CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

In this review of previous studies and related literature, information is presented in

support of and in anticipation of the methodology and analysis presented in this study. In order to

constrain the literature review to a manageable yet representative account of the development of

the concepts and constructs employed in this study, the researcher focused on studies dealing

with the effectiveness of K-12 Curriculum in order to gain a wider outlook of the study. Books

and the use of internet are included in this review. These materials are in relation to the present

study.

I. Related Literature

As stated by Bilbao (2002), one of the most often repeated definition of a curriculum is

that curriculum is the total learning experience. This description implies that the crux of a

curriculum is the different planned and unplanned activities which have been lived, acted upon

or done by the learners with the guidance of the teacher. Hence in curriculum development, the

teaching and learning are actions necessary to accomplish a goal in education.

In a discussion paper on the “Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program” prepared by

the DepEd in the last quarter of 2010, it was pointed out that K to 12 is an effective cure to the

deteriorating quality of the Philippine education system. The low achievement score of Filipino

students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) is one of the indicators of a defective

education system. NAT scores of high school students are at a failing 46 percent.

Teacher preparation and professional development factors. Research has also

demonstrated that pedagogical content knowledge can strongly influence student learning.

Pedagogical content knowledge influences not only the way teachers modify textbook resources

and utilize explanations but also in the way they sequence content and interact with students

(Gallagher and Tobin, 1985). Research in teacher education has shown that teachers’

pedagogical content knowledge influences the content and process of instruction they undertake

in the classroom (Grossman, 1988). Hanushek, Kain and Rivkin (1998), like many other

researchers (see for example Darling-Hammond, 1999), have concluded that the school effect on

achievement derives mainly from variations in teacher quality. A combination of flexibility,

independence, and experience with online tools has been associated with improved critical

thinking, research, and computer skills (Barker and Wendel, 2001).

In a study involving 7000 students Wenglinsky (2000) found that the quality of the

teaching force has a comparable impact on students' test scores as socioeconomic status.

One common indicator of teacher competence is teaching experience. However,

according to Wayne and Youngs (2003), the findings regarding experience are difficult to

interpret for several reasons. First, experience captures the effect of whether teachers were hired

during a shortage or a surplus. Cohorts will have experienced similar competition, and selection

effects are likely to confound effect of experience. Secondly, experience measures capture

differences in teacher motivation resulting from time constraints on parents during years when

their own children require more attention. Finally, if there are differences in effectiveness

between those who leave the profession and those who stay, experience measures would capture

those as well.

Several studies have found a positive relationship between teacher experience and student

achievement (Myrberg, 2010).

The time allotment for each subject is the minimum period for class interaction. The

learning time can be extended to include off-school learning experiences at home or in the

community for transfer of learning to real-life situations as provided for in the curriculum. The

outputs of such off-school learning experiences are usually in the form of products and

performances which shall be monitored and credited accordingly (DepEd Order, No. 31, s. 2012).

Educational Facilities. Critics pointed out that the educational outcomes are largely

dependent on resources made available to support teaching and learning.

Modules shall be provided as the basic learning resource. These are self-instructional

materials that lend themselves to independent and cooperative learning. For schools with

connectivity, web-based resources and video materials are encouraged to be used to enrich and

deepen students’ understanding. Existing textbooks may still be used where appropriate (DepEd

Order, No. 31, s. 2012).

Resources for teachers include teaching guides, prototype lesson plans, and lesson

exemplars, matrix of existing books, workbooks, and modules. Ultimately, the government’s

ability to secure resources to implement the K to 12 program and at the same time address the

unresolved shortages in educational inputs will determine the country’s quality of education in

the future. As wisely stated in the Philippine EFA plan, “Good education is expensive but lack of

education costs many times more.”

