AWARENESS AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF GAD ADVOCATES AMONG SUC’s IN CALABARZON

Evelyn A. Sunico Ed. D. Faculty, Laguna State Polytechnic University Santa Cruz, Laguna, Philippines. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 05 October 2020 Final Accepted: 10 November 2020 Published: December 2020 The research design used in this study was the descriptive method of research to analyze the data systematically.The respondents of the study were one hundred forty (140) GAD Advocates among SUCs in CALABARZON. The GAD Advocates as the respondents belong to the GAD Focal Person, GAD Director/Chairperson, GAD unit head/coordinator, GAD trainer and others such as staff, researcher and secretariat in GAD Center. Purposive sampling technique was used in this study where GAD Advocates among SUCs in CALABARZON were involved. They were chosen using purposive sampling since they wereknowledgeable persons who can provide the appropriate data useful to the study.The research instrument used in this study was questionnaire-checklists which was conducted and administered to the GAD Advocates Among SUCs in CALABARZON during the 2nd semester of the Academic Year 2017-2018.The statistical treatment of data was used to compute then analyze and interpret the data given by the respondents. After administering the questionnaire to the respondents, all the data were gathered, analyzed, presented and interpreted. Electronic forms and spreadsheet applications were used in tabulating and computing the statistics of the study. It was presented to the statistician for checking, computation and validation of the results. Based on the findings of the study the following conclusions were hereby given: 1. The hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between the Personal Profiles and the Management Practices of GAD Advocates among SUCs in CALABARZON is partially accepted. 2. The hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between the Awareness and the Management Practices of GAD Advocates among SUCs in CALABARZON is rejected. 3. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study the following recommendations were hereby given: 4. The GAD Advocates may attend more seminars and trainings needed preparation of Gender and Development. 5. The GAD Advocates may conduct more seminars and trainings imposing other GAD Legal Mandates.

Given the numerous demands for technical assistance on GAD planning and budgeting, the NCRFW also developed manuals and guidebooks on the subject. Among these are -Making LGUs Gender-responsive: A Primer for Local Chief Executives‖ and -Gender Mainstreaming and Institutionalization in the Budgeting Process‖. The aforementioned tools are part of the Gender Mainstreaming Resource Kit (GMRK). The GMRK is a compendium of tools -handbooks, sourcebooks and manuals on gender mainstreaming produced by the NCRFW and its partners. (pcw.gov.ph) Another attributes of Management Practices includes implementation.
Implementation, according to Okombo (2015), is a continuation of the planning process and is often preceded by strategy formulation. However, successful strategy formulation does not always guarantee successful implementation.
Significant differences were found on employees' responses in terms of their age, gender, educational level, length of service at the bank, position at the bank, and the bank they worked for before the changes. (Aravopoulou, 2015) 223 Meanwhie, Sihlali (2011),posit significant differences in terms of gender, age, employment status, length of service, and the highest tertiary qualification were computed by the SPSS software. Nemukula (2012), explained that although the mandated change processes were intended to, among other things, improve the work performance of educators, they have, however, experienced a number of obstacles which are briefly discussed. Lack of participation by educators in the introduction and implementation of the change processes lead to resistance by some educators and this had a negative impact on their work performance.. Lack of coordination between the national department of education and provincial education departments resulted in lack of information needed by educators to implement the mandated change processes such as rationalization and redeployment of educators and curriculum 2005 and this had a negative impact on educators' work performance. More courses/workshops/seminars attended on the management of change processes had a positive influence not only on the ability of educators to manage the change processes but also on their motivation levels. However, the number of courses/workshops/ seminars attended on the management of change had no influence on the rationalization and redeployment of educators. Mandated change processes are accompanied by reactions such as anxiety, fear, low morale and motivation which had a negative impact on the work performance of educators.
To be effective, professional development, according to Mizell (2010), as cited by Olubia (2016), requires thoughtful planning followed by careful implementation with feedback to ensure it responds to educators' learning needs.
Another attributes of Management Practices is the Evaluation. According to Ascencios (2013), in her statement on -Evaluation of Gender Mainstreming in UNDP‖, United Nations Development Program developed a corporate gender strategy and action plan. Positive steps in support to measure gender mainstreaming activity have been taken, such as the continuation of a gender unit at headquarters, the appointment of regional gender advisers, and the establishment of trust funds that support gender mainstreaming activities. But despite these measures, gender mainstreaming has not become visible and explicit in all activities of UNDPP.
