MODULE 5: CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

This chapter discusses the processes in implementing curriculum as presented by different

scholars in curriculum studies especially in the field of curriculum leadership and supervision. This chapter
is specially design for educators and pre-service teacher education students to understand how a
curriculum is implemented in the Philippine context.
In this chapter you will be able to:
1. Identify different curriculum workers;
2. Analyze different levels of curriculum implementation in the Philippine context; and
3. Discuss the factors to consider in implementing a curriculum.
Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum Implementation, from the term itself, focuses on the actual implementation of the
curriculum from the national level to the local school context. It describes the dynamic of how various
curriculum workers strive to do their functions in order to attain educational goals, programs and policies
set by the country, region, division, district and down to the local school level. Each of these levels has
specific functions to do.
Ideally, the implementation of the curriculum is influenced by the educational goals set by the
government or schools. However, the process of curriculum implementation is also guided by an
educational or curriculum philosophy.
In practice, curriculum implementation is highly influenced by different curriculum workers: people
influence the process. Consequently, not all curricula are perfectly implemented as planned. In the process
of curriculum implementation, there are always problems encountered.
Curriculum Workers
The success or failure of any curriculum depends on the people working for its implementation.
Oliva (2004) identified these people as curriculum workers. At any level of curriculum implementation,
curriculum workers, through their expertise, creativity and dedication, make sure that the curriculum is
implemented as planned.
 Teachers – the most visible among the curriculum workers. Their roles as implementers of the
curriculum are very crucial. It is through their expertise, creativity and commitment that any
curriculum success is attributed. Teachers develop lesson plans, unit plans, yearly plans and
syllabi for each subject they teach. They prepare instructional materials, select methods and
strategies and assess student’s progress. Every day, teachers are given teaching loads to teach
different subjects. Their educational background, educational philosophy, teaching styles and
personality affect the implementation of the curriculum.
 Principals – the chief academic and administrative officer of the school. They provide curricular and
instructional leadership and supervision to the teachers and other school personnel in the local
school context. It is they who lead teachers in planning different school activities and make sure
that all educational goals set by the Department of Education are met. Principals check the lesson
plans developed by each teacher, prepare the school calendar, supervise instruction and prepare
 the school calendar, supervise instruction and prepare school report. Principals also work with
parents and community leaders and win their support to any school activities and projects.
 Curriculum Consultants – individuals with rich experience on doing curriculum projects related to
curriculum planning, curriculum development and curriculum evaluation.
 District Supervisors – responsible for supervising the implementation of the curriculum in the
district level. They help public schools principals in ensuring that the programs of the Department
of Education are implemented in their respective schools. They also implement policies and
programs of the Department of Education in private schools.
 Education Supervisors – assigned to specific subject areas in basic education. They help the
district office of the Department of Education in supervising the implementation of projects and
programs specific for each subject area.
 Division Superintendents – the chief academic officer of each division. They supervise the
implementation of the DepEd curriculum, programs and projects in the division level for both public
and private schools. Usually, each province or a city is considered a division for DepEd.
 Regional Directors – manage the programs and projects of the Department of Education in the
regional level.
 Education Program Specialists – work at the national level or at the central offices of the
Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education. They assist the two
government agencies in the development of curriculum policies that will help teachers and other
curriculum leaders in the implementation of the curriculum.
 Technical Panel and Technical Committees – professors and individual experts from different
disciplines and fields that assist the Commission on Higher Education in developing curriculum,
formulating curriculum policies and evaluating the compliance of higher education institutions to
CHED program standards.
Posner (1995) pointed out that in analyzing a curriculum, a careful examination of the background,
philosophy, expertise and the level of involvement of different curriculum workers are important. Walker
(1971) made observations that in the process of curriculum development, various curriculum workers bring
with them their philosophies, beliefs, expertise and other concerns when they plan and develop curriculum.
Consequently, these are also influential in the implementation of the curriculum.
Glatthorn, Boschee and Whitehead (2006) emphasized that curriculum workers are curriculum leaders,
too. As they implement the curriculum at any level, these curriculum workers take the role of curriculum
leaders providing directions, guidance and supervision. They manage people and programs at any level of
education and in any school.
The problem, however, is that many individuals and groups establish schools for business purposes.
With limited or no background at all in education, they establish schools and employ teachers and other
experts to manage the implementation of the curriculum. The problem in this situation comes when these
schools compete with each other to increase the rate of enrolment. They implement curricular innovations
usually adopted from abroad and duplicate good programs of other schools. At times, the competition is not
healthy at all as there are schools that do not give emphasis on quality.
Level of Curriculum Implementation
To ensure the smooth implementation of the curriculum, each department or ministry of education
in any country has established a system that will take charge of the whole work of planning, development,
implementation and evaluation of the curriculum. Integrated in this system are the curriculum workers
mentioned earlier in this chapter who work in different levels of the bureaucracy.
As shown in Figure 14, the Philippines follows a centralized system of curriculum development and
implementation that starts from the national level down to the local school level. Although the regional,
division, district and school levels are empowered to plan, monitor and evaluate programs, projects and
plans, the central office of the Department of Education still does most of the policies and curriculum
development work.

