Project Report - La Trobe University

issues. It is possible that the networking
opportunity and media exposure provided by this
event may have opened doors to more links
between the Ichananaw and Australia, not just for
education, but in other areas as well.
Building capacity
Through the course of the project, we have been
able to exchange skills and build capacity amongst
the Ichananaw we worked with. While most of this
occurred informally while working alongside each
other, some attempts at consciously building
capacity have had the following outcomes:
Increased computer skills amongst schoolteachers and community members
Several of the teachers now have email accounts
and have had the opportunity to learn a few basic
web browsing and word processing skills, as a
result of a training session Maria provided over the
summer vacation in Tabuk, the provincial capital.
Maria held a one-day training session for most of
the schoolteachers, the school principal and five
other community members in the provincial
capital, Tabuk, at an internet shop. By the end of
the day, they could all conduct a simple Google
search and five had set up email accounts, as well
as having set up an email account for the school.
Even during our project, we were already able to
benefit from these new skills acquired by our
Ichananaw friends, as we communicated with them
from Manila to receive the last Chinananaw story
translations via email from Tabuk.
Greater awareness of project proposal writing amongst community leaders
Maria discussed at length the process, use and
skills involved in developing a successful project
proposal, with the school principal, the barangay
captain and the barangay secretary.
Exposure to alternative teaching methods for schoolteachers
All the teachers had the opportunity to consider
different approaches to dealing with the problem
of teaching in English or Filipino to students who
barely speak these languages. We arranged a
seminar for the Dananao Elementary School
teachers on the First Language Component
Bridging Program by its creator, Dr. Gloria
Baguingan from Nueva Viscaya State University.
This was held in Tabuk and was attended by
Indigenizing Education in a Kalinga Public School | 19
On April 6, 2009 in Bulanao,
Tabuk, Ichananaw teachers
and community members
listen to Dr. Gloria Baguingan
(left) as she shares about the
First Language Component
Bridging Program.