NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL

MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Professor: Dr. Ma. Theresa Pasaol- Llano

PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

My working title is “Values Understanding and Character Education Practices in the Context of New Normal Education”

Areas Question Answer

Goals  Why is your study worth doing?
 What issues do you want to clarify? And what
practices and policies do you want it to influence?
 Why do you want to conduct this study and why
should we care about the results?
 As the researcher, this study seeks to know how we
could bring the character education of schoolchildren
into this new normal form of education, what are the
existing values understanding being practiced by the
respondents, what possible approaches could provide
character education the firm foundation to sustain it
in this new normal and the future new normal to
make it a lasting part of our educational agenda
rather than being a mere trend, and lastly, how
evident are character education practices as
manifested by the respondents in the context of this
new normal education. In addition, this study aims to
find out if there is a significant relationship between
the level of values understanding as practiced by the
respondents and their level of character education
practices as manifested in the context of new normal
learning.

 All over history, education has had two primary goals:

to educate people intellectually and to teach them
morally good. Depressing reports of students
cheating, lack of self-discipline, and a lackluster
approach to schoolwork are common (Ryan & Bohlin,
1999). Goldberg (2000) reported on the six-years-old
boy in the first grade at Buell Elementary School near
Flint, Michigan, who took a gun from his pants and
shot and killed a little girl in the classroom. Schaeffer
(1999) pointed out that violence in television, movies
and music played a part in the violence in schools as
did out of control youth, drug abuse, gangs, video
games, the Internet, and other problems in society.
According to Whitehead (1993), the majority of
children born today will not live continuously with
their own mother and father throughout their
childhood and many children will experience a family
breakup two or more times before they complete
school. Lickona (1993) stated that no entity had
experienced the impact from the disruption of the
family unit more than schools. Children of divorced
and single mothers were more likely to be poor, have
emotional and behavioral problems, fail academically,
become pregnant before they complete school,
abuse alcohol and drugs, get in trouble with the law,
and be sexually and physically abused. Harned (1999)
argued that character education could help prevent
the types of violent incidents that are occurring in
schools today. Schaeffer (1998) stated that too many
children are growing up in conditions that do not
provide the moral or ethical framework required to
 develop good character; however, almost every state
specified the responsibility of schools in developing
moral or democratic values in students, as well as
academic knowledge. According to Lockwood (1993),
students who had been in character education
programs had typically performed well on
assignments, such as worksheets or activity booklets,
but when it came to real life situations these same
students acted like they had no instruction at all in
honesty, sharing, cooperation, and other character
traits. Nash (1997) concluded that the current
character education programs were inadequate to
prepare students to live in a culturally diverse society.
Kohn (1997) deemed it important to question how
the values are taught. He argued that the majority of
the programs were didactic, largely engaged in
exhortation and directed recitation and primarily
telling and compelling students to do what was right
according to the program.

 With the entrance of the new normal form of

education, this study would like to determine the
level of values understanding of the respondents with
regards to the core values of their school as well as
their level of manifestation of the character
education practices in the context of new normal
education. Moreover, this study aims to examine how
well or to what extent or whether the integration of
moral values/core values was still being part of the
instruction specifically in elementary level even in this

Research Questions  What, specifically, do you want to better
understand about the settings or participants
that you are studying?
 What do you not know about these that you
want to learn?
 What questions best capture these learning
and understandings, and how are these
questions related to one another?
new normal form of education. The findings of this
study will eventually reflect the standards of the
institution in terms of character education. The
Character Education Partnership (2003, pg. 1),
defines good character as involving “understanding,
caring about, and acting upon core ethical values”,
therefore, a holistic approach is needed to ensure
character development. According to Cooley (20068),
values can be taught and learned through a proper
pedagogy. Thus, this study will tell what appropriate
actions to be done by the school administrators and
teachers as well as by the parents if there is a need to
address the outcome of this study.
 As a Catholic institution, Notre Dame University has
always been committed to excellence. It is well-
known for its core values FIRES which stands for
Faith, Integrity, Respect, Excellence and Service. As
the researcher, I am planning to conduct a study that
will determine the level of values understanding with
regards to the above-mentioned core values and the
character education practices that are manifested by
the selected elementary pupils given this transition
period from face to face to distant learning.
 Character Education has been part and even become
a requirement with regards to the character
formation of learners during the early childhood
development. It is believed that whatever the
children become in the future has something to do
 with the level of character imbedded in him, or her,
through education. This study would like to know
how teaching character education was being affected
by the sudden change of the modality of instruction
from face to face into distant learning. It also would
like to find out if the new normal setting of education
has a direct effect on the level of values
understanding as practiced and the level of character
education practices as manifested by the
respondents.