Spiral Progression Curriculum. The overall design of Grades 1 to 10 curriculum follows

the spiral approach across subjects by building on the same concepts developed in increasing

complexity and sophistication starting from grade school. The scope and sequence of the content

are developed such that concepts and skills are revisited at each grade level with increasing

depth. As more facts and principles on each topic are encountered, the understanding grows in

breadth and depth, creating a metaphorical spiral. Teachers are expected to use the

spiral/progression approach in teaching competencies (Corpuz, 2012).

Challenges: Issues and Concerns. Critics also questioned the relationship of the

education cycle length and education quality. They cited studies by the Trends in International

Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which revealed that longer education cycles do not

necessarily result in better performance of students. But, one of the major concerns of the critics

is the additional expense to be incurred by the parents. The longer education cycle would be an

added burden to households and would later on translate to higher dropout rates. While the

government can provide free public education, the allowances, transportation, school supplies,

and other schooling expenses are still to be shouldered by the parents.

The 2005 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) pointed out that

lengthening the learning time did not necessarily lead to better performance. The report instead

emphasized that what is more important is how effectively learning time is spent. In addition, a

World Bank (2007) study said that among the developing countries, returns to increased years of

schooling go hand in hand with increases in the quality of education. If the school system is of

low quality then it does not pay to keep children in school longer. Moreover, according to a

study conducted by a group of researchers from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies

(PIDS 2012), the rush implementation of the program may have unintended effects on social

equity if publicly funded. This is because many poor families do not reach beyond the secondary

level of educational attainment. In addition, the revised curriculum is not yet fully tested. Finally,

the study also raised concerns about the many reforms the DepEd is trying to implement all at

the same time, including the implementation of the K to 12 program, which might result in

similar reform failures in the past. It also expressed concern on the fact that DepEd might lose

administrative concentration by spreading itself too thinly.

According to Velasco (2012), the present curriculum is described as congested. This

means that students do not get enough time to perform tasks because the curriculum is designed

to be taught in a span of 12 years and not 10 years. The more obvious result of this is the fact that

most high school students graduate without the readiness to take upon higher education or

employment. These students are not equipped with the basic skills or competencies needed at

work. Furthermore, the short duration of our basic education program puts Filipinos who are

interested to either work or study abroad at a disadvantage. This is because other countries see

our 10-year program as incomplete, which then, causes Filipino graduates to not be considered as

professionals abroad.

II. Related Studies

The Impact of Teachers’ Competence in Public

And Private Schools (Myrberg, 2010)

The main conclusion to be made from the above analyses is that teacher education is of

great importance for students' reading achievement. The results show that students in both school

public and private perform better when they have certified teachers. Furthermore, the influence

of teacher education seems to be of the same magnitude in public and private schools. The effect

of teacher education is a disputed question, as some have claimed that teacher competence is an

individual characteristic not much affected by education. It has also been argued that the

circumstances for education and learning in independent schools differ substantially from those

in public schools. The independent schools are supposed to attract highly motivated and devoted

teachers with various backgrounds and with the ability to shape a positive educational

environment for students.

The results in this study instead stress the significance of high quality teacher education

program that prepare for teaching in specific grades. Advocates for less standardized teacher

requirements have argued that a variety of teacher educational routes and experiences may

develop and vitalize students' education. Our findings do not support this belief. Instead,

effectiveness has been shown to be closely connected to appropriate teacher education.

One possible explanation for the strong relationship between teacher education and

students achievement for Swedish third graders is that most of these children have had the same

teacher for almost three years of schooling. Another explanation might be that teacher

certification in Sweden is still subject to nationwide regulations.

School type has no influence over student achievement in itself. It is however, a

mediating factor for parental education as well as teacher education. While students in public

schools have better educated teachers, students in independent schools have better educated

parents. These two influences work in opposite directions and are of the same magnitude. When

controlling for parental background, the mean reading test score advantage for students in

independent schools is wiped out. Furthermore, the results indicate that students in independent

schools are underachieving due to the relative shortage of certified teachers.

Other teacher characteristics such as sex, teacher experience, the amount of time spent in

in-service training and teacher co-operation, have in this study, not been shown to be related to

reading achievement.

