One of the changes in Basic Education Curriculum brought about by the new K-12 program is the introduction of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, and 3 to support the goal of "Every Child-A-Reader and A-Writer" by Grade 1.

This study presents the profile of pupils and teachers involved in the MTB-MLE program of the MMSU LES Batac and Laoag and the practices of the schools in terms of classroom instruction, assessment, instructional materials development, and parental involvement. This will also look into the challenges met by the schools in the implementation and how these challenges are solved or faced.

A professional learning program will be proposed to enhance the MTB-MLE program of the LES.

Significance:

This research is designed to:

This study will use the descriptive research design with the purpose of describing the practices of the LES in implementing the MTB-MLE program. Descriptive research is a purposive process of gathering, analyzing, classifying, and tabulating data about conditions of relationship that exist; practices that prevail; beliefs and processes; or trends that are developing (Calderon and Gonzales, 2011).

 

This study will employ different research methods. These multiple methods include interviews, focus group discussion, and collection of necessary documents from the two laboratory schools from Kindergarten to Grade 3. Multiple data sources will be used to enhance research viability (Sirin, 2005). Triangulation, or the use of multiple sources of data will also be used as it enhances a study by bringing together more than one source of evidence to corroborate, elaborate, or illuminate a research question under investigation (Marshall and Rossman, 2006). Triangulation as a strategy provides evidence for the researcher to make sense of some social phenomenon, but that the triangulation strategy does not, in and of itself, do this (Mathison, 1988). The possible outcomes of triangulation may include: (1) Convergence when a single proposition about the social phenomenon being studied results from analysis; (2) Inconsistency when the range of data sources and methods do not confirm a single proposition about the phenomenon; and (3) Contradiction when contradictory and opposing views of the social phenomenon result. The use of multiple sources of evidence allows the development of converging lines of inquiry to address historical, attitudinal, and behavioural issues (Yin, 1994).

 

Semi-structured interviews will be used to explore the benefits, concerns and challenges encountered by the beneficiaries and to uncover the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences during the implementation of the program. Interviewing allows researchers to understand the world from the participants' viewpoint and to unfold the meaning of their experiences (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009).

 

It is very important to secure the needed documents for analysis. This process is necessary to have a basis in coming up with valid generalizations. These documents include class schedules, program of studies, curriculum guides, learner's materials.

 

The researchers will employ an inductive analysis of the data obtained in this study (Charmaz, 2006). In particular, data will be coded and organized into themes to capture the real picture of the phenomenon under investigation.