Developing Inclusive and Culturally Relevant Reading Materials for the Bangsamoro Children
By Tricia de Leon, Adarna House
Based on the Early Grades Reading Assessment or EGRA administered by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in 2014, literacy skills of Kinder to Grade 3 children in BARMM lagged behind by 2 years compared to their counterparts in other regions. The Student Learning Assessment for Bangsamoro or SLAB field trial conducted in 2019 showed that 8 out of 10 children enter school lacking the readiness to learn reading and writing. Few students are reaching Grade 3 standards making the transition to Grade 4 difficult. As the saying goes, It takes a village to raise a child — and this is certainly true when the Australian Government, through the Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao Program (Pathways), and Adarna House developed a partnership to respond to these challenges by providing unique literary experiences for children in the Bangsamoro and help improve learning performance.
One of the central factors that directly relate to the improvement of children’s learning performance is the quality of teaching learning materials. This is particularly relevant in a low-resourced context such as the Bangsamoro region. This is why over the past year and a half, writers, illustrators, learning resource evaluators, contextualisers, and education and child development experts have gathered and worked together to create reading materials that are inclusive and culturally relevant to the experiences of children in the Bangsamoro. These contextualised materials will help children develop a genuine love for reading and a deeper understanding of their culture and identity as an integral part of their community.
It all started in June 2022, when Pathways tapped Adarna House to support the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education’s (MBHTE) Bawat Bata sa Bangsamoro Bumabasa at Bumibilang (5Bs) Program in developing reading materials for Kinder to Grade 3 learners in the region. As an integral part of the development process, MBHTE stakeholders — representatives from the Region office, 11 School divisions, and community elders — were gathered for a consultative workshop last August 2022. Adarna House then used the gathered information from the event to design a series of activities that will not only produce said materials but also strengthen the skills and empower the MBHTE educators.
Writing and illustrating workshops and mentoring sessions were conducted from October 2022 to March 2023 to (1) establish baseline knowledge on the importance of using developmentally appropriate and inclusive literature in the classroom; (2) teach the different elements of writing and illustrating for children; and (3) provide technical guidance in developing stories and illustrations. Renowned and award-winning editors and art directors from the Philippine publishing industry spearheaded the workshops and mentoring sessions. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted by selected officials from the MBHTE Region office upon completion of the 100 project-developed reading materials in Filipino. This activity aims to ensure that all materials passed MBHTE’s quality screening and were aligned with the Bangsamoro Education Principles.
Technology was one of the most challenging aspects of the project. Still, it didn’t stop the MBHTE teachers, division, and region officials from working tirelessly to create stories and illustrations that reflect the culture, history, identity, and daily life of all children in Bangsamoro. Between August and September 2023, a series of collaborative activities were conducted to enhance the reach of the original 100 reading materials. The main goal of these activities was to contextualise and translate these materials into eight (8) BARMM mother-tongue languages — Bahasa Sug, Yakan, Sinama, Meranaw, Teduray, Maguindanawn, Iranun, and Chavacano. The collaborative activities involved the participation of language experts, translators, and editors. The materials were contextualised and tailored to meet the needs of the Bangsamoro children, taking into account their cultural preferences and linguistic nuances. The process followed a rigorous procedure to ensure accuracy and consistency across all the translated materials. One of the attendees, Alfrazier Saraji, a contextualiser from the School Division of Sulu, emphasised, “Adarna House’s commitment to contextualisation is a testament to the idea that effective education involves more than just disseminating information; it involves understanding the learners themselves and creating materials that resonate with them.”
Moving forward, the MBHTE is set to conduct pilot testing of these materials to further ensure that these are truly up to the high standards and quality that the learners need. Moreover, a Ministry-wide organisation of a more focused and streamlined materials development and approval process is on the horizon to enable development and production of more quality reading materials that is reflective of the Bangsamoro culture and identity.
The successful completion of this project produced over 800 reading materials available in multiple languages consisting of picture books, listening texts, and leveled readers. It enabled over 180 individuals to celebrate diversity and work hand in hand as one community towards a shared vision — to ensure a future where no Bangsamoro child is left behind.