The non-formal education and migration of the Aeta, an indigenous tribe in the
Philippines
The Aeta community is regarded as indigenous people who live in scattered in island
of Luzon. They are mostly composed of groups who lived in closed proximity with each other
and as a result, developed a sense of community by doing activities together as a group. A
trait that brought them to isolation from the local lowland community. An isolated community
that is composed of 1 to 5 families of mobile group.
The Aeta community in Zambales lived in the foot of the dormant Mt. Pinatubo.
Anthropological researches suggest that most of Aetas living in Zambales are mostly the
people who originally settled in the foot of Mt. Pinatubo. Studies found out that most of the
Aetas before the 1991 Pinatubo eruption still cling to the natural environment as the source
of livelihood and the inspiration of their animistic cultural practices. A reason why most of the
Aetas such as the adults and the children are not literate. As a result of illiteracy, Aetas are
commonly cheated on business bargaining by lowland dwellers.
This research suggests that integrating learning spaces in the community of Aetas
can help in developing the literacy of the Aeta. It is well noted that Aetas are commonly work
on groups which is a good notion of cooperation between the tribal members. Aetas such as
children commonly stays in their homes with no intension/ initiative of going to school. By
integrating the learning spaces such as libraries and spaces where they can facilitate their
cultural practices, this can theoretically awaken the awareness of Aetas to the concept of
education as a step-in achieving self-determination. The formal and non-formal (Grassroots
Leadership Course (GLC) and the Alternative Learning System (ALS) is the effective
educational system implemented for developing the Aeta community.
The architectural significance of this research helps in establishing the facts for the
users of the proposed development. The inclusion of conventional learning spaces (libraries
and classrooms) to the communities of Aetas is proven to be effective in establishing the
awareness of the community to the concept of education. This research intensified the stand
of this paper which is to create a space that will help in nurturing the literacy among the
members of the Aeta community. Creating these learning spaces in close proximity to their
tribal community will create awareness to education but in the negative side, this research
also warned the researcher about the possible outcomes of this undertaking. One of its
negative impact is intensifying the isolation of the tribal community to the bigger society. An
impact that will greatly affect the inclusiveness of the school to a bigger societal system.
Source:
Learning Environments: Redefining The Discourse On School Architecture
The relation between Architecture and learning environment has evolved from its
original definition. Intended as the physical organization of spaces, architecture has seen to
be a wider dimension of environment focusing on learning. In a such, learning environment
has been explained in multiple views such as Science, Architecture, Cognitive Science and
Environmental Psychology. By understanding the dimensions of Architecture and Learning
environment, architects, educators and stakeholders can beneficially be involved in
developing the suitable learning environment for the users. Their respective involvement in
the physical planning of the school can develop an optimal learning experience among the
users.
The research revealed that there may be an absence of correlation between
education, learning environment and students. This variable is found to be independent from
each other as learning complex is a complex issue to be discussed. It is well noted that a
constructive set-up of learning spaces is not established and is a source of debate among
architects and planners. This will lead to reform in which an argument that supports to the
approach of learning centered environment. However, the physical planning of these
learning spaces corelates to the involvement of the users to educational activities. In a such,
modularity of of in the physical set-up of furniture in the schools has a correlation to the
involvement of the students in the class activities. Spaces for socialization is also noted as
effective means of inducing social participation among the users of the schools. By
understanding the concept of socialization and learning, the architects and planners can
assume a positive correlation between these two concepts.
The findings in this research is an important factor in generating an effective planning
concept for the proposed development. By understanding the role of physical articulation of
the spaces in schools, the designer will be able to develop an architectural program that
theoretically has a positive impact on the learning of the users in the school. Although the
research has not taken into account the characters of the users, the research will still be
beneficial in acknowledging the effect of adjacency of different spaces inside the school. An
undertaking which requires an understanding on the concepts of facilities, adjacency and
zones inside the school.
Source
De Gregory, A. (2007). LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: REDEFINING THE DISCOURSE ON SCHOOL
ARCHITECTURE. In A. DeGregori. New Jersey: New Jersey School of Architecture.
The Relevance of School Community Relationship on the Development of
Primary Education in Azare Metropolis of Bauchi State, Nigeria
Schools are found to be an agent of socialization. It is one of the environment where
ideas and concepts are shared by people living in a community. A connection that gives an
opportunity for raising awareness to the community. The spaces in school are the one to be
used for the activities intended for socialization. It is well noted that schools, specially those
who are publicly owned are commonly served not only a respective type/ classification of
people in the community but also for a vast majority of the people. In state of point, this
statement define the role of the school to the community.
Schools are commonly integrated as part of the community. It is a place where
concepts and ideas are cultivated. Social Issues are also extrapolated to the concepts
learned in school (Sa’ad,2014). School resources are such as spaces are uses to intensify
the relationship of the community and the school. Aside from the main role of imparting
knowledge to the users, schools also developed a bond with the community wherein
collective ideas are shared by the users. The role of school as a space for raising social
awareness calls on how schools should integrate on the community. This research suggests
that the strong bond between the school and the community has a positive correlation to the
academic achievement of the students. The research sought to its conclusion that social
awareness developed in the school plays an important role in nurturing their skills and
developing their social skills. A positive correlation which take upon the idea of designing
schools based on social context of the community where it belongs.
This research plays a significant role in selecting the right site for the proposed
development. Although the previous literature state the importance of close proximity of
school to natural habitat, the researcher should take into account the lowland community in
choosing the right site for the school. A bond between the Aeta community and the lowland
community should be develop in order to eliminate the isolation of aetas to the conventional
practices. Although it may be difficult to combine these two community, the planner should
device the right architectural program that will connect the school to the two communities
such as the aeta community and the lowland community. By providing this link, social
participation could be raised among aetas and isolation could be eliminated without risking
the possible lost tribal practices in acquiring new ideas and concepts.
Sources:
Bakwai, B. (2013). Assessment of School Community Relationship in Secondary School in
Zamfara State. Retrieved 23rd September, 2014 from http://www.acdemia.edu/3999314/
Sa’ad, T., & Sadiq, A. (2014). The Relevance of School Community Relationship on the
Development of Primary Education in Azare Metropolis of. In The Relevance of
School Community Relationship on the Development of Primary Education in Azare
Metropolis of (pp. 23-28). Bauchi State.
Bibliography
Bakwai, B. (2013). Assessment of School Community Relationship in Secondary School in
Zamfara State. Retrieved 23rd September, 2014 from http://www.acdemia.edu/3999314/
De Gregory, A. (2007). LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: REDEFINING THE DISCOURSE ON
SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. In A. DeGregori. New Jersey: New Jersey School of
Architecture.
Licen, N., Lihtenvalner, K., & Podgornik, V. (2012). The non-formal education and migration.
Ljubljana: Slovene Anthropological Society.
Sa’ad, T., & Sadiq, A. (2014). The Relevance of School Community Relationship on the
Development of Primary Education in Azare Metropolis of. In The Relevance of
School Community Relationship on the Development of Primary Education in Azare
Metropolis of (pp. 23-28). Bauchi State.
