Quality Education for Native Filipinos: A Phenomenological Case Study of Indigenous Learners

Most modern societies are interested in including everyone in the development and growth of their nations. It is no different from the Philippines. Many government and private institutions have developed programs to promote education for indigenous people. In fact, some educational organizations have decided on extreme measures to take education to the mountains where indigenous people live. Such extreme plans are based on the discovery that moving indigenous young people to urban settings for schooling has not been too successful. With all the efforts of educating indigenous people, little is still known about the strategies that are effective because a large number of such programs are unsuccessful. This qualitative, phenomenological case study reports on the best practices of a private school system of indigenous students in Mindoro, Philippines. Data obtained from interviewing administrators, teachers, indigenous students, observing school settings and lesson presentation, and analyzing some instructional artifacts, helped understand the factors that contributed to the successful education of indigenous students and the importance that education is playing in their lives in general. This study will provide some guidelines that can be helpful in promoting effective education for indigenous Filipino learners.Keywords: Case study, qualitative research, indigenous, natives, katutubo, education,minority, development, Philippines