Knowledge management (KM) is the documentation/storage, dissemination/sharing, and development/scaling up of knowledge. This is essential for Indigenous knowledge (IK), for which Indigenous knowledge management (IKM) is proposed in line with the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) 2022-2032. This chapter reckons an initiative originally called knowledge management for Kto12 (KM4K12). It primarily sought to assist Department of Education (DepEd) teachers and senior high school (SHS) students during the K-12 transition period (2016-2021). Incidentally, it engaged Indigenous peoples (IPs) in Tanudan, Kalinga, Philippines. More specifically, it (1) presents a timeline of relevant activities (2015-2022). Further, it (2) lists paper presentations and publications of the authors as partners in the name of Research-Practice Partnership (RPP). These texts constitute RPP, which is a sustainable education practice, particularly the research function/mandate of education agencies. Lastly, it (3) notes instances that can make or break RPP.
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The trifocalization of the Philippine education system in 1994 resulted in three agencies: Commission on Higher Education (CHED) that oversees Higher Education Institutions (HEI) or universities and colleges, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Department of Education (DepEd). Early on, research has been a function of HEI. Literature on how TESDA carries out research is limited. Meanwhile, research as a mandate of basic education was articulated when the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS) transformed into what is now known as DepEd by virtue of Basic Education Governance Act of 2001 or Republic Act 9155. After almost a decade, this was successively reinforced by other policies: Basic Education Research Fund (BERF) in 2010; Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or Republic Act 10533 (also known as Kto12 Law); Basic Education Research Agenda (BERA) in 2016; Research Management Guidelines (RMG) and Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) in 2017; Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) in 2022, which encourages HEI to assist DepEd in the area of research and development (R&D); among others.
Moreover, global policy declarations or statements shape not only the education system of governments and nations but also their respective research agenda or priorities. For instance, the Sustainable Development Goals or SDG (2016-2030) of the United Nations (UN) “ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UN, 2015, n.p.). Since 2015, various research conferences and other relevant events have articulated their themes on the SDG. More recently, the new social contract for education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) asserts that it is fundamental to repair the inequities and injustices of the past and, at the same time, reimagine the futures of education. Initially, it underscores that education is a basic human right, which encompasses “(1) the right to quality education throughout life [or lifelong learning] …; (2) the right to information, culture, and science; and (3) the right to access and contribute to the knowledge commons, which is the consolidated knowledge resources of humankind over time” (UNESCO, 2021a, p. 2). This includes Indigenous Knowledges (IK). Consequently, the contract highlights that education is a common good. These principles imply that education is not only transmission but, more importantly, (re)construction, (re)generation or (re)production of knowledge. Meanwhile, the International Decade of Indigenous Languages or IDIL (2022-2032) responds to the disappearance or endangerment of many languages around the world. It mobilizes “member states, Indigenous Peoples (IPs), civil society organizations, academic institutions, public and private sectors, UN system entities, and other stakeholders” primarily “to preserve, revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages” in support of the SDG (UNESCO, 2021b, pp. 3 & 6). Many construe IDIL as the transition from SDG into another development agenda in the next 15 years or beyond. Certain provisions of these global declarations informed and inspired the assertions of this chapter on RPP being a sustainable practice or strategy for the research mandate of education agencies and systems.
With these national and global instruments, the ongoing education reform in the Philippines in general or any intervention in particular must employ an evidence-, knowledge-, or research-based approach to various policies, programs, and projects. However, hardly do HEI, DepEd, IP, and other education stakeholders collaborate, cooperate, and corroborate in research initiatives. If any form of partnership occurs, HEI researchers tend to dominate DepEd. The former is more privileged than the latter because they have the capacity, mechanism, resources, and status to present their outputs at research conferences, publish in reputable journals, and promote the knowledge they generated in various platforms, for instance, social media. However, DepEd is coping. It now holds seminars or trainings and conferences on research and publishes refereed journals. Meanwhile, the IPs are more at risk of being obscured because their knowledges may not conform to academic or scientific standards. They themselves report they were exploited in various ways. To add, they are geographically distant, culturally and linguistically diverse, and digitally/technologically disadvantaged, and these get in the way. Other stakeholders simply keep their distance because of such adversarial setup.