ABSTRACT
The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. To give more emphasis and to have sufficient instructional time, Philippine History was realigned to be introduced in the elementary level. In the Philippines, History is one of the components of Social Studies. However, its potential to raise thinking individuals who are committed to their identity and the nation is not maximized because of various problems in schools, particularly the teaching of social studies.
Issues and problems such as teachers’ lack of understanding on the Philosophy of Education and the dependency on textbooks are prevalent. Moreover, textbooks used in the elementary level contain conceptual and historical errors not to mention the ethnic, colonial and gender biases. However, research gaps were seen such as research studies on the teaching of Philippine History in elementary are very minimal and that there was scant research that looked into the pedagogical aspect of Philippine History on the elementary grades. The main thrust of this study is to determine the Content and Process of Araling Panlipunan 5 and 6 or Philippine History as perceived, taught and learned by Elementary Social Studies Teachers and Pupils. This study used a Qualitative Research Design. Six classes participated in this study: three sections, representing Higher, Middle, Lower Sections from both Grades 5 and 6 level, where Philippine History is taught. Four (4) Teachers handled Philippine History Classes per grade level. Data collection involves examining documents, observing behavior, and interviewing participants. To assist with the analysis of data and coding procedure, the Researcher utilized X-Mind Pro application. The study found out that the Teaching and Learning Process in Elementary Philippine History can be described as Nakatali, and De-Kahon, which makes both the teachers and students trapped within the confines of the classroom or by only acting out what the system tells them to do.
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