quality of education

Tracer Studies

• Graduate-job mismatch
• Employment system

SOCIO-ECONOMICS

Labor and Employment

• Employment and underemployment in the region
• Terms of employment
• Academe and industry linkage
• Education-employment mismatch

Poverty in Bicol Region

• Productivity and employment studies
• Access to basic social services of poverty-stricken areas
• Poverty mapping and poverty incidence studies
• Identification of opportunities to address poverty
• Poverty and environmental degradation

Climate Change and Disaster Management

• Climate change policy
• Climate risk management and disaster preparedness of various sectors
• Vulnerability assessment of various eco-zones
• Economics of coping mechanisms and disaster response
• Disaster preparedness of LGUs
• Economics of natural disasters
• Biodiversity

Gender and Development
Good Governance

ICT
Development of Software Technologies

• For Education
• Solution for distance learning
• Computational research

Intellectual Property Rights
Open Source Software (General Public Licensing) versus Closed Source
Accessibility of ICT Equipments
Pedagogy of Teaching ICT
Creativity/ Innovations in the Use of ICT

• Teaching discoveries
• Early development of computer skills

Extent of implementation of ICT use
Computer literacy(proficiency)
Algorithms and Computing theory

BASIC ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Policy Research on Green Packaging
Viability of Establishing SME Parks by LGUs
Industry Profile and Situationer on Top Industry Sectors in Bicol Region
Business Competitiveness of LGUs
Market Development Research on Consumer Products
Cost of Doing Business in Bicol Region
Setting up of SME Business Incubation Centers in HEIs
Technology Transfer Studies for SMEs
Abaca and Pili Researches to Build Local Industry
Curriculum Development equipping Elementary and Secondary Students with Entrepreneurial Skills
Assessment and Modeling of Business Strategies(e.g. review of best practices, business incubation, and government-sponsored/aided programs)