Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the

Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

ABSTRACT

Globalization presents a need for schools to have a common understanding

regarding the importance of adopting new, and well-documented approaches that
will be inclusive for all students in order for them to have a better chance at
success. Inclusivity, while taken as a word from the mouth of babes, does not
necessarily translate into inclusion of a wide spectrum of society in particular the
indigenous community. As forebears of civilization, the indigenous community
has been left in the annals of history with the ethos of knowledge and technology
being transferred from one spectrum to another without their involvement. This
study will employ root cause analysis through case study and key informant
interviews across longitudinal ethnographic backgrounds to identify if and how
they reconcile this conundrum, to design a means to address the conundrum by
proposing for a new curriculum design that will contain the key elements of
inclusion.

Background

The Department of Education (DepEd) formulates, implements, and coordinates

policies, plans, programs and projects in the areas of formal and non-formal basic
education. It supervises all elementary and secondary education institutions,
including alternative learning systems, both public and private; and provides for
the establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate, and integrated
system of basic education relevant to the goals of national development.

The Department of Education, the central agency responsible for the formulation
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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

and implementation of the curriculum design, is mandated to protect and promote

the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic
education. However, there are inherent limitations in the Department’s policy
formulation strategies. There are many loopholes in the policy formulation
process such that the data collected ultimately fails to reflect the reality on the
ground. There must thus be untainted data collection that cuts across the
spectrum of cultural differences in order for a truly inclusive curriculum design to
be formulated and implemented. Education is a lifelong empowerment process,
which should help citizens in their intra and interpersonal understanding,
achieving personal development and becoming empathetic individuals. The
UNESCO has possibly summarized it best as “learning to be” - to enable
individuals to develop to their fullest potential psycho-socially, affectively as well
as physically, for an all-round “complete person.” (Lifelong Learning Interest
Group retrieved 2018)

True inclusivity centers around learner influenced pedagogical approach and

curriculum design. Learning should be adopt “a broad encompassing view”
aiming “to enable each individual to discover, unearth and enrich his or her
creative potential, to reveal the treasure within each of us.” It is not about creating
new curricula but about getting the fundamentals right. On the contrary in the
there is the implementation of new curricula ever so often that it generates
confusion among the teachers and the learners as well. A well designed
fundamental curriculum will always trump any kamikaze training proposed by the
Department of Education. The goal of this study is ultimately to come up with a
curriculum designed around the basics with special emphasis on inclusion of
indigenous communities.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

Review of Related Literature

Inclusive Education, what is it all about?

Inclusive education means different and diverse students learning side by side in
the same classroom. They enjoy field trips and after-school activities together.
They participate in student government together. And they attend the same sports
meets and plays.

Inclusive education values diversity and the unique contributions each student
brings to the classroom. In a truly inclusive setting, every child feels safe and has a
sense of belonging.

An inclusive curriculum is one where all students’ entitlement to access and

participate in a course is anticipated, acknowledged and taken into account.
Croucher and Romer’s definition states that an inclusive approach: … does not
place groups in opposition to each other. It respects diversity but does not imply a
lack of commonality it supports the concept of widening participation, but does
not imply an externally imposed value judgment; it values equality of opportunity,
but encourages all to feel that this relates to them, and that the issues are not just
projected as being relevant to groups more commonly defined as disenfranchised,
and translated into universities’ targets for equality. (Croucher and Romer, 2007:
3) It is an imperative on institutions that they design their curriculum in such a way
as to promote success among all students. An inclusive curriculum design
approach is one that takes into account students’ educational, cultural and social
background and experience as well as the presence of any physical or sensory
impairment and their mental well-being.

Traditional approaches to disadvantage that focused on integrating individuals

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

into an existing context and minimizing difference between individuals have been
acknowledged as a contributory factor in creating and perpetuating disadvantage
(May and Bridger, 2010)

Inclusive Curriculum and Student Development

An inclusive curriculum design recognizes that students have multiple identities

that are shaped by their previous experiences and that a diverse range of
personal circumstances influence how they study. When considering inclusion
and inclusive practice, the tendency is to focus on groups of students covered by
equality legislation or to assume inclusion only relates to disabled students. The
focus on addressing factors associated with this legislation is often driven by
compliance and can be limiting either because it masks the complexity of
students’ multiple identities or leads to compartmentalized solutions that
emphasize ‘need’ rather than the entitlement of all students. Achieving an
inclusive design involves curriculum planning that: … forge[s] … strong links
between educational intentions, course content, teaching and learning methods,
and the assessment of student learning while taking full account of student
characteristics. (Uniability, 2008, cited by Craig and Zinkiewicz, 2010: 11)

Essentially, curriculum design should be able to guide the students into

reaching their full potentials as individuals. There is increased interest in graduate
employability resulting from this becoming a key indicator for institutional

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

comparison. Employability is more than getting a job. Yorke and Knight define
employability as: … a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal
attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be
successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce,
the community and the economy. (Yorke and Knight, 2006: 3).

