The Department of Education (DepEd) unveiled the features of the 2022 version of the K to 12 curriculum which aims to respond to the needs and challenges of the 21st century.
“Critical decisions, even in the curriculum aspect, are not done unilaterally by the Department of Education,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio.
“We harness the expertise of everybody in our country so that we can produce a curriculum that will be relevant to the needs and challenges of the 21st Century, ” he added.
Early this month, DepEd launched the features of the 2022 version of the K to 12 Curriculum during the Stakeholders' Forum on Curriculum Review and Curriculum Revision Updates.
“When we are ready with detailed versions of our curriculum guides, we will be organizing more consultation meetings with our stakeholders,” San Antonio said.
Meanwhile, DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development Director Jocelyn D.R. Andaya also discussed the direction that the 2022 K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum wants to achieve based on the results of the 2016 curriculum review.
“We have not set out to completely change or overhaul the curriculum as it remains to be sound. Instead, we have tried to address the issues and gaps articulated in the curriculum review findings and ensure that the curriculum remains relevant,” Andaya stressed.
Andaya explained that the 2022 curriculum focuses on big ideas and articulation of the 21st Century Skills Framework, redefines the interplay among languages in the Philippines, and emphasizes the development and mastery of foundational skills and competencies, among others.
“So far, we have developed the General and Learning Area Shaping Papers that communicate the curriculum review and revision process and set the future direction of the K to 12, and developed the Curriculum Guides for Key Stages 1 and 2,” Andaya shared.
Among the findings of the BCD review include desirable competencies found in various learning areas, congested curriculum content, evident spiral progression, prerequisites that were missed or were missing, and a significant number of standards and competencies that will supply high cognitive demands.
Meanwhile, University of Melbourne Research Fellow and Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Center (ACTRC) member Dr. Pam Robertson shared that the Philippine Basic Education Curriculum has achieved significant progress in addressing overcrowding, sequencing, and pacing.
“We need to reduce the number of learning competencies,” Robertson said.
She also urged DepEd to ensure prerequisite skills and knowledge are built systematically from one grade to the next.
DepEd, she added, may also improve articulation of learning competencies within the intended curriculum.
“Lastly, the new or enhanced curriculum must address the cognitive demand expectations,” Robertson added.
The consultative forum was also attended by Curriculum and Instruction Strand Directors Leila Areola of the Bureau of Learning Delivery and Ariz Cawilan of the Bureau of Learning Resources, and leaders and representatives from various government agencies, the private sector, and other partner agencies and organizations.