Every systematic
endeavor happens on a step-by-step basis. Curriculum development particularly
in the Philippines is a systematized process that occurs at the administrative
level. There are respective government agencies supervising the varying
functions of education, which in end is charted on a national basis. However,
despite years of this practice, one question remains unsettled: who should
really decide what to be taught in the classroom?
Perhaps the
greatest weakness of the existing system is the lack of ground-level experience
of the curriculum developers. Their credibility for such accountabilities
covers their academic feats and certifications, but so much more. Indeed,
mastery and expertise in their respective fields of endeavor are necessary both
in decision making and content creating, but firsthand encounters of authentic
scenarios are also indispensable. As stipulated by the policy guidelines of the
Department of Education, Philippine schools have a national curriculum that is
developed by them (Abu Dhabi Government, 2021).
What kind of
learners does each school have? What specific needs does each region require from
its citizens? What set of learners exist in the Philippines? Just like in any
form of communication, one highly significant element is context. It is highly
plausible that what content writing lacks in the Philippines is context, which
may easily be easily solved through needs analysis. Although most of the types
of curriculum operating in schools support the before-mentioned setup, there
are still others that can be more flexible and contextualized. Recommended
curriculum comes from national agencies like the DepEd, CHED, DOST, and others
while written curriculum is courses of study that are handed down to the
schools, districts, and divisions for implementation. Nevertheless, Bilbao et.
Al (2015) enumerate the likes of assessed curriculum, which result from testing
and evaluation by various teaching episodes and learned curriculum, which are
indicated by the results of tests and changes in behavior.
When subject
matter budgeting has been furnished for a particular academic year, it is being
made available to the teachers ready for implementation. This modality of
preparation successfully contains planning and arrangement but lacks needs
assessment, modification, adjustment, and appropriation. Likewise, the content
of most courses are being patterned either from already available materials or from foreign literature. Imbalife cites two of the key issues and
problems of Philippine education as the “mismatch” between training and job
requirement and that the Philippine educational system has been and still is
basically American in orientation and objectives (2018). Thus, there is still a
flaw in terms of course curriculum development and the assessment of what
Filipino learners authentically need.
Being the direct
implementer of the curriculum, the teachers are certainly the adept group of
individuals who are rightful to be content creators. In shifting the paradigm
and giving the educators the power to select topics and pedagogies, learning
would become more contextualized and suited to the needs of the learners, the
implementers, the schools, and all relevant stakeholders. The teachers, who
already possess a mastery of the subject at the minimum, already have the
integrity and authority to decide on which items in a subject area matter or
not. They have the necessary involvement on which concepts are relevant and
what should be amplified or enhanced.
Chalk (2020)
emphasizes the significance of curriculum to education as a whole. Particularly
in the selection of topics, teacher involvement would highly benefit the
schools and the students, as well as the teachers themselves. Looking at the
big picture of learning, a good curriculum connects well most especially to
teachers across subject areas. At the same time, teachers can work together to
plan a progression of topics that are anchored from previous ones. The results
lead to the reinforcement of knowledge over time and the assurance of students’
preparedness towards what’s coming next.
To answer who
should choose the topics to be taught in the classroom is to realize the vital
roles of the teachers who are directly involved in the actual implementation
and assessment of the curriculum. Let their subject mastery and experience play
their part in the construction of a more suited curriculum, which is fastened
right from the students’ needs. Nonetheless, the collaboration among numerous
teachers who teach the same subjects and who belong to the same division is
still highly encouraged to come up with the best version a curricular framework
can ever become. Likewise, the pool of ideas from several educators will
contribute to the efficacy and efficiency of topic selection.
References:
[1] Abu
Dhabi Government. (2021). Philippine Curriculum. Department of Education and
Knowledge. Retrieved from
https://www.adek.gov.ae/Education-System/Private-Schools/Curriculum/Philippine-Curriculum
[2] Bilbao,
P., Lucido, P., Iringan, T. & Javier, R. (2015). Curriculum development.
LORIMAR Publishing Inc.: Quezon City.
[3] Chalk.
(2020). 7 reasons why your curriculum matters more than you think. Retrieved
from
https://www.chalk.com/resources/7-reasons-why-your-curriculum-matters-more-than-you-think/
[4] Imbalife. (2018). 7 key issues and problems of Philippine education. Retrieved from https://www.imbalife.com/7-key-issues-and-problems-of-philippine-education
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