Indigious Education

Marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples, face multiple barriers to

education and are being left behind in terms of educational achievement.
Developing tailored, culturally and linguistically appropriate educational
programmes for indigenous learners should be a priority. The most effective way
to do so is to work in a community-based, bottom-up manner to ensure that
infrastructure, pedagogical materials and curricula meet the sometimes unique
needs of indigenous teachers, learners and their communities. Although much
work has been done along these lines, with the development of specially tailored
school systems and pedagogical approaches, first or identity language instruction
and reinforced indigenous knowledge content, these approaches require more
support to be properly implemented in all countries where indigenous peoples
live.

Education is extremely important for indigenous children, youth and adults. As

the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) points out:
“Education of indigenous children contributes to both individual and community
development, as well as to participation in society in its broadest sense.
Education enables indigenous children to exercise and enjoy economic, social
and cultural rights, and strengthens their ability to exercise civil rights in order to
influence political policy processes for improved protection of human rights. The
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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

implementation of indigenous peoples’ right to education is an essential means of

achieving individual empowerment and self-determination. Education is also an
important means for the enjoyment, maintenance and respect of indigenous
cultures, languages, traditions and traditional knowledge…Education is the
primary means of ensuring indigenous peoples’ individual and collective
development; it is a precondition for indigenous peoples’ ability to realize their
right to self-determination, including their right to pursue their own economic,
social and cultural development.”

Hanusek and Woessman (2010) discussed that education is a significant initiator

of development at the individual, community, national and global levels. For
individuals, education is a lifelong asset and one of the most economically sound
investments an individual can make. On average, each additional year of
schooling translates into a 10% increase in an individual’s income and every
average year of additional schooling translates into a 1% increase in a country’s
GDP.

Progress made in getting children into school was slower than many countries
had anticipated during the second half of the 20th century. However, a turning
point occurred in the year 2000 with the adoption of the Millennium Declaration
and the accompanying MDGs – the second of which is to achieve universal
primary education by 2015, and the third of which is to achieve gender parity at all
levels of education by 2015. The MDGs galvanized the global community into
action and are credited with ensuring an additional 52 million children were in
school,as well as making significant strides in reaching gender parity in schools.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

In part, this is because barriers to education that impact deferentially upon

indigenous peoples have not been adequately tackled. Children from poor
communities, ethnic minority groups and indigenous peoples face three main
barriers. The first of these is lack of access. For children to receive an education
there must be a school within safe traveling distance, with teachers and
pedagogical materials. In many countries, this is often not the case, especially for
ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples who tend to live in remote areas or who
move around. The second barrier is the poor quality of the education provided.
Children from the poorest communities often have inferior educational institutions
than those from richer communities. Children from ethnic minorities may be
denied the opportunity to learn in their own language and their curricula and
educational materials may be grounded in an alien culture. They may even be
faced with social stigmatization. The third barrier is relatively poor outcomes.
Children from ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples do not enjoy the same
benefits from education as other children. They find it harder to get jobs, and their
education often does not lead to significant contributions to life in their community.
UNESCO data has pointed out that “Gender, poverty, language and culture often
combine to radically heighten the risk of being left far behind.”

Creating a Culturally Appropriate Curriculum

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes the primary
importance of culture. Under the CRC, states have an obligation to preserve and
protect the child’s cultural identity, as an essential element for his or her
development. The Preamble recognizes the ‘importance of the traditions and
cultural values of each people for the protection and harmonious development of
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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

the child’. Articles 8, 20 and 30 all touch on the right of children to their cultural,
ethnic, religious and linguistic identity. While, it is thus well-acknowledged within
the international framework that culture is a key element for the development of
the child, the translation of these norms into culturally appropriate education
systems remains a challenge for many countries. It may be helpful, therefore, to
highlight several examples of good practice. Active and multicultural pedagogical
methodologies offer tools for improving access to quality education for indigenous
peoples. In Latin America, both UNICEF and UNESCO promote the Intercultural
Bilingual Education (IBE) approach. UNICEF’s work has focused on the
promotion of both the children’s mother tongue and the national language.
Although both languages are equally included in the curriculum, the modality and
the weight of each language use may vary. Typically, the literacy process starts in
the child’s mother tongue, while the second language is gradually introduced, so
that writing skills are learned just once. Later the child transfers what she or he
has already learned to the other language. Education should also take into
consideration the content, values and knowledge of indigenous cultures as well
as those of the rest of society. In this way, indigenous languages and cultures
become important pedagogical resources.

Indigenous people in the Philippines view education as an important tool to

improve their situation by pursuing economic, social and cultural development; it
provides them with individual empowerment and self-determination. Education is
also a means for employment; it‟s a way for socially marginalized people to raise
themselves out of poverty. However, Philippine education systems and curricula
lack knowledge about indigenous peoples‟ ways of learning, causing an
Educational Gap for indigenous people. Some schools teach indigenous children

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

to be „socialized‟ and to be a national asset to society by assimilating.

