DepEd Order No. 101, s. 2010: ALS Curriculum for Indigenous Peoples Education

DepEd Order No. 101, s. 2010, dated September 14, 2010, issues the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Curriculum for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Education. It explains the curriculum’s purpose, its legal basis, the core areas and learning strands it covers, its learning materials, and who implements it. The order was signed by Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC and directed to undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, bureau directors, directors of services, centers and heads of units, regional directors, and schools division and city superintendents.

On this page 6 sections

Key points

• Why it was made: The Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) developed the curriculum in response to the Education for All (EFA) campaign. EFA aims to meet the basic learning needs of all marginalized learners, including Indigenous People communities.
• How it was developed: The curriculum was developed in 2006 with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). It was validated by indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) across the Philippines.
• Where the competencies come from: The learning competencies were drawn from the existing ALS curriculum for the basic literacy, elementary, and secondary levels.
• Legal basis of the content: The content is based on the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), or Republic Act No. 8371.
• Goal: Functional literacy for Indigenous Peoples.
• Learning materials: The curriculum is supported by materials written in the mother tongue. At the time of the order, 13 basic literacy level materials were written in 8 mother tongues. These were used in selected Community Learning Centers (CLCs) of the ICCs.
• Implementation: Trained ALS implementers carry out the curriculum with IP learners.

The five core areas of the IP Curriculum

The curriculum is built around five core concerns of Indigenous Peoples.

Core area	What it covers
Family Life	The life of an IP as a family member from birth to death. It covers the roles of family members and how these affect the person and the whole community.
Health, Sanitation and Nutrition	The IP’s idea of self and environment and how the two affect each other. It includes indigenous practices, knowledge, and beliefs on hygiene, health, and food. It also covers common illnesses and health issues linked to their location and situation.
Civic Consciousness	The IP worldview: ways of life, identity, and history, along with their aspirations, needs, and feelings as a people. It also includes the IPRA provisions on their rights to ancestral domain and development.
Economics and Income	How the community manages supply and demand. It covers IP ways of earning a living and caring for shared sources of livelihood.
Environment	The IP’s close bond with nature and their strong attachment to the environment.

The five learning strands

The core learning competencies are organized into five learning strands.

1. Learning Strand One: Communication Skills. Learners learn to find, think critically about, and use information from different media. This helps them take part in family, community, national, and world life, and in community and economic development.
2. Learning Strand Two: Problem Solving and Critical Thinking. Learners become aware of their own thinking. They make informed decisions, defend their ideas, judge the ideas of others, and look for new ways to solve problems. All of this happens in a spirit of community and consensus-building.
3. Learning Strand Three: Development of Self and a Sense of Community. Learners build a positive sense of self and of community. This helps them develop their potential and live in harmony with others.
4. Learning Strand Four: Practice of Ecological Sustainable Economics. Learners work toward responsible well-being and take an active part in the community’s economic life. The strand rests on the idea that a community’s life depends on the well-being of its ancestral domain.
5. Learning Strand Five: Expanding One’s World View. Learners appreciate and freely practice their own culture. They also gain basic skills to face the challenges of a global community and of change.

Who it covers

The order covers ALS programs for Indigenous People learners in indigenous cultural communities. It is carried out by trained ALS implementers. The order calls for its immediate dissemination and compliance.

Full text of DepEd Order No. 101, s. 2010

September 14, 2010

DepEd Order No. 101, s. 2010

The Alternative Learning System (ALS) Curriculum for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Education

To:

• Undersecretaries
• Assistant Secretaries
• Bureau Directors
• Directors of Services, Centers and Heads of Units
• Regional Directors
• Schools Division/City Superintendents

1. In response to the Education for All (EFA) campaign to provide for the basic learning needs of all marginalized learners, the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) initiated the development of an education curriculum that was designed to meet the learning needs of the Indigenous People (IP) communities.

   
   

2. The IP Education Curriculum for the Alternative Learning System (ALS) was developed in the year 2006 in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and was validated by the various indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) in the Philippines.

   
   

3. The learning competencies of the IP Curriculum were drawn from the existing ALS curriculum for the basic literacy, elementary and secondary levels. The curriculum content however, was based on the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) or Republic Act (RA) No. 8371. The educational goal of the IP Curriculum is the attainment of functional literacy for the IPs.

   
   

4. The IP Curriculum reflects the core areas of the IP’s concerns such as the following:

   
   

   a. Family Life – It touches on the life of an IP as a member of the family from birth to death. It delineates the varying roles of the members of the family and how these affect the individual and the whole ICC in their respective domains;

   
   

   b. Health, Sanitation and Nutrition – This brings into fore the IP’s concept of self and the environment and how each interplays with the other. It features the indigenous practices, knowledge and local beliefs on hygiene, health and food. The core area discusses the common ailments and health issues confronting the IPs brought about by their unique geographical locations and situations;

   
   

   c. Civic Consciousness – It highlights the rich worldview of the IPs ranging from their life ways, identify and history. It is loaded heavily with their aspirations, needs and sentiments as a people. This core area also includes provisions of the RA No. 8371 or the IPRA which brings into consciousness the IP’s rights to their ancestral domain and their development;

   
   

   d. Economics and Income – It presents the system of community management of supply and demand among the IPs. It features the IP’s forms of earning a living and caring for their communal source of life and livelihood; and

   
   

   e. Environment – It deals with the IP’s communion with nature. It stresses their strong attachment to the environment.

   
   

5. The core learning competencies are reflected in the learning strands of the IP curriculum, namely:

   
   

   a. Learning Strand One – Communication Skills. This strand aims to develop the ability of the IP learners to access, critically process and effectively make use of available information in a variety of media to be able to: (a) function effectively as a member of the family, community, nation and the world; and (b) actively participate in community and economic development;

   
   

   b. Learning Strand Two – Problem Solving and Critical Thinking. This strand aims to enable the IP learners to be aware of their own thinking, make critical and informed decisions, defend their ideas, evaluate the ideas of others and strive for new ways of solving problems, and do all these in an atmosphere of community and consensus-building. Through the development of these skills, IP learners will be able to enhance their personal social effectiveness and improve the quality of their lives.

   
   

   c. Learning Strand Three – Development of Self and a Sense of Community. This strand aims to help the IP learners acquire a positive sense of self and a sense of community that will lead to the development of their potentials and enable them to live harmoniously together and with others.

   
   

   d. Learning Strand Four – Practice of Ecological Sustainable Economics. This learning strand aims to help the IP learners achieve responsible well-being and ensure active participation in the economic life of the community. Its framework rests on the understanding that any human community’s life and existence is anchored on the well-being of the ancestral domain (resource) on which the community depends.

   
   

   e. Learning Strand Five – Expanding One’s World View. This strand aims to provide an atmosphere for the IP learners to appreciate and practice freely their own culture and at the same time to be equipped with basic competencies to face the challenges of a global community and the influx of change.

   
   

6. The IP Curriculum is supported by learning resources that are written in mother tongue. Presently, thirteen (13) of the basic literacy level materials are written in eight (8) mother tongue and are being used in selected Community Learning Centers (CLC) of the ICCs.

   
   

7. The IP Curriculum is to be implemented by trained ALS implementers with IP learners.

   
   

8. Immediate dissemination of and compliance with this Order is directed.

   
   

BR. ARMIN A. LUISTRO FSC
Secretary

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