Cultural and teaching competencies, challenges in Araling Panlipunan: Basis for an intervention program

Societies have various cultures that lead to historical change. Experts in these fields, such as sociologists and anthropologists, emphasize the different cultures as a concept through symbolic aspects. This study aimed to determine the cultural and teaching competencies of the selected public secondary Araling Panlipunan teachers in Talacogon Districts, Province of Agusan del Sur. The study employed a descriptive-correlational research design with thirty-one (31) Araling Panlipunan teachers as participants. Also, a complete enumeration was utilized. The findings show that teacher-participants have a high level of cultural competence in terms of awareness of beliefs and attitudes, sense of ethnic, cultural and racial identity, and preparedness for their own culture. The study showed that they can adapt to different situations and act respectfully in cross-cultural situations, with a weighted mean of 4.43. Furthermore, data revealed that the Araling Panlipunan teachers had the skills to fluently speak, read, write, and understand local languages and the vision to comprehend individual language styles in an educational context. In terms of teaching performance, the majority of Araling Panlipunan teachers received satisfactory ratings from the IPCRF, with the highest number receiving a satisfactory rating. Among the challenges, it was found that teachers sometimes had to understand language and cultural barriers and encountered a lack of resources at school. The proposed stages of intervention development for culturally responsive practices of Araling Panlipunan teachers aim to bridge the cultural responsiveness gap between home and school culture to ensure all students succeed in their academic endeavors.