Module 13: Curriculum Development Reforms and Enhancement
Topic 1: The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (K to 12)
Introduction
Curriculum designers need to enhance the curriculum and propose curricular
innovations to respond to the changing educational landscape in the country as well as
in other parts of the globe. It is most necessary that as a future curricularist and a
teacher, you should be familiar with what is happening and will happen in our
curriculum. There is no substitute for being READY and INFORMED. In this module,
you will have a comprehensive knowledge on curricular reforms initiated in the
Philippines and abroad to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Let’s study them
one by one.
Learning Outcome
Gained comprehensive understanding of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum
Reform.
Learning Content
Curriculum designers need to enhance the recommended curriculum and
propose curricular innovations to respond to the changing landscape in education
regionally and globally.
Republic Act 10533, otherwise known as the enhanced Basic Education Act of
2013, is the latest educational reform in Philippine Education signed into law by
President Benigno Aquino III last May 15, 2013. It is an act enhancing the Philippine
Basic Education by strengthening in curriculum and increasing the number of years for
basic education appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes. The Enhanced
Basic Education Act of 2013 popularly known as K to 12 includes one (1) year of
kindergarten education, six (6) years of secondary education. This six-year
secondary education includes four (4) years of junior high school and two (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. 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.
When K to 12 was launched in 2012 many Filipinos were apprehensive because
of the addition of two (2) 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. What
could be the reason?
Let’s consider the existing realities in Philippines education that became the
bases of the K to 12 implementation:
1. Insufficient mastery of basic competencies due to congested curriculum.
The table below presents the national achievement test results of 4 th year
students in Mathematics and Science. In 2005-2006 Mathematics results, only 15% of
the students acquired mastery of the Mathematics competencies while majority
(59.09%) of the high school students belonged to the low mastery level. The
achievement results in Science was even more discouraging since only 3% of the 4 th
year high school students in 2005-2006 mastered the Science processes and skills.
Majority belonged to the low mastery category and a few were in the near mastery level.
Comparative Achievement Levels in Achievement Comparative Achievement Levels in Science
Achievement Mathematic Level
Level SY 2004- % SY 2005- & SY 2004- % SY 2005- &
2005 2006 2005 2006
Mastery 168, 371 16.41% 149, 922 15.21% Mastery 17, 921 1.75% 29, 479 2.99%
Near Mastery 321, 305 31.31% 253, 396 25.71% Near 246, 207 23.99% 196, 938 19.89%
Mastery
Low Mastery 536, 439 52.8% 582,436 59.09 Low Mastery 761,987 74.26% 759,337 77.03%
Total 1,026,115 100.00% 985,754 100.01% Total 1,0266,11 100% 985,754 100%
5
National Achievement Test - Fourth Year (SY 2004-2006)
Source: [Link]
In International examinations, the Philippines performed poorly as revealed in
2003 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science) scores. In Grade IV
Science and Math, the Philippines ranked 23 out of 25 participating countries. In High
School II Science, the Philippines ranked 43 out of 46 and in Math ranked 34 out of 38.
Even with only the science high schools participating in the Advanced Mathematics
category in 2008 TIMMS, the country’s ranking did not improve. In fact, it ranked the
lowest (10) among ten participating countries.
One of the factors that contribute to the low performance in achievement tests is
the congested basic education curriculum. What other countries teach in twelve (12)
years the Philippines teach only in ten (10) years. The ten (years) would not be enough
to master the competencies. Adding two years would make possible the decongestion
of the curriculum for comprehensive acquisition of basic competencies and the 21 st
century skills.
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 the lack of two years in basic
education. Bologna Accord imposes twelve (12) years of education for university
admission and practice of profession in European countries. Washington Accord
prescribes twelve (12) years basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering
professionals.
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.
By the way, 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.
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, Industrial
Arts and Agriculture and Fishery Arts. In Grade 10 and Grade 12, the students 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
graduate 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:
a. The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally appropriate;
b. The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based;
c. The curriculum shall be culture-sensitive;
d. The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;
e. The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist; inquiry-
based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;
f. The curriculum shall adhere to the 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;
g. The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure mastery of
knowledge and skills after each level; and
h. 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.
Curriculum Tracks
The student after undergoing Senior High School can choose among four tracks:
Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports track and Arts and Designs
Track. The academic track includes four strands; Business, Accountancy, Management
(BAM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics (STEM); and General Academic Strand (GAS). This means that at Grade
11, a student chooses which track to pursue and if he/she chooses the academic
he/she must also choose which track which strand. If a student intends to go to college
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, HUMMS, Sports and
Arts and Design. If a Grade 12 graduate wants to pursue TechVoc courses in Technical
Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), he/she takes the TecVoc 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 Grade 12 graduate.
The Senior High School Curriculum has a total of thirty-one subjects. The thirty-
one subjects are grouped into fifteen (15) core subjects, (7) contextualized subjects and
nine (9) specialization subjects.
The following are the core subjects to be taken by all students regardless of
track. There are also common subjects for different tracks and the highly specialized
courses for each track:
Core Subjects
Oral Communication
Reading and Writing
Language
Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wikang Filipino at Kulturang
Filipino
Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Iba’t Ibang Teksto Tungo sa
Pananaliksik
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Humanities Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions
Communication Media and Information Literacy
Mathematics General Mathematics
Statistics and Probability
Science Earth and Life Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Physical Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Social Science Personal Development/Pansariling Kaunlaran
Understanding Society and Culture
Philosophy Intro to Philosophy of the Human Person/Pambungad sa
Pilosopiya nga Tao
PE and Health
Below are the 7 contextualized subjects. The contextualized subjects apply to all
tracks and strands but the subjects are taught in the context of the track. For example,
English for Academic and Professional Purposed for the TechVoc Track will center on
techvoc terms, describing and reporting techvoc-related procedures while for the Sports
track, rge English subject will focus on the language for sports. Research may be a
presentation and defense of a paper in management for ABM track or in STEM but may
be a culminating activity or exhibit for the Arts and Design track and end-of-the-term
exhibits for the Arts and Design track.
Academic Track Tech-voc, Sports, Arts and Design Tracks
English for Academic and Professional Purposes Introduction to Research Methods – Quantitative
Introduction to Research Methods – Qualitative Research Skills 1
Introduction to Research Methods – Quantitaive Research Skills 2
Filipino Course Mga Diskurso sa Trabaho
ICT foe Learners ICT Applications
Learning Task
Activity 1: If you interviewed about K to 12, what ten ideas or concepts can you tell?
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Activity 2: Reflect on the statement below and comment: “The K to 12 is bound to fail
because it is implemented hurriedly without thorough planning.”