Curriculum development reforms
and enhancement
GEARING UP FOR THE FUTURE: CURRICULUM
REFORMS
MODULE OVERVIEW:
This module brings you to some curricular
developments reform and enhancement. As the
Philippine education braces itself with the ASEAN and
the rest of the world, there is a need to embark on
enhancement and reforms in the curriculum. As a
curriculum knower, designer, implementer, and
evaluator, substantial knowledge of some of these
reforms is necessary.
REPUBLIC ACT 10533
known as the Enhanced basic Education Act of 2013,
Is the latest educational reform in Philippine Education
signed into the law by President Benigno Aquino III
last May 15, 2013.
It is an act enhancing the Philippine Basic Education
system by strengthening its curriculum and increasing
the number of years for basic education appropriating
funds therefore and for other purposes.
REPUBLIC ACT 10533
Popularly known as K to 12 includes
One year of Kindergarten Education
Six years of Elementary Education and
Six years of Secondary Education
This six-year secondary education includes
4 years of Junior High School and
2 years of Senior High School
With K to 12, the existing 10 years of basic education is
increased to 12 years with Kindergarten Education as a
prerequisite to entry in Grade 1.
Why k to 12?
K to 12 makes the Philippine Education system at par
with the international standard of 12-year basic
education thereby contributing to a better educated
society capable of pursuing productive employment,
entrepreneurship, or higher education studies. After
going through kindergarten, elementary, junior high
and a specialized senior high school program, every K
to 12 graduate is ready to go into different paths-
higher education, middle level skills development,
employment, or entrepreneurship.
Why k to 12?
The K to 12 graduates are also expected to be
equipped with 21st century skills like
information,
media and technology skills,
learning and innovation skills,
effective communication skills,
and life and career skills.
Why k to 12?
When K to 12 was launched in 2012, many Filipinos were
apprehensive because of the addition of two more years in
secondary schooling. Some said, the additional two years are
added burden for the average Filipino family. Others said, the
K to 12 program is doomed to fail since it does not address
the basic problems in education like lack of classrooms,
chairs, books, teachers, quality teaching and many more.
Amidst criticisms, the Department of Education pushed for
the K to 12 implementation.
Bases of the K to 12 implementation
1. Mastery of basic competencies is insufficient due to congested
curriculum.
Comparative Achievement Comparative Achievement
Levels in Mathematics Levels in Science
Achievement Achievement
Level SY SY Level SY SY
2004- % 2005- & 2004- % 2005-2006
&
2005 2006 2006
16.41 1.75
Mastery 168,371 %
149,922 15.21% Mastery 17,921 %
29,479 2.99%
Near 31.31 Near 23.9 19.89
321,305 253,396 25.71% 246,207 196,938
Mastery % Mastery 9% %
Low 52.28 Low 74.2 77.03
536,439 582,436 59.09% 761,987 759,337
Mastery %
Mastery 6% %
100.00 100.01 100 100
TOTAL 1,026,115 985,754 TOTAL 1,026,115 985,754
% % % %
National Achievement Test- Fourth Year (SY 2004-2006)
Source: www.deped.gov.ph
Bases of the K to 12 implementation
2. The Philippines is the only remaining country in Asia with a 10-
year basic education program.
The Philippines is the only country in Asia that has a ten-year
basic education program. The short duration of the basic
education program also puts millions of overseas Filipino
workers, especially the professionals, and those who intend to
study abroad at a disadvantage. Graduates of Philippine
schools are not automatically recognized as professionals
outside the country due to a lack of two years in basic
education. Balogna Accord imposes twelve (12) years of
education for university admission and practice of profession
in European countries. Washington Accord prescribes 12 years
basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering
With K to 12, Filipino professionals would have the
same competitive edge with professionals in other
countries having gone through 12 years of basic
education.
The recommendation to improve and to lengthen the
short basic education in the Philippines has been given
since 1925. as one of the most well studied reforms,
recommendations of either adding or restoring 7th
grade or adding an extra year to basic education have
been put forward.
Researches on Philippine Basic Education
Curriculum and their Recommendations
Year Source Recommendation
Training of graduate student in
1925 Monroe Survey agriculture, commerce, and
industry because secondary
education did not prepare students
for life
1949UNESCO Mission Restoration of Grade VII in
primary education
Survey
Researches on Philippine Basic Education
Curriculum and their Recommendations
Year Source Recommendation
1953Education Act Revising the Primary School
system by adding one year
(Grade VII)
1960 Swanson Survey Restoring grade 7 in Primary
Education
Extending secondary education by one
year to better prepare students who have
1970 PCSPE no plans to take up university education
Researches on Philippine Basic Education
Curriculum and their Recommendations
Year Source Recommendation
Retaining the 10-year basic education
1991EDCOM Report phase while institutionalizing career
counseling in primary and secondary
schools in preparation for higher
education
Prioritizing student learning
1998Philippines through curricular reforms, the
Education Sector Study provision of textbooks, the use of
the vernacular in lower Primary
(World Bank and ADB) grades, and the institution of a
longer basic education cycle
Researches on Philippine Basic Education
Curriculum and their Recommendations
Year Source Recommendation
Implementing a compulsory one-year pre-
baccalaureate stage as prerequisite for
2000 PCER students interested in enrolling in higher
education degree programs
Lengthening the educational
2006 Philippine EFA 2015 cycle by adding two years to
National Action Plan formal basic education (one each
for Primary and High School)
2008 Presidential Task Extending pre-university education total
of 12 years, benchmarking the content of
Force on Education the eleventh and twelfth years with
international programs
Employability of Filipino high school graduates
The K to 12 Curriculum prepares the students for the world of
work, middle Level Skills development, entrepreneurship and
college education. As early as Grade 7 and Grade 8, the
student is made to explore at least 8 subjects in the four (4)
areas of Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE)
namely:
Home Economics
ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
Industrial Arts and Agriculture
and Fishery Arts
Employability of Filipino high school graduates
In Grade 10 and Grade 12, the student is supposed to have
obtained a National Certificate (NC) Level 1 and NC Level II
from TESDA. NC I and NC II make a Grade 12 graduate
employable.
