Change Commitment and Change Efficacy: An Organizational Readiness for Change of Diliman Preparatory School towards K+12 Implementation

(Case Study)

Presented by: Laurio, Alma M. Tenorio, Laxmiben Remi N. BBTE 4-1

ABSTRACT

Background The DepEd and K+12 advocates believe that this system will, in the long term, facilitate economic growth as a better educated society provides a sound foundation for long term socio-economic development. Beforehand, all of the possible consequences and preparations for these changes must be well-handled and planned already. And evaluation of the educational resources, a budget plan for the teaching force, a long term plan of all these, including the construction of some additional facilities and equipment must be comprehended. Discussion This paper discusses how the teachers of Diliman Preparatory School and the school itself respond to the change of educational system in our country. It also talks about the impact of K+12 implementation to the school curriculum and learning resources. And lastly, it tackles how the teacher's commitment and self-efficacy contributes to the effectiveness of implementing organizational change. Organizational readiness for change is likely to be highest when the members not only want to implement the change but also feel confident that they can do so. Then, the result will be more effective implementation. With the K+12 implementation, there is a need to develop on the part of the teaching force, the facilities, and the equipment the country presently have, further evaluation and thorough analysis as to whatever outcome that can be brought by it.

Since this system was recently implemented, we can say that teachers are unprepared for the change. New facilities are not easily acquired either. Summary In this paper, we used Allen and Meyers Three Component Model of Commitment to determine the reasons why organizational members commit to implementing an organizational change. We also had the Albert Banduras social cognitive theory to understand how the self-efficacy provides foundation for human motivation, well-being and personal accomplish. According to this theory, confident individuals anticipate successful outcomes. The success of K+12, implementation not only depends to the governments capabilities of providing budget for infrastructures, facilities and learning resources, but also, it depends to the committed and efficacious teachers.

KEY WORDS: Organizational change; change commitment; change efficacy; Allen and Meyers Three Component Model of Commitment: Affective Commitment, Continuance Commitment, Normative Commitment; Banduras Social Cognitive Theory; selfefficacy;

BACKGROUND Education equips an individual with the necessary knowledge and skills he/she needs to become a functional member of society. Educations can also one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty, thereupon improving the well-being of the people. However, to establish and maintain a high quality education system, proper investments must be made. In the Philippines context, education remains a top priority. Despite the various development plans and projects formulated by the government and different sector, the quality of Philippine education still leaves much room for improvement. From among various proposals and studies conducted to come up with an enhanced model that is suitable to the Philippine context, DepEd proposed the K+12 model. The objective of the program is to be able to produce more productive and responsible citizens equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life-long learning and employment. Implementation of this system means more teachers and facilities will be needed. There is a need of empowerment on the part of the teaching force since it is a great change which requires greater preparation. And aside from that, the acceptance of pursuing the reformed educational system must have to start from the teachers since they are considered as the initial medium that will mediate and enlighten the process of the changes both to the students and the parents.

DISCUSSION To begin with the discussion, let us have first a clear understanding on what organizational readiness for change means. Organizational readiness, as defined by Weiner, is a shared psychological state in which organizational members feel committed in implementing an organizational change (organizational commitment) and confident in their collective abilities to do so (change efficacy). (Weiner, 2009) So based on Weiner's definition of organizational readiness, we can say that an organization is now ready for a change if members value the change and will display a cooperative behavior to the implementation of such change. Commitment and Efficacy. How these two factors affect the implementation of organizational change? In organizational psychology, organizational commitment is the individuals psychological attachment to the organization. Organizational scientists have also developed many nuanced definitions of organizational commitment and numerous scales to measure them. Exemplary of this work is Meyer and Allens model of commitment. Meyer and Allens (2007) three-component model of commitment indicated that there are three mind sets which can characterize an employees commitment to the organization: Affective commitment. Organizational members commit to implementing an organizational change maybe because they want to (they value the change); Continuance Commitment. Or they have to (they have little choice); Normative Commitment. Or perhaps, they ought to (they feel obliged). Commitment based on 'want to' motives

reflects the highest levels of commitment to implement organizational change. (Herscovitch and Meyer, 2009) Of all the beliefs that people hold about themselves and that affect their day-today functioning and standing, at the core of social cognitive theory, are self-efficacy beliefs, which can be defined as the judgments that individuals hold about their capabilities to learn or to perform courses of action at designated levels. In essence, selfefficacy beliefs are the self-perceptions that individuals hold about their capabilities. According to social cognitive theory, self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being and personal accomplishment. Typically, self-efficacy beliefs help foster the outcome one expects. Confident individuals anticipate successful outcomes. On Bandura's notion of collective efficacy, change efficacy is higher when members share a sense of collective confidence to implement a complex organizational change. Low level of confidence in one's capabilities can impair one's motivation to engage in a course of action. Thus, change efficacy becomes lower. (Weiner, 2009) For example, schools develop collective beliefs about the capability of their students to learn, of their teachers to teach and otherwise enhance the lives of their students, and of their administrators and policy makers to create environments conducive to these tasks. Organization with a strong sense of collective efficacy exercise empowering and vitalizing influences on their constituents, and these effects are clear and evident.

