The Reality of Philippine Education: A Photovoice Participatory Action Research

Abstract

Colonialism impacted the development of Philippine education for the Philippines was ruled by foreigners for quite a long time. The government tries to improve the quality of education. Using photovoice participatory action research and Friere’s ideology (Friere, 1970), this study aimed to narrate the stories of 10 public school teachers of Southcentral, the Philippines, on their views, life experiences, and hopes for quality education. To determine the current realities of Philippine education through the use of the camera, participants tell stories using photographs. Writing down stories through themes, explaining photos using the SHOWed framework (Wallerstein, 1987), and conducting exhibits were employed in interpreting and evaluating data. The themes that emerged from the data included uncertainty, the season of change, sweet toil, headway, and the promise. The results showed that the teachers found Philippine education as obfuscate and faceless. They describe their teaching experiences as a battle and survival but leaving a legacy and being positive for the future are their aspirations for quality education.