UBCHEA Promotes Filipino Indigenous Culture in New Study

Recognizing the need to reawaken interest in the country’s local heritage, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia has awarded a grant to the Social Development Research Center to pursue a study entitled “Reclaiming Filipino Indigenous Cultures through Teaching and Learning.”

The two-year study seeks to integrate indigenous peoples (IP)’s knowledge and culture into the upcoming revised Higher Education Institution (HEI) curriculum of Liberal Arts and Education courses. Given the timing of the K to 12 curriculum implementation and HEI developments, training teachers to integrate IP knowledge and culture in their courses is imperative. Such training will ensure that these teachers not only promote the preservation of IP knowledge, but also cultivate an appreciation of their students’ own Filipino indigenous culture, as well as encourage them to embrace their diversity.

With the changes in the curriculum owing to the K to12 program, a new set of general subjects—namely understanding the self, contemporary world, and art appreciation—will be offered. Indigenous knowledge finds its place and relevance in these said courses. Thus, there is a need for this undertaking.

The study is headed by Dr. Hazel Biana of the Department of Philosophy together with research associates Dr. Melvin Jabar of the Department of Behavioral Sciences Dr. Homer Yabut of the Department of Psychology. The study’s target participants are college/university teachers of Liberal Arts and Education; leaders/elders of indigenous peoples’ communities; and artists/artisans of Indigenous Peoples’ communities.