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Research on happiness focuses on urban dwellers, and studies done in rural areas leave much to be desired. Existing scholarship also overlooks how women's economic and socio-cultural roles contribute to happiness levels in relation to health, education, and safety issues. To address such a gap, this study examines and evaluates the perspectives of indigenous and tribal women on happiness, specifically those who belong to Indian rural communities and Filipino Alangan-Mangyan indigenous peoples. We argue that while happiness is considered a mental state, it is still a very social concept. In other words, social forces may make or break one's happiness. The study's first part is one-on-one interviews with Filipino Alangan-Mangyan women regarding their perspectives on happiness. For these women, happiness is rooted in the absence of individual and family problems, conflicts, fights, misunderstandings, typhoons, disasters, deaths, and illnesses. The second part of the study is a systematic review of Indian tribal women's perspectives on happiness. We find that the happiness of these women stems from improved standards of living, cultural practices, educational level, age, location, absence of discrimination, marital status, reproductive health status, and political participation. Our study suggests that one common feature of both groups is that their happiness is often achieved when basic needs and rights are met. Therefore, happiness should be treated as a fundamental human right since it presupposes the individuals' ability to access basic needs like food, education, employment, and healthcare. Keywords: Happiness, Women, Indigenous peoples, India, Philippines, Introduction Happiness is a feeling of joy, pleasure, and satisfaction when something good happens to a person or they do something enjoyable. Happiness is an emotion that one gets from [...]

This paper examines the different forms of family capital in the context of parental involvement in children's schooling. This paper has three-fold goals. First, it ascertains the level of parental involvement of Filipino parents as perceived by the parents themselves and their children. Second, it investigates the impacts of various forms of capital on parental involvement. Third, it determines which type of capital will have a significant impact on parental involvement. This paper is based on a survey among elementary and secondary students and their parents of purposively selected 29 elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines. These schools were selected as they were part of a corporate social responsibility project. This paper concludes that parental involvement among parents from low-income households is generally low. Parents are relatively more involved in parenting for education. Results of the multiple regression analysis reveal that membership in CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer), participation in community activities, parent's level of education, and family size predicted parental involvement. The results point to the idea that parents with better social and human capital are likely the ones who will be more involved in their children's education.

This paper is based on a survey conducted with 3153 students coming from 29 public elementary and high schools in the Philippines. A majority of the students were 9-12 years old. This current paper seeks to know which type of parental involvement is most pronounced and helpful in improving children's school outcomes. This study concludes that parental involvement among Filipino parents in low-income households is generally low. Child-related factors, namely, having academic merit, frequent daily meals, and internet skills increased parental involvement. Results of the study point to the importance of providing home-based parental involvement opportunities to parents. Parents from low-income families spend most of their time making ends meet for economic survival. Instead of competing for their attention, schools can provide avenues where parents can engage in children's learning at home. Schools can capitalise on parents' ability to influence children's school outcomes through parenting for education.

This is a qualitative inquiry looking into the experiences of parental involvement in the context of Philippine public elementary education. This paper has two goals. First, it aims to present the strategies that Filipino parents employ in order to influence children's education. Second, it aims to examine unique involvement strategies among Filipino parents. Data of this paper were culled from 12 focus group discussions conducted in 5 provinces of the country. The results of the study suggest that there are parental involvement strategies unique to the Philippine context owing to the poor economic conditions of some Filipino families. While it is not directly related to education, making ends meet and providing food for the family's table were seen as parental involvement strategies. To compensate for the limited direct involvement in education, Filipino parents looked for other means to be able to help their children excel such as exempting the latter from doing household chores, avoiding vices, and maintaining quality family relationships. It against this backdrop that this paper recommends that future quantitative studies on parental involvement in the Filipino parents' context need to consider indirect parental involvement strategies as indicators or variables as these may have spillover impacts on children's schooling.

This paper reflects on the findings of a study that examined the negotiation strategies employed by Filipino and Indonesian caregivers in addressing the challenges encountered as caregivers in Japan. A total of 20 caregivers have been interviewed, 11 of which were from Indonesia, and the remaining nine were from the Philippines. Results reveal that the challenges these caregivers experienced can be rooted to cultural and linguistic and status differentials. To manage these differences, caregivers employ negotiation strategies. Negotiating differences requires the presentation of the self in a likable manner to achieve relational goals. The cultural underpinnings of caregiving led Filipino and Indonesian caregivers view their work positively, thus, device self-negotiation strategies. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge regarding social work in the context of migration, and how economic disparities between host and sending countries recast caregiving work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the understanding of marine citizenship among young people from two villages (urban and rural) in the Philippines. The purpose of the article is to examine the differences and similarities of their attitudes toward and engagement in marine environment conservation in rural and urban contexts. Young Focus Group Discussion (FGD) participants in both villages are familiar with the concept of marine citizenship. Participants from the island barangay, however, look at the marine environment as a source of identity. Meanwhile, FGD participants from the urban barangay seemed to have a "distant" connection. However, they expressed concerns about the status of marine environment.

