LIVED EXPERIENCES OF MOTHER TONGUE-BASED TEACHERS IN IP SCHOOLS: STORIES TO TELL

Abstract

This study’s general objective was successfully achieved by revealing the lived experiences of Mother Tongue-Based teachers in IP schools that implement the MTB-MLE. This qualitative research utilized the phenomenological design and secured the rich data from the in-depth interview and focus group discussion of the lived experiences of Mother Tongue-Based teachers in IP schools. There were eight teacher-participants for the in-depth interviews and seven teacher-participants for the focus group discussion from public elementary schools in the IP communities. The IP school teachers’ experiences, both positive and negative, or even if it shows ease or difficulties, were recorded, interpreted, and analyzed through thematic analysis extracted all the essential themes from the participants’ responses. It has been observed that all the participants provided a positive and negative feedback on the Mother Tongue implementation. The struggles of Mother Tongue-Based teachers in IP schools developed essential themes such as Highly tasking instructional responsibilities, Challenging use of native dialects, Difficulty with unfamiliar terminologies, Negative effects on English literacy, and Aiming for positive learning outcomes. On the coping strategies employed by the MTB-MLE teachers, the following themes were observed: Self-retooling activities, Diversified teaching methods, Contextualized instructional delivery, Individualized instructions, and Acquaintance with the community. While on the insights shared by MTB-MLE teachers to the community, developed these themes: Need for social support, Provision of in-service training, Deep understanding of learner’s needs, Enhancement of student-teacher relationship, and Enrichment of native languages. KEYWORDS: multilingual education, mother tongue, lived experiences, phenomenology, challenges, coping strategies, IP school teachers, Philippines