APPENDIX F

Journey in Basic Education Curricular Reforms: 1946-2011

We draw an important distinction between assessing and evaluating. Assessing is gathering evidence of
content knowledge and skills; evaluating is the case-by-case value judgment of the quality of performance...
Successful program development cannot occur without some form of evaluation. Curriculum program
evaluation is the process of systematically determining the quality of a school program and how the
program can be improved (Sanders, 2000).

The chronology of basic education curricular reforms is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Basic Education Curricular Reforms

Grade Level 1946-1956 1957-1972 1973-1988 1989-2001 2002-2011 2012-2013
Year IV Grade 10 2 – 2 Plan REVISED New 2002 Basic
SECONDARY Education
Year III ' College Prep Secondary Curriculum
Grade 9
EDUCATION
Curriculum Education
Year II PROGRAM
Grade 8
' Vocational 2010 Secondary
' Electives Offered Curriculum Education
Year I Curriculum (NSEC)
Grade 7 Curriculum
General Roll-out
Grade 6 Education 1957-1982 1983-2001 2002-2011 2012 implementation
of Grade 1 and
Grade 5 Curriculum Grade 7 of the
Revised New K to 12
Grade 4 2002 Basic
Elementary Elementary R.A. 10157 Curriculum
Education
Grade 3 Education School Kindergarten
Curriculum Education Act
Curriculum Curriculum
Grade 2 (NESC)
Grade 1
Kindergarten 2011 Kindergarten

