JOSE RIZAL UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE DIVISION
Education Department

PERCEPTIONS OF SELECTED TEACHERS FROM JOSE RIZAL UNIVERSITY

AND JUAN SUMULONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ABOUT THE ISSUE OF
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CONGESTED CURRICULUM
FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016

A Research Paper

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
What does K to 12 program offer? What are the changes that this program will
bring to the educational system in the Philippines? These are the questions that came out
the moment the topic about the implementation of K to 12 Program is broadcast to the
public. A lot of issues had emerge since the school year 2011-2012 when they first
implemented it for Grade 1 and Grade 7 and one of those is the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Senior High School Program.

As the Department of Education started the implementation of K to 12 Program,

also known as Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the senior high school program is
also planned in accordance with the 12 years in basic education. Through the Senior High
School, two years for basic education is added which is named Grade 11 and Grade 12.
The SHS play a vital role in reaching the end goal of the educational system in the
Philippines. Most of the professional skills will be develop in these level. Two years
seems like much of time but with the decongestion of the curriculum below this level,
there might be an implication on the part of it.
One of the reasons for the implementation of this curriculum is to develop
students who are ready for employment or entrepreneurship. The sake of the learners
should be considered in the making of the curriculum so we expect that the components
will on preference of the learners themselves. Decongestion of the curriculum is a big
part of the reason for the implementation but if it is not properly addressed to all the parts
of the curriculum it may cause the decrease of competence and effectiveness of the
curriculum.
Statement of the Problem
The study tries to determine the perception of the selected teachers from Jose
Rizal University and Juan Sumulong Elementary School of the School Year 2015-2016
about the Senior High School Congested Curriculum.
It specifically seeks answers to the following sub-problems:
1. What are the insights of teachers about the Senior High School Curriculum?
2. Is the SHS Curriculum really congested for the selected teachers?
3. Do the teachers have enough knowledge about the Senior High School
curriculum?
4. Do the teachers believe that Senior High School will be a success?

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study is primarily concerned with the selected teachers from Jose Rizal
University and Juan Sumulong Elementary School, S.Y. 2015-2016. It focuses on their
perception in the curriculum issue, Senior High School congested curriculum. This is
limited to the opinions of the teachers about the topic.
This includes a total of twenty (20) elementary teachers, ten (10) from Jose Rizal
University (elementary department) and ten (10) from Juan Sumulong Elementary
School. The participation is done through answering the survey questionnaire
individually.
Significance of the Study
The purpose of the research is to raise the awareness of different stakeholders in
the current status of the Senior High School curriculum. It will help in identifying and
clarifying the issues the curriculum is facing. The teacher will benefit by adjusting their
teaching styles and their plan in implementing the curriculum. The research can help
students in preparing themselves in what they may face in the Senior High School. The
awareness of the issue can lead to the address of solutions that can be applied.
The research will help in gaining knowledge about the basic information about the
Senior High School curriculum. This can also help other researchers who study the same
topic or related topics.

Definition of Terminologies

CHAPTER 2
Review of Related Literature

The aim of the K to 12 Basic Education Program is to produce a holistically

developed learner with 21st century skills. As proposed it will be seamless and
continuous, decongested and enriched, research-based and learner-centered. It will also
put an emphasis on the role of co-curricular activities and community involvement in
maximizing learning. After being implemented, a lot of issues regarding the curriculum
emerged.
According to the Department of Education, the K to 12 is implemented with the
purpose of decongesting the curriculum, preparing the students for higher education,
preparing the students for the labor market and to comply with the global standards.

An article in the DAVAOTODAY.com revealed a discovery of the Catholic

educators in the city. After a presentation done by Bro. Armin Luistro, the educators
themselves labelled the Senior High School Curriculum as over-congested. According to
Dr. Gina Montalan, dean of the College of Education at the Ateneo de Davao University,
the SHS curriculum would mean 6.5 contact hours daily in senior high school which is
indeed too heavy for a student. The non-negotiable 80 hours each subject per semester
is also noted. There also stated the final SHS curriculum includes the four tracks:
Academic, Tech-Voc, Sports, and Arts & Design with 31 80-hour subjects totalling to
2,480 hours. The strands have 15 core subjects and 16 track subjects with seven
contextualized subjects and nine specialization subjects. The equivalent of these 2,480
hours in college unit is 32.5 units.
According to Official Website of Department of Education, Senior High School has
the following core curriculum subjects:

Oral Communication
Reading and Writing
Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Filipino
Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Ibat Ibang Teksto Tungo sa Pananaliksik
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
Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Earth Science (taken instead of Earth and Life Science for those in the STEM
Strand)
Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction (taken instead of Physical Science for
those in the STEM Strand)

As well as the Applied Track Subjects:

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Practical Research 1
Practical Research 2
Filipino sa Piling Larangan Akademik, Isports, Sining, Tech-Voc
Empowerment Technologies (for the strand)
Entrepreneurship
Inquiries, Investigations and Immersion

In every track, there are strands, and in every strands, under of it has specific subjects.
While, on the contrary, the Proceedings of the 4 th National Coordinating Council
of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) Congress, the K-12 Program will do
more than just two more years of schooling. It will decongest the system of both
overcrowded and redundant lessons that put more emphasis on knowing and rote learning
than on understanding and real-world application. Decongestion means deepening
students appreciation of lessons because they will not be pressured to learn everything in
an unreasonably short period of time. They want them to develop critical thinking as well
as mastery, genuine comprehension as well as proficiency.
In addition to this, they mentioned their suggestion to the features of K-12 is that
Senior High School curriculum will include basic subjects brought down from 1 st and 2nd
year General Education curriculum in college. These subjects are English 1 & 2, Filipino
1 and 2, Science 1 and 2, Math 1 and 2 and others. Thus, college courses will be reduced
by one (1) year.