Dr. Rose Marie Clemeña

Dr. Rose Marie Clemeña

Conferred AY 1987-1988

Status: RETIRED | Rank: FULL PROFESSOR | Department: : COUNSELLING & EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY | College: BR. ANDREW GONZALEZ COLLEGE OF EDUCATION| | Present Role in the University: PROFESSOR EMERITUS 

Professional Profile:

I was conferred the title of University Fellow in 1989, just after I came back from my first sabbatical leave.

If I remember right, it was then Dean of the Graduate School of Education, Arts and Sciences (GSEAS) Dr. Estrellita V. Gruenberg who nominated me. I felt so honored and humbled to be given the title alongside people I considered bigwigs–Br. Andrew, Menito, Isagani, and Mel Deauna.

Being named University Fellow was, for me, an acknowledgment of whatever I had done for the field of counseling psychology up until then. I likewise considered it an affirmation of my work as a Lasallian educator.

I joined DLSU in 1974 and was on study leave for my doctorate in the USA from 1977-81. I think I was given recognition for the following contributions to counseling psychology during the period 1974-1989:

 

Counselor Education

 

As Chair of the Graduate Department of Guidance and Counseling (now the Counseling and Educational Psychology Department) from 1981-86, I continued and revitalized (with specialization tracks) the MS in Guidance and Counseling (MSGC) Program started by Br. Justin Lucian FSC (†), through a continued partnership with the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), which offered scholarship grants for our fulltime MSGC students. I also pushed forward the implementation of the PhD in Counseling Psychology program—the first doctoral program in the University.

I co-established (in 1985) the Institute of Educational Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (IEMES) as a consortium with the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM) and FAPE. Under the IEMES, we offered a Master of Science in Educational Measurement and Evaluation (MSEDMEV) Program for fulltime students, with scholarship grants from FAPE.

Through the MSGC and the MSEDMEV programs, we sought to provide the Philippines with a pool of professional counseling psychologists and educational measurement and evaluation specialists.

As a founding member and officer of the Philippine Association for Counselor Education, Research and Supervision (PACERS), established by Dr. Leticia M. Asuzano (†) with a core group of DLSU counselor education faculty, I took a lead role in advocating the professionalization of counseling and counselor education in the Philippines. This advocacy was later expanded to include other Asian countries as we organized the Association of Psychological and Educational Counsellors of Asia (APECA; now of Asia-Pacific).

 

Test Development

 

Together with Dr. Asuzano, I led the development of the Multi-Aptitude Test Battery under the Cooperative Vocational Testing Project (COVOTEP) of DLSU (1974-77). This was a pioneering effort in the Philippines to develop tests for the industrial setting and for technical-vocational fields.

Upon my return from my doctoral studies, I was appointed as a consultant for test development of the CEM. The major projects I was involved in were the development of the Philippine Aptitude Classification Test, the Philippine Occupational Interest Survey, and the National Medical Admission Test.

I was also part of a Special Technical Committee on Testing organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (MECS) to evaluate the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) and other testing programs on the secondary level (1985-86).

In 1986, I likewise became a Technical Consultant of the Asian Psychological Services and Assessment, Inc. for the development of tests for industries.

 

Research

 

As department chair, I entered into a partnership with the MECS Technical-Vocational Education Project to launch the Career Guidance Materials Development Project. An output of this project was the Technician Careers Information Handbook, which I edited, and which was published in 1986.

As President of PACERS, I founded (and edited) the Philippine Journal of Counseling Psychology in 1987, to develop a research culture among Filipino counseling psychologists.

My own research agenda, particularly as holder of the Brother Justin Lucian FSC Professorial Chair in Psychology, was directed towards cultural sensitivity in counseling. Later, for my sabbatical research project, I embarked on another pioneering area–counseling for health.