Palawan State University

Numerous curricular and policy changes aim to enhance mathematics educa-tion in the Philippines; however, the country continues to perform poorly in international assessments like PISA and TIMSS. This study investigates the mathematical error patterns and problem-solving strategies among junior high students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) in Palawan, using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analysis identified common errors, including comprehension (75.32%), transformation (81.23%), and presentation (94.03%), with rural students showing significantly higher trans-formation errors (= 9.48, SD = 1.377) than urban students (= 8.35, SD = 2.418), t 75 =−2.479, p = 0.016, Cohen’s d=−0.577. Qualitative focus group discussions revealed challenges in understanding basic math concepts and word problems, often exacerbated by limited instructional support. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, such as professional development for teachers, equitable resource distribution, and enhanced instructional strategies to improve foundational math skills and problem-solving abilities among students with MLD in Palawan.

Management Analysis is a step taken to help improve management organization efficiency and resolve operational challenges and issues. This study aimed to identify the challenges Quezon Marketing Cooperative (QMC) faced in its financial management. This paper employed a SWOT Analysis, a survey questionnaire, and focus group discussions among QMC members. The study's findings highlight three main issues affecting QMC's performance. First, a lack of clear policies and guidelines leads to poor record-keeping and the mismanagement of funds. Second, most coop members have low educational qualifications, which limits their functions. Third, low collections of capital build-up payments result in low sales and income, hindering members' participation. Three alternative courses of action (ACAs) were proposed: (1) Forging a Memorandum of Agreement to establish linkages with both government and private sectors to provide technical services and funding for co-op members and business activities; (2) Formulating a standard operating manual for the cooperative, which would give a step-by-step guide on the cooperative's operation procedures and policies; and (3) Hiring short-term technical experts to enhance QMC's operations management. The identified ACAs were evaluated based on a set of decision criteria derived from the objectives of the study: (i) timeliness; (ii) ease of implementation; (iii) resources required; and (iv) cost of implementation. It was recommended that ACA-1 be pursued: Forging a Memorandum of Agreement to establish linkages with both government and private agencies to provide technical services and funding to support the QMC’s activities. This alternative course of action complements QMC's operations, ensuring the continuous improvement of its financial performance.

This study explored the lived experiences, workplace challenges, and contextual factors influencing nurse turnover at Coron District Hospital, an island-based district hospital in Palawan. Anchored on the Job Demands–Resources Model, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Benner’s From Novice to Expert Theory, Leininger’s Transcultural Nursing Theory, and Johnson’s Behavioral System Model, the study examined how organizational and contextual conditions shaped nurses’ retention and resignation decisions. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed using semi-structured interviews with ten purposively selected participants, composed of five currently employed nurses and five former nurses who had resigned within the past one to three years. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings showed that nurses experienced supportive teamwork, camaraderie, and collegial relationships; however, these positive conditions were weakened by resource limitations, inadequate staffing, heavy workload, burnout, delayed salary, insufficient compensation, limited benefits, unclear promotion pathways, leadership inconsistency, transportation and housing concerns, geographic isolation, and family-related obligations. Delayed salary, workload imbalance, career stagnation, and weak organizational support emerged as major reasons for dissatisfaction and resignation. The study concluded that nurse turnover was shaped by cumulative demographic, professional, organizational, and island-based contextual factors rather than a single cause. It recommended timely salary release, improved compensation, staffing reforms, workload redistribution, leadership development, career progression pathways, mentorship, adequate resources, psychosocial support, and context-sensitive assistance such as housing and transportation support. The study aligned with SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 8, SDG 16, and SDG 17 by addressing healthcare quality, professional development, decent work, institutional governance, and coordinated workforce responses. Its sustainability impact lies in strengthening healthcare workforce stability, service continuity, institutional support, and equitable access to care in geographically isolated healthcare settings.

The study employed a quantitative correlational research design to examine students’ profiles, attitudes, perceived value, and confidence toward Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW), and to determine the relationships between the main variables of the study. The research instrument was carefully crafted, underwent pilot testing, and was administered face-to-face among 73 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics and the Bachelor of Elementary Education programs. Frequencies, percentages, and means were used to analyze the data, while Multiple Linear Regression was employed to examine the relationships among the variables. Results revealed that most of the respondents were aged between 18 and 29 years old, female, their parents' educational attainment is high school level, and their family's monthly income ranged from 3,000 to 23,000 pesos. Adopting student-centered approaches such as active engagement, collaborative and interactive activities, supportive classroom management, and real-life learning experiences is strengthening students’ attitudes, perceived value, and confidence in mathematics. Moreover, students’ profile has no significantly relationship with the attitudes, perceived value, and confidence of respondents towards mathematics, the improvement and enhancement of instructional strategies should focus on pedagogy rather than students’ profiles. Thus, future studies should investigate the research scope, design, and population, also draw a comparative analysis, and include additional variables and predictors to address existing research gaps.

This study investigates the sustainable utilization of nickel mining waste for nanotechnology applications in drilling fluid systems from Palawan, Philippines. Nickel laterite mining operations in the southern part of this region produce significant amounts of waste. However, these wastes still contain valuable minerals such as silica and iron oxide, which can be repurposed for other uses. The investigation involved extracting silica and iron oxide of desired particle sizes from raw waste through acid leaching using 29