IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL SCIENCE

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM AS

CORRELATE OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP: BASIS FOR
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

2023
Volume: 13
Pages: 580-587
Document ID: 2023PEMJ1191
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8354066
Manuscript Accepted: 2023-18-9
Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 580-587, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1191, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8354066, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Implementation of Special Science Elementary School Curriculum as

Correlate of School Performance and Instructional Leadership:
Basis for Continuous Improvement Plan
Glofel A. Prado*, Herculano V. Sabas
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
This study determined the implementation of the Special Science Elementary School Curriculum as a correlate
of school performance and instructional leadership during the school year 2013-2018 at the National Capital
Region and the School Division of Rizal, which served as bases for the proposed Continuous Improvement Plan.
Hence, the descriptive correlational type of research with the survey questionnaire as its main data-gathering
instrument was used. The respondents were 19 SSES School Heads and 228 SSES Teachers from the National
Capital Region and Schools Division of Rizal. Based on the statistical findings, there was a significant
correlation between the extent of implementation of SSES curriculum in terms of program components, learning
materials/resources, teachers’ learning and development program, administrative support, and the schools’
performance in terms of access, quality and governance since all the computed values are greater than the t –
critical value of 2.306. Thus, there was no significant difference between the perceptions of the school heads and
the teachers about their level of instructional leaderships concerning curriculum, instruction, and assessment for
having the t – computed values of 1.82, 1.97, and 1.20, which are all lesser than the t – critical value of 2.306.
There was a significant relationship between the extent of implementation of SSES Curriculum and school
performance, as regards enrolment, drop-out rates, professional development, and project implementation, as
evidenced by the computed r values of 0.57, 0.7, 0.31, respectively, which exceeded the critical value of r of
0.266. The computed values for NAT and funding sources are 009 and 0.25, respectively, which suggest an
insignificant correlation. The same trend was observed on the relationship with school performance in terms of
learning resources. Due attention may be given to the non-existent significant correlation with the NAT results.
Lastly, the correlation between the level of implementation of the SSES and instructional leadership in the
aspects of curriculum, instruction, and assessment were all significant as shown by computed r values of 0.68,
0.35, and 0.52, respectively, which all exceed the critical value of 0.266. Recommendations and implications
were discussed in the study.

Keywords: special science, school performance, instructional leadership, project implementation

Introduction and managing SSES schools. The implementation of

The Department of Education, in line with its mission
to protect and promote the right of every Filipino to
quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic
education, guarantees that the school where students
learn, must conform in a child-friendly, gender-
sensitive, safe, and motivating environment. It
envisions teachers to facilitate learning and constantly
nurture every learner. Likewise, administrators and
staff must be stewards of the institution, ensure an
enabling and supportive environment for effective
learning to happen. Family, community, and other
stakeholders are encouraged to actively engage and
share responsibility for developing life-long learners.
As a jumpstart then, the Department has initiated the
Special Science Elementary Schools (SSES) project.
SSES is a project that is designed to gear students
toward a scientific and technological future. A special
curriculum was drafted to address the learning needs
of students who are gifted and talented, provide them
with avenues, opportunities, and exposures for
developing necessary skills and aptitudes. It intends to
capacitate school heads and teachers in implementing
Prado & Sabas
SSES project is an important endeavor because it will
bring about improvement in academic performance,
especially now that innovations in science and
technology are brewing. To effectively implement the
said project, the Department spearheaded its campaign
to develop scientific attitudes, technological skills, and
higher order thinking skills among students in the
Basic Education. This was posted by different
activities that will lead to spurge students learning
particularly focusing in science, technology,
mathematics, and English. Now that the program is in
its 14th year of existence, the researcher was prompted
of assess the implementation of Special Science
Elementary Schools curriculum as correlate to school
performance and instructional leadership which will be
the basis for a proposed continuous improvement plan.
