The Professional
M ODULE
III
Teachers are
Global
Chapter 1: Global Teachers: Knowledge of K to 12 Program of Various Countries
Time Table: 1 hour
Topic Learning Outcomes:
a. Compare and contrast the different K to 12 Programs of various countries
Deepen!
Global teachers should have wide perspectives of the various Basic Education landscape. They
must be open and responsive to new and diverse educational reforms in order to have a clear knowledge
and understanding of international educational contexts.
Introduction
Basic Education is defined as the whole range of educational activities that are taking place in
either informal or non-formal setting with the goal of meeting the learners' basic learning needs. It is a fact
that no country will achieve rapid economic growth without investing in education. Basic education in
developing countries is essential to build stable training partners with developed countries especially that
quality education is afforded to learners to become knowledgeable, skillful, and competent ready for global
economy. In coming years, the establishment of ASEAN Economic Community composed of 10 member
states will commence for the free flow of goods and services including education services. This will change
the educational landscape as a result of the changing world, transformed by advances in technology,
knowledge revolution and global perspectives.
The Present Basic Education Scenario in the Philippines
Several educational reforms have been initiated because of the Department of Education's
commitment to enhance the quality of basic education. The mandate of ensuring that no learner shall be
left behind and that every Filipino child will have access to quality education gave way to the enactment of
Kindergarten Education Act in 2012 and the Republic Act 10533 known as Enhanced Basic Education Act
of 2013, Having Kindergarten as part of the basic education curricula and having it mandatory, improves
the students' access to education. The Philippine government believes that compulsory kindergarten better
prepares learners who have active minds to the next level of schooling.
Enhance Basic Education, popularly known as K to 12, started as a flagship reform strategy
initiated also by the DepEd Secretary with the objective of producing more productive and responsible
citizens fully equipped with the essential competencies, skills for both lifelong learning and employment.
There were various proposals, studies, and consultations made before coming up with an
enhanced model that is suitable to the Philippine context. The model is Kindergarten, 6 years of elementary
education, 4 years of junior high school, and 2 years of senior high school. The two years of senior high
school is a preparation either for college career or employment by consolidating the students' acquired
academic skills and competence.
What are the reasons for coming up with K to 12?
The additional two years hopes to address the deteriorating quality of Philippine education system
as revealed by the low achievement score of the Filipino students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) -
This was discussed in the prepared discussion paper on "Enhanced K to 12 Education Program" by DepEd
in the last quarter of 2010. The Philippines also had low performance in the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) as revealed in the 2003 and 2008 TIMSS.
Phillipine Average TIMSS Scores
(Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)
PHILIPPINE AVERAGE TIMSS SCORE
Participating
International Rank
Countries
2003 Results
Grade IV
Science 332 489 23 25
Mathematics 358 495 23 25
2008 Results
Advance
355 500 10 10
Mathematics
2. Another reason is the unpreparedness for employment, entrepreneurship or higher education of
the Filipino High School graduates because of the congested ten year skills The years in school
are not enough for students to absorb the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue higher
education. Moreover, those who cannot go to college still lack the basic competencies and
emotional maturity for employment. The additional two years in the senior high school will then
prepare students for either higher education or the world of work.
3. Since the educational ladder of almost all countries is 12 years, the additional two years make the
Philippine education system comparable and recognized in meeting international standards. The
Philippines is the only remaining country with a 10-year basic education program. Graduates of the
12 education cycle has potential to be globally competitive.
What is K to 12 Education Program?
K to 12 is a term for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in countries like United
States, Canada, Turkey, Australia, and now in the Philippines. The expression is a shortening of
Kindergarten (K) for 4-6 year old learners, through twelfth grade (12) for learners who are 17-19 years old.
How do K to 12 Programs of Various Countries Differ? A. Philippines In the Philippines, K to 12 Program
covers the Kindergarten plus the 12 years of basic education (6 years of primary education), 4 years of
Junior High School and 2 years of Senior High School. The additional two years in Senior High School aims
to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, to develop lifelong learning skills and to prepare
graduates for tertiary education, for mid-level skills development, for employment and for entrepreneurship.
