LANGUAGE EDUCATION RESEARCH

Lecture no. 1
BSED major in English 3-1

What is K-12?
According to the K to 12 DepEd Primer (2011), “K-12 means
“Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education.”
Kindergarten points to the 5-yeard old child who undertakes the
standardized curriculum for preschoolers. Elementary education refers to 6
years of primary grades (Grades 1-6) while secondary education means four
years of junior high school (Grades 7-10 or HS Year 1-4). In addition to this,
two years are now allotted for senior high school (Grades 11-12 or HS Year
5-6).

The DepEd discussion paper (2010) on the enhanced K-12 basic

education program explains this new setup “seeks to provide a quality 12-
year basic education program that each Filipino is entitled to”. Furthermore,
the purpose is not simply to add 2 more years of education “but more
importantly to enhance the basic education curriculum.”

What is the rationale of the program?

There is an urgent need to enhance the quality of basic education in
our country as seen in the education outcomes of Filipino students and the
comparative disadvantage of the Philippines with regard to other countries.

The following data would support this explanation:

At present, the Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the
three remaining countries in the world that uses 10-year basic education
cycle. According to a presentation made by the Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education Organization (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) on Additional Years in the
Philippine Basic Education (2010), the comparative data on duration of Basic
and Pre-University Education in Asia shows the Philippines allots 10 years
not just for the basic education cycle but also for the pre-university
education while all other counties have either 11 or 12 years in their basic
education cycle.

Achievement scores highlight our students’ poor performance in

national examinations. The National Achievement Test (NAT) results for
Grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 showed only a 69.21% passing rate while the NAT
results for high school is at a low 46.38% . Moreover, international tests
results in 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Sciences study
(TIMSS) show that the Philippines ranked 34 th out of the countries in HS
Math and 43rd out the 46 countries in HS II Science. Moreover, the
Philippines ranked the lowest in 2008 even with only the science high
schools joining the Advanced Mathematics category.

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 10 years instead of 12 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 either to 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 to be considered as
professionals abroad.

What is the Vision of this Program?

Records will show that as early as 1925, there were already efforts to
improve the basic education curriculum and recommendations have been
put forward since then. Thus, this idea of adding years to the present
curriculum is not new.

The K-12 Curriculum envisions “holistically developed learners with

st
21 century skills” (DepEd Primer, 2011). At the core of this basic education
program is “the complete human development of every graduate” (DepEd
discussion paper, p.6). This further means that every student would have an
understanding of the world around him and a passion for lifelong 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”. In addition to this, every graduate is
envisioned to have respect for human rights and would aim to become
“Maka-Diyos, Maka-tao, Makabansa, Maka-kalikasan.

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. Such vision can only be possible
through an enhanced curriculum.

What is the K-12 curriculum all about?

According to the DepEd discussion paper (2010), the K-12 curriculum
aims to enable every child “to achieve mastery of core competencies and
skills” (p.6) and develop tracks based on the student’s interest and
competencies. The focus of k-12 is twofold: curriculum enhancement and
transition management.

Curriculum enhancement – With the K-6-4-2 model, the 2 years for

Senior High School is aimed at giving the students time to strengthen
competencies and academic skills. The curriculum will also provide
specializations in the following: science and technology, music and arts,
agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship, etc.
depending on the occupation or career that they intend to pursue. These
two years will build on skills that are essential to their chosen field.

Transition Management—The DepEd mentions in their discussion

paper (2010) that they are “preparing a carefully sequenced implementation
plan to ensure smooth transition with the least disruption” in the current
program.
 According to former Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro, the new
curriculum is focused more on the learners and not on the teacher. Luistro
said, “We are making it a real learning experience for the students, meaning,
it will be less on memorization and more encouraging of critical thinking”. In
addition to this, a mother tongue-based multi-lingual education (MTB-MLE)
will be used for instruction in Kinder to Grade 3 classes after studies showed
the students learn more when their language at home is used in discussing
the lessons in school. Also, there will be less contact time as Grade 1 pupils
will only attend school for half a day instead of 6 hours. Luistro explains, “It
is important that our learners develop that natural love for learning and not
feel that it is something imposed on them….we will reduce it to four hours
to make education less stressful and more enjoyable.”

