THE K TO 12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM HAS THE FOLLOWING SALIENT FEATURES:

1. It has mandatory Kindergarten.

2. Mother Tongue is a new subject from Grades 1 – 3 and is the medium of instruction from K to 3.
3. MAPEH is introduced as a subject with each subject given separate time allotment starting Grade 1.
4. Math, Science and other subjects are taught with the spiral progression approach.
5. TLE as a subject is based on Training Regulations of TESDA to enable a student to obtain an NC I in
Grade 10 to be ready to work.
6. Senior high school offers give career paths in addition to a core of academic subjects. These core academic
subjects make the Grade 12 graduate also college-ready.
7. The K to 12 Curriculum is focused on the development of 21st century skills, namely: a) effective
communication skills, b) information, media and technology skills, c) learning and innovation skills, and
d) life and career skills.
8. The K to 12 Curriculum goes beyond memorization, the telling and isolated methods of teaching because
it is highly constructivist, inquiry-based, integrative, collaborative and reflective in approach.
9. It observes a balanced system of assessment that includes traditional as well as authentic assessment. It
promotes the use of formative assessment (assessment for learning) to ensure mastery of competencies
and self-assessment (assessment as learning) to develop independent learning.

IMPLICATIONS TO PRESERVICE EDUCATION

All these imply a serious look at preservice education to ensure that the Education graduates are fully armed when
they go to the field.

1. The course offerings especially in the specializations for Math and the Natural Sciences need to be
thoroughly reviewed with spiral progress in mind.
2. The specialization in TLE needs to be re-aligned and intensified.
3. The Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEEd) course has also to be aligned to the introduction of the
Mother Tongue as a subject in Grades 1-3 and as a medium of instruction from K to Grade 3.
4. The offering of MAPEH must likewise be considered in the BEEd course adjustments.
5. The Education graduate must possess the 21st century skills themselves so they can in turn develop them
in their students.
6. He or she must be taught to teach using the constructivist, integrative, inquiry-based and reflective
approach, the traditional and authentic assessments and formative and summative assessments.

RATIONALE BEHIND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE K TO 12 CURRICULUM

There is a need for the K to 12 Curriculum for the following reasons:

1. To improve on the mastery of basic competencies by decongesting the curriculum; focusing on the
essentials; using the constructivists, integrated, inquiry-based, collaborative; reflective teaching
approaches and by utilizing a balanced system of assessment comprising of traditional and authentic
assessment and doing formative, summative and self-assessments.
2. To cope with the 12-year basic education international standards for our graduates to be recognized as
professionals here and abroad.
3. To ensure that every Grade 12 graduate is work-ready and is college-ready.
4. To respond to a recommendation of educational researches to expand the years of basic education which
is long overdue

For further readings, Corpuz, Brenda (2013). Special Topics in Education, Volume 4.Quezon City: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.

This book can be found at the CTE Library of BISU MC.