1946-1956
The establishment of the Commonwealth, called for a reorientation of educational plans and policies
to conform to the requirements of a revised form government. The 1935 Constitution provided certain
educational objectives such as the development of moral character personal discipline, civic conscience,
vocational efficiency and citizenship training. To carry out the Constitutional mandate a revision of the
elementary curriculum was made to include the teaching of the National Language obligatory. It was first
offered as a subject in 1939-1940 in the public schools.
 Before the Commonwealth no effort was made to give importance to the native dialects for it was
believed that English should be the basic official language. With fill autonomy given in
the Commonwealth government, there was a need to make Filipins pupils and students aware of learning a common
native tongue.
Another development was the shortening of the elementary curriculum from seven to six years in order to
admit more children of school age. The Educational Act of 1948, then called the educational "Magna Curia of the
Philippines, provided for the system of public elementary education and its matter of financing. Among other things,
the Act provided, subject to certain conditions, for compulsory attendance in the primary grades, the nationalization
of the support of the elementary grades, except the elementary a grades chartered cities. The latter remained under
the support of the city government (Philippine Educational System, 1901-1976)
Legislations affecting basic education were passed included the following:
1. Commonwealth Act No. 586 Approved on August 7, 1940. An Act to Provide for the Revision of
the System of Public Elementary Education in the Philippines including the Financing Thereof.
2. Commonwealth Act No. 589 Approved on August 19, 1940. An Act Establishing a School Ritual in
All Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools. (Section 2 of this Act provides "the school
ritual shall consist of solemn and patriotic ceremonies and shall mainly include the singing of the
Philippine National Hymn, and the recitation by the pupils or students assembled of a patriotic pledge
by a comms tice provided for in this Act.”)
3. Republic Act No. 896 Approved on June 20, 1953. An Act to Declare the Policy on Elementary
Education in the Philippines.
The fundamental objectives of education were as follows:
1. To inculcate moral and spiritual values inspired by an abiding faith in God.
2. To develop an enlightened. patriotic. useful and upright citizenry in a democratic society.
3. To instill habits of industry and thrift, and to prepare individuals to contribute to the economic
development and wise conservation of the Nation's natural resources,
4. To maintain family solidarity, to improve community life, to perpetuate all that is desirable in our
national heritage, and to serve the cause of world peace.
5. To promote the sciences, arts and letters for the enrichment of life and recognition of the dignity of
the human person.
Objectives of elementary education:
The elementary school should offer adequate education for our children to prepare them for democratic
citizenship. It should give instruction in baste knowledge, develop basic skills and attitudes, und inculcate ideals
necessary for the promotion of national solidarity, and for the development of an enlightened. patriotic, useful, and
upright citizenry in a democracy. Ching emphasis to the culture, desirable traditions, and virtues of our people, it
should prepare the child for effective participation in its community and for a better understanding of an expanding
society (BNE Report, 1955)
Objectives of secondary education:
The secondary school shall continue the unifying functions of elementary education by providing general
education and shall seek to discover the varying abilities, interests and aptitudes of the youth, and offer courses in the
different fields of productive endeavor according to the talents of the youths and in the light of community needs. It
shall also initiate a program designed to develop community leadership.
Taking into consideration the economic needs of the country, the school must cultivate vocational efficiency
which will help the students become effective members of their family and the community. For those who will
continue in the colleges and universities the secondary school must offer courses to prepare the students for an
effective study in the institutions of the higher learning. (BNB Report, 1955)
Curriculum for elementary and secondary levels were labeled General Education Curriculum while the core
curriculums with work education as the core was implemented.
1957 - 1982
Elementary Education
The Revised Elementary Education Curriculum was gradually affected beginning the school year
1957- 1958.
Table 2 shows the subject areas and Table 2: Minimum Time Allotment for the Elementary School
the minimum time allotments. Curriculum
Number of Minutes a Day
In the Revised Elementary Education
SUBJECT AREA I-II III-IV V-VI
Curriculum, the vermicular was the auxiliary
I. Social Studies 40 50 50
medium of instruction in Grade I and II: II. Work Education 40 60 80
Pilipino and English were offered as subjects. III. Health and Science 40 40 50
The Continuous Progression Scheme IV. Language Arts 110 110 120
(CPS) was implemented in the elementary V. Arithmetic 50
during the SY 1970 – 1971 but due to some VI. Arts & Physical Education 40 40 50
misconceptions, it was literally construed as TOTAL 310 340 400
mass promotion, hence many non-readers were promoted to next grade level. The non-cooperation of many
parents for their children to attend summer tutorial classes added to the non-institutionalization of CPS.
1957 - 1972
Secondary Education
One feature of the 1957 1972 reform was the offering of Character Education and Good Manners and
Right Conduct as a separate subject in the elementary and secondary curricula in all public and private
schools, effective at the beginning of the
second semester of SY 1958- 1959 as Table 3 shows the minimum requirements for compilation of the
secondary general curriculum and the 2-2 plan.
follows: Table 3: Curriculum Under the 2-2 Plan
Subjects Common College Prep. Vocational
a. Elementary level - Good Manners
I-II III IV Year III IV Total
and Right Conduct - everyday in the Year Year Yea Year
most suitable language in all grade r
levels during the opening exercises. English 2 2 2 6 1 1 4
b. Character Education and Right Filipino 2 1 1 4 1 1 3
Language 2 2
Conduct shall be given in English for
Social 2 1 1 4 1 1 4
a period of 40 minutes once a week. Sciences
(Department Order No. 5, s. 1958 Guidance Service
dated August 1, 1958). Mathematics 2 2 2 6 1 1 4
Science 2 2 2 6 1 1 4
Health, PE & 2 1 1 4 1 1 3
PMT 2 2
Work Experience
or Vocational
Education for
4 - - 4 4 4 12
boys or Home
Economics for
girls
Total 16 9 9 34 9 9 34
 The 2-2 Plan Curriculum was considered by the Swanson Survey Team, in theory and philosophy as an
"advanced step in the improvement of high school curriculum but problems in the implementation due to lack of
funds, equipment, vocational teachers and guidance counselors were not resolved.
Streaming the students into college preparatory and vocational was deemed "unfair" by parents who
disregarded the capabilities of their children to go to higher education and streamed in the vocational education.
1973 - 1988
Secondary Education
The Revised Secondary Education Program (RSEP) replaced the 2-2 Plan in 1973. Among the objectives
of the curriculum was to acquire the basic occupational skills acknowledge and information essential for gainful
employment and for making intelligent choice of occupation or career." Electives were included, exploratory
courses were offered that would expose the students to specialization in the third and fourth years.
The RSEP implemented starting SY 1973-1974 introduced the by the boar programming instead of 40
minutes per learning area.
The Bilingual Education Policy was likewise issued as Dept. Order No. 25, 1. 1974. It was interesting to
note that with basic education reforms, the Bureau of Higher Education then, issued the Revised Teacher
Education Curriculum embodied in Dept. Order No. 8, s. 1970 based on the following principles:
reorientation of teacher education to Philippine needs, conditions, and aspirations, coordination and freedom as a
necessary safeguard against proliferation both in content and procedure; institutional cooperation and sharing
through participation of teacher education institutions in a system of educational consortium: quality "control"
through an adequate system of "control" with respect to standards of instruction and instructional facilities;
recruitment by encouraging young people from all walks of life to enroll in teaching profession; selective
admission and retention by admitting to the teacher education institutions students who belong to the upper 50%
of the graduating class of secondary schools, teacher education for all levels and disciplines which involves
teacher preparation at all levels and in all areas; and observance of professional ethics and morality.
1989 - 2001
The New Secondary Education Curriculum
The conceptualization of the New Secondary School Curriculum (NSEC) began in 1982 in preparation
for the graduates of the New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC) implemented starting SY 1982-83 in Grade
1. The new elementary curriculum was put in place one grade upwards every year thereafter through the six
grades of elementary school, under the Program for Decentralized Education Development (PRODED)
The first full beneficiaries of the new elementary school curriculum were graduated in March 1989, and
they also became the first beneficiaries of the NSEC under the Secondary Education Development Program
(SEDP).
The NSEC was implemented in all secondary schools in the Philippines starting with First Year in SY
1989-90. However, the curriculum underwent a macro tryout from 1985 to 1989. During that four-year period,
each curricular year level was tried out using a protest-posttest two-group design. Subsequently from SY 1989-90
to SY 1992-93, additional evaluation was carried out as the NSEC was implemented in the succeeding year
levels, one year level at a time. In SY 1992-93, all four-year levels of the high school curriculum were evaluated
through achievement tests. In February 1994, further testing was done to assess student achievement after the full
implementation of the NSEC.
Assessment of student achievement under the NSEC has bees a major dimension of the evaluation
of SEDP. (Llagas, 1994)
Objectives of the New Secondary Education Curriculum (NSEC)
1. Develop an enlightened commitment to the national ideals by cherishing. preserving and developing
moral, spiritual and socio-cultural values as well as other desirable aspects of the Filipino heritage,
 2. Obtain knowledge and form desirable attitudes for understanding the nature and purpose of man and
therefore, of one's own people, and other races, places and times, thereby promoting a keen sense of
self, of family and of national and international situations;
3. Develop skills in higher intellectual operations and more complex comprehension and expression
activities, and in thinking intelligently. critically and creatively in life's situations;
4. Acquire work skills, knowledge and information and a work ethic essential for making an intelligent
choice of the occupation for career and for specialized training in specific occupations; and
Table 4: New Secondary Education Curriculum
5. Broaden and heighten one's abilities in and appreciation for 2nd
the arts, and3rdscience and technology as a
Total
1st Yea Year Year 4th Year of
means for maximizing one's potential for self fulfilment
SUBJECTS MIN. r andMIN.
for promoting
Unit MIN. the Unitwelfare
MIN. of others.
Unit UNITS
Unit
Level of yearly implementation. English 200 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 4
Filipino 200 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 4
1689 – 1990 ‒ First Year Science & Tech. 40019912 ‒ 1992
400 ‒ Third
2 Year 2
400 400 2 8
1892 ‒ 1993 ‒ Fourth Year Mathematics 1993 1‒ 1994
200 200 ‒ Project
1 Completion
200 1 200Report
1 4
Social Studies 200 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 4
1990 ‒ 1991 ‒ Second Year Pe Health and 1994 1‒ 1995
200 200 ‒ Project
1 Impact
200 1 Report
200 1 4
Music
Values Educ. 200 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 4
For the first time, Values Technology and
400 2 400 2 400 2 400 2 8
Education was offered as a separate Home
Economics
subject in high school, hence the
training of trainers and mass training TOTAL 10 10 10 10 40

