Curriculum development

TYPES OF DECISIONS
1. Curriculum Policies
reflects the values and philosophy of the school
set out the school’s aims, principles and procedures for the delivery of the curriculum

2. Curriculum Design
refers to the arrangement of the elements of a curriculum into a substantive entity.

3. Implementation Strategies
refers to the methods and approaches to learning

4. Evaluation Procedure
assessing the student’s performances
Paper and pencil tests are the most common forms of examination in the schools.

5. Learning materials
Educational materials used by teachers and students

LEVELS OF DECISION-MAKING

National Level Multi-sectoral National Committees
Regional LevelMulti-sectoral Regional Committees
School GroupPrivate and Public
SchoolFaculty, School Committee
Teacher’s GroupDepartment, Curriculum Committees
Individual TeacherClassroom
1. National Level
Decision – making is done by the National Multi-sectoral Committee. DepEd is one of the sectors of the said committee. DepEd fulfills its mandate through the four major organizational strata: department proper, department services (Planning Service, Financial Management Service, Administrative Service, Human Resource Development Service, Technical Service), the four bureaus (Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Non-Formal Education/Alternative Learning System and Physical Education and School Sport, and fifteen regional offices. DepEd is tasked with the functions and responsibility of administering the national education system. Decisions on what subjects to include in the curriculum are results of state legislation or national policies. Some decisions follow the thrust of DepEd.

Multi-sectoral national committee develops educational policies, standards and programs for curriculum development and implementation. Example: The development of the national curricula for basic education such as the Program for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) for elementary and the Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP) Multi-sectoral committees took part in designing the curricula. Each curriculum development project comprised several components. PRODED components:

1. Development of the New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC)
2. Physical facilities and staff development
3. Instructional materials development
4. Technical assistance
5. research/special studies.
SEDP components:
1. The New Secondary Education Curriculum (NSEC)
2. Upgrading of physical facilities and equipment
3. Instructional materials development
4. in-service training
5. Assistance for quality improvement and sector management, and evaluation. Both PRODED and SEDP:
the development of textbooks, course guides, syllabi, learning packages and lesson plans also involve the participation of different sectors and different levels in the educational system.

2. Regional Level

Decision-making is done by the Multi-sectoral Regional Committee It was headed by a Regional Director.
When it comes to curriculum development, this level implement and adapts educational programs to suit the needs of each region/division/district.

3. School Group Level
It covers both private and public
It was headed by a School Superintendent.
Decisions of Formulating the vision, mission and objectives of the school are being decided For instance, in some private sectarian schools they are requiring religion subjects.

4. School Level
It comprises the faculty and school committee.
It was headed by a Principal.
The committee employs various activities that enhance lifelong competencies Supervise the use of instructional materials by learners and teachers

5. Teachers’ Group
It refers to the teachers in each department.
Preferences of teachers become the basis for choosing the focus of classroom instruction. They modify and adapt the curriculum to learners of different needs and abilities.

6. Individual Teacher
Transform the curriculum into meaningful learning experiences for learners through instruction. has a major responsibility of developing educational experiences of higher quality for learners There are external and internal enablers to the educational system or conditions at various levels that permit and provide the encouragement and support for curricular reform efforts. In the Philippine setting, new legislation, public opinion about the state of education, technological advances, societal as well as industry demands and expectations had paved the way for the revision of the curriculum in the past.

An Important Enabler

Availability of funds
is considered as an important enabler because even in the presence of permitting conditions, the decision to undertake major curricular reform activities in the Philippine educational system ultimately depends on it. Nationwide curriculum improvement is an undertaking that needs sufficient funding.

EXTERNAL ENABLERS
What are external enablers?
are external permitting conditions or forces outside the school system that support curriculum revisions. These forces can give impact on the inputs of the system which consequently affect the subsystems.: 1. legislation- Mandatory in tertiary levels: teaching of the works of Dr. Jose Rizal 2. public opinion – Regarding the poor quality of instruction 3. education studies – EDCOM’s findings to based changes in elementary and secondary curricula 4. technological advances – Inclusion of Computer education 5. societal demands- Value transformation so inclusion Values education in secondary education 6. industry demands – Mismatch between competencies of school Graduates and industry requirements

The EDCOM Study as an External Enabler
The Congressional Committee on Education (EDCOM) was created by the legislators in 1992 to conduct a comprehensive study on Philippine education. It was chaired by Senator Edgardo Angara.
The findings of the study eventually became the bases for educational policy reforms. What did EDCOM propose and recommend based from the report?
Revision of the curriculum design for elementary and secondary education Revision of the ratio between academic and vocational courses. Changes of contact hours and number of school days for both elementary and secondary curricula. What were the changes of curriculum of elementary and secondary education as proposed by EDCOM ? Elementary:

Increase in the number of school days per year
Increase in the daily class time by 36%
Increase in study time for critical subjects
National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT)
Secondary:
Increase in the number of school days in a year by 8%
Increase in the daily class time by 33%
Increase in contact time for academic subjects
National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT)
What were the structural and policy changes on teacher development components as recommended by EDCOM? Professionalization of teachers and teaching
Clear career service paths
Teachers’ welfare and benefits improvement
Improvement of pre-service teacher education

Basic Education Curriculum (BEC)
Designed to raise the quality of Filipino learners and graduates and more importantly to empower them to become lifelong learners through the attainment of functional literacy. There was a restructuring of learning areas into five: Filipino, English, Science and Technology, Mathematics and Makabayan that differentiate BEC from PRODED and SEDP.