Organizational readiness for change is likely to be highest when the members not only want to implement the change but also feel confident that they can do so. Then, the result will be more effective implementation. Now let's move on to the analysis of K+12 implementation. The enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program in the Philippines has been officially started. It has been initiated by the Aquino administration where students will have to undergo a new system of education. Thus, K+12 system will basically include the universal kindergarten, 6 years of elementary, 4 years of junior high school with an additional 2 years for senior high school. According to Department of Education (DepEd) Kindergarten has begun in school year 2011 - 2012. The new and enhanced curriculum in grade 1 and first year high school has started in year 2012-2013. The first year senior high school or the eleventh year will begin on school year 2016-2017. The first graduates of the 12-year curriculum will be on 2018. Moreover, the program aims to uplift the quality of education in the Philippines in order for graduates to be easily employed. The program also aims to meet the standards required for professionals who would want to work abroad. "The world is shrinking by the minute and I believe that one of the systems we need to bring at par with the rest of the world is our educational system," said Julian Coseteng, son of Nikki Coseteng - president of Diliman Preparatory School (DPS). (Pangilinan, 2014)

Private schools across the country are coming to grips with different expression to the DepEd's K+12 Basic Education Program and its implementation. However, unlike public schools, this sector of education does not seem to be totally involved into his major change in the Philippine Education System. Nevertheless, private schools are expected to conform to the new program because, accredited or otherwise, they are guided by the DepEd curriculum. "Actually, matagal na kasing iniimplement yan dito sa school na'to... yung curriculum, even though in line siya sa DepEd, iba pa rin yung implementation dito in terms of lesson planning... and we are more on activities, and K+12 yung libro na ginagamit natin..." said teacher 1, on our interview. For some private schools, like Diliman Preparatory School (DPS), abiding by the directives of the DepEd to implement certain features of the K+12 curriculums was a matter of discretion. Yes, they did adopt the new system, but not everything in it was followed. In terms of lesson planning, DPS uses the Whole Brain Learning System (WBLS) instead of the Session Plan proposed by DepEd. The WBLS is more detailed than Session Plan. In terms of curricular offerings for the academic year 2012-2016, DPS added special subjects (1 unit for each subject) for each year level. They call it "STREAMS". The subjects include: for the Grade 7, they have public speaking drama, advanced mathematics, environmental science, people, and the environment, photography and digital imaging and basic tourism. For Grade 8, they have journalism, business mathematics, earth science, Philippine society, culture, and governance, photography,

and video production and introduction to tourism. For Grade 9 students, they have technical and creative writing, analytic geometry, science research 1 (Conceptual part), introduction to social research, and introduction to culinary arts and science. Lastly, for the Grade 10, they have literature, society and man, probability ad statistics, science research 2 (experimental part), globalization: world issues and human rights and special topics on tourism. Each student is required to master one stream from first year up to fourth year. Looking at their curriculum, they don't have yet the curriculum for the grade 11 and 12. Is DPS ready for the additional two years in their high school? "....malabo pa rin yung implementation talaga nun kasi yung last 2 years, grade 11 and 12, hindi pa natin naiimplement yun... anong subject? Anong ituturo pagdating nung 11 at 12?...questionable pa rin yun...", said teacher 1. "Yung mga preparation namin para sa additional 2 years sa high school, every month, every week nagmimeeeting ang mga coordinator and administration... paanong ilelevel up yung subject pagdating ng grade 11 at 12," said teacher 2. But if we will look at the DPS facilities, they are capable enough to provide students with the quality education they needed. "Wala akong masasabi sa Diliman kasi... high tech sila... halos kumpleto," teacher 2 added.

One of the aspects of the K+12 curriculum that has not been fully executed a year after DepEd issued the go signal for Grade 1 and Grade 7, was the use of the mother tongue. "We now use Filipino in the classroom as a medium of instruction more than English, but we did not totally get rid pt English because our students speak English," said Ma. Isabel Valente, grade school principal at Don Bosco Technical Institute (DBTI) Mandaluyong City. (Padilla, 2013) Likewise, DPS doesn't follow the use of mother tongue because the school is an English Only Zone (O-Zone). Most of the students, from preparatory up to high school, speak English. Teachers, in all subjects (except Filipino), are required to deliver their lesson in English language, in consideration also to the Korean students who can hardly understand Tagalog. This English policy aims to enhance the English proficiency of the students. "Speak English. Yes we can!" That is one of the mottos of DPS. They didn't stick to the framework of using mother tongue as medium of instruction. Curriculum enhancement is the central focus of change. The new curriculum is redesigned in line with the desired competencies and skills of a K+12 graduates and with the appropriate learning resources. "Pagkagraduate nila ng K+12 mas mature na sila, mas alam nila yung itetake nilang course," said teacher 2. "So after, when they're 18, legal na sila to work... so yung mga gustong magtrabaho pwede na..." she added.

