A Need for Climate Change Education for Filipinos, by Filipinos
Poster by Ainer Brean B. Padrigo of Tiong Se Academy (2015 Infomediary Campaign Poster Making Contest)
Time and time again, the pursuit of education has been emphasized by individuals older, and perhaps wiser, than us. This is because education aims to not only study problems but also provide solutions that can lead to better economic, social, and political conditions. A strongly shared belief among Filipinos is that education is the key to being uplifted from poverty. Perhaps it is time to integrate the same belief into the very thing that sustains our ambitions, and survival — our natural environment.
While the Philippines can proudly claim that it is among the most biodiverse countries in the world, it is also one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. However, it was only decades after having established the urgency of the state of the Philippine environment, that the Environmental Awareness Education Act of 2008 or the Republic Act No. 9615 was enacted to provide directives to educational institutions to integrate Environmental Education (EE) in certain curricula. In the following year, the Climate Change Act of 2009 or Republic Act No. 9729 was enacted to further mainstream climate change in national plans and strategies. Similar to the need for EE, it was evident that there was also a clear demand for in-depth and comprehensive climate change education (CCE), particularly throughout early and secondary education curricula.
Filipino Perception of Climate Change
Filipinos are well aware of climate change. According to the 2022 Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey, a total of 97.6% of Filipinos claim that climate change is a serious and immediate threat and that it should be considered a major issue in the country. The results of the study shows that while the general public are aware of climate change due to the occurrence of super typhoons and other loss and damage, they are not particularly well-informed about the steps being taken to address the issue (e.g. policies). For the youth, in particular, it is critical that they are involved and provided with opportunities to contribute to addressing the climate crisis.
In identifying ways to better inform and educate people about climate change, it is important to acknowledge that people perceive climate change differently depending on how it manifests in their local context and how it is experienced. According to research by Bollettino et al. (2020), many Filpinos associate climate change with natural disasters such as typhoons and droughts and its impacts on communities like loss of property, livelihoods, and even lives. This perspective on climate change is likely the reason why the common response of Filipinos to climate change include disaster response and ensuring necessary steps and protocols are put in place during disaster scenarios. Climate impacts, however, may manifest differently in other contexts. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the reality of climate impacts are clear. It is projected to have detrimental effects to our seas, agricultural and fishing economy, water and energy supplies, among others, all brought about by extreme rainfall and increasing temperatures. From this it can be assumed that context-based or localized CCE is vital in educating the youth about the impacts and solutions for climate change relevant to their local realities. This is further supported by a recent study by Karel Nepraš et al. (2022), which found that younger audiences are responsive to place-based learning methods, meaning they are more receptive to education models that are contextualized to their local communities, cultures, and experiences.
Inclusion of Filipino Values
Over the last few years, there has also been an emphasis on values-based education for EE and CCE. In 2017, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) published the National Environmental Education Action Plan 2018-2040 (NEEAP), an action plan that emphasizes a holistic view of EE with a strong focus on a socio-cultural approach to sustainable development through fostering what is referred to as the Spirit of Luntiang Puso or ‘Green Heart’.
The Filipino values associated with this are bayanihan (cooperation), referring to our increased efforts to help fellow citizens; pagtitipid (prudence), which is related to the culture of frugality among Filipinos that which also should be applied to our consumption of natural resources and lessening our spending habits; and malasakit (empathy), which talks about sensitivity towards others. These are believed to serve as drivers of change and development for the good of communities, the nation, and the environment as a whole. Thus, EE strategies should try to instill such values among the Filipino youth. It was further noted in the NEEAP that these values should be integrated at different levels of education (e.g. kindergarten, primary education, etc.), depending on the appropriate level of familiarity and contextualization that the values and knowledge would entail.
One such initiative that is said to be “pioneering” values-based CCE is the Youth Formation Division (YFD), which is led and implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) by virtue of DepEd Order No. 52, s. 2015. The YFD is a co-curricular student organization that aims to develop Filipino youth for societal growth. Their goal is to “empower students to strive for excellence in academics, leadership, and social responsibility, and develop a love of country, values, and competencies for them to reach their full potential and contribute to the nation”. They also assert that children and the youth are entitled to participate in decision-making processes about the future of their education as demonstrated in their youth-led programs. YFD emphasizes the empowerment of Filipino children and youth with values that are maka-Diyos (for God), maka-tao (for people), maka-kalikasan (for nature), and maka-bansa (for country). In 2021, the Bureau of Learner Support Services-YFD (BLSS-YFD) and Save the Children launched a youth webinar on CCE and its effects on children’s welfare. This was in response to the call for global climate justice, and the need for youth to play a more active role in identifying solutions as young leaders. Chief Adolf Aguilar of BLSS-YFD shared that only through unified action can one slowly start to mitigate the effects that climate change brings.
CONCLUSION
Both the NEEAP and efforts by BLSS-YFD call for context-specific and values-based education for the youth. The YFD encourages that this can lead to greater unification and collaboration across the country, while NEEAP, through the Spirit of Luntiang Puso, aims to inspire the youth to be guided by the aforementioned values that are relevant to Filipino culture and encourage greater participation in addressing the problem at hand. Both of which are ingredients for stronger youth leadership for climate change.
Despite the call for stronger integration, research shows there are still not enough programs that are able to provide adequate CCE[1] [2]. This may be because CCE has been spread out and integrated into different subjects and reduced to certain topics in specific modules. The advocacy put forth by the NEEAP and the example of YFD present opportunities to create or continue improving EE and CCE strategies to achieve the goal of encouraging greater participation of the youth by instilling genuine Filipino values. It is worth considering that the future of CCE may require a values-based approach in the hopes of reaching more of our kapwa (fellow countrymen). The integration of such values must serve as the foundation of such programs. Further studies on the matter would help build on this discussion more, and create more opportunities for the active participation of youth in their local communities.
Note: Ella Abad was an undergraduate intern from the 2023 Summer Internship Program of Parabukas. This article is her individual contribution to on-going discourse on her chosen environmental issue.