This study investigated the differences in science performance of pupils with visual impairment before and after utilizing musical activities. A single-subject design, particularly ABAB Design, was used in the research, while the Wilcoxon Signed Rank was used for the statistical analysis. The study was conducted in July 2013 and administered to pupils from a school for the blind located in Cubao, Quezon City. The study was participated in by six pupils whose visual impairment was due to retinopathy of prematurity. The thematic approach and subservient style in teaching music were utilized. Musical activities like listening, moving to rhythm, singing, using musical instruments, and improvising were used. Similarly, the science lessons focused on life science, particularly plants as living things, parts of plants, and different kinds of plants. The lesson plans used the format of instructional planning recommended by Raiser and Dick(1996). Parents were interviewed to document the difficulties of their blind children in learning Science in terms of scientific attitudes and process skills. The results from observation, daily assessment, and unit assessment revealed that there was a significant difference in the science performance of pupils with visual impairment before and after utilizing musical activities.

This is a descriptive study on aspects of parental involvement, namely parents’ role construction, parents’ self-efficacy, parents’ perception of involvement, and their relationship to the receptive language skills of children with visual impairment (CVI). Parents’ activities done at home and in school were also examined in relation to the receptive language skills of their children with visual impairment.

Thirty-three parents and their pre-school level children were included in the sample. Using the Spearman Rho test, it was found that there was a strong significant positive relationship between parental involvement and receptive language skills among three- and eight-year-old children with visual impairment.

Three- and eight-year-old children’s receptive language skills were positively correlated with their parents’ role construction, self-efficacy, and perception on involvement. In contrast, the five-year old children’s receptive language skills were negatively correlated with parents’ role construction and parents’ self-efficacy. Six-year-old children’s receptive language skills were likewise negatively correlated with parents’ perception of involvement. In the focus group discussion, results showed that
the most common activity done by parents at home was assisting their children’s learning. Parents reviewed lessons and helped their children in doing assignments. In school activities, the parents were most frequently involved in assisting children’s academics, such as guiding and prompting during table-top activities.

Educational goals for children with visual impairments (CVI) in the preschool level are the same as those for regular students, involving formal subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, etc. to prepare them for Grade 1. However, preparation of CVI to more advanced skills appear more complicated and gradual because of their limited, if not, absence of the sense of sight. Thus, different educational methods and techniques are being applied and are continuously being developed to fit the needs of the CVL

This study attempted to examine whether Montesori-based Sensorial materials would be beneficial in teaching Sensorial Education to CVI to develop basic perceptuo- cognitive, motor and language skills required of their level. Consequently, two research questions emerged: 1) Do the Montessori-based sensorial materials improve the performance of CVI in the following areas: a) identifying sensorial concepts in positive and negative (opposite) terms; b) matching, ¢) comparing sensorial stimuli using comparative terms; and d) comparing sensorial stimuli using superlative terms? and 2) Which of the following variables are correlated with the sensorial performance of CVI during work with the Montessori-based sensorial materials: a) parental involvement; b) exposure to auditory and tactile stimuli outside school; c) previous school experience; d) attendance during treatment; and €) attention skills?

To answer such questions, the researcher adapted a one-group pre-experimental pretest-posttest design on a convenient sample of ten children with visual impairments, aged four to six years, from the kindergarten level of the Resources of the Blind, Inc. A pretest was held, after which the Adapted Montessori Intervention was implemented using specialized materials and modified teacher presentation for a total of twenty sessions. Four periodic posttests were conducted after every five sessions to measure performance on four corresponding sensorial areas or skills. Record sheets filled up by the researcher, and questionnaires filled up by the parents of the CVI, were also collected to determine factors that could be related to the participants’ sensorial performance.

Data gathered were analyzed using the Wilcoxon’s Matched-Pairs Signed Ranks Test and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation to answer the two research questions respectively.

Results have shown that the use of Montessori-based Sensorial materials significantly enhanced the skills of the CVI in the four sensorial areas. Moreover, factors that were linked to such enhancement were the participants’ exposure to auditory and
tactile stimuli outside school, attendance during treatment, and attention skills.

Implications of the study were addressed to the domains of Special Education, curriculum development, teacher-training, parental involvement, school administration and educational institutions and organizations.

This research studied the teaching improvement of daycare workers in imitation, joint attention, and language activities using the play-based early intervention training program in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. Focus group discussions were developed to explore the attitude, beliefs and practices of daycare workers.

Findings of the study revealed that daycare workers have existing knowledge and experience in teaching children with autism. They also have attended seminars and workshops about managing the behaviour of general positive perception on accepting and teaching children with autism in daycare centers.

Play-based activities were modelled and participated in by daycare workers. These include demonstration, modelling, prompting and providing social reinforcers as reward. Five lectures and five training days were done to implement the training program. Daycare workers’ levels of skill in teaching imitation, joint attention and language were gathered before and after the participation in the training program. Findings suggest significant differences between pre-test and post test scores. They have shown significant improvement in facilitating imitation, joint attention and language to children with autism after the play-based early intervention training. They were able to initiate and sustain imitation, joint attention, and language activities with adequate knowledge and confidence.

The study looked into the characteristics of the moral reasoning of college students, particularly the kind of ethical orientation they use when dealing with moral issues and dilemmas. It has been theorized that males and females differ in their moral thinking in that generally males are justice-oriented and females are care-oriented. Such view questioned and challenged the validity and adequacy of mainstream theories in philosophy and psychology regarding moral reasoning and development which are basically justice-oriented and, thus, are claimed to be gender-biased. In this regard, the study specifically sought to find out if there is a significant difference in the moral orientation of male and female college students. It also sought to
know if their moral orientation is consistent when they deal with different moral dilemmas and if there is a relation between their moral orientation and their socio-cultural, spiritual and educational background.

The study used a quantitative methodology, supplemented by qualitative data. Three hundred twelve college students from four different schools participated in the study. One hundred forty-five are male and one hundred sixty-seven are female. Their ages ranged from seventeen to twenty-three. To gather the data for the study a researcher-made questionnaire was used which has an open-ended part and an objective part. The instrument basically aims to understand the mora! orientation of the respondents by asking them to resolve certain moral dilemmas. Data analysis mainly involves, in the open-ended part, evaluating their responses and analyzing the values and concepts they used to resolve the dilemmas, and in the objective part, examining how they rated certain reasons in support of particular moral actions. Paired-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson R were the statistical techniques used to analyze the data. Results of the study showed that there is no significant difference between the moral orientation of male and female college students. Moreover, a large portion (42%) of the respondents have a balanced orientation toward justice and care, while 32% are justice- oriented and 26% are care-oriented. The difference between the mean of their justice and care orientation scores is not statistically significant which indicates that in general neither justice nor care orientation is more prevalent in the moral reasoning of college students. In addition, findings revealed that most college students use both justice and care perspectives in dealing with various dilemmas (that is, they can be justice-oriented in some dilemmas and care-oriented in other dilemmas). The kind of moral orientation they use depends largely on the type of dilemma they are resolving. Only few hold a single moral orientation across the different dilemmas. The college students’ moral orientation has no correlation with their socio-cultural background and spirituality. However, there is a significant relationship between the school where they are taking their college studies and their moral orientation. Finally, justice orientation and care orientation were not found to be mutually exclusive. This means that it is possible to make both justice and care considerations in resolving a particular dilemma. The two moral orientations are not
necessarily opposed to each other.

Implications of the study to educational practices and theories and to future researcher are discussed in the last part.