This paper interrogates the influence of trust in government, trust in vaccines, and access to vaccine-related information as predictors of intention to vaccinate for COVID-19 among Filipinos. It also examines the relationship between social- and personal-related measures and the intention to vaccinate. Data for this article were collected from an online survey involving 1,953 respondents, conducted from July 28 to August 2020 before the trials were completed and emergency use authorizations were issued for any of the currently approved COVID-19 vaccines. Multinomial regression results show that trust in vaccines, sex, income, perceived risk exposure, and perceived health status were significant predictors of intention to vaccinate for COVID-19. Access to information, however, was not a result that possibly arose from the mixed bag of true and false information about vaccines that proliferate, especially online. These results suggest that trust in vaccines will likely encourage individuals to vaccinate. It is recommended that the Philippine government launch confidence-building measures and strategic communication that will help build people's trust in the vaccines. Educating the public and improving awareness about risk exposure is thus needed to stimulate intention or interest among the population to get vaccinated for COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the level of knowledge on and membership in PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). It analytically examines the sociodemographic predictors of knowledge on and membership in PhilHealth. Results reveal that 76% of the respondents involved in the study are PhilHealth members. Generally, respondents' level of knowledge about the insurance is moderate. Results of regression analysis reveal that sex/gender (BETA = −.319) and income (BETA =.352) predict membership in PhilHealth. Meanwhile, income (BETA =.295) and marital status (BETA = −.164) predict the level of knowledge on PhilHealth. The results indicate that those with income above PhP40,000 (approximately USD785) are the ones knowledgeable about PhilHealth. Moreover, OFWs with partners are more knowledgeable about the insurance compared to those who are not married or without partners. The results offer several insights regarding PhilHealth membership among OFWs. First, OFWs with higher income tend to become members of PhilHealth. Second, women are less likely to become members, as many of them are working in the service sectors and are generally earning lower income than their male counterparts. This result indicates that women OFWs should be encouraged to become PhilHealth members, especially if their left-behind partners or husbands are not members. This is to ensure that left-behind family members will be able to access health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the various predictors of health-seeking behavior among overseas Filipino workers. More specifically, this determines the influence of sociodemographic factors, perceived health status, and knowledge on PhilHealth insurance to health-seeking behavior. It is based on a study that involved 3001 survey respondents. Findings reveal that the respondents in general perceived themselves to be healthy. Their knowledge about PhilHealth, however, is limited. The respondents preferred to seek medical care from a physician. Results also indicate that when illnesses are manageable, the respondents resort to self-medication instead. This paper concludes that perceived health status, sickness in the past two years, level of education, age, and no. of children predict health-seeking behavior particularly seeking medical care from a doctor. Moreover, income and sickness in the past two years were significant predictors to seeking care from a traditional health provider. Sickness in the past two years, sex, perceived health status, and age influence self-medication. Lastly, sickness in the past two years, perceived health status, age, and income were significant predictors to a hospital visit. Summarily, the findings suggest that to increase health seeking, health promotion should consider the various sociodemographic and personal characteristics of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a country with highly diverse local languages, cultures and indigenous groups, the Philippines' Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCD) developed a manual for teachers that prescribes specific cultural, linguistic and indigenous competency standards. To determine the ECCD teachers' levels in these competencies, this study utilizes self-assessment and supervisors' assessment surveys. With the involvement of 274 teachers (locally known either as Child Development Workers or Teachers) in 12 areas all over the country, we reveal that their levels range from beginner to performer, with no skilled ratings. We conclude that although teachers are aware of the children's cultural differences and respect their languages, and they somewhat provide a culturally-supportive environment, there seems to be a need for more training on designing an inclusive curriculum as evidenced by low ratings in planning and implementation. To improve the levels of competencies in the future, we recommend interventions such as the development of policies and frameworks on integration of indigenous cultures in early childhood education, training and revisiting of qualification standards in hiring, and the integration of professional learning communities with the Philippine commissions handling arts, language, and indigenous cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental involvement plays a crucial role in the achievement of positive educational outcomes of children. However, the level of involvement among parents varies based on the confluence of individual, familial, and societal factors. Anchored on such premise, this paper aims to investigate the influence of the different socioeconomic related variables to parental involvement, such as monthly income, subjective assessment of living condition, weekly expenditures related to children's education, and membership in Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). It separately analyses parental involvement at home and in school, as these two distinctively involve nuanced practices. This paper is based on a survey conducted with 1,638 parents, mostly experiencing poverty, from 29 public elementary and high schools in six purposively selected municipalities/cities in the Philippines. The survey offers four major findings. First, the parents generally were more or less involved in parental involvement at home than in school. Second, parents in relatively higher income group showed parental involvement both at home