Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Public Secondary Schools: A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Viewpoints on Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms in South Central Mindanao, Philippines
Keywords:
culturally responsive pedagogy, inclusive education, Indigenous Peoples Education, Intercultural Communication, Secondary TeachersAbstract
Context: Philippine public classrooms are becoming more culturally, linguistically, and socially diverse, yet little is known about how regular secondary teachers, and not only teachers in designated Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) schools, understand and enact culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) to build equitable and inclusive classrooms.
Purpose: This study explored how junior high school teachers in public schools in Makilala, Cotabato, describe their experiences in culturally diverse classrooms, the advantages they see in culturally responsive teaching, how they observe cultural thinking skills among learners, and the strategies they use to facilitate CRP.
Method: A descriptive qualitative design was used. Ten teachers with at least five years of service were selected through purposive criterion sampling from four public secondary schools. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion between December 2022 and April 2023 and analyzed thematically.
Findings: Eleven themes emerged across four areas: experiences in diverse classrooms, advantages of CRP, observed cultural thinking skills, and facilitation strategies. Teachers emphasized respect, language translation, equal opportunity, cultural appreciation through IPEd, intercultural communication, real-world connections, culturally grounded lesson planning, and community cultural programs.
Contribution: Teachers enact CRP mainly through respect, local-language accommodation, IPEd integration, and community cultural programs. Practice appears to depend on individual initiative more than on systematic institutional support, pointing to the need for sustained teacher training, locally produced materials, and school–community partnerships.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Faith Cyrille F. Osumo-Quinanahan, Gemma N. Kintanar
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