Relevant Learning For Indigenous Filipinos - Childhood Explorer

Relevant Learning for
Indigenous Filipinos
Childhood Explorer
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Indigenous Filipinos 2016 table
Isobel Ranulfa S. Dolatre, Resource Development Officer
Maria Johanna Pia G. Ortiz-Luis, Executive Director
of
Cartwheel Foundation, Inc. (CFI) contents
Indigenous Filipinos are among the many indigenous peoples (IP) who have
Life and Play in
experienced devastating destruction of their homes, imposition of settlers in
the Garifuna
their ancestral domains, and retreats to areas far from basic social services.
Culture of
Approximately 110 ethnic tribes lives in the Philippines, most of whom fight for
Dangriga, Belize
their way of life for themselves and future generations as they struggle to keep
their lands (Abejuela, Ricarte B. III. (n.d.). Indigenous Education in the Philippines
[Research Study].) Children's Play in
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With regard to education, the IP are among those with the lowest literacy rates. Preschools
It is a challenge to serve their needs in remote areas, and standard education
programs fail to take into account their cultures, languages, and current realities. A Day in the Life
of a Girl in
In an attempt to respond to these challenges, the Department of Education in Madurai, India
the Philippines has recently adopted the Indigenous Peoples Curriculum
Education Framework (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2015) as a guide for IP educators
Big Book: Pages
in developing “culturally appropriate and responsive” curricula, lesson plans,
for Peace Kids Can
instructional materials, and teaching methods.
Make a Difference
Classes in Bancas for Seafaring Bajau
Relevant Learning
The Angiskul ma Bangka (AmB) or “Classes in Bancas” is one example of an for Indigenous
innovative program that helps indigenous young learners gain access to quality Filipinos
and culturally relevant education. The AmB initiative began in 2014 to serve the
internally displaced indigenous Bajau children in Zamboanga City. It is Children’s Rights
spearheaded by Cartwheel Foundation, Inc. (CFI), a non-government in Iran
organization that focuses on IP education as its main goal for advocacy, with
Ateneo de Zamboanga University-Center for Community Extension Services
Orchid Garden
(ADZU-CCES) as implementing partner and TELUS International Philippines, Inc.,
Nepal: Breaking
Karapatan sa Malikhaing Paraan Innovative Human Rights Initiative (KaSaMa), the Cycle of
Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and Sun Poverty
Life Financial Philippines Foundation, Inc. as funding partners.
Known as being among of the last seafaring peoples in the world, Bajau
communities build their homes on stilts in coastal areas. An estimated 600 of photography
their families were forced to evacuate from their original homes, many of which credits
were burned in the prolonged armed conflict between the Moro National
Liberation Front and government troops (referred to as the “Zamboanga Siege”) Email Address *
in 2013. Many of them remain in a post-conflict transitory site at Barangay
Mampang in Zamboanga City, where they live in cramped bunk houses and lack
access to basic services. Identified as both IPs and as internally displaced persons
(IDPs), they represent some of the most vulnerable sectors in the Philippines Subject *
today.
Context-based Instruction
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Given their unique context, CFI, ADZU-CCES, and their local partners designed
AmB to uphold both IP education and peace advocacy principles. It is based on
modules that equip children with basic literacy and numeracy skills, while also
fostering their cultural identity and psychosocial well-being. Classes are
conducted for three hours a day by two trained para-teachers who are
themselves members of the Bajau community, currently residing at the
transitory site in Mampang.
TEACHER SARIBA ABDULBASIT LEADS BAJAU YOUNG LEARNERS AND THEIR PARENTS IN SINGING THE NATIONAL
ANTHEM AT THE LAUNCHING OF AMB’S FLOATING CLASSROOM. (MARCH 2016)
At the onset of the program in November 2014, 48 learners were enrolled in

