Books

Batan, C.M. (2010) Batong-bahay: Naratibo ng kahirapan at tagumpay ng isang karaniwang pamilyang Pilipino (Stone house: A Filipino family’s narrative of poverty and success) UST Publishing House, Manila Philippines. [Creative non-fiction about my family]

Batan, C.M. (2000) TALIM: Mga Kuwento ng Sampung Kabataan (TALIM: Lifehistories of Ten Young People) published in Filipino by the Social Research Center, UST. [An advocacy book for rural youths with illustrations. Based on the MA thesis in Sociology, UP Diliman, Quezon City.]

Book chapter

Batan, C. M. (2005). Texting as style: Preliminary observation on cellular phone use among Filipino college students. In G. Holm & H. Helve (Eds.), Contemporary Youth Research: Local Expressions and Global Connections: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Journals

Batan, C. M. (2009).  An exploratory view of ‘idle youth’ in the Philippines. UNITAS, 82 (1), 225-236.

Batan, C. M. (2007).  Two Theoretical Perspectives on "Youth Work" in the Philippines. UNITAS, 80 (2), 159 - 182.

Batan, C. M. (2004). Rethinking Youth Transition: Directions for Future Research in Developing Societies. Res Socialis: Journal of UST Social Research Center, 1(2), 106-118.

Batan, C. M. (2004). Occupational aspirations of Filipino youth at the edge of the millennium: Gender, locality, education and social class and its influences on work choices. UNITAS, 77 (4), 505-506. ISSN 0041-7149.

Batan, C. M. (2004). Of strengths and tensions: A dialogue of ideas between the classics and Philippine sociology. UNITAS, 77 (2), 163-186. ISSN 0041-7149.

Batan, C.M. (June, 2001) Education of the Filipino Rural Young in the Age of Information: Cases Drawn From Sociological Experience. UNITAS. Quarterly Scholarly Journal of the University of Santo Tomas.  Volume 74 No. 2. Pp. 211-222.

Batan, C.M. (January, 2001). The Making of the Tomasian Cable TV. Media.byte. Official Journal on Information Technology by the University of Santo Tomas. Volume I. No. 1.

Batan, C.M. (September, 1999) Understanding the Audience. The Ed Tech Journal. Educational Technology Center, University of Santo Tomas. Volume I. No. 1.

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on a specific subsector of young people in the Philippines known as the “istambay”. It explores the dynamics of the lives of these youth istambay by examining the influence of the family and religion on youth labour inactivity. It aims at investigating how these factors impact their transitions into adulthood.

Methodologically, the study utilized a mixed-methods approach including both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Qualitative data was gathered from two marginalized case study sites; a rural fishing barangay (village) in Talim Island, Binangonan, Rizal, and an urban barangay in Sta. Cruz, Manila, both in Luzon Island, Philippines. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with selected youth respondents as well as their mothers and teachers. Field notes and ethnographic observations using photographs and videos during community events and projects were also included in the analysis. Secondary quantitative analysis was conducted using the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS), a cross-sectional survey of nationally representative Filipino youth conducted by the University of the Philippines’ Population Institute (UPPI).

The study is theoretically oriented around Mills’ sociological imagination and Bourdieu’s theory of practice that uses concepts such as capitals, field and habitus (Bourdieu, 1986a, 1990). From these theories, the present study anchors two streams of argumentation about the istambay. First, the istambay phenomenon in the Philippines, using one’s sociological imagination, could be seen more as a social issue than a mere personal trouble. Second, Bourdieu’s theory of practice helps in showing how the varying strategies of protection and dependence provided to the istambay youth are oriented around a family-faith dynamic rooted in the practice of the culture of care and an ethic of sharing. This thesis leads to youth transitional crisis in the Philippines.

Research findings reveal that the persistence of the culture of care provided by the Filipino families of these istambay youth straddles like a tightrope between protection and dependence. This cultural practice also relates to the Christian Catholic ethic of sharing. The istambay phenomenon appears to be a consequence of the minimal accountability of the Philippine government (a non-welfare state) to mitigate the problem of youth unemployment in the country. Consequently, this critical segment of istambay is found to have devalued the notion of the “nation” and have evolved an international disposition of working “abroad”.

Both Filipino youth and their Western counterparts share the high value given to education as the best means to secure livelihood. However, inactivity, such as that experienced by the Filipino istambay, although moderated by their family’s culture of care, continues to highlight how young people’s lives are shaped by inequalities and more limited opportunities than the transitional experiences of their Western counterparts.

In conclusion, youth labour inactivity as experienced by the Filipino istambay, although moderated by their family’s culture of care, continues to highlight how young people’s lives are shaped by inequalities and more limited opportunities in developing countries such as the Philippines.