Cultural Heritage Maintenance and Equitable Participation in Multicultural Education: An Autoethnographic Study on the Development of a Filipino Heritage Curriculum in Canada

Abstract

Canada's official policy of multiculturalism envisions a society where cultural diversity is valued by all. Immigrants are encouraged to maintain their cultural heritage and participate in all aspects of society, including education. This study aimed to determine the curriculum content and pedagogy of a Filipino heritage curriculum in Canada aligned with Berry's acculturation theory, in which cultural heritage maintenance and equitable participation are necessary for personal cultural integration and societal multiculturalism.

The autoethnographic research method was used to narrate and examine the acculturation (acculturative stress, behavioral shifts, acculturation strategies) and adaptation (psychological and sociocultural) of a Filipino immigrant parent who has raised second-generation Filipino Canadian children from Preschool to Grade seven. This study found that collaboration, representation, sustainability, and empowerment were essential themes in developing a Filipino heritage curriculum in Canada. Indigenous Filipino culture found in Filipino folk tales, folk dances, martial arts and culinary arts taught by Filipino Canadians in collaboration with education, culture and arts institutions in Canada were found to align with cultural heritage maintenance and equitable participation and supported multicultural and multigenerational Filipino heritage learning in Canada.