High School

One of the purpose of (DepEd) Department of Education is to prepare the students to be globally competitive. The Philippines is one of the only three countries worldwide with a 10 year pre-university cycle in Asia (Angola and Djibouti are the other two) where a new curriculum was implemented which is the K to 12 curriculum. The K to 12 Curriculum composes Kindergarten, 12 years of basic education with six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School. Senior High School is two years of specialized upper secondary education.

Students may choose a specialization based on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. Senior High School covers eight learning areas as part of its core curriculum, and adds specific tracks which are similar to college courses based on four disciplines. It includes Academic which includes Business, Science & Engineering, Humanities & Social Science and General Academic Strand, Technical-Vocational Livelihood with highly specialized subjects with TESDA qualifications, Sports and Arts & Design. The choice of career track will define the content of the subjects a student will take in Grade 11 and 12.

Senior High will create opportunities according to TESDA, promising students would be able to apply TESDA COCs and NCs to provide students with better work opportunities. DepEd implemented the SHS and SHS Modeling to facilitate the transition from the existing 10-year basic education to 12 years. The K to 12 Curriculum is standard and competency-based. It is inclusive and built around the needs of the learners and the community. The K to 12 Program was carefully studied and designed based on research from other countries and our own local successes and failures in education.

The K to 12 programs has many innovations. According to Montebon (2014) one of these is the decongestion of the competencies and arrangement in spiral progression manner. In the old curriculum, a specific discipline is being offered per grade level. In terms of instruction, the program shifts from traditional methods of teaching to a more innovative exploration that emphasizes the enhancement of the students’ critical thinking and scientific skills. The new curriculum utilizes learner-centered approach such as the inquiry based learning pedagogy.

Concepts and skills are being taught by proving pedagogy which will enable them to enhance their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. As cited by the study of Prof. Darryl T. Montebon,, perception is defined as a way of translating information gathered by the senses to generalize and make coherent meaning about the world (www. busnessdictionary. com, 2014). Though perception is oftentimes associated with making meaning out of material things or occurrences, it is more of an internal operation. Thus, perception becomes an abstraction (Angell, 1906).

Even if perception is based on incomplete and unreliable information, it is equated with reality and it influences a person’s behaviour in general. Also, perception enables a person to make use of the information gathered by the senses like interpreting the sounds being heard or making sense of the letters which make up a word (www. educationportal. com, 2014). In a study by Jennifer Adams and Tanja Sargent in 2012, they discussed the different perceptions of students in the curriculum change that happened in China.

The Chinese government also made a move to change their curriculum from subject-centered to student-centered scheme. Their study showed that the curriculum change in China reduced the student stress level but increased in student participation. With these results gathered, it is assumed that the new curriculum entails a better way of learning for students since their perception of the curriculum has significantly shifted from the traditional to the new one. The initial implementation of the K-12 curriculum has raised some social concerns.

In a paper written by John Mark Burila (2012), he cited some concerns of the community in the implementation of the K-12 program like the readiness of the Philippine Government to undergo transitions such as the poverty in the Philippines, availability of technology, teachers training, and even the low salary of the workforce of the academe have been cited. In an online forum, Dr. Flor Lacanilao (2012) of the University of the Philippines Diliman, also presented some critiques on the K-12 program where he based his arguments on the stand of Filipino scientists and non-scientists.

According to Dr. Lacanilao, scientists do not agree with the implementation of the K-12 program because it does not answer the real problem of the Philippine education system like the number of dropouts recorded each year. Also, the inclusion of the kinder level is not scientifically proven that it contributes in the enhancement of student learning. Moreover, Dr. Lacanilao stressed that upon his readings, those who agree with the K12 implementation, are not scientists or educators. (Montebon, 2014)

Now that the K12 is being implemented for about three academic years some issues are raised like the lack of training of teachers to implement the new program. With these, Senator Antonio Trillanes makes a move to stop implementing the K12 Program which he referred to as overly ambitious because of perennial issues in the education system of the Philippines. In an article in Inquirer. net of Maila Ager (2014), Sen. Trillanes elaborated that upon his country-wide inspections, he found real problems like the availability of classrooms and low wage of kindergarten teachers.

He also foresees the problem of the number of college professors that will go through retrenchment because of the lack of enrollees for school year 2016. Sen. Trillanes also mentioned that backlogs in the education system are still present even if the department of education declared that there is none. (Montebon, 2014) He said that in a poverty- stricken country like the Philippines, the implementation of the K+12 was a “question of survival”, especially for parents who could barely send their children to school.

He added that this new education plan will not address the escalating number of out-of-school youths, nor lift the employment rate, because the real problem is the low employment opportunities. Senators Chiz Escudero was also against the implementation of the K+12 Education plan. Escudero pointed out that it is not in the length of educational years, but the quality of education a student can acquire. And this has to begin by training teachers to be competitive, create more classrooms and improve learning facilities, and provide budget for textbooks.

