Awareness on Culture-Based Education among Teachers of Sta. Filomena Integrated School: A Basis for its Effective Implementation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The line "to protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based and complete basic education" taken from the Department of Educations' Mission emphasizes the provision of a Culture-based Education (CBE) to all Filipino Learners. To fully realize this duty of building a nation with culturally literate and empowered Filipinos, the classroom teachers must be fully equipped with the competencies required of them to effectively deliver culture -based lessons in their daily teaching-learning process. This paper aims at assessing the level of awareness on CBE among teachers of Sta. Filomena Integrated School to address the needs for the effective implementation of CBE in the actual classroom setting.

METHODS

The mixed method approach was used, getting the respondents’ profile in terms of age, gender, teaching experience and the number of CBE training attended, and designation. The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used to fourteen selected teachers for assessing their level of awareness for the effective Implementation of CBE in an actual classroom setting.

RESULTS

The level of awareness among the teachers portrayed this essential information: Fourteen (14) teachers were the respondents of the research. The teachers achieve the level of awareness, understanding, and appreciation of Culture-Based Education. The limited knowledge about the diversity of culture and the availability of data/records about cultural icons was the prime challenge for teachers in using and appreciating the implementation of CBE in the classroom. The three (3) measures undertaken by the researchers to know the level of awareness were: Answering a questionnaire about CBE implementation; Collectingdifferent cultural icons in their own town or city to be used as teaching materials in the classroom; and (3) Participation in SLAC or another district assembly about CBE implementation.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate the need: to develop localized and conceptualized teaching materials for compilation for Culture-Based Teaching; to attend seminars and workshop for professional enhancement; to level up their awareness in CBE for proper application and for building culturally literate pupils; and to be fully equipped with competencies required to effectively deliver culture-based lessons in the teaching and learning process.