RCTQ Director honored as 2022 Sibayan Chairholder in Applied Linguistics; delivers lecture on languaging the PPST
RCTQ Director Dr. Gina Gonong is this year’s chairholder of the prestigious Bonifacio P. Sibayan Distinguished Professorial Chair in Applied Linguistics. The award was conferred via a virtual program on 19 March 2022 by the Linguistic Society of the Philippines (LSP)—the premier linguistics organization in the country—in cooperation with the Philippine Normal University (PNU).
At the same virtual gathering, and as part of her recognition, Dr. Gonong delivered a professorial lecture titled Languaging the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) before an international audience belonging to the academe and the education sector.
As described by the lecture abstract released by the LSP, Dr. Gonong’s lecture focused on “the linguistic foundations of the development of the PPST–how it was shaped through language using the shared knowledge, practices, experiences and aspirations of the profession while at the same time being cognizant of the evolving expected demands on teachers in the 21st century.”
Dr. Gonong led the RCTQ research team in the development and validation of the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) when she joined RCTQ in 2013. She worked closely with partners at the University of New England – SiMERR National Research Centre, particularly with Professor John Pegg.
“Back then, as a project leader, I began with what I knew best—linguistics,” shared Dr. Gonong. “What I knew was that we do things with words, and that language determines thought or shapes our world view. I also knew that ‘discourse is an inherent part of society and partakes in all its injustices,’ so I knew that I did not want to be leading a project and producing something that could cause some injustice to teachers or its end users.”
Dr. Gonong during her professorial lecture on 19 March 2022.
Dr. Gonong’s lecture highlighted the challenges she and her team had experienced in capturing the diverse and unique characteristics of Filipino teachers in the process of developing the teacher standards. She also shared her journey of “providing an acceptable common language for the profession from initial training to acknowledged, outstanding practice through professional standards while addressing issues of teacher ownership and control.” In her presentation, she gave examples of PPST indicators that went through a string of revisions before their wordings became final.
Speaking before the lecture, PNU President Dr. Bert J. Tuga, who first introduced the legacy of Dr Sibayan during the program, said the former president of the then Philippine Normal College and Dr Gonong “both focused their careers on education, in general, and teacher education, in particular.”
“Their contributions to PNU and to Philippine education are truly remarkable. PNU couldn’t be more proud of their achievements,” Dr. Tuga said.
He further said: “Dr. Gonong’s and RCTQ’s continued coordination and engagement with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Working Group on Teacher Quality contributes toward the operationalization of existing standards so that our teachers will be globally competitive and nationally responsive to the needs of our Filipino learners.”
In his closing remarks, LSP President Dr. Aldrin Lee—an associate professor of the University of the Philippines-Diliman Department of Linguistics—said that “listening to Dr Gonong made me realize how similar her career path is to the career direction that Dr. Sibayan had taken—being a well-accomplished researcher, and a highly respected institutional leader at the same time.”
“We are truly honored and proud to have bestowed on Dr. Gonong the distinguished Bonifacio P. Sibayan Distinguished Professorial Chair this year,” Dr. Lee added.
Dr. Gonong receives an Honorary Doctor of Letters honoris causa from University of New England Chancellor James Harris at the UNE graduation ceremony in 2018. Photo by UNE/David Elkins
Dr. Gonong holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from PNU where she is currently an Associate Professor. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of New England in Australia “in recognition of the pivotal role she has played in developing professional teaching standards in the Philippines, making it the first country in Asia to define teacher career direction.” She also received a post- doctoral fellowship for her leadership in research from the same university. She was also granted an Australian Awards Fellowship.
LSP was founded by Dr. Sibayan and Dr. Ernesto Contantino of the University of the Philippines, two linguists who pursued respective research projects at the Pacific and Asian Languages Institute of the University of Hawaii in 1968.
The Bonifacio P. Sibayan Distinguished Professorial Chair in Applied Linguistics was established on February 1, 1991 and has been managed by the De La Salle University Science Foundation.
Watch Dr. Gonong’s professional lecture below:
https://www.rctq.ph/?p=3592NewsPhilippine Normal University,PPST,Sibayan,University of New England