Belaya (2016) emphasized the need for teachers to
take part in the changing pace that has contributed to
the teaching-learning process of today’s generation. In
upgrading the curricular programs in schools, teachers
are the best tools to achieve the goal set by the
education system. The administration must serve as the
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Research Article

working arm of teachers by providing facilities and and teachers in implementing and managing a SSES
training to advance the attainment of school, and develop SSES program models for both
expected outcome. Teaching in the 21st century the regular and SPED schools (Jobo, 2016). So, to sum
requires an emphasis on understanding how to use up the data about SSES implementers, their goals and
information technology; expected to be tech – savvy, core values and guiding rules in dealing with the
computer literate, and at the cutting edge of learners which is to “train a child in the way he should
education. Teachers are the ones tasked to help form go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This
their students into effective critical thinkers and life – explains that an SSES Implementers must be assertive,
long learners. This requirement is imperative as independent, and express all the talents or skills
students are now more technology oriented, hence, possessed in order to contribute to a lifelong learning
teachers should be able to cope with the trend to of the learners. It is in this context that this researcher
effectively utilize every available learning method was prompted to undertake this research study. From
anchored on the use of technological advancement. the above discussions, the researcher deemed
As part in the 21st century teaching implementers, necessary to conduct this study to find out the status of
teachers need to be effective, innovative, and media- the SSES curriculum implementation and to determine
oriented directions. They need to reflect regularly and if it affects the school performance and instructional
systematically review the results of teaching, always leadership after which could develop continuous
identify loopholes as well as success ingredients and improvement plan for the implementers.
in the end “reconstruct” future alternatives. Cognizant
Reasearch Questions
of the poor performance of Filipino pupils and
students, the Department of Education (DepEd)
This study aimed to determine the implementation of
launched several projects and researches that focus on
the Special Science Elementary School Curriculum as
the development of higher order thinking skills. One
correlate of school performance and instructional
of these is the Special Science Elementary School
leadership during the school years 2013-2018 at the
(SSES) which utilizes an enriched Science curriculum
National Capital Region and the Division of Rizal
that focuses on learner – oriented activities to foster
which served as bases for the proposed Continuous
the development of higher order thinking skills
Improvement Plan. Specifically, it sought answers to
(HOTS). Scienceeducationis the field concerned
the following questions:
with sharing science content andprocess to
individuals not traditionally considered part of the
1. What is the extent of implementation of the Special
scientific community. In Section17, Article II of the
Science Elementary School Curriculum as perceived
Philippine Constitution, it is stated that the State is
by the school heads and the teacher respondents in
mandated to give priority to Education, Science and
terms of the following aspects?
Technology to foster patriotism and nationalism,
1.1 Program Components;
accelerate social programs and promote total human
1.2 Learning Materials / Resources;
development. Also, Section 10 of Article XIV states:
1.3 Teachers’ Learning and Development Program;
“Science and Technology are essential for
and
nationalism, development, invention, innovation and
1.4 Administrative Support?
their utilization. Providing opportunities for the
2. Is there a significant difference between the
development of scientific attitudes, technological
perceptions of the two groups of respondents on the
skills and higher order thinking skills among learners
extent of implementation of the Special Science
of Basic Education in an environment supportive of
Elementary School Curriculum in terms of the above-
their nurturance is the primary responsibility of
mentioned criteria?
the Department of Education”. The mission of the
3. What is the schools’ performance level in the
SSES provides a learning environment for the gifted
Special Science Elementary School Curriculum in
and talented students through a special mathematics
terms of the following variables?
and science curricula which recognize multiple
3.1 Access;
intelligences geared towards the development of God-
3.1.1 Enrollment Rate?
loving, globally competitive, nationalistic, creative,
3.2 Drop – out Rate
ecologically aware, scientifically, and technologically
3.2.1 Quality; and
oriented and skilled individuals who are empowered
3.2.2 NAT Results?
through lifelong learning skills. The SSES aims to
3.3 Governance;
provide an enriched curriculum for mathematics and
3.3.1 Funding Source;
science, provide the gifted and talented learners with
3.3.2 Professional Development; and
venues, opportunities and exposures for developing
3.3.3 Project Implementation?
necessary skills and aptitudes, capacitate school heads

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Research Article
4. Is there a significant correlation between the extent
of implementation of the Special Science Elementary
School Curriculum and the performance of the
schools?
