REFLECTION PAPER

(A case study of the curriculum development practices in the Philippines.)

The education system of the Philippines has been highly influenced

by the country’s colonial history.

The Philippine nation has an extensive and highly inclusive system

of education, including higher education. In the present day, the
United States continues to influence the Philippines education
system, as many of the country’s teachers and professors have
earned advanced degrees from United States universities.

The Education Act of 1982 provided for an integrated system of education

covering both formal and non-formal education at all levels. This act also
created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS).

In 1987, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports became again the
DECS under Executive Order No. 117. The structure of DECS as embodied in
the order remained practically unchanged until 1994.

Republic Act 6655 or the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988,
mandated free public secondary education commencing in the school year
1988–1989.

The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) report of 1991

recommended the division of DECS into three parts. On May 18, 1994, the
Congress passed Republic Act 7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994,
creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which assumed the
functions of the Bureau of Higher Education and supervised tertiary degree
programs. On August 25, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7796 or
the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 199, creating the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which
absorbed the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education as well as the
National Manpower and Youth Council, and began to supervise non-degree
technical-vocational programs.

DECS retained responsibility for all elementary and secondary education.

This threefold division became known as the "trifocal system of education" in
the Philippines.

In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic
Education Act, was passed. This act changed the name of DECS to the
current Department of Education (DepEd) and redefined the role of field
offices (regional offices, division offices, district offices and schools).

The act provided the overall framework for school empowerment by

strengthening the leadership roles of headmasters and fostering
transparency and local accountability for school administrations. The goal of
basic education was to provide the school age population and young adults
with skills, knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive,
and patriotic citizens

In 2006, the Education for All (EFA) 2015 National Action Plan was
implemented:

“ The central goal is to provide basic competencies to everyone, and to

 achieve functional literacy for all. Ensuring that every Filipino has the
basic competencies is equivalent to providing all Filipinos with the basic
learning needs, or enabling all Filipinos to be functionally literate.

The secondary level of education, all children aged twelve to fifteen, are
sought to be on track to completing the schooling cycle with satisfactory
achievement levels at every year.

In January 2009, the Department of Education signed a memorandum of

agreement with the United State Agency for International Development
(USAID) an $86 million assistance to Philippine education, particularly the
access to quality education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), Zamboanga Peninsula and SOCCSKSARGEN regions.

THE INTERNATIONAL AID TO THE PHILIPPINES UNDERPINNED THE

PHILIPPINES CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE OF THE
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT SIGNED BY BOTH PARTIES TO ADOPT
THE LEARNING COMPETENCIES OF THE FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT
HAS BEEN INTEGRATED IN OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

THE HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHORITIES DIMINISHED SOMETHING

GRADUALLY THAT FILIPINO ADMIRATIONS AND IDENTITY HAS
BEEN COVERED BY FOREIGN IDENTITY.

My point of view in this situation of our curriculum is that, the

inclusion of foreign competencies through integration in the daily
lessons of teachers in most schools of the country is unknowingly
disregarded the Philippine Culture, good practices and Values.

The designed learning competencies for Pilipino people has been

degraded or even discarded. It is an irony in the part of Filipino
Education experts, Scholars and field implementers to provide
quality education to our young people and develop them to be a
Maka Diyos, Makakalikasan at makabansa and train them to be an
independent, self-directed and lifelong learners using or applying
the centralized competencies with the integration of the
international competencies.

The former system of basic education in the Philippines consists of

one-year preschool education, six-year elementary education and
four-year high school education. Although public preschool,
elementary and high school education are provided free, only
primary education is stipulated as compulsory according to the 1987
Philippine Constitution.

Formal education is the hierarchically structured, chronologically

graded 'education system', running from primary school through the
university and including, in addition to general academic studies, a
variety of specialized programs and institutions for full-time
technical and professional training.

In the recent years, during the Pres. Aquino Administration, the K–

12 basic education cycle has been implemented to increase the
number of years of compulsory education to thirteen years.

The current Education System give everyone an equal chance to

succeed" and "have quality education and profitable jobs". After
further consultations and studies, the government adopted the K–6–
4–2 basic education system—one year of kindergarten, six years of
elementary education, four years of junior high school education and
two years of senior high school education.

