Papers by Aphrodite Garinggan
There is a growing trend around the world to support mother tongue instruction in
the early year... more There is a growing trend around the world to support mother tongue instruction in
the early years of a child‘s education. In Southeast Asia, this is apparent in a rising
number of educational programs that utilize this approach. However, the Philippines is
the only country in Southeast Asia to have instituted a national policy requiring mother
tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) in the primary school years. While
studies have long supported the use of mother tongue as the language of instruction, they
have primarily been conducted in community rather than national settings. As such, little
is known about how a national policy for MTB-MLE can be disseminated into
contextualized local environments.
This study examined how teachers and parents in one school district in the
Philippines understand and enact MTB-MLE. Teachers‘ and parents‘ knowledge, beliefs,
and practices were studied to identify how national language policy is appropriated at the
ground level. In addition, the challenges to policy implementation were explored and
analyzed. Utilizing a case study methodology, this research included focus groups,
surveys, classroom observations, and individual interviews. Data were collected during a
three week time period in June and July 2012, which was one month after the beginning
of MTB-MLE implementation in the schools.
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Papers by Aphrodite Garinggan
the early years of a child‘s education. In Southeast Asia, this is apparent in a rising
number of educational programs that utilize this approach. However, the Philippines is
the only country in Southeast Asia to have instituted a national policy requiring mother
tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) in the primary school years. While
studies have long supported the use of mother tongue as the language of instruction, they
have primarily been conducted in community rather than national settings. As such, little
is known about how a national policy for MTB-MLE can be disseminated into
contextualized local environments.
This study examined how teachers and parents in one school district in the
Philippines understand and enact MTB-MLE. Teachers‘ and parents‘ knowledge, beliefs,
and practices were studied to identify how national language policy is appropriated at the
ground level. In addition, the challenges to policy implementation were explored and
analyzed. Utilizing a case study methodology, this research included focus groups,
surveys, classroom observations, and individual interviews. Data were collected during a
three week time period in June and July 2012, which was one month after the beginning
of MTB-MLE implementation in the schools.