Perspectives of Elementary Teachers on the Teaching of Araling Panlipunan Curriculum to 21st Century Learners: A Phenomenology

Abstract

This qualitative-phenomenological study comprised the perspectives of Elementary Teachers on the teaching of Araling Panlipunan curriculum to 21 st century learners in Laak South District. This study was seen through from Bandura's Social Learning Theory (1971). There were fourteen (14) Elementary Teachers who participated in this study. As to participants' perception, four major themes emerged: teaching Araling Panlipunan must cater to the needs of the 21 st century learners; must contribute to the holistic development of learners; must promote globally competitive learners; and not easy. When it comes to their experiences, three major themes emerged: lack of instructional materials; lack of training and seminars of teachers; and lack of students' interest.With regards to their coping mechanism, five major themes emerged: use of differentiated instruction; proper lesson planning; download videos of lesson; use of ICT; and positive attitude in teaching. Lastly, the participants' suggestions, four major themes emerged: expose teachers to training and seminars; equip teachers with computer assisted instruction; provide contextualized materials; and provide appropriate instructional materials. The results of this study are meaningful and significant to teachers, learners, Department of Education, government and other stakeholders to support their needs in realizing DepEd mission through promoting competitive learners globally. Keywords: education, Araling Panlipunan, elementary teachers, qualitative -Phenomenological study, Laak Davao de Oro, Philippines INTRODUCTIONIn classrooms around the world, learning and teaching social science like History subject has been part of the curriculum to be taught as early as elementary up to higher level of education. Teachers use textbooks as the primary source of information. These enable the student to understand and interpret things during these modern times. So, teachers need to think various methods and strategies that would move them from low-level historical thinking in a more sophisticated and enjoyable way of working with historical evidence, rather than content teaching through memorization.In one of the countries in South Africa particularly in Lesotho, teaching History faces a great challenge. Many schools do not offer the said discipline because of the low enrolment rate. The dilemma revealed that the lack of interest in pursuing education to both students and parents lies on the classroom instructions for how many years. History teachers used poor instructional strategies and were dominated by substantive knowledge in the form of memorization of facts about the past. This problem also lies in the implementation of the curriculum. It means that teachers needed to undergo refresher courses to keep abreast with recent development and theories regarding with teaching of History (Fru, 2015).In the Philippines, like more other countries, history is one of the components of social studies. Students should learn Philippine history from pre-history up to the 21 st century. A...

Cybercitizen’s Experience on Cyber Attacks and Threats from Online Platforms Amidst Pandemic and Community Lockdown

“…The number of participants was intended as it complies with recommended number as well as reaching data saturation [12]. This was also adhered by other qualitative studies [13][14]. The research instrument used was a semi structured interview guide.…”