Backtracking towards a transformative Rizal curriculum

Abstract

Despite their inclusion in the Philippine social studies curriculum to inspire patriotism in the youth, the teaching of Jose Rizal’s life and works is often lifeless and barren. In contrast, my experience studying Rizal under Professor Paul A. Dumol was a potent educational experience that led to my firm conviction in my role and duties as a citizen. Merging the autobiographical/biographical and political strands of curriculum scholarship, this paper recounts my lived experience of Professor Dumol’s Rizal course to examine its capacity to produce transformation in both the individual and society. My findings reveal that the transformative power of his curriculum lay in its treatment of nationhood as an ongoing project that is continually formed by the individuals that comprise it. Applicable to social studies curricula across different contexts, this principle allows the student to comprehend his or her power as a citizen, inspiring transformation in the self, for society.