Ifugao school teachers harvest traditional rice from the terraces
SITMo
Training high-school teachers on traditional knowledge and local culture
In order to integrate Ifugao culture in the formal school curriculum, teachers need to receive capacity building on the Ifugao culture. Teachers, most of Ifugao origin, have forgotten the value-system of their ancestors due to the modern education system. Some have been trained outside of the Ifugao region. The objective is to train teachers in integrating culture in mathematics, social sciences, and all courses, and design learning materials, modules which include the Ifugao culture as a cross-cutting theme. Teachers’ trainings on local curriculum development and coming up with learning modules are on-going.
The national government had undertaken a change in the education system to allow locally-based curriculums (IPED).
Ifugao culture does not need to be taught as a separate theme, but can be a cross-cutting theme for the whole curriculum.