Salient Features of K to 12 Program
1. Universal Kindergarten or the mandated Kindergarten for 5 years old learners
2. Contextualization and enhancement by making the curriculum relevant to learners – students are
provided with in-depth acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes across all levels and
subjects with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration; Mother-Tongue Based
instruction serves as foundation for learning Filipino and English
3. Mastery of knowledge and skills is done by introducing simple concepts of spiral progression in
subject areas like Mathematics and Science
4. The two years of Senior High School is a specialization based on the learners' aptitude and
interest. Grades 11 and 12 of Senior High School will define the choice of career track the students
choose to take up. Students take the core curriculum composed of 15 core subjects, and 7
contextualized track subjects. Specialization is a choice of three tracks: Academic Track,
Technical-Vocational Track, and Arts and Design Track. The Academic Track is includes 4 strands:
General Academics; Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM); Humanities and Social
Sciences (HUMMS); and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).
5. Completing the enhanced Basic Education from Kindergarten, elementary, Junior High School
curriculum and the specialized Senior High School Program, a Filipino K — 12 graduate is ready to
take his/her choice path: further education, employment or entrepreneurship. The focus skills are
the 21st century skills namely: Information, media and technology skills, learning and innovation
skills, effective communication skills and life and career skills.
Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam starts with 1 year primary education and then 6 years of elementary education.
Students take and should pass the end-of-cycle public examination before they progress to diversified
secondary level. Secondary level has 2 categories – General Secondary Education Program (2-3 years)
and another 2-3 years of Upper Secondary Education where students are grouped accoding to their
academic abilities, talents, and interests.
In the General Education Program of Brunei Darussalam, the students take 4 core subjects and 3
complementary subjects and at least 2 elective subjects with Science as one required elective. In Brunei,
students who excel academically can take secondary education in 2 years. Differentiated and specialized
education responding to the different capabilities and interests of the learners are the required secondary
curriculum. Preschool in Brunei is a playschool which aims to impart socio-economical and personality
development for young learners in an informal preschool program.
Canada
Canada follows the K to 12 educational curriculum with secondary schooling or high school
structure that varies within a province in terms of inclusion of middle school or junior high school. Canada
usually starts with Kindergarten. By law, Canadians must be in school starting ages 5 or 6 and remain in
school until ages between 16 and 18 depending on the province or territory. All provinces and territory
provide universal, free and until secondary schooling of 12 years with the exemption of Quebec where it
offers education until 11 years.
Elementary school includes Grades 1-6 in regions where there are 2 years of middle school or
junior high school, but those without middle or junior high school have elementary until Grade 8. In Quebec,
grade school is 6 years and their students proceed immediately to High School.
Secondary high school with middle or junior high school begins in Grade 7 to Grade 12 and those
without being Secondary high school in Grade 9.
Post-secondary education includes career college or vocational school, community college, or university.
South Korea
The school system in Korea follows the 6-3-3-4 education ladder which is 6 years of elementary, 3
years of middle school and 3 years of high school and 4 years of junior college, college or university to
complete higher education. High School are in two categories: General High School and Vocational High
School although there are limited numbers of schools which offer both general and vocation training which
is known as “Comprehensive High School”. Korean Kindergarten provides nurturing learning environment
through various pleasant activities and diverse teaching pedagogy. The Kindergarten or Early Childhood
curriculum includes physical, social, expression language and inquiry life areas.
Elementary education in Korea is geared towards the acquisition of fundamentals necessary for a
productive civic life through nine principal subjects: moral education, Korean language, Social Studies,
Arithmetic, Natural Science, Physical Education, Music, Fine Arts and Practical Arts.
