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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Review finds PH history textbooks contain examples of 'factual inaccuracies' 

Review finds PH history textbooks contain examples of 'factual inaccuracies' 

Published Oct 6, 2022 02:15 pm

History books used at the elementary level contain examples of “factual inaccuracies” based on the review conducted by the Far Eastern University Public Policy Center (FPPC).

The textbook review titled, “The Dilemma of Philippine History Textbooks,” is part of FPPC’s History Project that aims to assess and improve the content and teaching of history in the Philippines.

“In truth, history textbooks are a global concern, and controversies hound textbooks in many parts of the world,” said Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, Professor Emeritus at the Department of History at the University of the Philippines Diliman and a Trustee of FPPC as she underscored the state of Araling Panlipunan Grade 5 and 6 textbooks.

Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, Professor Emeritus at the Department of History at the University of the Philippines Diliman, during the launch of #HearLiesTheTruth.

FPPC, in collaboration with Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed), also launched an online interactive portal mainstreaming the findings of their history textbooks review.

Dubbed #HearLiesTheTruth, FPPC, with support from YouthLed, inaugurated the online portal publishing the findings of the center’s review of 14 K to 12 Philippine History textbooks used in Grades 5 and 6 by public and private schools across Luzon.

Diokno, during a keynote presentation at the launch, noted that the Philippines is no exception as the review revealed that the textbooks contain “several examples of factual inaccuracies, including unproven statements that are presented as facts.”

Given this, Diokno further underscored the need for a more rigorous review of textbooks especially when “many, textbook authors are invisible.”

Having invisible textbook authors, Diokno said, reinforces the perception that social studies textbooks are “free of perspective, interpretation, and bias” because they appear authorless.

“Widely believed as these assumptions are, they do not frequently hold true,” she explained.

During the open forum, findings relating to the state of the Philippine education system were also discussed.

The said forum featured insights from Asst. Prof. Dondy Ramos II, Asst. Prof. Francisco Guiang, and Aaron Viernes who were also from the same department at UP Diliman.

They also shared ideas on improving the mentioned subject and its materials based on the findings.

Meanwhile, YouthLed’s Chief of Party Natalie Christine Jorge said that supporting FPPC’s History Project through the online interactive publication is one of the ways YouthLed contributes to enhancing the country’s civic education.

“Our shared vision with FPPC is for this platform to become a resource that will inform and inspire key education stakeholders to enhance the ways we teach history among the youth,” she added.

YouthLed is a youth-focused program in the Philippines implemented by The Asia Foundation in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The program aims to increase and improve youth civic engagement through leadership development, coalition building, and civic education.

This is complemented by engagement activities in contexts that are relevant to the youth while supporting their meaningful participation in democratic governance.

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