Abstract: In this context of change, the infusion of cultural heritage in teacher education programs has become a key to pedagogical relevance, teacher identity development, and inclusion. This paper examined how Filipino cultural heritage, which include indigenous knowledge, values, oral traditions, and historical narratives, is manifested in the curricula of the teacher education programs of a number of HEIs. Through qualitative thematic analysis from interviews with teacher educators as well as with pre-service teachers, the study finds three main results. First, a number of lecturers are emergently domesticating curriculum by integrating cultural modules and community resources; however, the depth of integration varies. Second, cultural heritage heavily influences teachers' teaching identity and, by extension, their teacher identity, therefore having consequences for classroom management, moral instruction, and learner participation. Third, since the development of cultural and heritage mapping, indigenous studies centers, and community immersions, institutional practices for conserving culture have influenced creative culturally relevant curricula. Yet, the study also finds continuing struggle in mediating cultural relevance with standards-based academic expectations, pointing to continued systemic need for reform. The results also call for systemic alignment of policies, faculty development, and curriculum redesign that would promote cultural heritage as a central aspect of teacher preparation rather than symbolic inclusion. In this manner, HEIs develop as cultivators of educators who would be functioning in a global context but whose roots were grounded deeply on Filipino cultural identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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