Republic Act 9155, also known as the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, Chapter 1,
Section 7 defines the function of each level as follows:
A. National Level
Through the leadership of the Secretary of Education, the Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries
and different Bureau Officers are responsible for the following:
 formulating national educational policies;
 formulating a national basic education plan;
 promulgating national educational standards;
 monitoring and assessing national learning outcomes;
 undertaking national educational research and studies;
 enhancing the employment status, professional competence, welfare and working conditions of all
personnel of the Department; and
 enhancing the total development of learners through local and national programs and/or projects.
B. Regional Level
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the regional office under the
Regional Director shall be responsible for the following:
 defining a regional educational policy framework which reflects the values, needs and expectations
of the communities they serve;
 developing a regional basic education plan;
 developing regional educational standards with a view toward bench-marking for international
competitiveness.;
 monitoring, evaluating and assessing regional learning outcomes;
 undertaking research projects and developing and managing region-wide projects which may be
funded through official development assistance and/or or other funding agencies;
 ensuring strict compliance with prescribed national criteria for the recruitment, selection and
training of all staff in the region and divisions;
 formulating, in coordination with the regional development council, the budget to support the
regional educational plan which shall take into account the educational plans of the divisions and
districts;
 determining the organization component of the divisions and districts and approving the proposed
staffing pattern of all employees in the divisions and districts;
 hiring, placing and evaluating all employees in the regional office, except for the position of
assistant director;
 evaluating all school division superintendents and assistant division superintendents in the region;
 planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical and fiscal
resources of the regional office, including professional staff development;
 managing the database and management information system of the region; and
 approving the establishment of public and private elementary and high schools and learning
centers.
C. Division Level
A division consists of a province or a city. Consistent with the national educational policies, plans
and standards, the division level through the leadership of the Division Superintendent shall be responsible
for the following:
 developing and implementing division education development plan;
 planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical and fiscal
resources of the division, including professional staff development;
 hiring, placing and evaluating all division supervisors and school district supervisors as well as all
employees in the division, both teaching and non-teaching personnel, including school heads,
except for the assistant division superintendent;
 monitoring the utilization of funds provided by the national government and local government units
to the schools and learning centers;
  ensuring compliance of quality standards for basic education programs and for this purpose
strengthening the role of division supervisors as subject area specialists;
 promoting awareness of and adherence by the Secretary of Education; and
 supervising the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary and integrated schools
and learning centers.
D. School District Level
A schools district through the leadership of the District Supervisor is responsible for the following:
 providing professional and instructional advice and support to the school heads and
teachers/facilitators of school and learning centers in the district or cluster thereof; and
 curricula supervision
E. School Level
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the school level through the
leadership of school heads is responsible for the following:
 setting the mission, vision, goals and objectives of the school;
 creating an environment within the school that is conductive to teaching and learning;
 implementing the school curriculum and being accountable for higher learning outcomes;
 developing the school education program and school improvement plan;
 offering educational programs, projects and services which provide equitable opportunities for all
learners in the community.
 Introducing and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning outcomes;
 Administering and managing all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the school;
 Recommending the staffing complement of the school based on its needs;
 Encouraging staff development;
 Establishing school and community networks and encouraging the active participation of teachers
organizations, non-academic personnel of public schools and parents-teachers-community
associations; and
 Accepting donations, gifts, bequests and grants for the purpose of upgrading teachers’ learning
facilitators’ competencies, improving and expanding school facilities and providing instructional
materials and equipment.
Currently, the different offices of the Department of Education are doing their best in ensuring a smooth
and efficient implementation of the K-12 Education Program of the Philippines. Under the Republic Act
10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, Kindergarten and Senior High School were
added to the Philippine basic education system. This ensures that our education system for basic
education is at par with the international standards and to prepare Filipino students to meet the needs
and demands of a knowledge-based society.
For Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country, the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) was established under Republic Act No. 7722, otherwise known as the Higher Educational Act
