Basic Curriculum Reforms from 2002-2011

Elementary Education:

The 2011 NSEC and NESC were replaced by the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) which aims at
empowering the Filipino learners to be capable of self-development through one’s life and to be
patriotic, benevolent, ecologically aware, and godly. It also promotes mutual interaction between
students and teachers, between students and multi-media sources, and between teachers of different
disiplines.

R.A. 10157 entitled An Act Institutionalizing the Kindergarten Education into the Basic Education System
and Appropriating Funds Thereof: the declaration states that: Kindergarten is “mandatory and
compulsory for entrance to G1.”

Secondary Education:

The 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum was refined which followed the Understanding by Design
(UbD) framework that covers three stages: Stage 1 – result /desired outcome; Stage 2 – Assessment;
Stage 3 – Learning/ Instructional plan

Best Features:

The curriculum focuses on the basics of improving literacy and numeracy while inculcating values across
learning ideas to make it dynamic

In Basic Education, it provides knowledge and develop skills, attitudes and values essential for the child.
It also provides learning experiences that would increase the child’s awareness and responsiveness to
the demands of the society. This also promotes the child’s identification for his/her love for our nation
and the community which he/she belongs. And lastly, it promotes experiences that develop the learner’s
orientation to the world of work and prepare the child to locally and globally competitive.

In Secondary Education, it continues the general education which was started in elementary, prepares
them for college, and for the world of work.

Thus, this curriculum really helps the students to become prepared and equipped to whatever path they
choose in the future.
C. 2002 to 2011

Interviewee: Andrei Gabrielle Arbilon, 16, Grade 10

a. What they liked best in during their elementary and high school days

Andrei liked the fact that it trained him to become an effective leader. Andrei had his elementary
education at Saint Leonard School in Kibungsod, Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental. He said that during
elementary, even though there were only a few students, he was usually chosen as one of the school
representatives whenever there were invites from other schools to compete in quiz bees. Also, when he
reached Grade 5, his teacher always chooses him to be one of the leaders when it comes to group
projects. When he reached highschool, he transferred to Kibungsod National Highschool. Andrei said he
had a hard time coping up with his new environment. Since it was a public school, he had a lot of
classmates and gained a lot of friends. With his leadership skills that he had since elementary, he was
also often chosen as one of the leaders in their school projects or any activities that needed the type of
skills that he had.

b. What did they disliked about how they were taught?

One thing he disliked about how they were taught was the time when he was still in elementary
and they had a computer subject, but they did not have enough resources/equipment so they could
work hands on. Instead, their teacher only discussed using the book which resulted them to have a hard
time using the computer when they needed to use one.

c. If they were to choose what subjects to take, what would it be and why?

Andrei really liked his TLE subject that taught them about Electronics. He said they were given
options to choose from, but since he was fond of watching his father fix things that required skills in
electronics, he was inspired to choose Electronics. Also, Andrei is also interested in Arts. He said he
would like to choose a subject that would teach him Art Appreciation because it finds it very interesting
and at the same time, he would be able to enjoy subject.

d. If they were to develop a skill, what would it be and why?

Andrei would like to develop the skill of an Arts Major. He said he liked the idea of having a
creative mind and produce an excellent product from that certain skill, may it be in music, visual arts, or
written.

e. How would you compare your experiences with those you have interviewed? What insights have
you gained?

I can say that Andrei had a lot more fun in highschool than what I had. When I was in highschool,
my parents did not allow me to transfer to the public school because during that time, it was really
crowded and there were a lot of bad comments about the things that were happening in the public
school. Compared to Andrei, I was only able to attend a few invites from different schools because our
school was never really that cooperative when it comes to inter-school activities. Also, one things that I
have learned is that no matter where and what school you came from, as long as you have the passion to
learn and to share your talents to other people, nothing could go wrong.