5. What is the level of instructional leadership of the
school heads and the teacher respondents as perceived
by themselves?
4.1 Curriculum;
4.2 Instruction; and
4.3 Assessment?
6. Is there a significant difference between the
perceptions of the two groups of respondents on the
level of instructional leadership of the school heads
and teachers on the aforesaid variables?
7. Is there a significant correlation between the extent
of implementation of the Special Science Elementary
School Curriculum and the level of instructional
leadership of the school heads and the teachers?
8. Based on the findings of the study, what Continuous
Improvement Plan could be developed?
Literature Review
The Special Science Elementary Schools (SSES)
Project is anchored in Section 17, Article II of the
Philippine Constitution which mandates the State to
“give priority to Education, Science and Technology to
foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social
programs and promote total human development”.
Section 10, Article XIV also states, “Science and
Technology are essential for nationalism,
development, invention, innovation, and their
utilization”. With this mandate, the Department of
Education has the primary responsibility of providing
opportunities to the Basic Education learners in the
development of their scientific attitudes, technological
skills, and higher order thinking skills. As a support
and strengthening move of the Department of
Education, it issued DepEd Order No.57, s. 2011 on
July 20, 2011, entitled Policy Guidelines in the
Implementation of the Special Science Elementary
School (SSES) Project. This project was launched and
implemented through the Bureau of Elementary
Education (BEE). It started with 57 public elementary
schools and later added 43 more. This research and
development project aimed to develop, children’s
scientific and technological knowledge, skills and
attitudes to become productive citizens of the
Philippines. The project also intends to capacitate
teachers and school heads in implementing and
managing SSES.
Also, it aims to develop program models for the
Special Education Centers and the regular schools.
This policy guidelines for this SSES project was
Prado & Sabas
signed during the incumbency of the former DepEd
Secretary, Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC. In the same
DepEd Order No. 57, s. 2011, it was stated that the
Special Science Elementary Schools (SSES) Project is
envisioned to develop Filipino children who are
equipped with scientific knowledge, skills, and
attitudes, creative and positive values, and lifelong
learning skills to become productive partners in
developing the community and society. Its mission is
to provide gifted and talented learners with special
Mathematics and Science curricula that could develop
their multiple intelligences. According to the DepEd
Order, SSES teachers should possess “positive work
ethics, creative, innovative, and willing to work with
highly motivated learners. He / She is a teacher who is
willing to accept challenges and is committed to
upload the vision, mission, and goals of the SSES
project. The DepEd Order also stipulates that the
project shall be managed by the School Head who has
the overall responsibility of providing instructional
leadership. It shall also be equipped with physical
facilities and equipment such as laboratory rooms,
science equipment and apparatus, ICT–based learning
resources, textbooks, and supplementary materials. As
specified in DepEd Order No. 57, s. 2011, the SSES
has enriched learning competencies in Science and
Mathematics that will develop the lifelong learning
skills of the learners. It should also have a longer
period of instruction and an in-depth content. The
curriculum contents shall have the following features:
activity – oriented, learner – oriented, community
supported, technologically – enhanced, multi –
disciplinary, integrative, higher - order thinking skills
– based, lifelong skills – focused, scientific attitude
and value – laden, interactive, logical, and sci – tech
culture – based. The curriculum is also standards –
based in its contents, performance, knowledge, skills,
and attitudes. As regards SSES instruction, it focuses
on mastery which has the following features adopts
team teaching and integrative approach, cooperative
learning, computer – aided instruction, and
independent learning or self – study. The Department
of Education Order also indicates that the SSES
curriculum includes immersion program for the
development and application of 21st century skills in
the context of community life. In the implementation
of all the foregoing features of the SSES project, the
Department of Education said that the monitoring and
evaluation of its implementation should be done on a
regular basis. A National Achievement Test –
Expanded shall also be conducted as the end of every
school year. Many researchers claim that the manner
of implementation of any program could affect the
performance of the learners and the school in general.
