NAME OF STUDENT: JANNET A.

FUENTES

SUBJECT NUMBER: ED 513- ISSUES OF CULTURE, CLASSROOM AND

CURRICULUM

PROFESSOR: DR. ISMAELITA N. DESABILLE

DATE SUBMITTED: JULY 28, 2019

MIDTERM EXAMINATION

1. The Philippine Education Issues and Concerns:

1.1. Role of education in national development. Education is a

weapon, an instrument that remains silent but has the greatest

impact on a nation. How we develop, how we deal with our daily

challenges and how we excel in every walk of life depends

directly on our level of education. It is a force that makes a

nation stand out and defend themselves among the other

nations in the world. It is the difference between developed and

third world countries (Ellie Malan, 2017). This is the very reason

that the Philippine Constitution has mandated the government to

allocate the highest proportion on its budget to education. But in

reality, Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations

to education among the ASEAN countries. According to the

Global Competitiveness Index 2017- 2018 released by the World

Economic Forum, our country ranked 66th out of 137 countries

for quality of primary education, 74th for quality of higher

education, 113th place out of 127 countries in general (Iyah

Orlanda, DepEd Philippines, November 15, 2018). What do these

imply? Well, this simply emphasizes our public school system’s

need for reforms in terms of policy, pedagogy, infrastructure

 and educational technology to better bring the country towards

national development. Because I believe that we will only

succeed as a nation as soon as we understand that the

difference between us and the world’s most powerful nations is

education. That those nations understand and practice things

that we do not even know about, which are all their assets and

achievements are worth praising and if we want the same fate

for our nation, we have to follow the enlightened path of

education.

1.2. The curriculum that is not responsive to the basic needs of

the country. Let us reflect on the components of the present

curriculum, specifically in the basic education. Our elementary

pupils are required to have nine to ten subjects competing for

time allocations. More time is allotted for subjects like English,

Science and Mathematics with other subjects like health, music,

values education, civics integrated into the Makabayan

curriculum. Added to this are enrichment subjects like Computer

literacy, Ethics among others (especially in the private schools).

This reflects the priorities of the government in educating our

young people. It is a reality that a grade 1 pupil carries so many

books to school (wondering whether all these materials are

actually read in the class). This overloaded curriculum results to

difficulty in knowledge and skills absorption among our pupils.

With this practice how can we expect our young people to

develop love of country, patriotism, and other nationalistic

traits, when their concepts of these are not properly taught?

 Worse, many pupils drop out of school before they reach the

sixth grade because of poverty, thus increasing their chances of

losing the incipient literacy acquired, and therefore, forfeit the

privilege of developing patriotic and nationalistic attitudes. This

sad state, proliferate the cycle of poverty that the Filipino

masses experience. With the constant change in the basic

education curriculum, teachers need to upgrade themselves in

order that they can properly implement these changes.

Upgrading requires attendance to trainings, seminars,

conferences and even enrollment in graduate education. But

with the present conditions of the teachers in the public schools

only very few can afford this, unless government intervenes and

provide upgrading activities for free.

1.3. The constant implementation of programs in education which

are not properly monitored. It is a fact that technocrats in the

education department are political appointees, hence they serve

at the whims and pleasures of the appointing officer. It is also a

fact that every political administration wanted to have their

names imprinted in every government program or project. This

is very true in the Department of Education, when for instance,

a department secretary appointed by a particular president

assumes office, he will be implementing programs and projects

attuned to the battle cry of that administration. Therefore, the

previous programs and projects implemented by the previous

administration shall be discontinued, regardless that program or

project is workable and effective, because it is not the priority of

 the present administration, and does not carry their names.

Added to that is the non evaluation of programs implemented. A

very concrete example is the Bridge program implemented a few

years ago. This program screens grade six pupils by subjecting

them to testing. Those who were not able to pass were required

to repeat grade six as a bridge for their secondary education. As

a result, many pupils were required to re enroll in grade 6,

adding a year to their elementary education. But, after many

complaints and criticisms, this program was discontinued. But

what about the losses incurred by the department? The added

year in the academic life of the pupils affected? The added

financial burden to parents? Who will answer and be accountable

for this blunder? Is this just a case of trial and error program

implementation? Presumably, the program was not properly

studied, but was only implemented to satisfy the egos of the

technocrats in the education department.

1.4. The bad politics in educational system. Politics in education is

an issue that presently pervades educational system in the

country. The government, specifically the legislators, is inept in

formulating laws that can address the crisis in the educational

system. A sad reality that is happening right now is the

formulation of policies with the main purpose of making our

educational system at par with those in other countries, but

there are no concrete guidelines as to how these are to be

implemented. Most educational experts are technocrats with no

experience in the field. Yes, their programs are good, to say the
 least, but because of their lack of experience in actual classroom

teaching, they fail to study the application of these programs.

One specific example is the Bridge Program that was

implemented a few years ago. This program assessed the

competency of Grade Six pupils to be promoted to High School.

There were grade six pupils who scored below the passing mark

that were made to repeat grade six to bridge their admission to

high school. Thus, this added another year of elementary

schooling. However, after a year of its implementation, the

program was stopped. Worst, teachers in the classrooms were

not duly informed of the reasons for its non-continuance. This is

just one of the many educational programs implemented in the

Philippine educational system that were not properly monitored

and evaluated. This brings to a conclusion that Filipinos are only

good planners but not good implementers and evaluators.

