From Awareness to Action: Political Awareness and Participation among College Students at a Philippine University

This study determined the level of political awareness and political participation of college students at the University of La Salette, Inc., Santiago City, Isabela, and examined the relationship between the two variables. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was employed. A survey questionnaire adapted from Hermosa (2021) was administered online to 362 college students selected through stratified random sampling across nine college departments. Results showed that respondents were "Highly Aware" politically (M = 3.35), with awareness strongest on public issues (M = 3.44) and weakest on public policies (M = 3.27). Their political participation was "Participative" (M = 2.87), highest in election-related activities (M = 2.99) and lowest in political discussions and forums (M = 2.79). A moderate, positive, and significant relationship was found between political awareness and political participation with awareness of public policies showing the strongest association with all three participation domains. No significant differences in awareness or participation were found when respondents were grouped by sex, college department, and year level. These results indicate that students are informed and generally engaged, but a gap remains between what they know and what they do, particularly in public forums, consultations, local governance, and collective action. The study recommends university-wide civic engagement programs, the integration of local policy analysis into instruction, and partnerships with local government units and the Sangguniang Kabataan to give students concrete avenues for participation