Cebu, Philippines, February 27-28, 2025 –West Visayas State University (WVSU) Graduate School alumni, Diane Gay Escobañez and Aliza Marie Gabayeron, along with their research adviser Dr. Antoniette D. Cortez, Director of the WVSU Center for Teaching Excellence, represented the university at the 9th Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA 2025).
The ARWA Conference, formed in 2016, brings together researchers, educators, and policymakers dedicated to understanding and promoting literacy learning across diverse contexts. It serves as a vibrant platform for sharing ideas, disseminating research findings, and promoting educational development. This year, the conference featured four keynote speeches from renowned literacy experts and included 80 oral presentations and 40 poster presentations, representing global perspectives on literacy, from Asia to North America and Europe.
As part of the conference, Escobañez and Gabayeron presented their research in poster sessions that contributed to the global dialogue on literacy issues.
Diane Gay Escobañez’s research, titled “Reader stance, reading motivation, and personal understanding among Filipino children from varied socioeconomic classes,” examined how children from different socioeconomic backgrounds develop attitudes toward reading. In her poster session, Escobañez explored the factors influencing reading motivation, focusing on how these factors may vary based on children’s socioeconomic conditions. She found that reading motivation and engagement are often shaped by a child’s access to resources, family support, and exposure to reading materials. Escobañez emphasized the importance of addressing these disparities to improve reading outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Escobañez shared her excitement about the conference, stating, “The ARWA Conference has broadened my understanding of literacy development and provided me with the opportunity to engage with experts from around the world. It was an honor to present my research on such a significant platform, and I’m thankful that our work was selected for presentation. It’s truly a privilege to represent the Philippines in an international conference like this.”
Aliza Marie Gabayeron, also presented her research on the importance of home literacy practices in early childhood education. Gabayeron’s poster session, titled “Literacy gaps and practices at home: Basis in creating a parent-child reading program,” delved into the challenges that children face in terms of literacy development due to gaps in home literacy practices. Her research focused on the crucial role that parents play in fostering literacy skills at home and highlighted the necessity of creating programs that encourage reading between parents and children. Gabayeron’s research aimed to provide insights into developing more effective strategies for improving early literacy by involving families in their children’s learning process.
“The ARWA Conference has been an incredibly inspiring experience. It motivated me to further explore how home literacy practices can influence children’s reading development. I feel fortunate to be one of the few Filipinos presenting research at this international event, and I look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with educators from around the world”, Gabayeron said.
Dr. Antoniette D. Cortez also made significant contributions to the ARWA 2025 Conference. She presented her research in Oral Session 2: Philippine Linguistic Diversity, which focused on “Home Literacy Practices and Literacy Skills of Multilingual Grade 1 Learners with Different Home and School Languages.” Her study examined the relationship between home literacy practices and literacy skills in children who speak different languages at home and at school.
In addition, Dr. Cortez also played an instrumental role at the conference as the moderator for Oral Session 5, which focused on Phonological and Narrative Skills.
WVSU researchers have gained interest from fellow researchers in Asia and were expecting for future research collaboration.
WVSU’s participation in ARWA 2025 underscores the university’s commitment to advancing literacy research and contributing to the global academic community.
By Gladwyn B. Gustilo/ILLO