Like what teacher 2 has said, K+12 will give more job opportunities to high school graduates. It will maximize their time in choosing their career that best suits in their skills and they will be more capable and matured to confront college career, which is a new special field. With the implementation of K+12, there are pros and cons. Some are not in favor of the implementation because they say that the solution to the deteriorating quality of education is not the longer education, and it's the improving quality of education. "Hindi siya praktikal especially sa mga public schools... yung foundations kasi natin very weak... said teacher 3. "Magkakaroon ng chain reaction, mahihirapang iadopt ng mga slow learners yung program... papaano mabibridge yung gap between literacy and illiteracy... most of us are illiterate." he added. The additional 2 years in basic education may not be the only answer to the quality of education system. Quality may also depend on the curriculum, the quality of educators, and the facilities provided for by the school campuses. Increasing basic education from 10 to 12 years automatically expands the educational financing requirements for infrastructure, personnel, learning resources, training and development. "Handa na ba ang ating eskwelahan? Curriculum handa na ba? Resources? Dapat teachers ready rin. So dapat yun yung kinoconsider muna. Maganda kung maimplement ng mabuti..." said teacher 4.

As mentioned by teacher 4, teachers should be ready. There is a need of empowerment to the part of the teaching force since it is a great change which requires greater understanding and preparation. So now, what are the expectations to the K+12 teachers? "Yung teacher kailangan well trained siya." teacher 1. "Best thing na magagawa ng government is to equip the educators." teacher 3. "I-ready lahat, teachers...sa TESDA..." teacher 4. It cant be denied the fact that our country has great teachers worth to be proud of, but with the change of educational pattern which they will experience, a further training and seminar is indeed a need for them to be fully equipped. Aside from that, the acceptance of pursuing the reformed educational system must have to start from them since they are considered the initial medium that will mediate and enlighten the process of changes both to the students and the parents. Furthermore, for effective implementation of change, teacher's commitment and efficacy are certainly needed. If you are committed as a teacher, matuturuan mo yung bata ng mas maayos... kung ang purpose mo lang is to earn money lang, without thinking for the future of the particular student, eh wala rin yun... kaya dapat talagang dedicated ka... said teacher 1. "Not only to impart your knowledge to your student, you are molding your student not only for the part na gusto mo silang matuto... mas mahalaga kasi yung madevelop mo yung total personality nila..." he added.

The greater commitment to teaching would be expected among teachers who believe student achievement can be influenced in their own ability and who assume personal responsibility for the level of student achievement they witness in their classroom. Within the context of teaching, an efficacy expectation would be reflected by the teacher's confidence that he/she personally is capable of such instruction. "Mas magandang opportunity, kasi mas magkaroon tayo ng chance mabigyan ng importansya ang TLE, dahil tayo yung sa vocational diba?" said teacher 2. From the analysis above, we therefore conclude that organizational readiness for change depends on how much the member value the change and how favorably they appraise the considerations for implementation like the resource availability, and situational factors. Organizational members might value a planned organizational change because they believe some sort of change is urgently needed. Teachers believe the change in education system is effective and will solve the basic education woes and the deteriorating quality of education.

SUMMARY This paper sought to determine the teachers shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment) and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy) or in other words, the teachers readiness for change. The presenters explain what the K+12 system is all about and the rationale of formulating it. Through the interviews that the presenters conducted, we came to know the different reactions of the teachers in Diliman Preparatory School with regards to the change of educational system in our country. Private schools like DPS are expected to conform to the new program because they are guide by the DepEd curriculum. From the information that the presenters gathered, DPS did adopt the new system, but not everything in it was followed. Yes, they are preparing for the additional two years in their secondary, but certain features of the K+12 curriculum was not followed or was not imposed to the school system like the session planning, modular instruction, and the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction. The school has no problems in terms of facilities because their students are provided with complete facilities for the development and progression of their learning. Generally speaking, on our interview, teachers agree with the K+12 implementation because they believe that some sort of changes in our education system is urgently needed. But, they also take into consideration the resources availability and the situational factors. They also supposed that they are not yet ready and prepared for these changes because they lack trainings and seminars to be fully equipped. All these changes

in the educational system will be shouldered by the teachers. They will carry all the burden. From the analysis of the theories described in this paper, teachers commitment to the profession, the school and the students is necessary to have the motivation to pursue changes in their practice. More importantly, students of highly committed teachers are more likely to learn the material and develop a positive attitude toward school. And more efficacious teachers are more likely to adopt change proposals associated with formal innovations and staff development programs. The presenters therefore conclude that organizational readiness for change depends on how much the members value the change and how favorably they appraise such considerations for implementation.

REFERENCES: http://www.implementationscience.com/content/4/1/67 http://sportsmanila.net/component/content/article/35-lastest-news/2737-coseteng-yes-tok12 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/420069/private-schools-have-more-leeway-with-newcurriculum