To determine its immediate impact, an assessment of the pilot run of the revised K to 10 curriculum, officially called the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum, was conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS).
In a statement released on June 12, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) revealed the initial assessments on the MATATAG K to 10 pilot implementation based on the findings of DepEd and PIDS.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/12/understanding-dep-ed-s-matatag-k-to-10-curriculum
PIDS and DepEd presented their initial findings on the MATATAG pilot implementation during a Sub-Committee on Basic Education meeting on June 11.
Preliminary findings
The MATATAG curriculum, based on the initial assessments, appears to be "generally well-accepted" among stakeholders.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/25/1st-day-of-matatag-curriculum-pilot-run-met-with-positivity-dep-ed
Another observation is that while the revised K to 10 curriculum "improves teacher instruction," it also has "no apparent impact" on hours worked and selected measures of well-being among teachers.
During the interviews, the assessments showed that "some teachers also raised that they are still adjusting to the new curriculum."
Regarding its impact on expected competencies, the preliminary findings suggested that there is "no statistical difference" in the expected percentage of competencies covered in MATATAG pilot schools versus non-pilot schools.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/9/piloting-the-matatag-curriculum
Asked about the percentage of expected competencies to be covered by the end of the school year, the initial assessments showed that "90 percent of the expected competencies under the pilot and non-pilot curriculum will be covered."
"On the other hand, competencies mastered by students stand at 81 percent in both curricula," the assessments revealed.
As explained by PIDS, the 2021 curriculum is "already less and more compressed" compared to the curriculum in 2016.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Michael Ralph Abrigo said that the 2021 curriculum is "already lesser" and is almost the same as the MATATAG Curriculum.
Citing results gathered during Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Abrigo noted that the revised K to 10 curriculum has a "better flow of competencies compared to the old curriculum.
"Reacting to the initial assessments, EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pointed out that the "difference is not so big."
"The MATATAG curriculum is meant to dramatically improve the coverage of competencies and the confidence mastered by all students," Gatchalian said.
"In terms of competencies, hindi siya malayo (it's not very far). It’s just the way it is structured that is different," he added.
To assess the outcomes of learners among pilot and non-pilot schools, PIDS is also set to conduct an assessment."
A baseline assessment will be conducted this year, although we do not expect a big difference at this stage since it just started," Abrigo said.
Areas of concern
Following these preliminary findings on the MATATAG pilot run, EDCOM 2 called on the DepEd to be guided by the results of the initial monitoring and evaluation.
“These findings are very critical in DepEd’s plan for a nationwide curriculum rollout," said EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee.
"We must proactively look at the implementation challenges of this new curriculum early on so we can better prepare for the bigger rollout," he added.
For his part, EDCOM 2 Commissioner and Co-Chair of the EDCOM II Standing Committee on Basic Education Senator Koko Pimentel pointed out that the MATATAG "claims to be a decongested curriculum."
Given this, Pimentel noted that "we need to make sure that the competencies are reduced and streamlined, and not just compressed into a broader category."
"Hopefully, our partners can thoroughly look into this," he added.
The MATATAG curriculum was implemented in 35 pilot schools out of 47,678 schools distributed across 13 divisions in seven regions.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/25/pilot-run-of-matatag-k-to-10-curriculum-begins-in-35-schools
As of May 24, DepEd reported that 267,900 teachers and personnel were trained for the MATATAG curriculum implementation. This covers training at different levels of governance.
The external monitoring was conducted by the PIDS and the Assessment, Curriculum, and Technology Research Center (ACTRC), commissioned by the DepEd.
The study sought to assess the immediate impact of the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum on teachers’ pedagogy welfare and learning outcomes of the students and document the "challenges and opportunities" of the current and the pilot curriculum.
PIDS presented the preliminary results of the MATATAG curriculum pilot run from FGDs and key informant interviews with teaching and administrative personnel and from the teachers’ survey.
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