For the first-year high school curriculum, Luistro mentions that the
lessons will be more interactive and meaningful to everyday life. This means
that Science will be reflected in terms of its practical use. He further
explains, “as students go up the ladder, we want them to learn skills that are
being demanded by employers while at the same time giving them the
chance to appreciate and enjoy the lessons”. For instance, Luistro stresses
that Science is to be integrated in all learning areas since it is a complex
subject. He further expounds, “the focus of early education (Kinder to Grade
2) should be the fundamental skills and literacy of the pupils to develop
better comprehension for more complicated subjects such as Science”.

A study done by SEAMEO points out that the current curriculum allots
about 1,100 minutes per week in the elementary education to Science,
which will change with the introduction of K-12. Luistro says, “this, coupled
with teaching more competencies, imply congestion in our current
elementary Science curriculum,” To address this, Science will now be
integrated into the teaching of Language, Mathematics and Health under
MAPEH subjects beginning at Kindergarten.

Professor Calingasan further explains that the K-12 curriculum for

Social Studies will instead center on historical thinking skills rather than
memory work (of dates, names, regions, capitals, etc.) and accumulation of
facts. She mentions examples of thinking skills as “weighing of evidence of
any information, using primary source evidence, analyzing and interpreting
information, manifesting ethical standards (e.g., respect for differences,
recognition of sources of evidence/idea).

Who will be affected by this program?

The incoming Grade 1 and Grade 7 students by school year 2012-2013
are the ones who will be directly affected by the K-12 program.

According to DepEd briefer on K-12, the Department will begin

implementing the curriculum in school year 2012-2013. As mentioned in the
article, “the enhanced 12-year curriculum will be implemented starting with
incoming Grade 1 students. Incoming freshmen of SY 2012-2013 will be the
first beneficiaries of a free Senior High School education that will be made
available by DepEd in public schools beginning in SY 2016-2017.

What are the benefits of the program?

Prof. Calingasan explains that “while parents may look at this as
extended expense i.e., paying tuition for another 2 years in high school, this
would offset itself since the competencies one would learn from the
additional years are the same ones which the first two years of general
education in college teach.”

The DepEd primer (2011) specifies the benefits to individuals &

families:
1. A decongested academic workload, giving students more time to master
competencies and for co-curricular activities and community involvement,
thus, allowing for a more holistic development.
2. Graduates will possess competencies and skills relevant to the job market
and they will be prepared for higher education.
3. K-12 is affordable.
4. The potential annual earnings of a K-12 graduate will be higher compared
to the earnings of a 10-year high school graduate.
5. Graduates will be recognized abroad.
The benefits of K-12 curriculum for the society and the economy are:
1. It will contribute to economic growth. Studies show that improvements
in the quality of education increases GDP growth. According to the DepEd
(2010), studies in the country have reflected that an additional year of
school increases the earnings by 7.5% and that improvements in the quality
of education will enable the GDP grow by 2-2.2%.
2. It will facilitate the recognition of Filipino graduates and professionals in
other countries.
3. A better educated society provides a sound foundation for long-term
socio-economic development.

What will this mean for students and their future?

“Definitely this will mean that they will graduate late (by present
reference point), but on another perspective, will mean that they will be
more mature when they enter college, or that they will be ready for work,”
explains Prof. Calingasan.

The DepEd, in its 2010 discussion paper, explains further that every
graduate of the K-12 program will have “the courage, the drive, and the
relevant skills to engage in work and have a productive life” (p. 6). This
means that every graduate is really to take upon the world as he is prepared
holistically to meet those challenges.

The goal of the K-12 curriculum is to create a purposeful basic

education system that will “produce productive, responsible citizens
equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life-long
learning and employment.”