Experiences of Parents in Home-Based Remote Teaching Using the Mother Tongue

Abstract

The use of mother tongue (MT) as medium of instruction (MOI) and teaching it to the early grades, specifically Kindergarten to Grade 3, are one of the provisions of Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education as part of the provisions of the K to 12 Basic Education Program in the Philippines. Since its official implementation in school year (SY) 2012-2013, benefits and challenges have been evident in studies conducted related to its execution.

Unfortunately, the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) greatly affected all aspects of our lives, including the education system, during the last months of SY 2019-2020. The Department of Education (DepEd) had to administer remote teaching by providing modules to learners, and had their parents teach them at home. Hence, MTB-MLE instruction continued at home. There are still limited studies and literature on how parents teach their children the MT and using it as MOI during the pandemic. This study aimed to document parents' experiences in home-based remote teaching using the mother tongue at home. The research questions are: 1) What are the parents' experiences in teaching the MT and using it as MOI during emergency remote teaching and learning setup?; 2) What strategies and techniques related to teaching the MT and using the MT as MOI did the parents use in teaching their children? and 3) What did the parents consider as benefits and challenges in teaching children the MT and using the MT MOI at home?

The study used a qualitative approach which employed a multiple case study of four parents who had children studying in Kindergarten to Grade 3 under the MTBMLE program. Parents who represented contrasting and varied cases based on their profiles were selected. The instruments used in this study were: a survey questionnaire, interview guides and observation sheets. Data gathered were from interviews of participants and recorded videos of their teaching sessions with their children at home. They were analyzed through inductive and thematic analysis.