Equity in education necessitates frameworks that examine how power and opportunity are distributed across diverse learning environments. Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed critiques the “banking model” and advocates for a dialogic, problem-posing pedagogy that cultivates critical consciousness and fosters social transformation (Freire, 2018). Henry Giroux extends this by framing teachers as transformative intellectuals who resist neoliberal standardization and link classroom practice to democratic life (Giroux, 2011). These traditions complement justice theories, including the distributive (resource equity), recognitional (identity affirmation), and participatory (shared governance) approaches, as well as the capability approach, which shifts the focus from human capital to expanding learners’ real freedoms (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 2011). In the Philippine context, these frameworks intersect with policies such as the Inclusive Education Act (RA 11650), the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act (RA 12080), and DepEd’s Child Protection Policy, which aim to dismantle systemic inequities and promote inclusive schooling (DepEd, 2024; RA 12080, 2024).
Theoretical Mapping: Freire, Giroux, and Complementary Frameworks
Freire's pedagogy centers on critical consciousness and praxis, which is the combination of thought and action. It suggests that both teachers and learners work together to understand reality and change unfair situations (Freire, 2018). Brigada Pagbasa, one of the initiatives of DepEd reflects Freire's approach that encourages communities to engage in developing literacy solutions for vulnerable learners, exemplifying dialogic and participatory concepts. Giroux positions pedagogy in the context of cultural politics, encouraging educators to confront structural inequalities and assume the role of transformative intellectuals. This is exemplified by the Department of Education's Gender and Development (GAD) initiatives, which prepare teachers to analyze gender bias and incorporate gender-equitable practices in the classroom (Emfimo et al., 2024).
In Philippine policy, these customs fit are used with the justice triad. The basis for RA 11650 is the distributive justice which stipulates that every school division office like Agusan del Norte Division must set up Inclusive Learning Resource Centers for special needs children. Recognitional justice shapes Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) which directs schools to integrate indigenous knowledge systems in its lessons. School-Based Management (SBM) is an example of participatory justice since parents and other community members work together to decide how to use resources and make plans for school improvement (DepEd, 2025). The capabilities approach bolsters these initiatives by transitioning evaluation from mere test scores to the substantive freedoms of learners, including access to mental health care as stipulated in RA 12080 and the implementation of culturally sustaining education in multilingual contexts.
Methodological Considerations and Blind Spots
The part cautions that equity-oriented inquiry must be methodologically rigorous and reflexive: qualitative accounts reveal lived experiences, but risk limited generalizability, quantitative mapping can obscure agency and context. Mixed-method equity audits and disaggregated data are thereby essential.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) reveals systemic racism, but it can fall short if it only asks for people’s stories without providing real support or resources. For instance, DepEd’s anti-bullying campaigns often share learners’ experiences but need better enforcement and more resources. Between 2022 and 2024, only 11% of bullying cases were resolved (Manila Bulletin, 2025).
The Capability Approach emphasizes learners’ freedoms but can underplay structural domination if detached from participatory governance. Philippine mental health reforms, as outlined in RA 12080, exemplify the expansion of capabilities but require integration with anti-discrimination policies to address stigma in rural schools (Save the Children Philippines, 2025).
The Social Model of Disability locates exclusion in systemic barriers, aligning with RA 11650’s mandate for inclusive classrooms. Yet implementation gaps persist; only 2% of 2.2 million Filipino children with disabilities access special education, largely due to infrastructure and teacher training deficits (DepEd PH, 2024).
Intersectionality in Educational Analysis: Philippine Cases
Crenshaw (1989, 1991) developed the term 'intersectionality' to describe how race, gender, class, disability, and language all work together to shape learner experiences. In the Philippines, Indigenous girls with disabilities in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas face multiple challenges including inaccessible infrastructure, language-of-instruction misalignment to their first language, and poverty. Learners are dropping out due to a lack of assistive devices and culturally relevant materials, despite the provisions of RA 11650 (DepEd, 2024). LGBTQ+ students in rural schools, similarly, are confronted with multifaceted discrimination, like gender-based bullying, financial difficulties, and limited mental health support, highlighting the need for intersectional interventions (Presto, 2020).
Disparities are also revealed by how schools discipline students. Despite the issuance of DepEd's Child Protection Policy which prohibits corporal punishment, qualitative studies disclose inconsistency in the implementation and hesitation of the teachers to implement restorative practices in overcrowded public schools (Gloria, 2024). Intersectional audits might show that boys from low-income households or indigenous origins get harsher punishments for subjective crimes like "defiance," which is in line with what has been found around the world about disproportionality (Skiba et al., 2014). EDCOM’s synthesis further points to historically high bullying prevalence. DepEd’s updated Child Protection Committee (CPC) functionality assessment tool is being rolled out to divisions to standardize monitoring and strengthen accountability. This matters intersectionality because Indigenous and those with low socio-economic status learners in overcrowded classrooms and LGBTQ learners often face layered harms.
Other cases are the ARAl program and the School-based mental health. The latter visions to create structure for screenings, crisis response, and referral networks and integrating mental wellness in schools while the other targets foundational skills through teacher-tutorials. They illustrate distributive efforts to reach struggling learners across the country and contexts including geographically isolated and disadvantaged schools.
Policy Implications and Recommendations
Philippine reforms establish platforms for embedding intersectionality and justice principles. The following are some of these scaffolds which hopes to further integrate the framework:
• Institutionalize intersectional equity audits utilizing disaggregated data on attendance, achievement, discipline, and program access by gender, disability, indigeneity, and SES; complement with participatory inquiry through School Governance Councils (OECD, 2023).
• Revise discipline codes to eliminate subjective categories and incorporate culturally responsive, disability-inclusive restorative practices which are align with CPC Functionality Assessment Tool and updated IRRs of the Anti-Bullying Act (DepEd, 2025).
• Adopt MTSS/UDL alongside culturally sustaining pedagogy, integrating multilingual resources and assistive technologies to preempt exclusion and expand capabilities (Jimerson et al., 2016; Paris & Alim, 2017).
• Embed mental health supports as equity infrastructure, operationalizing RA 12080 through Care Centers and division-level Mental Health Offices; prioritize high-burden areas and track uptake among multiply marginalized learners (DepEd, 2025).
• Strengthen teacher capacity for intersectional practice, integrating GAD, IPEd, and disability inclusion modules into professional development and pre-service curricula (Emfimo et al., 2024).
Conclusion
Critical pedagogy responds the necessity for transformation by facilitating collaboration between educators and learners to foster a more democratic society. Concepts developed by Giroux extend further by connecting classroom dynamics to cultural and policy frameworks. The theories of justice and the approaches help put these ideas into action by making sure that everyone has access to the same resources, valuing different identities, including everyone in decision-making, and giving students real choices . Intersectionality is important for making reforms work better and be more fair because it shows the specific problems that groups like disabled indigenous girls and LGBTQ+ students in rural areas face. The next step is to turn these ideas into real change, with strong policies like Q-BEDP, RA 11650, and RA 12080, and better child protection. We can help make education truly fair and meaningful for every Filipino student by using intersectional reviews, inclusive practices, shared decision-making, and mental health support.
References (APA 7th)
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DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17567909
