Indigenous Education in Davao del Sur: An Analysis of Implementation, Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2025.821Keywords:
Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd), Program implementation, Descriptive research, Educational practices, Culture-Responsive Pedagogy.Abstract
This study employed a convergent parallel research design (Creswell & Pablo-Clark, 2011) to examine the implementation of Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) in selected IP public schools in Davao del Sur. Quantitative data were collected from 172 public school teachers using a validated survey, while qualitative insights were gathered through in-depth interviews with eight teachers directly involved in IPEd implementation. Results indicate that overall implementation is at a “Good” level (grand mean = 4.12; SD = 0.04), with the highest scores in teacher training (M = 4.16; SD = 0.06) and learning materials (M = 4.17; SD = 0.11), reflecting sufficient professional development and access to contextualized resources. Curriculum implementation and integration of indigenous knowledge also scored highly, demonstrating active embedding of cultural practices and community-validated content. Challenges identified include limited resources, weak community–school collaboration, and logistical barriers in remote areas. Nevertheless, IPEd offers opportunities to strengthen cultural identity, enhance teacher competence in culture responsive pedagogy, and foster inclusive, contextually grounded learning environments. These findings provide insights for improving program implementation and educational outcomes for IP learners.
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