and in school. However, a different picture appeared when taking into consideration the subject assessment of parents about their living conditions. Those who considered themselves to be very poor manifested parental involvement at home and in school more than those who viewed themselves to be economically better off. Third, parental involvement in school was relatively higher among CCT member parents than their non-CCT counterparts. Fourth, regression analysis identifies membership in CCT as a predictor of parental involvement. This paper concludes that financial resources from work or the CCT program could facilitate parental involvement in children's education, especially among parents from relatively high income generating households and families living in poverty. This paper recommends to further examine the impacts of income disparity on parental involvement among parents living in poverty. Most studies look at variations in parental involvement across income groups. However, even within a specific income group, levels of parental involvement thus vary. Hence, it is interesting to know if intra-group income differentials can explain and predict variations in levels of parental involvement among families in the lowest income quantile of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the level of health literacy among middle school students in the Philippines. It specifically determines their level of knowledge of health as well as their health-related skills, attitudes, and values. This paper assumes that middle school children, being part of the iGeneration, will have a higher level of health literacy owing to their better access to Internet technology. School-age children in the Philippines who were born in the early years of 2000 have grown up with high technology such that they have at their fingertips all sources of knowledge about health. Aside from the Internet, students are also taught different health and nutrition-related knowledge in many school subjects, including science, health, and physical education. The study involved 855 middle school students (grades 6 to 9) selected through purposive sampling. They came from 12 private/public elementary/junior high schools, urban/peri-urban/rural areas, and places in the north and south of the Philippines. The results reveal that the middle school students have low to very low level of health literacy. This presents a bigger challenge to the basic health education in the country. Middle school children may not necessarily consider health as a pressing priority in their daily lives. Instead of familiarizing themselves with health topics, they are preoccupied using the Internet for other purposes. Thus, this necessitates basic education to carefully rethink how best to integrate health literacy in the curriculum using different strategies of learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the meanings and experiences of happiness among a few select married Alangan Mangyan indigenous women in the Municipality of Baco, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. A total of 10 informants were interviewed for the study. Narrative analysis through coding was employed to be able to explore themes and patterns. Overall, there are four ideas that point to the character of happiness in the context of indigenous women. First, while it is an emotional state that is experienced by the individual, happiness emanates from a social field be it the family or community and expression of it requires the existence of that social field. Thus, the Filipino notion of "pakikipagkapwa-tao" (relating to others) works well in understanding the concept of happiness. Second, being able to access basic rights such as food, employment, and education has become a source of happiness amongst this indigenous populations, thus making happiness a human development issue. Third, happiness is an emotional state that is ever ubiquitous if one argues that family and community are sources of happiness. However, such an emotional state is also highly capricious. Even if one chooses to be happy, there are negative external situations that affect the maintenance of one's happiness. Fourth, happiness, while it is dependent on social space by and large, is also affected by the physical environment. The impact of physical environment on the Alangan Mangyan provides us insights regarding the nature of happiness that goes beyond one's agency. Thus, happiness indeed is a relative emotional yet a social experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates how Filipino women immigrants in Japan practice and negotiate their Filipino Catholic faith in the Japanese Catholic churches, with reference to the case of the Kaagapay Oita Filipino Association (KOFA). According to estimates, the Filipino is the fourth largest Catholic migrant group in Japan following the Koreans, Chinese, and Brazilians. The association is aimed to assist the Filipino migrant mothers in their social, familial, and religious needs.

The paper aims to explore the formation and deployment of social capital in the education of children of Japanese-Filipino marriages in Oita Prefecture, Japan. It is based on 32 key informant interviews involving children, their parents, and their homeroom teachers. Social capital, in the form of parental involvement and the positive relationships of children with their teachers and classmates, was seen to help develop a positive environment for learning in both home and school environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on bicultural children remains limited. Little is particularly known about their educational experiences. Therefore, this article aims at addressing such research gap. In its entirety, this research piece describes the lived experiences of a bicultural child as he immersed himself in the Japanese educational system. Its sole purpose is to highlight the problems of the bicultural child which may provide school personnel insights on how best they can help bicultural and immigrant children adjust. While this paper only tackles one specific subject, this includes discussions on how the child's school and mother responded to his educational experiences. Thus, it provides a detailed exposition reflecting his school challenges and a comprehensive and in-depth discussion on Japan's elementary education. The data for this article were drawn from my field work in a Japanese elementary school which is the initial phase of my doctoral dissertation on Japanese-Filipino children's educational outcomes and experiences in Japan. The child's school challenges revolved around the issues of language, classroom discipline and practices, and parent-school relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]