If the teachers role in the K-12 reform continues to be
the usual implementing policy from above, this major reform
will not differ much from past initiatives. In the Philippines,
the customary and default solution to the poor performance of
students
in
public
schools
has
been
teacher
training,
particularly on the students least mastered skills as revealed
by the annual National Achievement Test (NAT) results or at
times, training on a new educational paradigm that is perceived
by education leaders to possess the ability to turn-around
poor student performance. A case in point was the introduction
in
Philippine
Design
(UbD),
secondary
a
tool
schools
for
in
2010
educational
of
Understanding
planning
focused
by
on
teaching for understanding that was advocated by McTighe and
Wiggins (2005). Such an attitude is premised on the belief that
the
conditions
of
schooling
contributing
to
poor
student
outcomes are attributable to the poor quality of the workers
and to the inadequacy of their tools, and that they were subject
to
revision
through
mandated,
top-down
initiatives
(Murphy,
2005). While the idea of investing in the training of those who
can make the greatest difference to students learning may be
correct, more proactive development programs that recognize the
concept
and
practice
of
teacher
leadership
may
hold
promise for both pre-service and in-service teachers.
greater
The Philippine public school system consists of mandatory
six years of elementary education and four years of high school.
This will become mandatory six years of elementary education and
six years of high school upon the full implementation in school
year 2016-2017 of the K-12 Reform that was legislated in May
2013. The Philippine school system has been considered among the
largest in the world (De Guzman, 2013) with the public school
system consisting of 38,503 public elementary schools and 7,470
public
high
supervision
schools.
and
All
public
regulation
of
schools
the
are
Department
under
of
the
Education
(Department of Education, 2012), locally known as DepEd. These
schools
are
organized
into
districts,
divisions
and
regional
groupings.
The
academic
and
administrative
management
of
public
schools is highly centralized at the central office of the DepEd
with
regional,
division
and
district
offices
monitoring
the
implementation of policies at the local levels. The Philippine
education system is historically very hierarchical and continues
to be largely so. De Guzman (2006) asserted that while current
reform efforts in the country are supposedly anchored on schoolbased management, the overall administration of the education
system
follows
the
considered
the
essentially
means
deconcentration
weakest
form
that
although
form
of
of
decentralization,
decentralization.
management
This
responsibilities
shift from central to local levels, the central office remains
in control.
In the Philippine public school system, there are different
types of teaching positions such as Teacher, Master Teacher and
Head Teacher among others. There is no distinction between the
duties of one teaching position and another. All these teachers
are
involved
teachers
in
into
qualifications
responsibilities
classroom
these
of
types
the
and
teaching.
is
teachers
The
based
rather
qualification
classification
on
than
the
personal
the
requirements
of
duties,
of
the
positions. This classification scheme was adopted to encourage
and reward initiatives for professional growth. The progression
to a higher position level does not entail an increase in duties
and
responsibilities;
it
is
based
on
possession
of
higher
degrees and participation in professional development programs.