Cultural and economic attributes of guitar-making vis-à-vis the crafting of a contextualized gitara teaching model

Abstract

This study unveiled the economic and cultural attributes of guitar-making that serve as basis in the creation of a contextualized teaching model. The study employed a grounded theory design with interviews among 12 key research participants in Abuno, Pajac, and Lapu-Lapu City, selected through convenience sampling. The economic and cultural attributes of making gitara reflect clear Filipino economic and cultural values of resiliency and contentment of luthiers in their working conditions. Guitar-making has transformed to being a source of income with minimal changes in the process as brought by changes in perspectives, economic competition, and technology; however, the commitment, knowledge, and practice of producing handmade guitars are still intact and evident that serve as bases for recommendation for government to support Filipino luthiers and guitar factory owners to design and implement programs to uplift their working conditions and its opportunities for preservation, promotion, and development. Lastly, these serve as the context in the formulation and dissemination of the Gitara Teaching Model as a contextualized teaching model that provides meaningful learning process for quality learner-centered pedagogy in the field of culture-based education, which can also be used in training the youth to become professional luthiers so that this guitar-making culture will flourish.