Ostgaard (2016), the purpose of her study was to highlight educational evaluation mandates, practices, and their implementation and impact in a rural context. This illustrated that -evaluation‖ meant different things to different people. It seems that these differences depended on what level they worked at, their involvement with state initiatives, and how directly they worked with students. Generally speaking, state mandates had a large influence on people's understandings of evaluation, and evaluation done for accountability purposes was not seen as useful or valued as much as evaluation done for self-identified goals and program improvement. Participants tended to focus more on organizational factors that affected evaluation practice than on individual factors. Maingi (2009), recommended that alignment of strategies with resource allocation, performance monitoring, evaluation and reward systems. Ndirangu (2013), found that strategic management is adopted implying that it is a practice. It also showed that strategic management practices adopted by virtual city group are yet to be fully implemented thus there is no need for current review. However implementation and evaluation is done every quarter which is an indication of how serious the organization takes strategic management and how fast it will achieve the set objectives and goals. Ndung'u (2014) his study recommends that there should be comprehensive engagement of all stakeholders in strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation phases with organization open to enhancing capacity for strategic management through measures such as developing training programs and engaging change agents. Lekalkuli (2016), on his findings indicate that the respondents strongly agreed that the gains in profits witnessed in the past four years as represented the company's profit growth rate as a result of implementation of financial risk management practices of risk identification, assessment, mitigation, management, implementation and evaluation.
Another attributes included in the variable management practices is Monitoring.
According to Mc Donnell (2011), it becomes the basis for monitoring and evaluating actual performance.

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The key to success in decision making depends on the ability of the respondents to achieve good diagnosis, planning, implementing and monitoring and evaluation. That can only be achieved if the respondents are empowered with necessary skills required in production, management and marketing. Mbanjwa (2016), concluded that lack good quality information about management is not enough although respondents were determined and passionate. Chilala (2016), in her study sought to evaluate the management practices employed by selected community school managers. The study revealed that not all managers and teachers were academically and professionally trained. All the school managers had no training in management of educational institutions and Furthermore, the study revealed that monitoring and evaluation was concentrated on class observation and not on all the school processes. Most of the school managers did not have the educational policies and other guidelines. They did not know the financial regulations and so were not adhering to them as expected hence having failure to interpret them.
According to Gurmu, (2017), however concluded that understanding the management practices which are suitable for improving productivity in specific project type in a certain location, planning the appropriate practices, monitoring the implementation of the planned practices, and assessing whether the implemented practices are associated with high or low productivity can help increase productivity.
Training; policy planning and monitoring & evaluation are among the major project management practices that the rehabilitation project should ensure they are successfully implemented for the benefit of the respondents as recommended by Ambasa (2016).
The related literature cited on management practices has bearing to the present study because it gives light to the present study.
Another variable used in this study was Awareness which refers to the following International Mandates, National Mandates, Other National Laws on Women, Civil Service Commission Memo Circulars and Government Agencies Integrating GAD Plan to Program, Projects and Activities (PPAs).
Agencies implemented and proposed GAD Programs, Projects and Activities focused mostly on creating awareness and increasing gender sensitivity of key people in the agency. (library.pcw.gov.ph) Sumadsad and Tuazon (2016), in spite of the Philippines' stellar position among countries with viable track records in gender equality, there is still a need to propagate such advocacy to the widest audience as possible. As such, the study aimed to determine school community awareness on Gender and Development (GAD) in a higher education institution as a potential basis for its comprehensive dissemination. They further recommended that authorities should give full support to GAD-initiated activities and should create a monitoring body to ensure compliance of government agencies with GAD provisions and to assist in promoting knowledge and appreciation of the GAD programs and activities.
According to the United Nation Organization all individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation, race, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, social or graphical origin, disability, birth, status as established by human rights standards.
The use of rhetoric to frame policy issues often influences the amount of attention countries pay to international issues and the level of support for those issues. (Rothman, 2009) Schoppert (2013), believed that with strong institutions and mandates, policy agreement and strong leadership, can bring stability, development and even democracy to their regions.
