THE NEWLY appointed assistant director of the UST Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED) aims to strengthen the center’s gender research and widen its impact on communities.
Asst. Prof. Katrina Topacio began her term as RCSSED assistant director on Jan. 15, replacing Asst. Prof. Pia Tenedero, who is on leave. Assoc. Prof. Jeremiah Opiniano remains the center’s director.
Topacio said she plans to advance the RCSSED’s mission of producing high-quality research with a meaningful impact on communities.
“When we say quality research, we mean research projects that have a positive impact on communities,” she told the Varsitarian. “As a research institution, RCSSED does not only have the power to produce knowledge but also utilize such knowledge to develop communities.”
She also hopes to encourage faculty members and students to engage in women and gender studies, an area she believes UST still has room to grow in.
“I want to use whatever influence I have to encourage more faculty researchers and students to engage in women and gender studies, literacy, and language, which are my research interests,” she said.
“Compared [with] other institutions in the country, UST is still finding its space in gender research in the country,” she added. “We still have to find ways to contribute more strongly to the country’s gender and development agenda.”
A faculty member at the UST Department of English, Topacio obtained her undergraduate degree in secondary education in 2004 and her master’s degree in English language studies in 2009, both from UST.
Her research involvements include a 2021 paper titled “Reading Perceptions, Needs, and Practices among Parents of an Urban Poor Community in the Philippines,” which she co-authored with Prof. Rosalyn Mirasol. The study examines the reading needs and behaviors of parents in an urban poor community in Manila.
In 2018, she authored “Exploring the Use of Online Educational Platform in Teaching Writing Among ESL Students,” examining how online learning management systems can enhance writing instruction for non-native English speakers.
Topacio received a Seedcorn grant from the British Association for International and Comparative Education in 2020 alongside Asst. Prof. Gina Lontoc for their study on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on adult online learning in the Philippines.
Her paper “Representing the Modern Filipino Housewife: Presuppositions in Good Housekeeping Philippines” was published in the peer-reviewed Asian Women Journal in 2020.
Outside her research work, Topacio also serves as the secretary of Transformare, an interdisciplinary network advocating for literacy education.
Established in 2017, RCSSED serves as the social science research arm of UST, focusing on academic and policy research related to socio-economic issues and education in the Philippines.