Thomas-Slater, Kabutha and Ford, (1991) opined that “Schooling has been
explicitly and implicitly a site of rejection of indigenous knowledge and language,
it has been used as a means of assimilating and integrating indigenous peoples
into a „national‟ society and identity at the cost of their indigenous identity and
social practices‟. Intercultural learning is an example of how to build a bridge for
the educational gap. The prioritization of inclusive education within indigenous
education will greatly fill up the long existing gap educational gap which
downplays the local realities of the indigenous people.

All students have different learning approaches. Inclusive curriculum design

should involve reflection on the opportunities for different approaches to learning
to be embedded and/or offered as alternatives within the curriculum. For instance,
teaching and learning activities as well as assessment policy and practice can
benefit from considering visual, audio and kinaesthetic learning preferences, as
well as considering individual or group learning and face-to-face or virtual
methods of delivery. Similarly it can be useful to consider at the design stage how
to incorporate the different ‘conceptions of learning’ (Perry, 1970) that students
may bring with them, for example what they expect from assessment or their
perceptions of the tutor as expert or facilitator, which can influence how content is
taught. Whether or not a student is included within curriculum delivery will depend
upon the decisions being made in the design process.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

Objectives of the Study

The research to be conducted aims to do the following:

1. Create a root cause analysis of inclusivity of the lack thereof for indigenous
communities in Iloilo City.

2. Propose a curriculum design based on the results of key informant interviews

in various indigenous communities.

Scope and Limitation

The research covers the following:

1. Analysis of the current Department of Education’s Basic Education Curriculum

2. Root Cause analysis of inclusivity or the lack thereof for indigenous

communities

3. Proposal of a curriculum design centered on cultural inclusivity

The reseach will not be dealing with the following:

1. It will not exceed the scope of Basic Education defined as the grades between
I to VI.

Definition of Terms

For clarity and brevity the followin definitions of key terms are given in their
operational and conceptual definition:
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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

1. Inclusive Basic Education.

Conceptual: Inclusive basic education is when all students, regardless of any

challenges they may have, are placed in age-appropriate general education
classes that are in their own neighborhood schools to receive high quality
instruction, interventions, and supports that enable them to meet success in the
core curriculum ( Alquraini & Gut, 2012)

Operational: Inclusive Basic Education means age-appropriate and

culture-appropirate education that will enable the students to meet the demands
of Secondary and Higher Education.

2. Curriculum Proposal.

Conceptual: A curriculum proposal refers to curriculum typically refers to the

knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning
standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons
that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books,
materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the
tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student
learning. (www.edglossary.com reteived 4/20/2018)

Operational: The same definition shall be adopted for operational purposes

3. Kati-kati Tribe.

Conceptual: The Kati-Kati Tribe, a descendant of the aboriginal aeta, is the

indigenous resident of the island of Guimaras. (Wickle and Burbe, Profile of
Guimaras Island 2009)

Operational: The same definition shall be used for the study.

4. Bajaos.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

Conceptual: Widely known as the “Sea Gypsies” of the Sulu and Celebes Seas,
the Badjao are scattered along the coastal areas of Tawi Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and
some coastal municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur in the ARMM. Amongst
themselves, they're known as Sama Laus (Sea Sama) and are found living on
houseboats where they make their livelihood solely on the sea as expert
fishermen, deep sea divers, and navigators.Through intermarriages, they have
found their way along the shorelines of Panay.

(http://www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com retrieved 4/19/2018/)

Operational: The same definition will be used in the study.

5. Binukut Tribe.

Conceptual: The Binukut Tribe can be found in Lambunao, Iloilo. Binukut refers to
a Filipino cultural practice that secludes a young person (usually a young woman)
with the expectation that seclusion will result in a higher value placed on the
individual by marital suitors in the future. The practice originated in the
pre-Hispanic Philippines but continues to this day. It is mostly practiced by
the Panay Bukidnon people, who keep women from the public eye beginning in
childhood. Most binukots are unmarried for their entire life, however, if a binukot
is married, she will immediately become a nabukot (one who was a binukot). A
person marrying a binukot should possess a hard-working and loving nature and
has the capability to love, cherish, and treasure his wife for all of time as
the binukot that would turn into a nabukot has no knowledge in caring for herself
as she is usually raised and supported for the entirety of her life. (Magos, Alicia P.
(1995).

Operational: The same definition will be used in the study.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

Methodology

Research Approach

The researcher will utilize the following modes of reseach strategy from the
spectrum of qualitative approach:

1. Key informant interview

2. Root Cause analysis

3. Desktop Analysis

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

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Inclusive Learning: Approaches for Educators in the 21st Century., J.Croucher and S.
Romer McGraw HIll 2007.

Making Classrooms more Inclusive., M. May and t. Bridger Podium Books. 2010.

Uniting Cultural Differences., L.Craig and R. Zinkiewicz, 2010 McGraw-Hill 2011.

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Being Excluded to be Included: Subtle Racism in the American Education System., D.

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Inclusive Education for All: A Curriculum Proposal of Inclusive Basic Education for the Kati Kati Tribe, the Bajaos
and the Binukut Tribe of Panay Island

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