Module 6

Gearing Up for the Future: Curriculum Reforms

Lesson 1 – The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (K to 12)
Introduction:

This module brings you to some curricular

developments reforms 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.
Intended Learning Outcome

At the end of this module, you must have:

gained understanding of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum reform
Learning Content/Discussion

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 us study them one by one:
Curriculum designers need to enhance the recommended curriculum
and propose curricular innovations to respond to the changing
landscape in education regionally and globally. Are you aware of some
curricula reforms in the Philippines and other countries? Inside the
globe are curricular innovations. Are they familiar to you?
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 system by strengthening its 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 elementary
education, and 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 reasons?
Let's consider these existing realities in Philippine education
that became the bases of the K to 12 implementation:

1. Mastery of basic competencies is insufficient due to congested

curriculum
The table below presents the national achievement test results of 4th 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 4th 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.
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 (10) 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 21st
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. (See Table 3).
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 student is supposed to have obtained
a National Certificate (NC) Level 1 and NC Level II from TESDA. NCI 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:
(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 Design 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).
Core Curriculum
Below are the learning areas comprising the core curriculum.
The | description is based on DepEd Memo 13 s 2013
Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP)
The Senior High School Curriculum
There are four tracks in Senior High School. These are Academic track, Tech
Voc track, Sports and Arts and Design Track. The academic track has four
strands namely 1) Science, Technology. Engineering and Math (STEM) 2)
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), 3) Accounting, Business and
Management (ABM) and 4) 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 Grage 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 wants to pursue TechVoc courses in Technical
Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA),
he/she takes the Tech Voc track. The Sports track will be for interested
in Arts and Design will pursue the Arts and Design track. The Sports
track for any sports-minded Grade 12 graduate.

Figure 1- Tracks in high school

Figure 2 – Academic Track – 4 Tracks
The Senior High School Curriculum has a total of thirty-one
subjects. The thirty-one subjects are grouped into fifteen
(15) core subjects, seven (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:
Language Oral Communication
Reading & Writing
Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wikang Filipino at Kulturang
Pilipino
Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Iba't Ibang Teksto Tungo sa Pananaliksik
Humanities 21" Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions
Communication Media & Information Literacy
Mathematics General Mathematics
Statistics & Probability
Science Earth and Life Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Physical Sciences Lecture and Laboratory
Social Science Personal Development / Pansariling Kaunlaran
Understanding Society & Culture
Intro to Philosophy of the Human Person/Pambungad sa Pilosopiya
Philosophy ng Tao
PE and Health - Physical Education 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 Purposes for the Tech
Voc track will center on techvoc terms, describing and reporting techvoc-
related procedures while for the Sports track, the 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 DesignTracks
English for Academic and
English for the Professions
Professional Purposes
Introduction to Research
Research Skills 1
Methods - Quantitative
Introduction to Research
Research Skills 2
Methods - Qualitative
Filipino course Mga Diskurso sa Trabaho
ICT for Learners ICT applications
Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship
Research Project Research Project / Culminating Activity
7 Applied Subjects
Academic • Tech-Voc, Sports,
Arts and Design
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
4.Fundamentals of Accountancy, Business and Management
5.Business Math
6.Business Finance
7.Organization and Management
8.Principles of Marketing
9.Work Immersion/Research?Career Advocacy/Culminating
Specialization 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 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 21st Century
5.Philippine 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 - General Academic Strand
1.Humanities 1
2.Humanities
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 Aspects of Sports and Exercise
7.Fitness Testing and Exercise Programming
8.Practicum (in-campus)
9.Work Immersion/Research/Career Advocacy/Culminating Activity
Liberal Arts HUMSS BAM STEM
Literature 1 Literature 1: Fiction Applied Economics 1 Pre-Calculus
and Drama
Humanities 1 Literature Applied Economics 2 Basic Calculus
Social Science 1 Humanities 1: popular Accounting 1 General Chemistry 1
Art as Text
Economics 1 Humanities Accounting 2 General Chemistry 2
Organization and Education 1/Foreign Business Math General Physics 1
Management Language 1
Foreign Language 1 Education 2/Foreign Business Finance General Physics 2
Language 2
Applied Science Social Science 1 Organization and General Biology 1
Management
Pre-Calculus Social Science 2 Principles of General Biology 2
Marketing
Work Immersion/Career Advocacy/Research/Culminating Activity
Specialized courses for Arts and Design Tracks
Arts Track 1 Introduction to Applied Arts and Design Production
Arts Track 3 Understanding Elements and Principles of the Different Arts
Arts Track 4 Work Environment in Various Arts Fields

Arts Track 5 Developing Filipino Identity in the Arts

Arts Track 6 Leadership and Management in Different Arts Fields
Arts Track 7 Apprenticeship and Exploration of Different Arts Fields
(Production and
Arts Track 8 Performing: Music, Dance and Theater)
Arts Track 9 Apprenticeship and Exploration of Different Arts Design
Production (Media Arts, Visual Arts and Literary Arts)
Specialized courses for Sports Track
Sports Track Subjects
Sports Track 1 Safety and First Aid
Sports Track 2 Understanding Human Movement
Sports Track 3 General Coaching Course
Sports Track 4 Sports Officiating
Sports Track 5 Fitness Leadership
Sports Track 6 Sports/Recreation/Fitness Management
Sports Track 7 Student-Athlete Enhancement and Formation
Sports Track 8 Fitness Testing and Exercise Prescription
Sports Track 9 Recreation Leadership
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!!!