SOP4: What factors do teachers consider in integrating culture in the teaching-

learning process?
Ans. F % R Sample Responses

Student 22 “ Students’ background ethnic

background affiliation/group, address/community-
F1”

Teacher’s 22 “Teachers knowledge-kulang when it

knowledge comes to IKS…some of us actually mga
teachers naka close door na yung
knowledge natin tungkol dun or yung iba
iniwan na nila yun kasi in give up dan day
daduma-AP1

Teacher’s 8 “…teacher’s experience- mas

years of maintegrate ni teacher nu ada ti
experience experience na-F1”

Appropriate “...if it's appropriate with the lesson and if

ness to the there's a connection.” - S1
lesson
1
"kitan metlang nu appropriate idiay
DepEd lesson"
curriculum

“…Kitan nu allowed idiay curriculum ti

Religion 1 DepEd.. program ti IPEd-E3”
 "Chistianity"

Table 4 shows the factors that teachers consider when deciding which strategy to use for
integrating Cordilleran culture. The data gathered through the semi-structured interview guide
and face-to-face interviews with other teacher’s shows that both students' backgrounds and
teachers' knowledge have an 88 % total from 22 teachers, indicating that they are the factors that
teachers mostly consider when deciding which strategy to use. Teacher’s years of experience
placed 3rd, with a total of 32 %, as a factor that teachers consider when deciding which strategies
to use. A total of 8 teachers stated that the teacher's years of experience have a relative
connection to what strategy they will use and how they will use them. Other factors such as
appropriateness to the lesson, Christianity and the DepEd curriculum were also deciding factors
considered by the teachers.

According to the teachers, the student's background includes ethnic affiliation as well as
the community or group to which the students belong, as these are important determinants in
how they will design their strategy. Therefore, most teachers modify their previously planned
strategy to ensure that it can meet all of the students' needs, and before implementing the
strategy, they explain all of the concepts that the students were unable to grasp. Thus, they also
use different instruction to meet all of the diverse learning needs, to allow everyone to participate
and feel included despite their differences, and to prevent the spread of any discriminatory
notions. The use of different instruction allows teachers to draw active participation into their
class because all Cordillera ethnic groups found in the class were able to perform their own
culture that they are popular with, while non-Cordilleran students were tasked with making
observations about the various performances of their classmates and sharing their own reflection.
Hence, non-Cordilleran students were also asked to share their own culture, such as cultural
dance, so that Cordilleran students could appreciate lowland cultures. The goal of using different
instruction is to allow their students to have their own realization and appreciation within their
culture and towards other different cultures. In addition, the discovery approach is utilized to
encourage students to conduct their own research about their own culture. Teachers assign their
students to carry out research by interviewing community elders, parents, and barangay officials
who are knowledgeable about local cultures. The information gathered by the students and
teacher from their own research was shared with the class for generalization and verification.
Through these interventions, the teachers were able to deal with the student background and
were able to integrate IPED on the teaching-learning process.

