Language-in-education policies and stakeholders’ perception of the current MTB-MLE policy in an ASEAN country

Abstract

The Philippines has had numerous language policies in education–from Spanish to English to the current mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) policy. The MTB-MLE is a controversial language policy that faced many challenges before and during its implementation. Eight years into its implementation, however, the policy has not been fully accepted by parents, even teachers, who still hold on to English as the preferred mode of instruction. Despite this nationwide policy, the literature is replete with studies about the attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders relating to its implementation, which, when negative, impedes the policy’s successful implementation and, when positive, can transform the school’s practices. This literary synthesis, a non-statistical meta-analysis, examined 12 studies investigating the attitudes of stakeholders on MTB-MLE. Results revealed that most teachers, parents, and students have a positive attitude towards the implementation of the MTB-MLE policy. However, the inclination towards using English as a medium of instruction is still preferred by teachers and parents. While the positive perception leads to acceptance and proper implementation of the MTB-MLE policy, the challenge remains to fully convince teachers, parents, and students about the gains the language policy has had on students’ literacy and quality of education. As a direction for future research, the study recommends increasing awareness of all stakeholders about the benefits of this policy. As MLE recognises the importance of local languages, it should likewise garner support from the local community.