Gatchalian: EDCOM II to address K-12 curriculum woes
March 12, 2023
Gatchalian: EDCOM II to address K-12 curriculum woes
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) will study challenges hounding the K to 12 curriculum, including the implementation of the Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) and the spiral progression approach, Senator Win Gatchalian said.
The EDCOM II is mandated to conduct a National Assessment and Evaluation which will include, among others, the determination of factors that have contributed to the continuing failure in performance of identified subject areas to meet desired local and international standards.
Gatchalian pointed out that based on the results of international large-scale assessments such as the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Filipino learners are lagging behind their peers abroad and failing to master basic competencies. Out of 79 countries that participated in PISA, the Philippines ranked lowest in Reading and second lowest in Mathematics and Science.
While the Department of Education (DepEd) is already reviewing and revising the K to 12 curriculum, Gatchalian said that the EDCOM II's assessment will formulate proposed education reforms to address the education crisis.
"In my opinion, there are two very contentious issues specific to the K to 12 law, first is the mother tongue and second is the spiral progression," said Gatchalian, co-chairperson of EDCOM II.
"We'll definitely look at these because at the end of the day, what we're looking at is improving learner performance," he added.
A 2019 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), revealed that out of 16,287 schools surveyed, only 9% conducted the four activities needed to successfully implement MTB-MLE: the writing of big books on language, literature, and culture; documentation of the orthography of the language; documentation of grammar; and documentation of a dictionary of the language.
To ensure mastery and knowledge of skills after each level, the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or the K to 12 Law (Republic Act No. 10533) mandated the use of the spiral progression approach, where learners are taught simple to more complicated concepts through grade levels in spiral progression.
Based on a 2020 study by researchers from the Visayas State University on the implementation of the spiral progression approach, teachers' criticisms of the method include repetition of contents across grade levels, limited topic organization, and the lack of depth and concentration for each area in science, among others.
Mga suliranin ng K-12 curriculum rerepasuhin ng EDCOM II
Rerepasuhin ng Second Congressional Commission on Education o EDCOM II ang mga hamong kinakaharap ng K to 12 curriculum, kabilang ang pagpapatupad ng Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) at ang spiral progression approach, ayon kay Senador Win Gatchalian.
Mandato ng EDCOM II na magsagawa ng National Assessment and Evaluation kabilang ang pagtiyak ng mga bagay na may kinalaman sa patuloy na pagbagsak ng performance ng mga mag-aaral sa ilang mga subject upang maabot ang mga ninanais na local at international standards.
Matatandang batay sa resulta ng mga large scale international assessment tulad ng 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), nahuhuli ang mga mag-aaral ng bansa kung ihahambing sa mga mag-aaral ng ibang bansa. Lumabas din sa naturang assessment na hirap ang mga mag-aaral ng bansa na matutunan ang kanilang mga aralin. Sa 2018 PISA, Pilipinas ang may pinakamababang marka sa Reading at pangalawang pinakamababang marka sa Science at Mathematics.
Bagama't kasalukuyan ang pag-aaral at rebisyon ng Department of Education (DepEd) sa K to 12 curriculum, ipinaliwanag ni Gatchalian na magiging batayan ng mga ipapanukalang reporma ang magiging resulta ng pag-aaral ng EDCOM II.
"Sa aking opinyon, may dalawang kontrobersyal na isyung nakapaloob sa batas ng K to 12, una ang mother tongue at pangalawa ang spiral progression," ani Gatchalian, co-chairperson ng EDCOM II.
"Susuriin natin ang mga ito dahil nais nating matiyak na maging mahusay ang ating mga mag-aaral," dagdag ni Gatchalian.
Ayon sa isang pag-aaral na isinagawa ng Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), 9% lamang sa 16,287 na mga paaralang sinurvey ang nakagawa ng apat na aktibidad para sa matagumpay na pagpapatupad ng MTB-MLE. Ang apat na ito ay ang pagsusulat ng mga libro sa wika, panitikan, at kultura; dokumentasyon ng ortograpiya ng wika; dokumentasyon ng balarila; at dokumentasyon ng diksyunaryo ng wika.
Upang matiyak naman ang kaalaman at kakayahan sa pagwawakas ng bawat antas, minandato ng Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 o ng K to 12 Law (Republic Act No. 10533) ang paggamit sa spiral progression approach kung saan nagsisimula ang pagtuturo sa mas simpleng paksa hanggang maging komplikado habang paakyat sila sa bawat baitang.
Ngunit ayon sa isang pag-aaral ng mga mananaliksik mula sa Visayas State University noong 2020 ukol sa pagpapatupad ng spiral progression approach, lumalabas na ilan sa mga puna ng guro sa ganitong paraan ng pagtuturo ang paulit-ulit na paksa sa iba't ibang baitang, limitadong organisasyon ng mga paksa, kakulangan sa lalim sa iba't ibang paksa ng agham, at iba pa.
