INTRODUCTION

Education in the Philippines is managed and regulated by the

Department of Education, commonly referred to as the DepEd in the
country. The Department of Education controls the Philippine
education system, including the creation and implementation of
the curriculum and the utilization of funds allotted by the
central government. It also manages the construction of schools,
acquisition of books and other school materials, and the
recruitment of teachers and staff.
Before the Philippines attained independence in 1946, the
country's education system was patterned before the systems
of Spain and theUnited Statescountries which colonized and
governed the country for more than three hundred years. However,
after the independence, the country's educational system soon
changed radically.
From 1945 until 2011, the basic education system was
composed of six years of elementary education starting at the age
of 6, and four years of high school education starting at the age
of 12. Further education was provided by technical or vocational
schools,
or
in
higher
education
institutions
such
as
universities.
Although
the 1987
Constitution stated
that
elementary education was compulsory, this was never enforced.
In 2011, the country started to transition from its old 10year basic educational system to a K-12 educational system, as
mandated by the Department of Education. As of 2016, compulsory
education has been expanded to cover junior high school (Grades
7-10) and senior high school (Grades 11-12). A revised curriculum
for all schools has also been put in place (see 2010s and the K
12 program). The transition period will end in 2018, when the
first commencement exercises for the first group of students who
has entered the new educational system will finally be held.

THE PRESENT PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

THE K-12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of
basic education (six years of primary education, four years of
Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to
provide

sufficient

time

for

mastery

of

concepts

and

skills,

develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary

education,

middle-level

skills

development,

employment,

and

entrepreneurship.

SALIENT FEATURES OF K-12

1.

STRENGTHENING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (UNIVERSAL

KINDERGARTEN)
Every Filipino child now has access to early childhood
education through Universal Kindergarten. At 5 years old,
children start schooling and are given the means to slowly
adjust to formal education.
Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten
have

better

completion

rates

than

those

who

did

not.

Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program

are better prepared, for primary education.

Education for children in the early years lays the

foundation

for

lifelong

learning

and

for

the

total

development of a child. The early years of a human being,

from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when the
brain grows to at least 60-70 percent of adult size..[Ref: K
to 12 Toolkit]
In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers,
shapes, and colors through games, songs, and dances, in
their Mother Tongue.

2.

MAKING

THE

CURRICULUM

RELEVANT

TO

LEARNERS

(CONTEXTUALIZATION AND ENHANCEMENT)

Examples,
illustrations

activities,
are

based

on

songs,

poems,

local

culture,

stories,
history,

and
and

reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the learners and

easy to understand.
Students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values,
and attitudes through continuity and consistency across all
levels and subjects.

Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk Reduction

(DRR),

Climate

Change

Adaptation,

and

Information

&

Communication Technology (ICT) are included in the enhanced

curriculum.
3.

BUILDING

PROFICIENCY

THROUGH

LANGUAGE

(MOTHER

TONGUE-BASED MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION)

Students are able to learn best through their first
language, their Mother Tongue (MT). Twelve (12) MT languages
have been introduced for SY 2012-2013: Bahasa Sug, Bikol,
Cebuano,

Chabacano,

Hiligaynon,

Iloko,

Kapampangan,

Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray.

Other local languages will be added in succeeding school
years.
Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are
taught as subjects starting Grade 1, with a focus on oral
fluency.

From

Grades

to

6,

English

and

Filipino

are

gradually introduced as languages of instruction. Both will

become

primary

languages

of

instruction

in

Junior

High

School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS).

After Grade 1, every student can read in his or her
Mother Tongue. Learning in Mother Tongue also serves as the
foundation

for

students

to

learn

Filipino

and

English

easily.
4.

ENSURING INTEGRATED AND SEAMLESS LEARNING (SPIRAL

PROGRESSION)
Subjects are taught from the simplest concepts to more
complicated

concepts

through

grade

levels

in

spiral

progression. As early as elementary, students gain knowledge

in

areas

such

as

Biology,

Geometry,

Earth

Science,

Chemistry, and Algebra. This ensures a mastery of knowledge

and skills after each level.
For

example,

currently

in

High

School,

Biology

is

taught in 2nd Year, Chemistry in 3rd Year, and Physics in

4th Year. In K to 12, these subjects are connected and
integrated from Grades 7 to 10. This same method is used in
other Learning Areas like Math.
5.