of teachers included values formation. A Values Education framework was put in place by then Dept. of
Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). The teacher education institutions were encouraged to offer Values
Education a specialization in BSE.
1983 - 2001
Elementary Education
The Final Report on the New Elementary Education Curriculum records the historical background of
the reform, to wit:
The need reforms in the elementary education became imperative when the results of Survey of
Outcomes in Elementary Education (SUOTELE) came out. A significant finding, clearly showed that the
grader across the nation has mastered only 50% of what he was expected to learn and that the learned
subject were the 3R's
Experimental Elementary Education Program (EEEP). To implement and maintain the
recommendation of SUOTELE, the EEEP was launched by the Bureau of Elementary Education program
1978. it was conducted for two years on an experimental basis.
The result of the EEEP pointed to the validity of the experimental curriculum in developing the
communication skill of children in view of the reduction of the number of subjects and the increased time for
instruction. The finding showed in the EEEP of improved and refined could produce better results in terms
of pupil achievement in comparison to the 1970 Revised Education Program.
The findings of three major researches strengthened more than ever previous indications that
elementary education can stand considerable improvement Among other things, these studies gave
directions to, the development of the 1983 new curriculum.
 Program for Comprehensive Elementary Education (PROCEED). The impact of the aforementioned
researches paved the way for the development of a 10-year (1980-1990) Program for Comprehensive Elementary
Education now better known for its acronym, PROCEED.
The Program for Decentralized Education Development (PRODED). To serve as a launching pad for the
major form envisioned in PROCEED, a Program for Decentralized Educational Development which became well-
known for its acronym PRODED installed. PRODED actually covers the first 4 years of the 10-year development
program PROCEED. PRODED is a World Bunk-assisted project geared towards the improvement of the elementary
education sector with focus on upgrading the quality of education and increasing pupil participation and survival
rates. This program also attempted to redress disparities between and within regions in the delivery of services and
allocation of resources according to the degree of education deprivation of each region.
MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982 issued on January 29, 1982-set the implementation of the NESC effective SY 1983
1984 following this time table;
Grade I - 1983
Grade II - 1984
Grade III - 1985
Grade IV - 1986
Grade V - 1987
Grade VI - 1988
Inclosure to MEC Order No. 6 is the daily time allotment for the NESC.

