AUSTRALIA IMPROVES EDUCATION FOR INDIGENOUS STUDENTS IN KALINGA PROVINCE
Australian Embassy Charge d’Affaires, Stephen Scott hands over indigenised educational materials to Ms Arlene Dawing, principal of the Dananao Elementary School, Kalinga Province (second from left) during a ceremony to celebrate Australia’s NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week 2009.
The teaching and learning materials were produced under the ‘Indigenising Education in a Kalinga Public School’ project supported by the Embassy’s Direct Aid Program and headed by the Ateneo Centre for Educational Development (ACED) and Volunteers for International Development from Australia.
“The project aimed to improve the quality of education provided by the Dananao Elementary School in Kalinga Province through the provision of culturally-appropriate educational materials that address the needs and culture of its Indigenous tribe, the Ichananaw,” Mr Scott said.
Reseacher and Educational Materials Developer, Maria Cameron from the Philippines Australia Studies Centre- La Trobe University, Melbourne (second from right) and Carmela Oracion, Managing Director ACED and Assistant to the President for Basic Education, Ateneo de Manila University (far right) attended the event.
The materials include children’s storybooks based on oral stories told by Ichananaw elders from Kalinga and illustrated by the Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan. Materials also include a compilation of more than 60 songs; a book about cultural beliefs, practices and customary law; and a four-way dictionary of Chinananaw – the tribe’s indigenous language – Ilocano, Tagalog and English.
Since 2006, the Embassy’s Direct Aid Program (DAP) has provided nearly Php3 million to programs that contribute to the welfare and income-generating capacity of Philippine Indigenous Peoples.