GEARING UP FOR THE FUTURE (SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL)

Senior High School is two years of specialized upper

secondary education; students may choose a specialization
based

on

choice

aptitude,

of

subjects

career

interests,

track

student

will

will

and

school

define

the

take

in

Grades

capacity.
content

11

and

The

of

the

12.

SHS

subjects fall under either the Core Curriculum or specific

Tracks.
CORE CURRICULUM
There are seven Learning Areas under the Core Curriculum.
These

are

Philosophy,

Languages,
Natural

Literature,
Sciences,

and

Communication,
Social

Mathematics,

Sciences.

Current

content from some General Education subjects are embedded in the

SHS curriculum.
TRACKS
Each student in Senior High School can choose among three
tracks: Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports and
Arts.

The

Academic

track

includes

three

strands:

Business,

Accountancy,
Sciences

Management

(HESS);

(BAM);

and

Humanities,

Science,

Education,

Technology,

Social

Engineering,

Mathematics (STEM).
Students undergo immersion, which may include earn-while-youlearn opportunities, to provide them relevant exposure and actual
experience in their chosen track.
TVET (TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING) NATIONAL
CERTIFICATE
After finishing Grade 10, a student can obtain
Certificates
Certificate

of

Competency

Level

(NC

(COC)
I).

or

After

National

finishing

Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track in Grade 12, a

student may obtain a National Certificate Level II (NC
II),

provided

assessment

of

he/she
the

passes

Technical

the

competency-based

Education

and

Skills

Development Authority (TESDA).

NC I and NC II improves employability of graduates
in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade.
MODELING BEST PRACTICES FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
In SY 2012-2013, there are 33 public high schools,
public technical-vocational high schools, and higher
education

institutions

(HEIs)

that

have

implemented

Grade 11. This is a Research and Design (R&D) program

to simulate different aspects of Senior High School in
preparation for full nationwide implementation in SY
2016-2017. Modeling programs offered by these schools

are based on students interests, community needs, and

their respective capacities.
NURTURING THE HOLISTICALLY DEVELOPED FILIPINO (COLLEGE AND
LIVELIHOOD READINESS, 21ST CENTURY SKILLS)
After
Elementary

going

through

Kindergarten,

and

Junior

High

the

curriculum,

enhanced
and

specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduate

will be ready to go into different paths may it be
further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Every graduate will be equipped with:
1. Information, media and technology skills,
2. Learning and innovation skills,
3. Effective communication skills, and
4. Life and career skills.

THE K-12 CURRICULUM GUIDE

KINDERGARTEN
The Kindergarten Curriculum Framework (KCF) draws from the
goals

of

the

to

12

Philippine

Basic

Education

Curriculum

Framework and adopts the general principles of the National Early

Learning Framework (NELF). Kindergarten learners need to have a

smooth transition to the content-based curriculum of Grades 1 to
12.
GRADES 1-10
Students in Grades 1 to 10 will experience an enhanced,
context-based, and spiral progression learning curriculum with
the following subjects:
SUBJECTS

Mother Tongue

Filipino

English

Mathematics

Science

Araling Panlipunan

Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP)

Music

Arts

Physical Education

Health

Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP)

Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE)

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Grade 11-12)

Senior

High

School

is

two

years

of

specialized

upper

secondary education; students may choose a specialization based

on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career

track will define the content of the subjects a student will take
in Grades 11 and 12. Each student in Senior High School can
choose

among

three

tracks:

Academic;

Technical-Vocational-

Livelihood; and Sports and Arts. The Academic track includes

three

strands:

Humanities,

Business,

Education,

Accountancy,

Social

Sciences

Management

(HESS);

and

(BAM);
Science,

Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).