According to the Department of Education, a key
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Research Article
performance indicator (KP1) is a type of performance
measurement that helps one understands how the
organization or institution performs. Similarly,
Jackson (2023) defined school performance indicators
that help everyone head towards the right direction.
According to Jackson, there are hundreds to select
from, but he has narrowed the list to just 28 critical
KP1, and then categorized them to nine to begin with.
The first mentioned indicator is Graduation Rate. This
indicator determines the number of students who
completed their schooling within the normal time
frame. The next is enrollment rate. This refers to the
students enrolled per program who wish to remain
academically competitive. This is also called the
acceptance rate. Another is retention rate. This is the
percentage of enrollees in the elementary and
secondary level in a given school year who continue to
be in school the following year. At DepEd, the
retention rate is calculated looking at the total number
of enrolled students, including any who has withdrawn
or cancelled, minus the number of students who have
withdrawn or cancelled their enrolment, and divide
this by the total number of enrolled students. These are
just some of the indicators mentioned by Jackson.
Other authors have identified other key indicators of
school performance. These are attendance rates,
graduation rates, student achievement, discipline
referrals, and teacher satisfaction (Emery, 2023).
Retrieved from https://flippengroup.com>5key-in...
Along the area of key performance indicators, DepEd
Order No. 24, s. 2022 was issued which provides a
strategic framework that includes the four pillars of
access, equity, quality, and resiliency and well-being
which provides intermediate outcomes that indicate
achievement of these pillars. In relation to school
performance, it is said that this could be influenced by
instructional leadership. As discussed by Ng (2019) of
Nanyang Technological University, instructional
leadership is a model of school leadership in which a
principal works alongside teachers to support and
guide the teacher to bring forth best practices.
Principals use this model to communicate with their
staff and work together to set clear objectives relevant
to student achievement. From the point of view of
Driscoll (2019), retrieved from Linked in with Google,
instructional leaders are interpersonally smart,
professional, and accountable. In the school, the
leaders bring their unique mix to the job and reflect on
the daily events to ensure life – long learning. In a
similar context, instructional leadership functions
involve all the beliefs, decisions, strategies, and tactics
that are used by school principals to generate
instructional effectiveness in classrooms. While
managers attention is focused on “running a smooth
ship”, instructional leaders focus on learning and
Prado & Sabas
instruction. The discussion on the three variables in
this study have given many insights that have led to
the organization and smooth conduct of this research
on the SSES implementation, school performance, and
instructional leadership which are shown to be
interrelated to one another.
Related Studies. Various studies have been perused but
only those which are relevant to the present study are
discussed hereunder. The first reviewed study was
conducted by Muaoz (2019) on the “implementation of
Special Science Elementary Schools Curriculum” in
Lemery Pilot Elementary School. It aimed to
determine the extent of implementation of the said
curriculum during the school year 2017 – 2018 as
regards the following aspects: school, school heads,
curriculum, teachers, and learners as assessed by the
teachers and parents. The descriptive method of
research was used with the questionnaire as the data
gathering instrument, and the weighted mean and t –
test as the statistical tools to treat the data. The
findings showed that the Special Science Elementary
Schools Curriculum was implemented outstandingly as
assessed by the teachers and the parent respondents.
The proposed intervention activities were meant to
sustain the SSES curriculum. The study conducted that
although the implementation was rated as Outstanding,
there is still a need to sustain the status of the
curriculum as Outstanding. This reviewed study of
Muaoz is very much related to the present study since
it also dealt with the SSES curriculum. The former
study differs from the latter study in terms of their
locale. One was done in Batangas while the current
study was done in Metro Manila. Another related
study was done by Twumasi et al. (2021) on the
“Curriculum Knowledge of Science Teachers and Its
Effects on Academic Performance of Pupils”, at the
University of Education, Winneba. It determined the
content knowledge of science teachers and its
relationship to the learners’ academic performance. It
utilized both the quantitative and qualitative
techniques in gathering the data. The questionnaire
was used to gather quantitative data from the 59 Junior
Science teachers to assess their science content
knowledge while a classroom observation was used to
gather the Science classroom instructional practices.