Table 5: The New Elementary School Curriculum

Subject Areas Daily Time Allotment

I II III IV V VI
Character Building Activities 20-30 20-30 20 20 20 20
Filipino 60 60 60 60 60 60
English 60 60 60 60 60 60
Mathematics 40 40 40 40 40 40
Sibika at Kultura 40 40 40
Heograpiyan Kasaysayan Sibika - - - 40 40 40
Science and Health
Mga Sining at Edukasyong
Pampalakas
Edukasyong Pantahanan at - - 40 40 40 40
Pangkabuhayan
Total Minutes Daily 220-230 300 340 360 360

2002-2011
With the coming of a new leadership in 2001 the NESC and the NSEC were replaced by the 2002 Basic
Education Curriculum (BEC)
DepEd Order No. 25, s. 2002 dated June 17, 2002, ordered the implementation of the 2002 Basic Education
Curriculum during the SY 2002-2003. The Philippine Commission on Educational Reforms (PCER) created on
December 7, 1998, through Executive Order No. 46, recommended the adoption of BEC, One feature of the
curriculum is Makabayan, integrating the learning areas of Values Education, PEHM, Araling Panlipunan and
Technology and Home Economics.

The curriculum aims at empowering the Filipino learner to be capable of self-development throughout one's
life and to be patriotic, benevolent, ecologically aware, and godly. This overall entails the acquisition of life skills, a
neglective understanding and internalization of principles and values, and the development of the person's multiple
intelligences Thus, in the restructured curriculum, training in the life skill the identification and analysts of values,
and the recognition of multiple intelligences permeable all the learning areas.
This curriculum promotes more manual interaction between students and trackers, between students
themselves (collaborative learning), between students and instructional materials, between students and multi-media
sources, and between teachers of different disciplines (collaborative teaching). Also, what makes this curriculum
interactive is the se of information Technology and the
 greater emphasis on computer literacy in all the learning areas in every school where equipment is
available. 2002, BEC. pp. 8-9)

2010 Secondary Education Curriculum

Per DepEd Order No. 76, s. 2010 dated June 4, 2010, the 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum
(SEC) was implemented in the first-year level only. The second, third and fourth years continued to
undertake the 2002 BEC. The refinement of the curriculum followed the Understanding by Design (UbD)
framework which covers three stages: Stage 1: Results/Desired Outcome; Stage 2: Assessment; and Stage 3:
Learning instructional Plan. The first two stages are defined in the Curriculum Guide. The last stage is
covered in the Teaching Guide. Both documents can be accessed at the BSE website. (www.bse.portal.ph) e-
library.

R.A. 10157 entitled An Act Institutionalizing the Kindergarten Education into the Basic
Education System and Appropriating Funds Therefor was approved on January 20, 2012. The
Declaration of Policy states that:
Kindergarten is "mandatory and compulsory for entrance to Grade. DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2012
dated March 24, 2012, detailed the Policies and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Universal
Kindergarten Education Program 5.Y. 2012-2013.

2012-2013

The Roll-out implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7
shall start during the SY 2012-2013. Preparation of instructional materials and teaching guides for the
training of trainers and regional training of Grade I and Grade 7 teachers are ongoing.
It could be noted that the 12-year Basic Education Cycle is first in the 10-point agenda of President
Benigno Aquino, to wit
1. Expansion to a 12-year Basic Education Cycle
2. Universal Pre-school
3. Madrasah Education
4. Tech-Voc Education in Senior High School
5. Every Child a Render by Grade 11
6. Proficiency in Math and Science
7. Assistance to Private School
8. Multilingual Education
9. Quality Textbook
10. Covenant with LGUS to Build More Schools

A more extensive discussion on the roll-out implementation of K to 12 can be accessed at the DepEd
website www.deped.gov.ph.