Alicia Jane Peras
Ph.D. minor
Cognitive Science GIDP
Research Location
Philippines
On Site Research Dates
August 2026
Site Visit Report (TBA)
Title of Research Project:
Digital Andragogy in Alternative Learning Systems: A Grounded Theory from the Philippines
Research on adult education has increasingly emphasized the role of digital technologies in expanding access, supporting flexible learning pathways, and fostering lifelong learning (Knowles et al., 2015; Bozkurt, 2019). While digital learning is often framed as a means of reducing educational inequities, most studies focus on well-resourced contexts, leaving limited understanding of how adult learners in under-resourced settings engage with and adapt to digital education (Selwyn, 2016; Kim et al., 2019). In the Philippines, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) serves marginalized populations, particularly adult learners, yet little is known about how these learners experience digital education within their social and cultural contexts (Mahinay & Manla, 2025). This study seeks to address this gap by centering learners’ perspectives and developing a grounded theory of digital andragogy rooted in their lived experiences. ALS emerged to address the educational needs of groups historically excluded from formal schooling, including
out-of-school youth, Indigenous communities, and adult learners (Doronila, 1997).
This study is guided by the following research question: How do ALS learners experience, interpret, and respond to learning within their social, cultural, and educational contexts in under-resourced settings? Specifically, the study examines (1) learners’ experiences in environments where digital resources may be limited or absent, (2) the adaptive strategies they use to navigate learning challenges, (3) how they draw on family and community support, (4) their engagement with digital tools for learning, and (5) how classroom and community contexts shape their learning practices. These questions require in-person fieldwork in the Philippines, as the study is grounded in learners lived experiences within the Alternative Learning System (ALS), which serves marginalized adult learners. Travel is critical to this research because meaningful data collection depends on community immersion, classroom observations, and in-depth, face-to-face interviews with learners, families, and teachers. These contextual and relational dimensions of learning cannot be adequately captured through remote methods.
This project is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating perspectives from Educational Psychology grounded in a Funds of Knowledge framework and Cognitive Science focused on learning. From a Funds of Knowledge perspective, the study examines how learners draw on community-based resources, family knowledge, cultural practices, and lived experiences to support learning in under-resourced contexts. From a cognitive science lens, the research focuses on how adult learners process information, make sense of digital content, and adapt their learning strategies in technology-mediated environments with limited resources. By integrating these perspectives, the study offers a holistic understanding of how community-based knowledge systems and cognitive learning processes jointly shape responsive digital andragogy. The field-based travel is essential for documenting these learning processes as they naturally occur within communities, strengthening the ecological validity of the study and supporting my development
as an interdisciplinary researcher at the intersection of learning sciences and educational psychology.
This research will contribute to the field of adult education and educational psychology by developing a grounded theory of digital andragogy that reflects how adult learners engage with digital learning in under-resourced contexts, an area that remains underrepresented in the literature. The findings will help inform more equitable and context-responsive curriculum design and instructional practices for non-formal education systems. For my career as an academic professional, this project is foundational. It directly supports the completion of my dissertation and strengthens my expertise in qualitative and community-based research. It also prepares me for my long-term goal of becoming a university researcher and educator who advances inclusive, globally grounded scholarship focused on marginalized learning communities.