Comments on the Araling Panlipunan and MAPEH Curricula in the Revised K to 10 Curriculum Proposed by the Department of Education
Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers submits these initial comments on the revised Kinder to Grade 10 curriculum proposed by the Department of Education to weigh in the insights of the organization in line with its advocacy for a nationalist and scientific mass education, and the urgent need to improve education quality amid the learning crisis.
ACT initially focused on and analysed the proposed revised curricula for AP (Araling Panlipunan) and MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health) as the two subjects play major roles in imbuing nationalism and national and cultural identity among learners, as the subjects are also vital in the development of necessary life skills such as critical thinking, creativity, information literacy, social and cultural awareness, social responsibility, cultural competence, and sustainability among others. Additionally, the two subjects were also two of the most heavily modified in the proposed curriculum.
AP and MAPEH are relegated as minor subjects in the current K to 2 curriculum. They are given less teaching time despite their wide-ranging topics and contents, as compared to other subjects that are considered as major learning areas such as English, Filipino, Science and Mathematics. In the elementary level, AP and MAPEH are allocated 40 minutes of teaching time daily, while 50 minutes per day are allotted for Math, Science and each of the language subjects. In Junior High School, AP is assigned 180 minutes of total teaching time in a week. MAPEH is given 240 minutes total teaching time in JHS, as with the major subjects. Teachers have long raised concerns about the inadequacy of teaching time for AP and MAPEH as it affects the delivery of learning objectives. Often, latter topics can no longer be discussed, or there is not enough time to have a deeper and more substantive discussion and arrive at a critical analysis of the topics.
Merging AP and MAPEH into SiKaP in the primary years
Purportedly to give more time to the development of foundational literacy skills such as reading, writing, arithmetic, the proposed K to 10 curriculum merged AP and MAPEH into SiKaP (Sibika, Sining at Kultura, Kagalingang Pangkatawan) in the primary years. The proposed curriculum’s shaping paper cited the interconnectedness of the two subjects as the basis for the merging. This practically cuts down in half the teaching time for the two broad subjects that are essential in the inculcation of nationalism and formation of necessary life skills in the foundational years.
The SiKaP curriculum made a sloppy integration of the two subjects. It only carried over the AP contents of the original Key Stage 1 (Grade 1–3) curriculum, and used MAPEH forms for proposed activities or performance tasks for learners to demonstrate what has been learned in the AP content. It has essentially wiped out the contents of the MAPEH curriculum, including the basic concepts in the arts and physical education, and inputs on Health such as nutrition, prevention of injuries and diseases, and safety, which are important to be learned by learners in the primary years.
Modifications in the Grades 4 to 10 Araling Panlipunang Curriculum
The proposed curriculum did not address the current weaknesses and problems of the AP curriculum in the current K to 12 program.
1.There remains no dedicated subject to teach Philippine History in the Junior High School. The teaching of Philippines History in elementary grades, which is divided in two grades (Grades 5 and 6), does not suffice for learners to have a critical understanding of the entirety of the history of their own country.
2. Inadequacy of time allotment remains unresolved and is potentially going to be a bigger problem with the inclusion of new and broader topics. Good intentions are apparent in the introduction of new and progressive topics, however, the time constraints would only allow for shallow discussions as what is already happening in the current topics, if discussed at all.
3.Major changes in the topics of Grade 7 and 8 AP were made—from ‘Kabihasnang Asyano’, Grade 7 AP was modified to ‘Pilipinas at Timog- Silangang Asya’, while in Grade 8, World History was changed to ‘Ang Asya at ang Daigdig’. The contents of ‘Pilipinas at Timog-Silangang Asya’ did not address the need to have an in-depth and critical analysis of the Philippine history as it only used the events and stages in Philippine history as springboards to discuss the similarities, differences and correlation to the histories of other Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries. The subject expounded more on the histories of ASEAN countries than it did with the Philippines. The merging of Asian and World histories in Grade 8 AP sacrificed the presentations and discussions on crucial world events, such as the importance of the Renaissance period and various revolutions to the advancement of human history.
4.Improved presentations and progressive additions include:
a. Presentation of American colonialism and Japanese occupation as imperialism (G6);
b. Presentation of post-World War II period in the Philippines as period of neocolonialism (G6);
c. Improved presentation of the Marcos dictatorship period that discusses on human rights violations, repression of rights and liberties, ill-gotten wealth and grave economic crisis (G6);
d. Attempt to finish the AP subject in every grade level with substantial discussions on contemporary issues
e. Inclusion in the Grade 10 ‘Contemporary Issues’ of topics on the West Philippine Sea and the Hague Arbitral Ruling; human rights violation that cites red-tagging, extra-judicial killings and trolling; same sex union and same sex marriage.
5. Problematic presentations include:
a. Weak presentation of the Filipino-American war which was only enumerated as one of the events during the American colonial period (G6);
b. No mention of the anti-imperialist movement during the American colonial period that include the strong anti-imperialist trade union movement and nationalist movements in the arts and literature (G6);
c.Heavy discussion on the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals as closing topic for World History which appears to be unrealistic given the time constraints(G8);
d. Questionable framework on the discussion of national development and national industrialization that is anchored on the Angat 2040 program (G9);
e. Questionable presentation of the Oil Deregulation Law as a law that is helpful to industries (G9);
f. Discussions of issues in ‘Contemporary Issues’ remain superficial. It only identifies issues but does not deeply scrutinize the root causes of the issues, i.e. environmental issues and climate change does not highlight the culpability of capitalism/imperialism and governments, but focuses more on the accountability of individual citizens (G10).
g. Unrealistic target to discuss cumbersome international instruments and local laws at a very short time allotment in various grade levels.
Merging of Music and Arts, and PE and Health
The merging of Music and Arts in Grades 4 to 10 and the overhaul of their contents proved to be a positive improvement in the Arts curriculum. Instead of focusing on technical concepts and techniques, the revised curriculum focuses on the development of the Arts (music, visual arts, theatre, media) in history, and is aligned with the Araling Panlipunan curriculum in every grade. Such presentation better presents Arts as part of the society’s culture in every stage of history. The modifications makes Arts more relevant to the lives of learning of learners as it reflects Arts as an expression of the people’s way of life, beliefs, aspirations, and as a tool for societal change.
However, the merging of Physical Education and Health in the proposed curriculum failed to make a coherent and logical integration of the two subjects, despite their inherent inter-connectedness. Many of the topics merged in its thematic presentations have no apparent connections. Examples to these are: rhythmic activities, psychoactive substance and environmental protection (4); or, Southeast Asian folk dances, psychoactive substance and communicable and non-communicable diseases in adolescents. Merging of topics appeared trite and gives it a “chopseuy” form.
ACT will be releasing its comments and analysis on other subjects in the next days, as well as its comprehensive proposals for the overhaul of the basic education curriculum.
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