Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study is aimed to assess the academic challenges of Indigenous Peoples in Arakan, Cotabato. According to research, indigenous peoples face academic challenges that have an impact on their educational outcomes. This study investigates the experiences of indigenous peoples, determines their academic challenges and analyzes the solutions they use to deal with these issues. This study used a qualitative narrative research approach, and the findings were gathered through an in-depth interview with ten (10) indigenous people and focus group discussion of seven (7) participants who were all purposefully sampled. The interview data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged in the academic challenges of indigenous peoples are poverty, discrimination, and parental influence. In dealing with their academic challenges, the themes, personal motivation and academic aspirations emerged. The findings indicate that academic challenges are experienced by indigenous peoples in Arakan, and that these issues have affected their education. On this basis, it is recommended that intervention programs be established to address these issues. More research is needed to better understand the underlying connections of these academic challenges and how they influence one another. It is also recommended that in delving into these topics, a more sophisticated research approach with a larger research sample be used.