CORE CURRICULUM SUBJECTS

There

are

Languages,

seven

Learning

Literature,

Areas

under

Communication,

the

Core

Curriculum:

Mathematics,

Philosophy,

Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Oral comunication

Reading and writing

Komunikasyon at pananaliksik sa wika at kulturang Filipino

21st century literature from the Philippines and the world

Contemporary Philippine arts from the regions

Media and information literacy

General mathematics

Statistics and probability

Earth and life science

Physical science

Introduction to philosophy of the human person/Pambungad sa

pilosopiya ng tao

Physical education and health

Personal development/pansariling kaunlaran

Earth science (instead of Earth and life science for those

in the STEM strand)

Disaster

readiness

and

risk

reduction

(taken

instead

Physical science for those in the STEM strand)

APPLIED TRACK SUBJECTS

English for academic and professional purposes

Practical research 1

Practical research 2

Filipino sa piling larangan

o Akademik
o Isports
o Sining
o Tech-voc

Empowerment technologies (for the strand)

Entrepreneurship

Inquiries, investigatories, and immersion

SPECIALIZED SUBJECTS

Accountancy, business, and and management strand

Humanities and social sciences strand

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics strand

General academic strand

of

IMPLEMENTATION AND TRANSITION MANAGEMENT

Program implementation in public schools is being done in

phases starting SY 20122013. Grade 1 entrants in SY 20122013
are the first batch to fully undergo the program, and current 1st
year Junior High School students (or Grade 7) are the first to
undergo the enhanced secondary education program. To facilitate
the transition from the existing 10-year basic education to 12
years, DepEd is also implementing the SHS and SHS Modeling.

Private schools craft their transition plans based on: (1)

current/previous entry ages for Grade 1 and final year of Kinder,
(2) duration of program, and most importantly, (3) content of
curriculum offered.

REFERENCES
WEB

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Philippines
http://www.gov.ph/downloads/2012/201209-K-to-12-Toolkit.pdf
http://www.gov.ph/k-12/
http://www.cfopso.org.ph/pdf/11thconferencepresentation/day2/dr_marilyn_d_dimaa
no-K_to_12_basic_education_program.pdf

REFLECTION

When I learned that my final report is about the Philippine

Educational System at the present time, I was a bit hesitant
because I knew that I have a number of calssmates who are already
well-versed with the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum since most
of us are DepEd teachers/employees and have attended seminars on
K-12. On the other hand, I was excited because they can correct
me and give addendums during my report.
I am not a product of K-12 and not good enough to explain
the K-12 BEC. So I decided to open the DepEd website and maybe, I
thought, I could come up with a very fruitful research on my
assigned topic. And, I wasnt wrong. Everything that I needed is
in the DepEd website. Although I am part of the DepEd teaching
staff, I still have lots of room for improvement. As I go through
the pages that I printed out, I have learned so much about K-12.
I have learned that the recent system is not something that
parents should worry, but rather, an opportunity for growth. The
Philippines Educational System was left at far when compared to
our neighboring countries. With the K-12 System, we can now
recover the years of loss in the game of producing globally
competitive graduates. The two years added in the basic education
is when the students will gain skills necessary in the real life
battlea 21st Century product, as what the K-12 program is
claiming

to

have.

Most

importantly,

the

teachers

and

stakeholders prevailing support towards the attainment of the K12 vision and goals is necessary.
Thus, as part of DepEd team, instead of complaining the
extra work given to us due to the transition, we should be

thankful

enough

despite

the

stressful

situations

and

work

effectively and efficiently to attain the DEPED vision:

We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country
and whose values and competencies
enable them to realize their full potential and contribute
meaningfully to building the nation.
As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of
Education continuously improves itself
to better serve its stakeholders.

Mabuhay ang K-12!

SOUTHERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE STUDIES
Pagadian City

WRITTEN REPORT
IN
EDUCATION 216
Foundations of Education
Summer
SY 2015-2016
SUBMITTED BY:
MYRA SHIMEATH D. DEL ROSARIO
Masterand
SUBMITTED TO:
SHEILA M. IBRAHIM, MBA-HRM, MAED
Professor

Table of Content
Page Title
Introduction

Page No.
1

The Present Philippine Educational System:

The K-12 Basic Education System
Salient Features of K-12

2
2-5

Core Curriculum

Tracks

6-7

Curriculum Guide
Kindergarten
Grades 1-10
Senior High School

8
8
9-10

Implementation and Transition Management

11-12

References

13

Reflection

14-15