In a study of Bloxom (et al. , 2008), they found that high school students engaging in career decision making encounter significant challenges. Students need assessment focus of this study provides unique insights into student perceptions of the effectiveness of high school career programs. Results indicated that Grade 12 students value resources that support transitions, have a passion for career, and report a wide range of occupational choices. However, students may not perceive career development resources available at the high school level as being very effective.

It also discussed in the study the school-to-work transition (STW). It requires that high school graduates make personal and career choices within the framework of changing social and economic conditions. Post-industrial society is defined by transformations in labour markets, the nature of work, the emergence of knowledge-based industries (Gilbert, 2007), the newly dominant forces of information technology, massive immigration, and global economies (Watts, 1996).

The changing STW parameters are clearly outlined by economists who study labour markets. Future workers must have specific skills training beyond high school to fully participate in the new realities of the knowledge-based economy (Alberta Human Resources and Employment & Alberta Learning, 1999). Also, in a study of adolescent health-related needs, Collins (1998) observed that high school students regard the preparation for future education and career as important.

Research based on a school leaver’s survey, with a sample size of 18,000 individuals aged 18 to 20 years, analyzed the labour market participation patterns of youth and indicated that high school education may not be enough; recommendations were made that more attention be given to the career development experiences of youth (Human Resources Development Canada, 1998). Lastly, Blustein, Phillips, Jobin-Davis, Finkelberg, and Roarke (1997) recommended that research examine the context of youth STW transition and that it continue to identify critical elements and ways in which adaptive characteristics may be fostered.

Hence, this study sought to determine the perception of Grade 12 students regarding on having a new system of education in the Philippines on a selected secondary school at Magalang, Pampanga for the School Year 2016-2017. It will be most beneficial (1) among students because the results of this research can notify the DepEd and the government about the advantages and disadvantages on implementation of Senior High under K to 12 Curriculum in which will come from the Grade 12 student’s perception of the new educational setting in the Philippines.

It will also provide relevance material for students undertaking similar research. (2) The teachers and school administration of the school to know on how they will assist students in their educational career in taking Senior High. (3) It can serve as a voice of youth and young students in the society to share their thoughts regarding the K to 12 Curriculum specifically having Senior High that gives them a choice of track. (4) It can serve as reference or study guide for future researchers in making and producing a good research manual.

Conceptual Framework

The research process will start in formulating the consent letter for the approval of the schools in conducting the study. With the approved consent letter, researchers can able to gather information in order to identify those who are Grade 12 students. After the identification of students, researchers will formulate questionnaire that would answer the perception of the students on the concept and the implementation of Senior High under K to 12 Curriculum. The guide questionnaire that will be answered by respondents will be examined first by an English critique before the floating process. The next step is to analyse and evaluate the collected data with the help of a statistic teacher. Researchers will interpret the evaluated data that will be the basis in the outcome of the study.

Research Problem

This study sought to answer the following questions:

1. Are the classrooms for the learners sufficient?

2. Are the physical infrastructures for the different programs enough?

3. Are the SHS teachers were trained well to teach the SHS students?

4. Are the books and learning materials enough for SHS students?

5. Are the schools in Magalang, Pampanga offering Senior High ready with the curriculum to move the education system to the world-class standard?

Research Hypotheses

Before studying the problems, the researchers established the following hypotheses:

1. The classrooms for the learners are sufficient.

2. The physical infrastructures for the different programs are enough.

3. SHS teachers were trained well to teach SHS students.

4. Books and learning materials are enough.

5. The schools in Magalang, Pampanga offering Senior High are ready with the curriculum to move the education system to the world-class standard

Method

A quantitative survey design of research will be developed in this study. This method is intended to acquire information from people concerning the predominance, distribution, and interrelations of variables within the identified group people. In simple terms, surveys are done to gather evidence on people’s knowledge, opinions, attitudes, and values on various issues and concerns. Surveys are inclined for collecting data that are mainly quantitative. (Bryman 2008, 165)

Respondents

The respondents of this study will be the senior high school students both public and private schools of Magalang, Pampanga since Senior High school students are the pioneers in experiencing to the said curriculum. They are knowledgeable and being trained in their different tracks and specializations they had chosen. The researchers will go to use random sampling method in gathering data.

Instrument

The instrument that the researchers will be using in this study is the survey questionnaire which will be developed by the researchers. The survey questionnaire will determined the perception of Senior High school students pertaining on the implementation of K to 12 Program on the educational system of the Philippines.

Procedure

Letters will be given to the principals of public and private schools of Magalang, Pampanga for the purpose of seeking permission to conduct the study. The researchers ensured the confidentiality of data and identity of the respondents throughout the conduct of study and during the presentation of data. The survey questionnaire was developed by the researchers to examine the students’ perception in the implementation of K to 12 program of Department of Education. The data obtained will be analyse, interpret and tabulate by the statistic teacher.
Statistical Treatment of Data
The formula used:
P=F/N×100
Where:
P = Percentage
F = Frequency
N = Total Number of Respondents
100 = Constant Number