Local Heritage Integration and Place-Based Pedagogical Practices Among Public Elementary School Teachers in Social Science Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19709829Keywords:
local heritage integration, place-based pedagogy, Social Science education, public elementary school teachers, contextualized instruction, Cabagan IsabelaAbstract
Anchored on the need to make Social Science education more culturally grounded and community-responsive, this investigation determined the relationship between local heritage integration and place-based pedagogical practices among public elementary school teachers in Cabagan, Isabela. It employed a cross-sectional explanatory survey design with a latent-variable approach. Data were gathered through a validated researcher-made questionnaire with strong internal consistency, as shown by an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93. Weighted mean, standard deviation, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that teachers demonstrated a high level of local heritage integration and a high level of place-based pedagogical practices. Teachers were particularly strong in aligning local content with curriculum competencies and in linking lessons to pupils’ immediate surroundings. However, moderate results were noted in community interaction, outdoor or site-based learning, and the use of local elders and heritage resources, indicating that implementation remained uneven and somewhat classroom-bound. Measurement model results confirmed acceptable construct validity and reliability. Structural model analysis further showed that local heritage integration significantly and positively influenced place-based pedagogical practices, suggesting that stronger heritage-based instruction corresponded with stronger place-responsive teaching. The study concluded that while teachers had already embraced contextualized Social Science instruction, more sustained support was needed to deepen experiential, inquiry-based, and community-embedded practices in elementary classrooms.
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