To further magnify the quality and access in education, DepEd Quezon conducted various activities in strengthening its Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) program. Among these are the various immersion activities aimed to gather sufficient and relevant data for the localization, contextualization and indigenization of its educational services. These activities are primarily composed of field works which involved the use of focused-group discussion, document analysis, and in-depth interviews with the indigenous peoples. Moreover, these methods of immersion activities are done with various stakeholders supporting the Dumagat and Aeta of Quezon province. This fieldwork is done all throughout the year with several activities going into the IP communities.

This study is anchored on the inclusive education efforts of the Department of Education (DepEd) in addressing the educational needs of the indigenous peoples of the country. It is in recognition of the right of the indigenous peoples anchor in its cultural roots to make it more responsive to their needs. In this sense, the education department adopted the Indigenous Peoples Education Curriculum Framework through the issuance of DepEd Order No. 32, 2015, to provide guidance to schools and other education programs as they engage with indigenous communities in contextualizing the K to 12 Curriculum based on their respective educational and social contexts. However, this framework is limited only on the provision of a national framework for all of its field units in the implementation of IPEd program. The specific implementation lies on the curriculum contextualization of its field implementers in the IP communities. Thus, a need for understanding their culture to be part of their localized curriculum is needed to make their implementation more responsive to the parcels of inclusive education framework.

In this aspect, the researchers sought to answer the primary aim through the use of triangulation technique aided by mixed method design. This presented how immersion activities, through intensive field work, can heavily shape the indigenization of the curriculum for the indigenous peoples.

Guided by mixed research method, the researchers triangulated the gathered data for an extensive examination of the study. The researchers used the mixed method to qualify the data gathered through focused-group discussion and in-depth interviews. On the other hand, survey questionnaire is used to determine the impact of the theme being studied. In this way, the triangulation of data gathering is conducted. This posited that the data are gathered in mixed form to further illuminate the aims of the study. This research paper identified the accounts of the teachers and instructional leaders on the impact of the immersion activities through focused-group discussions and in-depth interviews. The researchers processed the gathered qualitative data through the use of consensual qualitative research to further expedite the congregated responses of the respondents. After this phase, the researchers drafted an instrument to measure the extent of the impact of immersion activities in the implementation of the IPEd programs in the involved communities in Quezon province. The extent of the impact was also gathered through the drafter research questionnaire which was subjected to validation process. Analysis of data is done through both qualitative (consensual qualitative) and quantitative (mean, analysis of variance, t-test independent) means. High ethical standards in conducting research in IP communities is also practiced.

The data revealed that the impact achieved a great extent mark. This comes from the responses of the teachers and instructional leaders stating that it provided authentic views, vast experience, in-depth knowledge of the culture, and awareness on the significance of indigenizing the curriculum for the IP. It yielded no significant difference among the evaluation results of the program delivery dimensions. It has also presented no significant difference in the assessment of those who are in the formal schools and in alternative learning. A foundation plan for the formulation of a localized policy and curriculum framework was developed out of the gathered data.

DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2015. Adopting the Indigenous Peoples Education Curriculum Framework. DepEd Order No. 62, s. 2011. Adopting the National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework. DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2013. Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10533 Otherwise Known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.