The Middle School curricula are a combination of 11 basic or required subjects, elective subjects
and extra-curricular activities. Blending of education and readiness for occupation is reflected in the
technical and vocational courses which are elective subjects. Korean students may continue to High School
and admission to High School depends upon the result of high school entrance examination.
Malaysia
Malaysian education begins with Preschool where the medium of instruction is both Malaysian and
English. Preschools that use Tamil or Chinese as medium of instruction also conduct teaching-learning
process using Bahasa Malaysia and English. Malaysia offers a two-year optional preschool for leaners
ages 4-5. Standards-based preschool curriculum for personality development of young learners is being
following in Malaysia.
Elementary education is 6 years with a requirement of passing the public examination as
determining factor of the students' readiness to secondary or high school level. Malaysia has two levels
category for Secondary or High School: lower secondary (level 2) and upper secondary (level 3). Lower
secondary program offers general and undifferentiated curriculum for 2-3 years. In the upper secondary 2
years, students take subjects according to their appropriate streams (Arts, Science, Technical and
Religious).
Singapore
Education in Singapore begins with Kindergarten or Preschool at the age of 4-6 years old. In
Kindergarten, although not compulsory, a 3-4 hour provision of language development, literary skills, basic
number concepts, social skills, creative skills, language development, literary skills, basic number concepts,
social skills, creative skills, and appreciation of music and movement is being provided to the young
learners. Mother Tongue is a so part of the Kinder curriculum. Mother Tongue language includes Chinese,
Malay, Tamil and Indian.
Preschool is followed by six years of Primary Education. English language, Mathematics, Mother
Tongue Language are the significant subjects in the primary education curriculum. primary school has two
stages — Foundation and Orientation Stages. During Foundation Stage (Primary 1-4) students are
provided with strong foundation in English, Mother Tongue, and Mathematics. Orientation Stage (Primary
5-6) is the stage where students are taugh with Mathematics and Science appropriate to their level, At the
end of Primary 6, all students are assessed on their academic abilities through the Primary School Leaving
Examination (PSLE). The result of the PSLE will place the students in secondary school courses that suit
their academic learning pace and aptitude.
At the secondary level, students may either go to Special (Secondary 1-4 years), Express
(Secondary 1-4 years), Normal (Academic — Secondary 1-5 years) courses depending on the measured
academic ability of the PSLE scores. These four streamed courses offer highly differentiated curriculum.
Special and Express are four year courses which lead to Singapore – Cambridge General Certificate (GCE
‘O’) Education (Ordinary Level) examination. Students in the Normal (Academic) course take academically-
based subjects while those in the Normal (Technical) course receive curriculum that is practice-oriented.
Students who pass the GCE ‘O’ level examination at the of 4 or 5 years of secondary education can qualify
for Junior College (2 years), a Polytechnic Year ¾ can enrol in local university or to the National University
of Singapore.
United States
The age of entry to compulsory education in the US varies according to the state, between 5-7
years old with 6 years old being the most common as an entry age for Kindergarten. Kindergarten
Certificate is awarded to allow learners' entry to Elementary School/Primary Education.
The length of primary education varies from four to seven years depending on the States or local
practice. Likewise, certification or diploma may vary by States/Districts for transition to Secondary School.
Based on its length, elementary education may be followed or not by a number of years of middle school
education which is generally 3 years (Grades 4-5, 6-7, 6-8)
High School (Grades 7-12 or Grades 8-12) length program is six years depending upon the laws
and policies of states and local districts. There are mandatory subjects in almost all US High Schools
which include Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Mathematics (Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry,
Calculus, Statistics), English (Literature, Humanities, Composition, Oral Language), Social Sciences
(History, Government, Economics), and Physical Education.
High School students, usually during their Grade 11, take one or more standardized tests
depending on their education preferences and also as requirements for admission to most colleges. Most
common standardized tests taken by US students are Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American
College Testing (ACT). High school diploma is awarded upon completion of Grade 12 and the diploma
covers a variety of awards for different curricula and standards like general/basic track, vocational and
academic/college preparatory.