The results of the study showed that the teachers have
weak science background knowledge. The teachers’
content knowledge affected their instructional
practices, thus resulting to the poor performance of the
pupils in science. The study recommended that the
Science teachers should be first assessed in terms of
their science content knowledge before assigning them
to teach Science. The reviewed study of Twumasi is
very relevant to the present study because it also
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focused on science teaching in public schools.
However, the present study was in elementary Science
teaching while the reviewed study was in junior high
school. Also, the school performance was related to
the implementation of SSES in the current study
whereas academic performance was related to the
SSES implementation in the reviewed study. The
present study also included more dimensions in its
investigation than the former study. Another related
study was conducted by Voogt et al (2016) on the
Special Science Elementary School curriculum of
DepEd. They attempted to determine the extent of
teacher collaboration in curriculum design teams: Its
effects, mechanisms, and conditions and whatever
collaborative design could positively affect
professional development and implementation
curriculum change. The results showed that the effects
of curriculum design teams in terms of learning
outcomes for teachers in areas of content knowledge
and skills was manifested in the curriculum design
process. It was concluded that collaborative design
was linked to the curriculum which influenced
teachers’ knowledge and the implementation of
curriculum change. Voogt et al.’s research has some
semblance with the present study because one of its
variables was content knowledge which is also one of
the concerns of this current study. The scope, however,
of the present study is wider than the former study in
terms of the number variables which were correlated to
the present study. The present study attempted to find
out also if the curriculum implementation of the
Special Science Elementary School was affected by
the instructional leadership and if it is influenced also
school performance.The reviewed study has some
similarities with the present study as regards
curriculum implementation but it differs from the
present study which has three variables affecting one
another. The latter study has created an output, a
Continuous Improvement Plan for the Special Science
Elementary School curriculum. Further it included two
other variables, such as school performance and
instructional leadership as correlates of curriculum
implementation. A study of instructional leadership
was the focus of the study of Almo (2015) which tried
to determine the effects of instructional leadership in
leading innovative pedagogical change and the
management system of the leader. It was revealed that
the performance review, and commitment affected the
school performance. It was recommended that a
capacity building program could be a leading strategy
in affecting change in the curriculum. Almo’s work
has some similarities with the present study because it
also included instructional leadership in science
education. Winarmo et al. (2020) conducted a study on
the implementation of integrated Science Curriculum
Prado & Sabas
in Indonesia. It attempted to determine the difficulties
encountered in the implementation of Science
curriculum. It utilized the qualitative research design
using a structured interview. The result showed that
the integrated science curriculum that was
implemented had not yet succeeded in achieving its
learning goals. This is attributed to the competence of
teachers in the integrated schools because the teachers
are not Science major. The foregoing reviewed study
is somewhat related only because its focus was not
science education. It differs from the present study
with regard to the level of the students’ respondents.
Another study was done by Nuangchalerm & El Islami
(2019) on the positive impact of knowledge of the
nature of science in understanding the integrated
science curriculum. The results revealed that using
integrated science with learning media improves
learning outcomes. This reviewed study is somewhat
related only to the present study because it only
included one variable which is the implementation of
the science curriculum. Nevertheless, they differ from
each other because the former study focused on the
integrated science curriculum whereas, the present
study was on special science elementary school
curriculum implementation. Another study was done
by Siriwat (2015) on the science curriculum
implementation in the secondary school in Thailand.
The study analyzed the classroom observation in
secondary science classrooms in 14 schools focusing
on lower secondary science classrooms. The findings
revealed that school science teachers can be
categorized in terms of learning and teaching practices
of the science teachers in Thailand. This study is also
related to the current study because it also attempted to
determine the manner of implementation in Science
Curriculum.
