Project Report - La Trobe University

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Our wish list Project goals and objectives We had a number of different goals we wanted to reach by the end of the project. At the forefront of our minds, and in direct response to Fargwog’s initial request, was our hope to facilitate transmission of the Ichananaw’s cultural heritage to the tribe’s next generation. Simultaneously, our twin goal was to improve the quality of public elementary education in Chananaw by making education more culturally appropriate. Specifically, our objectives relating to cultural documentation and education were: � Education through culture – to design, review and produce educational materials (for teachers and students), which are relevant, culturally-specific and appropriate for use at the Dananao Elementary School. � Culture through education – to incorporate the Ichananaw’s cultural heritage in public education, via instructional materials with Ichananaw-specific content. But apart from being clear about these goals and objectives, we didn’t specify exactly what shape the educational materials would take. As well as this, we also wanted to make the most of our own social capital (being educated foreigners with well-established networks in the Philippines in the spheres of development, academia and education) in order to link the Ichananaw to organizations who may also be interested in engaging with them. In a broader sense, we hoped that the five months would act as a springboard for future involvement with the Ichananaw – by us, by Philippine NGOs, or by any others interested within the Philippine or Australian communities – for development on the tribe’s own terms. We were especially conscious of how short a time we had to do anything in-depth. The stairs leading from the Dananao Elementary School grounds up to the Roman Catholic church in Chomang, another purok in Chananaw.
Arranging support Obtaining funding and forming working partnerships Before commencing the project in mid February 2009, we spent some time arranging support for the project from various sources. Maria developed all applications and proposals, always in close collaboration with relevant host or partner organizations. The Dananao Elementary School applied to the AusAID-funded volunteer program Volunteering for International Development from Australia for two volunteer positions for us. The Philippines Australia Studies Centre of La Trobe University supported us by giving us Honorary Research Fellow positions for the research elements of the project. We approached the University of the Philippines Baguio’s Cordillera Studies Center about becoming Research Affiliates (and although our application was successful, we didn’t follow through with formal affiliation in the end due to logistic and time constraints). Dananao Elementary School partnered with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development for the development and publication of indigenized educational materials. This marked the continuation of a partnership between Ateneo and the school facilitated by us in 2008, when we profiled the school (at the school’s request) and produced a School Profile Report, which outlined the school’s unique situation and suggested priority areas for improvement. The Ateneo Center for Educational Development then applied to, and was successful in obtaining, a small grant (Php 275,000, approximately AUD 7,000) from the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program to cover publishing costs. We began initial discussions with Art Angel Printshop regarding printing of all the materials within our very tight timeframes. Also through our Ateneo networks, we began to explore options for a partnership with Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan to develop illustrated storybooks as a key project output. Edwin (standing in the foreground) and Apalis (Ombin) Abaggoy (standing at the back to the right of Edwin) in the classroom with a group of about 50 children with whom we conducted an art activity. Apalis told the children stories (first about a monkey and a turtle and then about a snail and a water buffalo) and then we gave them colored pencils, crayons and pastels to illustrate scenes from each story. This was the first time most of the children had ever drawn with colors.
Page 1 and 2: Project Report Indigenizing Educati
Page 3 and 4: Chananaw is surrounded by terraced
Page 5 and 6: Once upon a time… Project backgro
Page 7: The project at a glance Timeframe P
Page 11 and 12: At the forefront of our mind was ou
Page 13 and 14: Maria drafted the written English t
Page 15 and 16: The tangible results Project output
Page 17 and 18: The intangible results Project outc
Page 19 and 20: issues. It is possible that the net
Page 21 and 22: Thank yous and goodbyes Project han
Page 23 and 24: Friends first Probably the single m
Page 25 and 26: What challenged us? The main challe
Page 27 and 28: Publishing for a wider audience? Al
Page 29 and 30: Appendices Project schedule and pro
Page 31 and 32: Appendix 2. Philippine Daily Inquir
Page 33 and 34: materials suited to the needs and c
Page 35 and 36: culture, language, traditional poli
Page 37 and 38: Appendix 4. Connect Magazine articl
Page 39 and 40: centers and pre-schools across the

Project Report - La Trobe University

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