Stakeholders’ Perspective on the Implementation of MTB-MLE in a Multilingual Environment in Northern Luzon Philippines

Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) has carved its niche as a practical and
effective approach in the educational landscape. It offers a plausible framework for preparing coming
generations to become better adaptive and even rich contributors in the globalized and intercultural
world. The gate to the new millennium has brought great zeal in and at the same time contestations
around this educational alternative.
This study examined the stakeholders’ perspective on the implementation of MTB-MLE as a
pedagogical approach. The stakeholders’ perspective were explored and analyzed through the results
of the different focus group discussions among teachers, pupils, parents, local school board, parentsteachers
and community association, non-government organization and local government unit.
Results from this study indicate four main benefits of MTB-MLE, namely: Expressing better ideas,
building self-confidence, better retention, and promoting friendly environment.
Meanwhile, the challenges which hinder the implementation of MTB-MLE are grouped into four
significant themes: Multilingual environment, difficulty in translation, inadequacy of instructional
materials and mandatory compliance to the Department of Education (DepEd) order.
The implications of these findings revolve around the way in which the program can benefit Filipino
pupils. Notably, rather than a top-down approach that does not consider the local stakeholders, the
Department of Education (DepEd) order should be implemented through interactions between the top
management and the local stakeholders. Involving them can undoubtedly contribute in the success of
MTB-MLE.