The short duration of basic education in the Philippines
resulted to 15 year old graduates who are not legally
employable. With the implementation of the K to 12, the
graduates of senior high is 18 years old who is legally
employable.
The K to 12 Curriculum
Section 5 of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, stipulates
the following curricular standards which the curriculum developers
adhered to in crafting the K to 12 curriculum:
The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and
developmentally appropriate;
The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-
based;
The curriculum shall be culture-sensitive;
The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;
The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are
constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and
integrative;
The K to 12 Curriculum
The curriculum shall adhere to principles and framework of Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from
where the learners are and from what they already knew proceeding
from the known to the unknown; instructional materials and capable
teachers to implement the MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available;
The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure
mastery of knowledge and skills after each level; and
The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to
localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective
educational and social contexts. The production and development of
locally produced teaching materials shall be encouraged and approval
of these materials shall devolve to the regional and division education
units.
Core Curriculum
The Senior High School Curriculum
Four tracks in Senior High School
Academic track
TechVoc track
Sports and Arts
Design track
Core Curriculum
The Senior High School Curriculum
The Academic Track has four strands namely;
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
Humanities and Social Science (HUMSS),
Accounting, Business and Management (ABM) and
General Academic Strand (GAS)
This means that at Grade 11, a student chooses which track to
pursue and if he/she must also choose which strand. If the student
intends to go to college program after Grade 12, then he/she
must take the academic track. The college program which he/she
wants to enroll in determines which strand to take- STEM,
HUMSS or ABM.
Core Curriculum
The Senior High School Curriculum
If a Senior High School student wants to
pursue TechVoc courses in Technical Education
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), he/she
takes the TechVoc track.
He/she who is interested in Arts and design
will pursue the Arts and Design Track.
The Sports Track will be for any sports-minded
Senior High school student.
Core Subjects
Language
Oral Communication
Reading & Writing
Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wikang Filipino at Kulturang Filipino
Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Iba’t Ibang Teksto Tungo sa Pananaliksik
Humanities
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions
Communication
Media & Information Literacy
Mathematics
General Mathematics
Core Subjects
Science
Earth and Life Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Physical Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Social Science
Personal Development/Pansariling Kaunlaran
Philosophy
Intro to Philosophy of Human Person/Pambungad sa Pilosopiya ng
Tao
PE and Health – Physical Education and Health
7 Contextualized Subjects
The contextualized subjects apply to all tracks and
strands but the subjects are taught in the context of
track.
Other Descriptive Titles for the 7 Contextualized/Applied
Subjects for All the Tracks
1. English for Academic and Professional Purposes
2. Research in Daily Life 1
3. Research in Daily Life 2
4. Pagsulat sa Filipino sa Piling Larangan
5. Entrepreneurship
6. Empowerment Technologies (E-Tech): ICT for
Professional Tracks
7. Research Project/Culminating Activity
Specialization Subjects, Academic Track, ABM
1. Applied Economics
2. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
3. Fundamentals of Accountancy, Business and Management 1
4. Fundamentals of Accountancy, Business and Management 2
5. Business Math
6. Business Finance
7. Organization and Management
8. Principles of Marketing
9. Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating
Specialization, Academic Track, STEM
1. Pre-Calculus
2. Basic Calculus
3. General Biology 1
4. General Biology 2
5. General Physics 1
6. General Physics 2
7. General Chemistry 1
8. General Chemistry 2
9. Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating
Activity
Specialization, Academic Track, HUMSS
1. Creative Writing
2. Creative Non-Fiction: The Literacy Essay
3. World Religions and Belief Systems
4. Trends, Networks and Critical Thinking in the 21 st Century
5. Philippines Politics and Governance
6. Community Engagement, Social Participation and Citizenship
7. Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
8. Disciplines and Ideas in the Applied Sciences
9. Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating
Activity
Specialization, Academic Track, General Academic
Strand
1. Humanities 1*
2. Humanities 2*
3. Social Science 1**
4. Applied Economics
5. Organization and Management
6. Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction
7. Elective 1 (from any track/strand)
8. Elective 2 (from any track/strand)
9. Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating
Activity
Specialization, Sports
1. Safety and First Aid
2. Human Movement
3. Fundamentals of Coaching
4. Sports Officiating and Activity Management
5. Fitness, Sports and Recreation leadership
6. Psychosocial Aspect of Sports and Exercise
7. Fitness Testing and Exercise Programming
8. Practicum (in campus)
9. Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating
Activity
Specialization, Arts and Design
1. Introduction to Applied Arts and Design Production
2. Introduction to Performing Arts
3. Understanding Elements and Principles of the Different
Arts
4. Work Environment in Various Arts Fields
5. Developing Filipino Identity in the Arts
6. Leadership and Management in Different Arts Fields.
7. Apprenticeship and Exploration of Different Arts Fields
(Production and Performing: Music, Dance and Theater)
8. Apprenticeship and Exploration of Different Arts Design
Production (Media Arts, Visual Arts and Literary Arts)