The Opportunities and Challenges of Enhanced

K to 12 Basic Education Program (Oteyza, 2012)

In a discussion paper on the “Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program” prepared by

the DepEd in the last quarter of 2010, it was pointed out that K to 12 is an effective cure to the

deteriorating quality of the Philippine education system. The low achievement score of Filipino

students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) is one of the indicators of a defective

education system.

The DepEd also noted that the present ten-year curriculum is congested wherein students

are forced to absorb all the knowledge and skills necessary in a short and limited span of time.

As a result, high school graduates are often unprepared for employment, entrepreneurship, or

even higher education. They do not yet possess the basic competencies or even emotional

maturity essential for the world outside the school. High school graduates who do not pursue

higher education are thus unproductive or vulnerable to exploitative labor practices. In the same

context, those who may be interested to put up their own business cannot enter into legal

contracts yet. This partly explains why the number of unemployed Filipinos is increasing at an

alarming rate.

The short duration of the basic education system is also a disadvantage for the overseas

Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad.

DepEd further claims that the Filipino graduates are not automatically recognized as

professionals abroad because the ten-year curriculum is usually perceived as insufficient.

The DepEd therefore strongly believes that the K to12 program will give every learner the

opportunity to receive quality education based on an enhanced and decongested curriculum that

is internationally recognized and competitive.

From among various proposals and studies conducted to come up with an enhanced

model that is suitable to the Philippine context, DepEd proposed the K-6-4-2 model or the K to

12 model. This model involves kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of

junior high school (Grades 7-10), and two years of senior high school (Grades 11-12). The two

years of senior high school intend to provide time for students to consolidate acquired academic

skills and competencies. The curriculum will allow specializations in science and technology,

music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship.

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro presented the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda

(BESRA) last March in the annual membership meeting of the Philippine Business for Education

(PBEd). BESRA, as a package of reform initiatives, considers K to 12 as the flagship reform

strategy. The objective of the program is to be able to produce more productive and responsible

citizens equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life-long learning and

employment.

The change is two-fold. It will give focus not only to the curriculum enhancement but

also to the transition management as well. The intention of K to 12 is not merely to add two

years of schooling but more importantly, to enhance the basic education curriculum.

A Comparative Study of the Attitudes between the Students and Teachers of Two Public Schools

in Northern Mindanao toward the K to 12 Curriculum Shift (Crisol et al, 2014)

The teachers’ responses on the question “Do you believe that the curriculum will become

successful in achieving its goals?”. There were 8 (73%) out of 11 teachers from Karaos

Elementary School believes that the program will become successful while the remaining 3

(27%) of them said no. On the other hand, there were also 8 (88%) out of 9 teachers from

Rufino Santos Sr. Elementary school who believe that the program will be successful while 1

(12%) does not believe the program will be successful.

Out of the 20 respondents from the two schools combined, there were 16 (80%) teachers

who agreed that the curriculum will become successful while only 4 (20%) of them disagreed.

This defines the teachers’ attitude as to their perception on the success of the K - 12

program. The teacher respondents are positive that the program will be effective in achieving its

goals. This finding provides an overview on the success of the program. Since these teachers are

the ones who will receive trainings on the additional two years of the curriculum, the

administration then would find it easy to train these teachers since they already have a positive

impression on the program.

The teachers’ self-assessment with regards to their preparedness on the program. As

reflected, all (100%) the respondents from Karaos Elementary School believe that they are not

yet equipped for the program. Similar results were also taken from Rufino Santos Sr. Elementary

School where 7 (78%) out of 9 teacher respondents believe that they are not prepared for the

program. The remaining 2 (10%) of the teachers believe that they are prepared for the new

curriculum. These teachers believe that they are not prepared for the implementation of the K –

12 program because they think they are not equipped with trainings and facilities that will make

effective for the program.