AmB classes. When more members of the community learned about the
initiative, they requested their children be allowed to take part, thus increasing
the number of enrollees to 96 by December 2015. The age of the enrollees range
from 3 to 11 years old; none of them have attended school before and did not
know how to read nor write when they began attending classes. By June 2015,
the program’s first cycle graduated 77 children, or 80% of the total enrollees. Of
the total number of graduates, 52% (40 children) were ready and qualified to
enroll in public schools as kindergarten pupils.
Even if the results do not reflect perfect readiness of all learners for entry into
the next academic level, the progression from zero literacy to qualifying for the
public schools in a span of seven months is no mean feat. The Bajau parents
recognize this—on its third cycle in 2016-2017, AmB now has a total of 108
learners.
Community Ownership and Action
Throughout implementation of AmB, community members are engaged as

partners and given opportunities to determine program directions. This is in line
with the IP Rights Act (Republic Act No. 8371), which states that “free, prior, and
informed consent” must be given by IPs regarding matters that directly involve
them. From the beginning, the program was well-received by the parents and the
wider community because they aspire for their children to be in school, which
they thought would be an impossibility after the Siege of 2013.
To show their appreciation for the AmB initiative, parents actively participate in
“counterpart” activities, such as the construction and maintenance of the
temporary learning center; the design, construction, and maintenance of the
floating classroom; the daily preparation of meals for the supplemental feeding;
and attendance in regular community meetings and workshops conducted by
stakeholders.
The constant involvement of community members eventually paved the way for
the formation of their own peoples’ organization, locally known as Kahapan,
Kasulutan, Kasanyangan Parimpunan or KKKP (Service, Peace and Progress
Organization). One of the main roles of this organization is to ensure that AmB
activities are implemented, and that more community members participate in
them. In this way, the leadership potential of active members is harnessed and
leveraged for building community ownership of the program.
Safe Space for Learning
Beyond helping the children build competencies in line with DepEd’s learning
standards, AmB also provided them with a “safe space” for learning. The use of
familiar cultural elements helps them gain a sense of normalcy and stability in
the context of their displacement and poor living conditions. This is consistent
with Article 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), which
states that “recovery and reintegration takes place in an environment which
fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.”
Inside the boat classroom are indigenous instructional materials prepared by the
teachers with the help of the parents, using resources from around their
community. AmB learners have been using the boat school for their classes since
March 2016. Although it is presently docked in an area near the mangroves of
their transitory site, the boat classroom is intended to move with the children
once they eventually relocate to their families’ more permanent coastal homes.
Al-Fatima Ahiyal, Local Project Coordinator from ADZU-CCES, summarized the

significance of the floating classroom as both a learning space and a center of
living heritage for the Bajau learners, parents, and community members with
whom she closely works:
AMB FLOATING CLASSROOM IN USE
“For other Indigenous Peoples, land is life; for the Bajau, the sea is life. The boat
has deep roots in the Bajau, as they are the same in often setting to sail at sea.
They do not view the AmB boat only as their classroom. They also see it as a
promotion of their culture. It is colorful not only because it was built as a
daycare center for kids, but also to show the vibrance of Bajau culture.
“They take pride in the floating classroom as truly theirs. Not only does it show
their desire to attend school, but it also reflects the importance they give to
their culture. The current number of learners has ballooned; I think it is the boat
that has helped in encouraging the children. It is where they feel at home. They
understand that the boat represents their tribe.
“During the turn-over of the boat to the community, one of the parents said that
begging is not the only thing that the Bajau know how to do. They also know
how to educate themselves and enrich their own culture all the more.”
Learning From IPEd Program Implementation
IP education is unique in that it often takes approaches different from those

used in traditional instruction. The importance of highlighting indigenous
knowledge, skills, practices, and values is acknowledged and incorporated. To
effectively teach IP learners, it is crucial to understand the world as perceived
through their eyes. Only when connections are made between new information
being presented and a child’s known way of life can learning be relevant and have
life-long value. Even as changes through education are intended for the good of
their community, all efforts must respect to their identity as IPs.
Openness is key in nurturing a dynamic where teachers and students learn from
each other. Respect for the dignity of each community member is manifested in
respect for their entire culture. Education programs for such communities bear
good fruit when they are facilitated rather than forced. All key players need to
recognize the abundance in both human and natural resources in the
community as education harnesses the many strengths that had been theirs all
along.
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Relevant Learning for

Relevant Learning for autumn

At the onset of the program in November 2014, 48 learners were enrolled in

Community Ownership and Action

Throughout implementation of AmB, community members are engaged as

Safe Space for Learning

Al-Fatima Ahiyal, Local Project Coordinator from ADZU-CCES, summarized the

Learning From IPEd Program Implementation

IP education is unique in that it often takes approaches different from those

Childhood Explorer is a publication of

Childhood Education International is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in

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