2. Studies/ researches which showed that the culture of the school has

an impact on teacher leadership:

 School Culture and Its Relationship with Teacher Leadership

(International Journal of Academic Research in Business and

Social Sciences 2016, Vol. 6, No. 11). The study shows that

there is a very strong and significant correlation between

school culture and teacher leadership. The findings of this

study can be used for in- service training in order to enhance

teacher’s professionalism.

 What does the research tell us about teacher leadership?

(The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and

 Improvement, 2005) This is a brief research on teacher

leadership and what it says about drawing on the skills of

experienced to facilitate school improvement. What is clear

from this study is that school culture with traditional forms of

management must be modified to be more horizontal and

less hierarchical for teacher leadership to flourish. In a time

that demands a higher standard of annual progress for all

students, it seems prudent to encourage and foster teacher

leadership by providing the resources, culture, and structures

it needs to thrive. Drawing on the resourcefulness of

experienced teachers and allowing them to facilitate school

improvement is one way to ensure the sustainability of

school reform efforts.

 Teacher leaders impacting school culture (Douglas E. Roby,

Professor of Educational Leadership, Wright State University).

Results of the study indicated that some specific elements of

school culture are lacking in the majority of schools, “that

there is a relationship between organizational culture and

personal investment- that knowing something about the

cultural facets of an organization allows us to predict

employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment”

(Maehr and Braskamp, 1986). Teacher leaders can take the

lead in bringing about change to enhance school cultures.

The potential positive effect of teacher leader efforts could

lead to a school culture that includes continuous learning for

all.
3. Definitions of school culture:

 School culture is the personality of the school, then a quality

school culture will be able to show the level of interactions

among school community, management and leadership

involved, principles and rules that are foundation to the

constitutions, character and student outcomes (Burnham,

2007).

 According to Deal and Peterson (1999) school culture is

defined as a social system that has its own characteristics

and culture. It consists of its own hierarchy of administration,

social cultures, values and beliefs, logo, school songs,

traditions, goals and objectives in order to establish their

own school organization.

 School culture contains aspects such as knowledge, beliefs,

art, morals, laws, norms, customs and other skills (John,

2010).

For me, school culture is about the way teachers and other

staff members work and the set of beliefs, values, and

assumptions they share that shape and influence every aspect of

how a school functions. The physical and emotional safety of

students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or the

degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic,

linguistic, or cultural diversity could also encompass school

culture. With these, school culture can generally be described as

“this is the way we work here”. Best practices in schools can

 also be considered part of a school culture that helps it in

attaining best outcomes possible.

4. School culture according to Schein’s Organizational Theory:

School culture refers to a pattern of shared basic

assumptions, values, and beliefs learned by a group as it solved its

problems of external adaptation and internal integration; a product

of joint learning. According to him school culture is divided into

three stages and each stage has its own unique characteristics.

 The first stage which is the most profound level is the basic

assumption of shared resources by the school community

and has become the core of the school culture. These are

deeply held beliefs which are not objectively observable but

manifest themselves in the behavior of people so strongly

that any violation of such beliefs would be unthinkable.

 The second stage consists of values and norms. Value refers

to what the teacher believes as good, correct and likeable

and is reflected in the way individuals actually behave. They

reflect a person’s underlying belief as to what should be and

what should not be. Values are those principles and qualities

that shape our behavior and thinking.

 The third stage is artifacts and practices. This is a

combination of first and second stage, the symbols of culture

in the physical and social work environment that are

accessible, tangible and can be seen in concrete. Such

artifacts include something important that happened in the

school history like results for the school performance getting

 the best recognition of the year. The things that happen are

very critical and often will be remembered as something

extremely valuable to the school.

5. Features of a collaborative school culture. Broadly defined, positive/

collaborative school culture is conducive to professional satisfaction,

morale, and effectiveness, as well as to student learning,

fulfillment, and well- being.

 Frequent discussion of the school vision/mission/beliefs. This

allows teachers to identify common values that unite them or

differences that need further exploration for assuring that

they are not working at cross purposes.

 Shared goal setting. Adding vertical sharing and conversation

builds increasingly shared school collegiality.

 Peer coaching. Peer coaching conferences and observations

build teachers’ shared commitment to student success.

Vulnerability is crucial for increasing collegiality and peer

coaching creates an environment for teachers to be

vulnerable and build trust with colleagues.

 Physical safety. The physical environment must be safe, and

welcoming, and must support learning.

 Social relationships. The school must encourage positive

communication and interaction among students, teachers,

and the wider community.

 Emotional environment. Students must feel emotionally

supported to encourage high self- esteem and a sense of

belongingness.
  Academic support. The academic environment must be

conducive to learning and achievement for all students.

6. Here is a list of a few promising practices in building inclusive

curriculum and classroom experiences:

 The individual success of teachers and students are

recognized and celebrated.

 Relationships and interactions are characterized by openness,

trust, respect, and appreciation.

 Staff relationships are collegial, collaborative, and productive,

and all staff members are held high professional standards.

 Students and staff members feel emotionally and physically

safe, and the school’s policies and facilities promote student

safety.

 School leaders, teachers, and staff members model positive,

healthy behaviors for students.

 Mistakes not punished as failures, but they are seen as

opportunities to learn and grow for both students and

educators.

 Students are consistently held to high academic

expectations, and a majority of students meet or exceed

those expectations.

 Important leadership decisions are made collaboratively with

input from staff members, students, and parents.

 Criticism, when voiced, is constructive and well- intentioned,

not antagonistic or self- serving.

  Educational resources and learning opportunities are

equitably distributed, and all students, including minorities

and students with disabilities.

 All students have access to the academic support and

services they may need to succeed.

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