The students’ response on the question “Do you think the K - 12 will help you better in

getting a job in the future?” As revealed, out of 102 respondents from Karaos Elementary

School, 92 (90.2%) agreed that the education that they have obtained under the program will

help them get a good job while only 10 (9.8%) disagreed. In parallel to their responses, 55

(88%) out of 62 students agreed while 7 (11.3%) disagreed from Rufino Santos Sr. Elementary

School.

A great percentage 89.6% of the respondents of the two schools combined welcomes the

idea that the additional years in education would help them land into a better job. This result

agrees with Primer (2011) that the K-12 vision aims to have relevance in the socio-economic

realm, as well. This means that the students would understand their role as productive members

of the country.

Likewise, the students will become more mature in dealing with the problems that they

encounter daily, thus enabling them to become effective members of the workforce. This

strengthens the statement of DepEd (2011) that every student would have an understanding of

the world around him and a passion for life-long learning while addressing every student’s basic

learning needs: “learning to learn, the acquisition of numeracy, literacy, and scientific and

technological knowledge as applied to daily life”. So instead of having a high school graduate at

16 (years old), the schools will have high school students graduating at 18 (Calingasan, 2011).

The following are the findings of this study:

The students were positive to the implementation of the K - 12 program, they also are

optimistic that it will be successful in achieving its goals. Moreover, the students are willing to

invest their time and resources to undergo the program.

The teachers also approve the implementation of the program. They believe that the

program will effectively equip the students in the fields and careers that they have chosen.

Although they are willing to embrace the program, still they find themselves not equipped to

teach the students since they believe that they need more trainings.

Parents Perceived Problems Regarding the Implementation

of K-12 Program (Parica, 2012)

Majority of the parents/respondents had their sources of information from PTA meeting

and orientation conferences. According to them, the current education system does not possess

the basic competencies. K-12 program was only concerned with the students who are not yet

ready to enter the world of work. But on the other hand, this program will pave way to a

generation of graduates who are equipped not only with their daily life experiences for future

sustainable development.

Parents’ personal perception. This K-12 program will be a burden on the part of parents

and students, not just for emotional, physical reason but also in financial aspect because this

program will prolong the years of stay in school of the students. These could result to shortage of

classrooms, teachers and non-teaching personnel.

References

Corpuz, B. (2012). The Spiral Progression Approach in the K to 12 Curriculum.

http://www.slideshare.net

Crisol, L. G. and Alamillo, J.B. (2014, March 6-8) A Comparative Study of the Attitudes

between the Students and Teachers of Two Public Schools in Northern Mindanao toward

the K to 12 Curriculum Shift, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.

DepEd Order, No. 31, s. 2012, Department of Education, DepEd Complex, Meralco

Avenue, Pasig City 1600. www.deped.gov.ph

Department of Education. (2010, November 2). Salient Points on the Enhanced K+12

Basic Education Program.

Department of Education. (2010, October 5). Discussion Paper on the Enhanced K+12

Basic Education Program.

Department of Education. (2006, September). Functionally Literate Filipinos: An

Educated Nation. Philippine Education For All (EFA) 2015 National Action Plan.

National Education For All Committee.

Department of Education. (No Date). Financial Forecast for the K+12 Model.

Luistro, A. (2012). The state of basic education: gaining ground [PowerPoint slides].

http://www.slideshare.net/arangkadaph/state-of-education-in-the-philippines-2012.

Myrberg, E. (2010). The Impact of Teacher Competence in Public And Private Schools,

Gothenburg University, Sweden.

Oteyza, K.C. Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). The Opportunities and

Challenges of Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program Vol. XII No. 2 (2012,

December). Makati City, Philippines. URL: http://www.pids.gov.ph

Parica, R. (2012), Parents Perceived Problems Regarding the Implementation of K-12

Program, Iriga City, Camarines Sur.

Velasco, P.T. (2012). A Primer on the new K-12 Philippine Education Curriculum.

Retrieved: http://www.philippinedailyinquirer.com.

Yap, R.H., Senate Economic Planning Office (2011, June). K to 12: The Key to Quality

Education? www.senate.gov.ph.