of 1994. Contrary to Dep Ed, the CHED has two levels: the Central Office (national level) and the
Regional Offices. The CHED Central Office focuses on the development of policies and sets the
national direction for higher education in the country.
The CHED Office for Program Standards (OPS) is responsible for curricular matters. The CHED
issues a memorandum order (CMO) per program to serve as a guide to HEIs on the courses that
should be offered per program, admission and retention policies, administrative requirements, faculty
requirements, library and laboratory requirements and others. Experts in different academic fields and
disciplines are invited to become members of different Technical Panels and Technical Committees to
help the Commission in the development of these CMOs per program. All curricular changes and
application for new curricular offerings from HEIs are reviewed and recommended for approval by the
Ops to the Commission en banc.
The Regional Offices of CHED is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the policies
and guidelines developed by the Central Office. The monitoring work is done with the help of regional
experts on different fields known as Regional Quality Assurance Team (RQuAT). It is their duty to
ensure that all HEIs in their regions comply with CHED requirements and policies.
State colleges and universities must seek the approval of their academic councils and their
corresponding board regents for any curriculum changes and curriculum proposals before these
curriculum proposals are sent to CHED for approval. Exempted in this process is the University of the
Philippines System. The UP System does not follow the CHED prescribed curriculum. For UP, any
curriculum proposal must be approved by its university council and the UP Board of Regents.
Private HEIs may also add more subjects as institutional requirements per program based on the
mission, vision and philosophy of the HEI concerned. For state universities and colleges, their
individual charters guide their program offerings. This process is shown in Figure 15. The regional
offices of CHED check the compliance of these HEIs to the CMO issued by the Commission.
 The academic freedom of individual HEI and faculty members also highly influences curriculum
development in higher education. Curricular revisions are presented and approved by the university
council in the case of state universities and colleges. For private HEIs, the curriculum committee and
the council of deans prescribed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs approve any curriculum
proposal made in any department or college. Each faculty member, whether in public or private made
in any department or college. Each faculty member, whether in public or private HEIs, develops a
syllabus for his or her subject guided by the faculty expertise and their academic freedom.
For vocational and technical courses, the Technical Education Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) is the government agency that prescribes the curriculum and other requirements for the
implementation of the program. Each course is implemented through modules, designed and
implemented based on specific competencies prescribed. All the specific requirements and facilities,
including the required training and certification for each faculty who will teach each course are
prescribed by TESDA.
Things to Consider in Implementing the Curriculum
Curriculum implementation must be systematically planned. At any level, it requires careful
consideration of several factors and variables:
1. Government Requirements – include memoranda, policies, guyidelines and requirements from the
Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Educational Skills
Development Authority. The competencies required by the board exams are also considered.
2. School Philosophy, Vision and Mission and Core Values – must be considered at the school level
especially when selecting the specific contents and learning experiences for all students enrolled in
each program.
3. Learning Environment – includes the various school facilities required for the implementation of
each program.
4. Needs and Demands of the Society – are needs and demands of the society that the curriculum
must respond to. Curriculum can address these needs and demands in the macro level by adding
subjects or contents, or in the local school level by integrating specific competencies in the various
syllabi for each course.
5. Needs of the Students – including interests, are considered when the school develops academic
policies and, in the preparation, of course syllabi. At the least, the school, college or university
should have an idea of the general profile of students including their needs and interests when
planning and implementing the program.
6. Faculty Expertise – the faculty is considered as the most important assets of each school, college
or university. They also play an important role in the implementation of the curriculum.
7. The Changing Nature of Knowledge – includes the theories and research from different areas and
professional organizations in the academe that are also influential in the implementation of the
curriculum. It could result to the integration of important topics or subjects and additional facilities.

These factors were emphasized by different curriculum experts (Tyler, 1949; Sowell, 1996; Ornstein &
Hunkins, 1993; Marsh, 2004; Tanner & Tanner, 2007) as influential in planning, developing, implementing
and evaluating a curriculum. In the context of curriculum implementation, curriculum leaders and curriculum
workers consider these factors in making curricular and instructional decisions.
At any level of the educational bureaucracy, the success of curriculum implementation can be
attributed to how curriculum leaders and workers plan, design and develop the implementation of the
curriculum. School resources and the implementers at the school level also contributory to the success of
curriculum implementation.

MODULE 5 ACTIVITY
1. Describe the process of curriculum development practiced by your college or university.
2. Discuss how your college/university addresses several issues and challenges and integrates them
in the curriculum.