Implementing Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education in an Area of Armed Conflict in Southern Philippines: A Case Study Vol 1 & Vol II

Abstract

The use of the mother tongue in the classroom to learn concepts has been practiced by many of the countries that garnered the highest points in international assessments as shown in the 2015 report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Several studies have also shown the benefits of using the mother tongue in learning and this has been recognized by the Philippines through Republic Act 10533, “An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education.” With Philippine schools adopting the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3, this study looked into how Mother Tongue Bases- Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) was implemented in an area of armed conflict. The current study specifically answered the following questions: 1) How is MTB-MLE implemented in an area of armed conflict in terms of the use of mother tongue as subject, medium of instruction, and auxiliary language; 2) how the mother tongue is integrated in peach education in an area of armed conflict particularly in the curriculum, instructional materials, and strategies. A public elementary school located in Maguindanao where MTB-MLE has been implemented for the past years was selected for the final study. As a qualitative research, it used the instrumental case study design involving two Grade 1 classes and one class each in Grades 2 and 3. Classroom observations were conducted during the Mother Tongue, Math. English, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan subjects in Grade 1. Two separate classes in Grades 2 and 3 were observed during the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) subjects. The study focused on how Maguindanoan, the mother tongue of the students, was used during the Mother Tongue subject; as a medium of instruction during Math and Araling Panlipunan subjects; and as an auxiliary language in English, Filipino, and ALIVE subjects. The study further explored how Maguindanaon was integrated into peace education in the Grades 1 to 3 classes. Participants were local education officials, teachers, parents, local AFP officials, and Grade 1 to 3 students. Data were gathered through classroom observations, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), Key Informant Interviews (KII), analysis of available textbooks, daily lesson logs, MTB-MLE materials, and other references, and survey questionnaires. Results of the study on the implementation of MTB-MLE in an area of armed conflict reveal the following: Maguindanaon as a Mother Tongue subject was taught in Grade 1 with the teacher using both Maguindanaon and Filipino as media of instruction; Maguindanoan was used as a medium of instruction in Math, Araling Panlipunan and ALIVE classes with a mix of Filipino and English languages; and Maguindanoan as an auxiliary language has not been established in the study as teachers, students and school officials consider Filipino as the auxiliary language. For the second question, the study explored how Maguindanaon integrates peace education in their school curriculum in general and in the ALIVE curriculum. Results show that the school curriculum in general and in the ALIVE curriculum. Results show that the school indirectly and informally integrates peace education using Maguindanaon through the teaching of values education and in the ALIVE classes. However, there is no direct mention of peace, unity, and harmony in the lessons observed. It was noted that the instructional materials were in Arabic and English. The ustadz translated the terms and concepts to Maguindanon in order for the students to understand the lesson. The last question explored how Maguindanao was integrated in peace education through the teaching strategies. Results of the class observation and interview reveal that the teaching strategies were very limited as the subject teacher used the storytelling approach while the ALIVE teacher depended a lot on the translation method and experiential learning activity. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that additional MTB-MLE training be conducted for teachers to make them competent and confident in using pure Magunidanaon during the Mother Tongue subject and in using it as a medium of instruction in other learning areas. Teaching guides, instructional material, and textbooks in Maguindanaon should be locally developed and produced to reflect the Maguindanoan culture and identity. Further, peace education should be integrated in the different subject areas and strengthened through the use of Maguindanoan; hence, armed conflict could be avoided in the future. Future research to be conducted in other areas of armed conflict over a longer period of time is also recommended to validate the results of this study and give local MTB-MLE coordinators and teachers sufficient materials in improving the language policy.