International human rights agreements have always faced challenging questions concerning application and enforceability: He showed that the assessments constitute dynamic processes through which actors adapt human rights norms' meanings and mandates, and importantly, multiply and differentiate what count as obligations across time and states. (Clark, 2016) 225 Hjälm (2010), focuses on the interdisciplinary approach to the topic by both utilizing international relations and international law theories that acknowledges the responsibility of the international community and the intervening parties to actively participate in the rebuilding of the post-conflict state. He emphasized that bad planning and unclear mandates also limit the effectiveness of the interventions. Mensah (2011), recommends that the current multiple agency structure is maintained, however, mandates, roles and responsibilities, and jurisdictions need to be clarified, and values reformed. Various kinds of support (e.g. funds, training) should be provided to enterprises to facilitate their compliance and enhance their access.
Moreover, implementing the legal mandate in higher education, particularly in fieldwork settings, poses a significant challenge to retaining academic integrity. She examines the intersection of legislated mandates for accommodation and academic integrity, by applying human rights legislation to higher education. Her conclusion draws these various threads together into a lifeline for accommodation analysis and planning. (Roberts, 2013) Challenges associated with the care of orphans and vulnerable children are still evident in Sub-Saharan Africa according to Imathiu (2016), Government support is necessary to carry out necessary legal reforms and to enforce existing mandates concerning property rights.
Gender and Development is a continuing, common, and priority concern within the United Nation System for Economic and Human Development (UNSEHD). In the Philippines there are laws mandating the government agencies like the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) specifically the State Universities and Colleges (SUC) to implement such GAD programs.
The success of the GAD programs can be determined by auditing the different practices of State Universities and Colleges. Gender and Development refers to the development perspective and process that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination and actualization of human potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality as fundamental value that should be reflected in development choices; seeks to transform society's social, economic and political structures and questions the validity of the gender rules they ascribed to women and men, contends that women are active agents of development and not just passive recipients of development assistance; and stresses the need of women to organize themselves and participate in political process to strengthen their legal rights.
Moreover, each agency shall develop its GAD plan, programs and budget in response to the gender gaps or issues faced by women and men employees, as well as the client and constituents. The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD),The Beijing Platform for Action (BPIA).and the CEDAW, among others, shall serve as key documents to guide the identification of gender issues and the formulation of GAD plans, programs and budget (Magna Carta for Women 2009). Furthermore, in relevant and responsive research development and extension (RDE), CHED supports the conduct of RDE aimed at generating, adapting and transferring or applying new knowledge and technologies for improving productivity and livelihood, promoting peace, empowering women, protecting the environment, reducing disaster devastation, and alleviating poverty.
While gender and development (GAD) Programs Includes advocacy and gender sensitivity activities to promote gender parity in education, equal access to scholarships by both gender and interventions to assist female students with extreme personal situations that prevent them from competing their higher education. (CHED 2011 Strategic Planning Report).
The related literature discussed above are related to the present study since the SUCs provide GAD related activities and programs for community development specifically for women and children. The government has initiated a program and provided allotted funds for gender and development in every local government unit specifically in barangays. In part of state universities and colleges, the school also provides programs for gender and development that will be implemented not only inside the school but will be brought to the community as part of community relations and linkages through the extension program of university for the community development program.

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Gender and development is a continuing, common and priority concern within the United Nation System for economic and human development. In the Philippines there are laws mandating the government agencies like the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) specifically the State Universities and Colleges (SUC) to implement such GAD programs.
The success of the GAD programs can be determined by auditing the different practices of State Universities and Colleges (SUC). Gender and Development refer to the development perspective and process that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of selfdetermination and actualization of human potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality as fundamental value that should be reflected in development choices; seeks to transform society's social, economic, and political structures and questions the validity of the gender roles they ascribed to women and men, contends that women are active agents of development and not just passive recipients of development assistance; and stresses the need of women to organize themselves and participate in political process to strengthen their legal rights. (Gender and Development Congress Report, 2010) Moreover, each agency shall develop its GAD plan, programs and budget in response to the gender gaps or issues faced by women and men employees, as well as the client and constituents. The Philippine plan for gender responsive development (PPGD), the Beijing platform for action (BPIA), and among others, shall serve as key documents to guide the identification of gender issues and formulation of GAD plans, programs and budget (Magna Carta of 2009).
The above cited literature are related to the present study since awareness on Legal Mandates on Gender and Development is one of the concerns of SUCs. In the present study, it aims to conduct information dissemination. It focused on awareness on legal mandates to be integrated in gender awareness and sensitivity in the different skills training and livelihood in the community. Notes from www.nps.gov (2007), discussed the preliminary findings on national and international best practices and recommended that the use of skilled staff should recognize that event and maintenance employees who have specialized skills, ensure that they are knowledgeable in leading edge management practices and focus on needed skills.
