Elaine Dianne C Motas | Maria Elizabeth I Sulla | Gerby Muya
Textbooks are widely used teaching tools in schools. History is one of the subjects that are required by the Department of Education in the Philippines to be taught in schools wherein textbooks are used as aid to teach lessons. The Martial Law era and Ferdinand Marcos are the lessons focused for the fourth grading period of Grade 6 students for their history classes. There can be different signs and symbols emerging on how Ferdinand Marcos is portrayed in history textbooks. These symbols can be analyzed through Semiotic Analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the portrayal of Ferdinand Marcos in ten DepEd approved history textbooks from private schools in Laguna and Batangas. This study explored a multi-method approach of content and semiotics analysis. For content, the researchers quantified the number of chapters, pages, words and visuals in each chapter. For semiotics, the researchers identified emerging themes from texts and symbols from illustrations and photographs. After analyzing data gathered, this study found out that history textbooks are allotting enough space to discuss Ferdinand Marcos and the Martial Law era given that 11 topics are required to be taught for Grade 6 history classes. Moreover, it was also found out that among history textbooks analyzed, they have portrayed a pro-Ferdinand Marcos image because of the emphasis on his achievements and positive justifications of his actions. Formulation of standard topics to be discussed is suggested. Also, exploring other research designs and approaches are recommended.
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