AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF TEACHING PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Abstract

History is the reconstruction of past events based from various sources such as written or inscribed materials, graphic  or visual sources, folklore, and oral history. This study aimed to examine the cultural practices prevailing in the classroom of Philippine History class. This is a qualitative research employing an ethnographic

– descriptive research design with participant observation and interview as methods. Findings of this study reveals that the Professor is the most influential person in the classroom. When the Professor is not around yet, the students are free to whatever things they want to do in the classroom but majority are scanning their lesson while waiting for their Professor to come. During examination, looking at the paper of classmate is a taboo as well as cheating. When passing test papers, all papers are expected to be at the students sitting at the center front or else late papers will suffer a deduction from the total score. The classroom setting and the Professor and student relation are conducive for learning. The classroom atmosphere  is alive, making the study of Philippine History a meaningful one. Indeed, it is an interesting subject.