According to Kalai (2012), stated the scholars, policy makers and practitioners in education unanimously recognize the dire need for effective and efficient management of educational institutions. Effective management becomes a necessity if most of the developing countries are to realize their national goals of education. Translating the foregoing goals for education into a reality calls for planning at both the policy level and institutional level. Planning and educational standards at both institutional and national level have been unsatisfactory in majority of the cases as attested by a number of studies. The literature cited is important in this study in the sense that this study attempt to find out the relationship between the awareness and the management practices.
Another variable in this study was Personal Profile, in this study, it refers to the attributes such as age, sex and civil status, length of service, highest educational attainment, seminars and trainings attended and seminars and trainings conducted.

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One of the significant attribute included in this study is the age of respondents. It is defined as the length of time that a person has lived (Webster Encyclopedia, 2008).
The New Lexicon Webster dictionary defines age as the length of time that a person or thing has lived or existed, the time when one is legally, socially, physically, or mentally qualified for a particular purpose, or a great period of time distinguished from other by its special characteristics.
The fact is leaders can be any age. Leadership skills are combination of innate and learned behaviors. Leaders re all ages. (www.clomedia.com) According to 4thegraphy.com, as people age, the ability to achieve relaxation response after a stressful event becomes more difficult. Aging may simple wear out the systems in the brain that respond to stress so that they become inefficient. Tella (2007) stated that age is one factor affecting job satisfaction. Different studies conducted show that older workers are more satisfied than younger ones. Ukueza (2007), as the age of individual increases it usually affects various developmental changes. It also affects every area of human performance.
In this study sex is another attributes of personal profiles.
Sex is a state of being either male or female. It is the condition or character of being male or female, the physiological, functional and psychological differences that distinguish the male and female (http://dictionary. reference.com/). Goldberg (2008) stated that although males and females are different in their genetic and hormonally-driven behavior, this does not mean that one sex is superior or inferior to another. Each gender has different strengths and weaknesses. However, he believes that neuro-endocrinological evidence is clear: the high level of testosterone in males drives them toward dominance in the world, while the lack of high levels of this hormone in women creates natural, biological push in the direction of less dominant and more nurturing roles in the society. In his book -Why men Rule-A theory of Male Dominance,‖ Goldberg wrote: -There is not, nor has there ever been, any society that even remotely failed to associate authority and leadership in suprafamilial areas with the male. There are no borderline cases.
Another attributes is educational attainment.
Educational Attainment refers to the number of years of education a person has attended and completed or the highest degree earned. This includes the number of elementary and high school years completed, participation in college prior to graduation and varying levels of degree attainment. (www.humanneeds.vcu.edu) Sibayan (2005), claimed that the best performing teachers are those with masters and doctorate degree have lots of background to share among their students. A wide variety of activities enable them to design techniques on how to improve the students' achievement. However it is also observe that those who are trained for so many years performed well.
Labawig concluded that the educational attainment and professional experience had a little effect on the leadership effectiveness of barangay captains along communications, coordination and support, decision making, and evaluation of performance and feedback. The three attributes of qualifications namely educational attainment, professional experience and length of service do not influence the degree of seriousness of problems encountered by barangay captains along project implementation (www.eisrjc.com).
Length of service is another attributes in this study.

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Bepko (2008) stated how the university chancellors and presidents can make a difference in their educational institutions based on length of service. They are shaped and formed over long periods of time and eventually accumulate the relevant experience.
The years of teaching experience of the faculty was cited as one of the factors that affect the ability of the faculty to do their job well, other than: Competence, mental and Physical capacity, education, knowledge and comprehension. (Dorgan, 2005) Marchiori and Henkin (2004) revealed, in their study on the organizational commitment of health profession faculty, that tenure in higher education was found to be one of the most important predictors of organizational commitment. Gong (2015), he further evidence indicates that while laid-off workers' preference is not driven by age, particular cohort effect or transformation wave, their length of service in the state sector has significant positive effect. Roopai (2012), in her examine the relationship between age, marital status, qualifications and length of service with the job satisfaction factors and overall job satisfaction respectively. Sete (2015), found that there are no significant differences were found in terms of length of service, gender or race.
Aravopoulou (2015), significant differences were found on employees' responses in terms of their age, gender, educational level, length of service at the bank, position at the bank, and the bank they worked for before the changes.