On the other hand, the teachers discuss how the teacher's knowledge affects their
decision-making because they must choose a strategy based not only on the student's background
but also on the level of knowledge of the teacher in IPED implementation of Cordilleran culture.
Almost all teachers admit to having a lack of knowledge about cultures and the Indigenous
Knowledge System, which is a hindrance. AP1 stated in an interview with the teachers, "kulang
when it comes to IKS, some of us actually mga teachers naka close door na yung knowledge
natin tungkol dun or yung iba iniwan nila yun kasi in give up dan day daduma." Other teachers
stated that because of their lack of exposure to and knowledge of Cordilleran culture, they were
only able to do a limited amount of integration if it was related to the topic. In line with the
findings of Suaz and Montenegro (2018)'s study in Agusan Del Sur, the findings show that
teachers' teaching competency received only a satisfactory rating because they are not Manuvu
and do not speak Minanuvu. As a result, they have difficulty communicating lessons to the
IPlearners. Although teachers are equipped with the necessary teaching strategies and
competencies upon entering the service (DepEd Order No. 14, s.2014; DepEd Order No. 7, s.
2015). According to Thomas G. Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and
America's Future, the most important factor in a child's education is high quality or competent
teachers. They should be culturally competent and culturally responsive when teaching
indigenous peoples. Cultural competency is defined by Perso and Hayward (2015) as cited by
Suazo and Montenegro, as the capacity or ability to understand, interact, and communicate
effectively and sensitively with people from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural
responsiveness, on the other hand, is the manifestation of cultural competence. Cultural
responsiveness in teaching is demonstrated through the use of pedagogical approaches that
demonstrate an understanding of diversity as well as the ability of a teacher to meet the needs of
students from diverse cultural backgrounds. When working with indigenous children, culturally
responsive teaching allows teachers to adapt the curriculum as well as their methods and
strategies. Culture serves as a foundation for learning and growth, and culturally responsive
teachers should work to create, preserve, and improve IP culture (Lewthwai et al., 2014) as cited
by Suazo and Montenegro (2018). On another note, since the teachers are aware of their lack of
knowledge they display effort as a response to the latter difficulty by requesting help from their
fellow Social Studies and MAPEH teachers to explain further the meaning and how it can be best
taught to the students. For some circumstances that require a demonstration, such as performing
a cultural dance, teachers ask their fellow teachers who are knowledgeable about the subject to
do so, or they ask students who are well versed about the specific culture to demonstrate it to the
class. Teacher E3 said that, “nu mamingsan ket agalaak ti pagsaoek edjay estudyante nga
knowledgeable edjay, mas may mayat nga denggen da diyay classmate da nga knowledgeable
idjay rather than syak nga agsao ak about Kalinga ket haanak taga Kalinga''. Teachers stated that
the benefit of this collaborative work was that they were able to ensure that the culture was not
misinterpreted or presented incorrectly. Collaboration, according to studies of Robert and Pruitt
(2009), Martin-Kneip (2008), DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, and Many (2010), and Monterossa
(2015), is a process by which teachers come together to discuss, plan, and execute their
instruction. According to Monterossa (2015), trust is essential for collaboration. Teachers feel
successful when they are supported by colleagues who are in a similar situation. Professional
cooperation is demonstrated by teachers working collaboratively with colleagues and other
stakeholders to improve the teaching-learning process (PPST module 8, 2017). Furthermore,
media and technology are used as an aide to suffice the teacher’s lack of knowledge whereas
they download YouTube videos that demonstrate a specific practice, such as day-eng, that
teachers are unable to perform on their own or there are no elders available to perform the chant.
Pictures from the internet are downloaded to demonstrate various cultural materials such as
clothing and instruments that teachers are unable to provide to the class due to lack of resources.
Also, software applications such as PowerPoint presentations were used to deliver instruction
and explain a topic. According to Pandi and Halili's (2021) research in Alfonso Castaneda,
Nueva Vizcaya, teachers rely on localized and indigenized materials in their teaching and use
technology to increase learner participation in the classroom (ICT integration). This
demonstrates teachers' understanding of the value of digital technology in the classroom. They
are used to help students understand the lesson or content or to help students better assimilate
content.

Teacher's years of experience. From the interview, the teachers mentioned that if a
teacher has been in the industry for a longer period of time, it means that he or she has been
exposed to more situations and can do integration a lot easier than teachers who haven't travelled
much and haven't been able to socialize with different communities that they can share with the
class, as opposed to teachers who are just starting out.

Finally, the two other factors mentioned by the two teachers: Christianity and the DepEd
curriculum. According to teacher E3, they will use a specific strategy if it is relevant to the
content of the IPED program, as they must also adhere to the program's standards. In relation,
teachers stated that they receive full support from the school in integrating IPED in their subject
and in the school as a whole.

Appropriateness to the lesson. Teachers discussed that they do not simply integrate local
cultures in their subject area but they also need to filter the only appropriate content that is
applicable to the lesson. This factor is one of the reasons why teachers only integrate limited
local knowledge in the teaching-learning process since it has to dive into their lesson content or
else it will confuse the students that will lead to the failure of the learning goals.
Contextualization was mostly used by Science, Math, and TLE teachers because they only
choose related topics relevant to their subject and there are only a few instances where culture
can be integrated. In relation, Garin et al. (2016) cited by Lorbis (2019), in order to address
issues related to learner diversity and determined the impact of contextualization on the
academic performance of diverse learners. They discovered that teaching with contextualized
data is effective and a strategy for learning. They also advocated for the creation of genuine,
instructional materials that are contextualized and localized in order to improve academic
performance of the students.

Christianity is a factor as well as a challenge for the teacher when deciding on the
appropriate strategy to use because some other parents do not agree or allow their children to
participate in the discussion of culture, particularly on old practices, because they question the
relevance of discussing the past, especially now that we are bound by religion.

The findings implicate that several factors such as student background, teacher
knowledge, teacher’s year of experience, Christianity, and DepEd curriculum are deciding
factors for teachers when deciding what strategy to use in integrating IPED implementation of
Cordilleran culture. Those factors challenge teachers to fully integrate IPED implementation of
Cordilleran culture in the teaching-learning process. As a result, teachers use a variety of
interventions and strategies to address the challenges associated with the aforementioned factors
in order to further the IPED integration of Cordilleran culture.