 This study aims to determine the level of values

understanding and character education practices as
practiced and manifested by the Grade 6 pupils of
Notre Dame University-Training Department in the
context of new normal education.
Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents?
2. What is the level of values understanding as practiced
by the respondents of Notre Dame University-
Training Department in the context of new normal
education?
3. What is the level of character education practices as
manifested by the respondents of Notre Dame
University-Training Department in the context of new
normal education?
4. How significant is the relationship between the level
of values understanding as practiced by the
respondents of Notre Dame University-Training

Methods  What will you actually do in conducting this study?  
 What approaches and techniques will you use to
collect and analyze your data? Identify four parts
of this component of your design: (a) the
relationships that you establish with the
participants in your study; (b) your selection of
settings, participants, times and places of data
collection, and other data sources such as
documents.
Department and their level of character education
practices as manifested in the context of new normal
education?
Methods
 Research Design
This study will utilize a descriptive-correlational
quantitative research design in evaluating the level of
values understanding as practiced and the character
education practices as manifested by the grade six
pupils of NDU elementary training department in the
context of new normal education.
 Research Participants
The respondents of this study are the grade six pupils
of Notre Dame University- Elementary Training
Department enrolled in the school year 2021-2022 as
they are expected to have the capacity to answer the
survey questionnaires justifiably under the new
normal form of education. This study will utilize the
Census method, for the grade six pupils of NDU-
Elementary Training Department is comprised of only
4 sections.
 Research Instrument
This study will use a survey questionnaire which was
composed of the values understanding and character
education practices as manifested by the
respondents. It was divided into three (3) parts,
namely Part I- The Demographic Profile of the grade
 six pupils of NDU elementary training department,
Part II- The respondent’s values understanding with
regards to a. FAITH b. INTEGRITY, c. RESPECT, d.
EXCELLENCE and e. SERVICE; and Part III- The
character education practices manifested by the
respondents under the new normal form of
education.

 Data Collection
With the approval and endorsement of the adviser,
the dean, and the research coordinator, the
researchers will seek the approval of the NDU-ETD
principal.  The researchers will provide survey
questionnaires for the respondents through Google
forms. The researcher will conduct a survey by
sending the link to the Google classroom of the
pupils.  After the questionnaires were answered, the
researcher will collect the survey questionnaires from
the pupils and will proceed to the interpretation of
the responses of the respondents. 

Note: Kindly submit this to the Graduate School secretary.

Workshop 1

State your broad topic and answer the following: Character Education in the New Normal

What we know about this topic?

 The basis of good character involves being respectful, honest, hardworking, responsible, caring, and understanding. Parents and
teachers alike wish for their students to possess good character. Through character education, students can grow to understand core
values, learn to develop caring relationships, and grow in self-motivation; thus, students grow in character as their understanding of
certain values deepens through varied opportunities to apply those values through everyday interactions (CEP, 2003). In theory, a
student who possesses good character is a more productive, responsible, respectful, and caring student; yet the question as to whether
a student with good character is a better student academically remains.

What we do not know about this topic?

 The level of values understanding as practiced with and the level of character education practices as manifested by the respondents in
the context of new normal education. What possible approaches could provide character education the firm foundation to sustain it in
this new normal and the future new normal to make it a lasting part of the educational agenda rather than being a mere trend. Lastly,
 is there a significant relationship between the level of values understanding as practiced by the respondents and their level of character
education practices as manifested in the context of new normal learning.

And why we need to know this topic?

 As a leading religious institution in Cotabato City, this study will be beneficial for Notre Dame University-Training Department as it
provides assessment on the level of values understanding of the respondents with regards to the institution’s core values F.I.R.E.S as
well as their level of manifestation of character education practices in the context of the new normal form of education. This study also
presents indicators which will eventually guide educators to look on to areas that is needed to be addressed with regards to the
respondents’ level of values understanding and character education practices. It also provides valuable information which will serve as
the solid ground or the basis of interventions, adjustments and innovations to be done by the institution in dealing with the outcome of
this research study.