Current Education System used since June 6, 2011

Did it
Is it a Did it now Did the have
Scho Ag new become curriculu a Implementati
Grades
ol e grade compulsor m new on status
? y? change? name
?
Kindergart
5 No Yes Yes No Since 2011
en
Retained
First Grade 6 No compulsory Yes No Since 2012
status
Retained
Second
7 No compulsory Yes No Since 2013
Grade
status
Retained
Third
8 No compulsory Yes No Since 2014
Grade
status
Retained
Fourth
9 No compulsory Yes No Since 2015
Grade
status
Retained
Fifth Grade 10 No compulsory Yes No Since 2016
status

Retained
Sixth
11 No compulsory Yes No Starting 2017
Grade
status
Retained
Seventh
12 Yes compulsory Yes Yes Since 2012
Grade
status
Retained
Eigth
13 Yes compulsory Yes Yes Since 2013
Grade
status
Retained
Ninth
14 Yes compulsory Yes Yes Since 2014
Grade
status
Retained
Tenth
15 Yes compulsory Yes Yes Since 2015
Grade
status
Eleventh
16 Yes Yes Yes Yes Since 2016
Grade
Twefth
17 Yes Yes Yes Yes Starting 2017
Grade

In kindergarten, the pupils are mandated to learn the alphabet,

numbers, shapes and colours through games, songs, pictures and
dances, but in their native language. Thus, after grade I, every
student can read in their native tongue.
In Grade 1, the subject areas of are taught, with a focus on "oral
fluency".

In Grade 4, the subject areas of English and Filipino are gradually

introduced, but now, as "languages of instruction.

The subjects are now modified to use the spiral progression

approach starting as early as Grade 1 which means that every lesson
will be taught in every grade level starting with the basic concepts
to the more complex concepts of that same lesson until Grade 10.

The high school from the former system will now be called Junior
High School from Grade 7-10. While, Grade 11 to 12 is the Senior
High School in the new educational system. It will serve as a
specialized upper secondary education. In the senior high school,
students may choose a specialization based on aptitude, interests,
and school capacity. The choice of career track will define the
content of the subjects a student will take in Grades 11 and 12.
Senior high school subjects fall under either the core curriculum or
specific tracks.

K-12 and tertiary education from colleges are characterized as

formal education. It includes the non-formal education like the
alternative learning systems provided by DepEd and TESDA and
other programs from educational institutions.

This does not include the informal education in the Philippines

learned from daily experience and the educative influences and
resources in his or her environment.

In our Educational System situation there is an urgent change for

our curriculum because based in so many research studies,

1. Philippine Education is very far deteriorating compared to other

countries.

2. Our human resource cannot compete the educational qualifying

standards in the global world in term of many aspects.

3. The educational qualification of many Filipinos in term of work

opportunity abroad has been underpinned by foreign countries even
within Asia countries.

4. Our learning competencies should prepare our future generation

to cope with the international demands in in order for them not to be
displaced with regards to the benefit of equal opportunities.

Some Implications of the Change in the System

Senior High School is an important feature of the new K-12 program;

1. Creates several opportunities. Standard requirements will be applied to

make sure graduates know enough to be hirable.

2. Senior High School students will now be able to apply for TESDA
Certificates of Competency (COCs) and National Certificates (NCs) to provide
them with better work opportunities.
3. Partnerships with different companies will be offered for technical and
vocational courses.

4. Senior High School students can also get work experience while studying.
Aside from these, entrepreneurship courses will now be included. Instead of
being employed, one can choose to start his or her own business after
graduating, or choose to further one's education by going to college.

5. Senior High School, as part of the K to 12 Basic Curriculum, was

developed in line with the curriculum of the Commission of Higher Education
(CHED) – the governing body for college and university education in the
Philippines. This ensures that by the time one graduates from Senior High
School, one will have the standard knowledge, skills, and competencies
needed to go to college.

6. The curriculum in K-12, the College General Education curriculum will

have fewer units. Subjects that have been taken up in Basic Education will
be removed from the College General Education curriculum.

New GE Curriculum may be found in CHED Memorandum Order No.

20, series of 2013.