Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Research Objectives
The objectives of this research were:
To probe how children in the early grades perceive and construct their identity as Filipinos in
the context of their everyday experiences.
To investigate the perspectives of "pagka-Filipino" of early graders, based on the text and
illustrations of locally-published picture books.
To broaden way of understanding the children's construction and definition of "pagka-
Filipino" according to their perspectives and in their own words.
To compare the early graders' perspectives of "pagka-Filipino" by gender and grade level.
Statement of the Problem
What are the urban low-income children's perspectives of pagka-Filipino based on their
experiences?
What are the urban low-income children's perspectives of pagka-Filipino based on the text of
picture books?
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter is divided into the review of related literature and studies, the conceptual framework
and definition of terms. The review of related literature discusses Schema Theory and Vygotsky's
Social Development Theory on which the study is anchored on, and the pertinent studies on children
regarding (1) schema theory/culture schemata; (2) national identity and pagka-Filipino; (3) national
identity among early grades children; (4) children's literature, storytelling, and national identity; (5)
picture books; (6) picture books and pagka-Filipino; and (7) gender and picture books.
Schema Theory
Piaget is the proponent of schema theory (Ormrod, 2011). He said that as a child matures, he/she
assimilates and accommodates knowledge, acquiring schemata through experience. Like building
blocks, a child can create a castle by adding a block with every bit of information learned. The
existing blocks are used to widen the child's body of knowledge. These blocks form the child's
schema and schema can be influenced by social and cultural experiences and interactions with text
and illustrations found in picture books. In Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development, children from
two to seven years old belong to the preoperational stage and can already express themselves and
describe the world through words and images.
R.C. Anderson (Widmayer, 2003 in Lee & Tsai, 2004), an educational psychologist, expanded the
schema theory which proposes that our understanding or knowledge of the world is composed of
organized network of abstract mental structures. Widmayer (2003), added that schema is used to
interpret and predict situations (in Lee & Tsai, 2004). It was further proposed that each person
possesses a unique set of schema which is built from the individual's cognitive processes and
experiences (Lee & Tsai, 2004).
Based on the schema theory, Lee and Tsai (2004) further suggest that individuals learn or acquire
knowledge in three ways: accretation, tuning, and restructuring. Accretation involves assimilating
new information into existing schema without any changes to overall schema. Tuning, on the other
hand, entails modification of existing schema when it is inadequate for the encountered new
information/knowledge, while restructuring involves creating a new schema for situations wherein
there is inconsistency between the new information/knowledge and the old schema. Accretion is
parallel to Piaget's assimilation while tuning and restructuring are similar to accommodation.
McVee, Dunsmore & Gayelek (2005), in a review of schema theory, indicated that schema theory
was particularly prominent in the 1970s especially on the role of schema in reading, adding that the
focus shifted to sociocultural theories in the 80s and 90s. The authors further pointed out the
importance of the schema theory, particularly its utility in understanding the individual's prior
knowledge and its role in comprehension and in understanding the reading process.
Picture Books
Matulka (2008) wrote a book entitled, A Picture Book Primer which provided comprehensive
information on the subject. The book offered a suitable definition of picture book in relation to this
study by citing Bader's definition which is "text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and
a commercial product; a social, cultural and historic document; and foremost, an experience for a
child" (in Matulka, 2008, p.1). This definition touches on the three important aspects of this study -
content style, its cultural aspect, and the children. The book also provided several important insights
such as different meanings can result from the picture-text relationship for various readers; that
exposure to picture books helps in developing literacy skills of children; and that through the picture
books' narrative art, children are introduced to visual and verbal communication, thereby enhancing
literacy. Further, the book cited Nodelman (1990) by stating that the readers create meanings in
texts by filling in gaps between what is stated and what is implied (in Matulka, 2008).
A study by Arizpe and Styles (2003) examines the responses of the children, aged four to eleven, to
picture books. It explores the development of meaning from complex images on the literal, visual
and metaphorical levels among children ages four to eleven. The result of the study shows that
children learn the ability to read images and their meanings through picture books. Children's
experience with picture books enhances their capacity to create their own meanings out of complex
ideas. Hillman (2003) described the picture book as the child's gateway to the world, the first step
outside the child's immediate environment. "The precise combination of art and words is a powerful
experience because it triggers the imagination & introduces concepts for cognitive and language
development" (Hillman, 2003, p.89). Aquino (2009) said that children's literature activates the
schema of the child and presents vicarious experiences that encourage cognitive processes such as
assimilation and accommodation.
Sablay (2001) in a study on the Filipino culture and storybooks cited Nancy Hand's (1986) definition
of picture books as "harmonious marriage between words and pictures in which neither the text nor
the art can stand on its own." (p.8) Moreover, it was also mentioned that children's understanding of
the environment is enhanced by picture books and that illustrations help lead the children into
reading. The importance of illustrations was further supported by Powers (2003) when he stated that
children tend to read pictures rather than the text.
Furthermore, picture books play a significant role in shaping the national and cultural consciousness
of young Filipinos. During the Unang Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Panitikang Pambata, Dr.
Eugene Evasco identified dalanlahi and dalambayan as two of his guiding philosophies in writing
books for children (Evasco, 2007). He expounds that stories should link children to their nation and
carry Filipino culture and tradition. National Artist Virgilio Almario asserted that there must be
rigorous research on Filipino culture and artists must show multi-cultural designs in their illustrations
(Almario, 2010). The words and illustration in picture books carry the spirit of the times and are
effective vehicles for our Filipinoness.
Alabado (1979) defined picture book as "A book in which the pictures or drawings or illustrations play
an equally important role, they appear in every page, and are integral part of the action in the text of
book" (Alabado, 1979, p.47). She stated that interaction with picture books is a sensorial, cognitive,
and affective experience. For picture books to be effective, "the ideas and feelings they contain must
be those of childhood, of Filipino childhood, and not merely simplified adult ideas and emotions"
(Alabado 1979, p.47). This means that children can only process knowledge and feelings that are
close to their everyday experience and immediate surroundings. Alabado cited three components of
a good picture book namely: substance in text; aesthetic interpretation through illustrations; and
harmonious book design (Alabado 1979, p.48). Alabado (2001) pointed out the varied and complex
Filipino society and culture resulted in the different forms and content of children's literature. She
further detailed that the culture and societal attitudes at different historical periods of our country are
reflected in our literature. Alabado also stressed that that literature is an instrument in instilling
attitudes and values, transmitting cultural norms along with conveying information and knowledge
relevant to the children.