Historyahe: K-12 Elementary Teachers’ Personal Accounts of Teaching Philippine and Local History

Recent curriculum revisions in the Philippine educational system have resulted in various changes in the social studies curriculum, but insufficient studies have been conducted on this topic. The paper explored the experiences of K-12 elementary teachers in teaching Philippine and local history through a phenomenological research design involving five participants from two schools in Marabut, Samar. The results revealed that participants' rewarding experiences included promoting historical appreciation and localizing historical education. Conversely, the challenges included inadequate learning materials, lack of teachers' knowledge, scarcity of local historians, students' poor historical understanding, lack of training, and curriculum changes. Despite these challenges, the participants utilized a variety of solutions and effective teaching methods. Thus, the researchers recommended integrating historical education at all educational levels, providing adequate training and resources, and establishing local studies centers to enhance the appreciation of the country's rich history.