THE ROLE OF MTB-MLE ON CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION OF MANSAKA LEARNERS

Abstract

This study used a qualitative-ethnographic research design to find out how Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education influenced the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Mansaka learners in Tandawan Elementary School, New Bataan Compostela Valley Province. The study revealed the vital role of MTB-MLE on cultural heritage preservation especially in Mansaka language. It played an important role in cultivating the quality of learners’ education as well as in preserving the vitality of their language. Mansaka students were suffering from lack of academic achievement and losing their innate eagerness for learning when subjected to schooling because of culturally insensitive educational system. High dropout rates and sense of mistrust were the manifestations concerning the assimilationist and culturally insensitive educational system to which the failure of these indigenous students had been subjected. However, results from this study suggested that the learning materials would be in the context of the end-user. The provision of Mother-Tongue Education gave impulse to efforts at uplifting and sustaining the local and indigenous languages. Mansaka is one of these languages that must be uplifted, especially in the forms of their textbooks and teaching materials. KEYWORDS: mother tongue-based multilingual education, Mansaka learners, Mansaka language, Cultural heritage, ethnographic research, Philippines