Methodology
Participants
The sources of data of this study were from the Special
Science Elementary Schools (SSES) Curriculum
which pioneered in the School Divisions in seven (7)
cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in the
municipality of Cainta in the province of Rizal. The
NCR schools are the cities of Quezon, Muntinlupa,
Mandaluyong, Makati, Marikina, Valenzuela, and
Taguig. In the province of Rizal, Cainta Elementary
School was the pioneering school, followed by the
Satellite Schools, in San Mateo, Rodriguez, Antipolo,
and Binangonan. In each pioneering school, two
floating teachers were assigned to handle Science
subjects in the special science class (Star Section}
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exclusively in grades 4 to 6. In one school, six teachers
from each grade level were identified as the class
adviser, six floating teachers (no advisory class) were
designated to teach. Apart from these participants, the
principal of each was included as respondents. They
suggested to include the Science teachers in their
Satellite Schools in the metropolis. The distribution of
the respondents is shown in Table 1.
Table 1.Distribution of Respondents by School
Divisions
Instruments of the Study
This study utilized the self-constructed questionnaire
as the main data gathering instrument. There are three
parts of the questionnaire. The first part of the
questionnaire elicits data on the personal profile of the
respondents. The second part of questionnaire gathered
information about the perception on the extent of
implementation and level of instructional leadership of
special science elementary school curriculum in
selected public school of the National Capital Region
and province of Rizal during the school years 2013 –
2018 as perceived by the school implementers. The
third part of dwells on the teachers’ learning and
development program. The fourth part of the
questionnaire determined the level of instructional
leadership of the school heads and teachers in terms of
the three aspects, namely: curriculum, instruction, and
assessment. Copies of the questionnaire were given to
some p rofession als who are deemed to be
knowledgeable in the field of education. This
procedure constituted the expert validation phase.
Revisions were made on the basis of the suggestions
and comments of the expert validators. Copies of the
revised version of the question were then distributed to
ten elementary schools’ teachers and two (2) schools
with the request of accomplishing them for field
Prado & Sabas
validation of the instrument. Their responses were
tallied and are made the basis for the computation of
Cronback Alpha. This was done to establish the
validity and reliability of the instrument to gather data
and bring about acceptable findings and conclusions.
The result of the computation is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Result of the Field Validation of the
Questionnaire
Procedures
In order to gather the data needed for the study, the
researcher informed and asked permission from proper
authorities prior to her research undertaking. She first
asked permission from the Schools Division
Superintendents of the Division of Rizal and National
Capital Region (NCR) to conduct the study. After the
request was granted, the researcher requested the
school heads of the different Special Science
Elementary Schools to allow her to conduct the study
and administer the questionnaires. After having sought
the necessary permission, the researcher through the
assistance of her fellow teachers asked the respondents
to answer the survey questionnaire to determine the
assessment on the implementation of the Special
Science Elementary School curriculum. The school
principals volunteered to send the questionnaire to
their respective Satellite Schools for the teachers to
accomplish it. The retrieval of the questionnaires was
done by the researcher herself after a week, during
which the appreciative inquiry (AI) followed. After the
retrieval of the questionnaires, the researcher tallied,
analyzed and interpreted the gathered data.
