Work

The paradox of graduate programs in Reading Education in the Philippines amid a literacy crisis

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Philippines faces a paradox in advancing literacy education. Even as the nation confronts a deepening literacy crisis, graduate programs in Reading Education, established to train literacy leaders, operate under fragile conditions. Their expansion has been shaped less by disciplinary strength than by three forces: the scarcity of Reading-trained faculty, policy incentives that reward proliferation over rigor, and institutional survival strategies that privilege prestige and enrollment. These dynamics erode the quality of the discipline, compromise student preparation, weaken system capacity, and diminish trust in graduate credentials. Yet the crisis also presents opportunity. Strengthened faculty development, interuniversity collaboration, rigorous accreditation standards, and recognition of Reading Education as a national investment can transform these programs into credible engines of reform. The Philippine case contributes to the comparative higher education research agenda by illustrating how program growth in specialized fields risks undermining disciplinary integrity when not matched by faculty capacity and institutional safeguards.

Source: Frontiers in Education

DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1721429

Authors: Al Ryanne Gabonada Gatcho, Fatima Zahra Vercede Sali

Institutions: Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Mindanao State University - Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography

Language: English

Topic: Higher Education Governance and Development

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,353