Aiming to integrate peace education in the basic education curriculum, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) – Philippines and the Schools Division Office of Cotabato City (SDOCC) join hands in an inspiring initiative, spearheading the contextualization process of HWPL’s 12 peace education lessons to meet the unique needs and aspirations of the learners of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The implementation of peace education is mandated by the Bangsamoro Education Code and the Bangsamoro Organic Law which cites 6 sections on peace education—one of which is Section 55 which states that peace education serves as an integral part of the basic education curriculum to instill non-violent culture and social justice, respect to one’s rights, freedom and inclusivity to the minds of the learners.

The collaborative efforts resulted in the approval and quality assurance of 203 lesson plans after the first and second phase of the Division Workshop on the Contextualization of HWPL Peace Education for Mindanao held on November 22-24 and December 11-14, 2023, respectively.

A total of 27 dedicated writers, comprising teachers from Grades 1-12 from different schools, wrote lesson exemplars for Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (Values Education) subject areas. The writers had to intermarry the 12 Peace Education Lessons into the existing Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC). The finished lesson plans were evaluated and quality assured by 17 evaluators comprising Education Program Supervisors and principals of SDOCC spearheaded by Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Concepcion Ferrer-Balawa and Curriculum Implementation Division Chief, Dr. Pancho Balawag, to ensure that the materials are not only comprehensive but also tailored to meet the unique educational requirements of the Bangsamoro learners.

Dr. Ruby S. Buhat, Assistant Principal of Sero Central High School and one of the evaluators, shared the challenges they faced and how they overcame, “From the start, we had a hard time intermarrying our 12 [Peace Education] lessons into the MELC, but then, we were able to find ways through the pre-work activity we held at Cotabato City National High School—the contextualization matrix preparation. So, our writers are guided, and it was easier this time than our first time in 2019.”

She added, “We (evaluators) are more motivated because we can see their efforts and hard work. They are motivated to do their work so that their outputs will be implemented and used in the field for the peace education integration.”

Dr. Reynaldo Bodaño, Grade 9 Teacher from Cotabato City National High School–Main Campus, gave a message for the teachers who will use the lesson plans they wrote, “Ang mensahe ko po sa mga guro na gagamit sa mga approved DLP (daily lesson plans), nawa’y kayo din ay maging kabahagi sa sunod na writeshop para ma-appreciate n’yo nang husto ang workshop na ito. Dito po ay marami kaming natutunan kung paano namin iintegrate ang mga konsepto hango sa lessons ng HWPL.” (My message for the teachers who will use the mga approved DLP (daily lesson plans), I hope that you will also be part of the next writeshop so that you will appreciate this workshop. We learned a lot here about how to integrate the [peace] concepts based on the lessons from HWPL.”

The collaboration between SDOCC and HWPL dates back to 2019, signifying a longstanding commitment to enhancing the education framework. The collaboration resulted in the first Peace Education Workshop held for 85 educators, supervisors, specialists, and principals from 55 public and private institutions in January 2020. A formal partnership was forged on February 7, 2020 through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement, and was renewed on August 25, 2023 after the pandemic.

The next phase involves the practical application of the meticulously crafted lesson plans. From January 8-10, 2024, a pilot testing will be conducted in three selected schools to evaluate the effectiveness of the lessons in real classroom settings. After the pilot testing and evaluation, the lesson exemplars will be launched on January 24 at the National Peace Education Convention.