Results and Discussion
The salient findings of the study are the following:
Based on the results and discussions, the following
findings are hereby summarized: 1. The extent of
implementation of the SSES curriculum in terms of the
four aspects as perceived by teacher - respondents was
only High which was revealed by the grand weighted
mean of 4.07 while it was only Moderate as perceived
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by the school administrator – respondents with the
grand weighted mean of 3.48. 2. There is a significant
difference between the perceptions of the two
respondents on the extent of its implementation in
terms of program component, teachers’ learning and
development program and administrative support as
evidenced by their t-computed values of 2.59, 2.07,
and 2.03 which are all greater than the critical value of
2.306, but on the other hand, there is no significant
difference between the perceptions of the two groups
of respondents in terms of learning materials /
resources since the computed t-value of 1.69 is lesser
than the critical value of 2. 306. 3. About the schools’
performance level of SSES in terms of access
Enrollment rate was very satisfactory as evidenced on
their overall weighted mean of 4.35 for teachers and
3.75 for school heads and drop-out rates were
outstanding for teachers for having an overall
weighted mean of 4.55 and very satisfactory for school
heads for having 4.13 overall weighted mean. The
results for quality on schools’ National Achievement
Test were very satisfactory for having an overall
weighted mean of 3.62 and 3.57 respectively. In terms
of governance, funding source, professional
development and project implementation were all both
satisfactory for having the grand weighted means of
3.42 for teachers and 3.27 for school heads. And for
the results of schools’ performance level of the SSES
in terms of access, quality and governance, it was
identified as very satisfactory as presented by the
grand weighted means of 3.80 for teachers and 3.55
for school heads. 4. There is significant correlation
between the extent of implementation of SSES
curriculum in terms of program component, learning
materials / resources, teachers’ learning and
development program, and administrative support and
the schools’ performance in terms of access, quality
and governance since all the computed values are
greater than the t – critical value of 2.306. 5. As
perceived by the two groups of respondents, their level
of instructional leadership was High Level in terms of
curriculum, instruction, and assessment as shown by
the grand weighted mean of 4.20 for teachers and 3.72
for school heads. 6. There is no significant difference
on the perceptions of the School heads and teachers
about their level of instructional leaderships with
respect to curriculum, instruction, and assessment for
having the t – computed values of 1.82, 1.97, and 1.20
which are all lesser than the t – critical value of 2.306.
7. In terms of correlation between the extent of
implementation of SSES Curriculum and the aspect of
school performance in program comment significant
relationship was found in enrolment and drop-out rates
and in professional development and project
implementation with computed values of r of 0.57, 0.7,
Prado & Sabas
0.31, respectively, which exceed the critical value of r
of 0.266. In computed values for NAT and funding
sources are 009 and 0.25, respectively, which suggest
insignificant correction. The same trend was observed
on the relationship with school performance in terms
of learning resources. Due attention may be given to
the non-existent of significant correlation with the
NAT results. Lastly, the correlation between the level
of implementation of the SESS and instructional
leadership in the aspects of curriculum, instruction and
assessment are all significant with computed values of
r of 0.68, 0.35 and 0.52, respectively, which all exceed
the critical value of 0.266. Based on the findings, the
researcher has determined Two (2) continuous
improvement plans (CIP) that could be developed and
these are: (1.) introduce the use of telegram account
and google classroom account to the SSES
Implementers and (2.) enhancing SSES implementers
instructional leadership for the inclusion of learners in
the team that would modify the curriculum to expand
their hands-on experience while providing valuable
input for the betterment of the curriculum. These two
programs shall be the target point in an CIP that is
proposed by the researcher.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, the following
conclusions were drawn: 1. Special Science
Elementary School curriculum in selected public
schools in NCR and the province of Rizal is on High
Extent of implementation but there is still room for
improvement. 2. School heads and teachers have
d ifferen t po in ts of view on the exten t of
implementation of SSES. 3. SSES has a remarkable
performance in terms of access, particularly in
Enrolment rate and drop-out rate while in terms of
quality; there is a need to enhance performance as
shown in national achievement test result. And there is
an inadequate funding source and not enough
professional development. 4. The extent of
implementation of school heads and teachers of SSES
curriculum is related to their level of instructional
leadership as perceived by themselves. This implies
that the greater the extent of implementation, the more
instructional leadership is required from the
implementers. 5. The two groups of respondents
believe that they have managed well the curriculum,
instruction, and assessment. 6. School heads and
teachers have the same beliefs in the level of
instructional leadership. 7. The High level of
instructional leadership manifested on the extent of
implementation of the two groups on SSES. 8. School
heads and teachers have identified the problems in the
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Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 580-587, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1191, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8354066, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
implementation of Special Science Elementary
Schools curriculum and proposed continuous
improvement plans like launching of contests that will
provide them with funds and at the same time increase
their students’ enthusiasm in learning, build up their
confidence and enhance their academic performance.
They are also looking at allowing their students to
participate in the design and enhancement of their
curriculum to let students experience hands on training
in the modification of curriculum while providing
valuable input.
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Affiliations and Corresponding Information
Glofel A. Prado
Marikina Polytechnic College – Philippines
Herculano V. Sabas
Marikina Polytechnic College - Philippines
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