According to Ngcobo (2013), found that there was no significant difference in organizational commitment across the biographical variables of marital status, age, length of service and span of control. The results also indicated that age, education and experience had an impact on continuance commitment. Similarly, age and education contribute significantly to normative commitment.
Bray (2016), found out that there was no significant difference between different age groups, male or female, number of children (dependents) an employee had, their marital status or the qualifications that they held. However, it was found that there was no statistically significant difference between length of service and job satisfaction, but that there was a significant difference when taking into account the impact length of service had on the intention to quit.
Results from the study of Whittaker (2015), indicated that there is no statistically significant difference in perceptions based on gender and professional certification. However, there were statistically significant differences in perceptions based on age, length of service. Chuaywongyart (2012), investigates the impact of four core human resources management practices on employee engagement. These human resources management practices are (1) recruitment and selection, (2) training and development, (3) performance management, and (4) compensation and reward. It also examines the impact of the personal factors including gender, age, and length of service, education, and job categories on the level of employee engagement. The results show significant relationships among personal factors including age and length of service on employee engagement. In contrast, the results indicate that higher level of education, higher level in organization and age do not contribute to higher engagement.
Another attributes were seminars and trainings attended.
Sjöqvist (2010), emphasized that useful information has come from several journals and seminars attended. Kibaara (2012), in his study found out that most civil servants were Knowledgeable and aware to related issues attributable to training/seminars attended. Gray (2011), founthatd out seminar were statistically significant increases in both knowledge and actions taken and a positive significant relationship between knowledge scores and knowledge transfer. Hunger activity responses revealed positive trends in empathy and willingness to act 230 Natarajan and Marishkumar (2017), suggested that more seminars and workshops should be conducted in educational institutions. . Awareness should be created among consumers through newspapers, televisions, pamphlets and hoarding at different places in the rural areas.
Thuku (2011), on his study found that use of highly qualified staff, competent personnel, training and holding of seminars on risks management and advancement of management systems greatly contributed to increased performance on student enrollment.
According to Olubia (2016), the initiatives of the college deans in planning and implementing related activities and programs must be further improved by enhancing their strategic leadership skills through the conduct of effective strategic planning-themed seminars and trainings.
The literature cited analysis on the personal profiles is related to this investigation that will give a shed of light to current study because personal profiles is used as one of the variables.

Discussions:-
In this study, the status of Personal Profiles of GAD Advocates are categorized in terms of age, sex, civil status, length of service, highest educational attainment, seminars and trainings attended, and seminars and trainings conducted.
In terms of Age, it was found that most of the respondents belong to the age bracket of 40 -49. In terms of Sex, it was found that most of the respondents were female and most of them were married in terms of Civil Status. As to Length of Service, most of them belong to bracket 1-10. Their Highest Educational Attainment, belong to bracket of with doctoral units. With regards to Seminars and Trainings Attended, and Seminars and Trainings Conducted, both revealed that most of the respondents belong to bracket 1 -5.

While the Level of Awareness of GAD Advocates, in this study refers to the International Mandates, National Mandates, Other National Laws on Women, Civil Service Commission Memo Circulars and Government Agencies
Integrating GAD Plan to Program, Projects and Activities (PPAs). The following tables shows the mean, standard deviation and verbal interpretation. The level of Awareness of GAD Advocates in terms of National Mandates were revealed in Table 2, which shows the average mean, standard deviation and verbal interpretation. In this study, the level of Awareness of GAD Advocates in terms of Other National Laws on Women.In this study, the Other National Laws on Women refers to Support for Reproductive Role of Women, Economic Rights, Political Rights and Violence Against Women.   The table proves that the level of awareness of GAD Advocates in terms of Other National Laws on Women as to Political Rights got the (M=4.01, SD=0.87) with verbal interpretation of -Moderately Aware‖.        The table 9 proves that the level of management practices of GAD Advocates in terms of Budgeting (M=4.21, SD=0.83) with a verbal interpretation of Moderately Practice.   The table 13 proves that the level of management practices of GAD Advocates in terms of monitoring (M=4.12, SD=0.81) with a verbal interpretation of Moderately Practice. The table 14, shows the significant relationship between the personal profiles and the management practices of GAD advocates among SUCs in CALABARZON which predicts significantly as manifested by lower probability values in its indicator at 0.05 level of significance. Further, the positive values for r indicates direct relationship.
The table 15 show that the significant relationship between the awareness and the management practices of GAD advocates.