ABSTRACT
This descriptive-qualitative study determined the experiences of teachers in shifting from the K to 12 Curriculum to the MATATAG Curriculum as a basis for an in-service training program during the school year 2025–2026. The findings revealed that, under the K to 12 Curriculum, teachers experienced simplified lesson objectives, provision of teaching and learning materials, and strengthened teaching skills in terms of preparation and support. Under the MATATAG Curriculum, teachers highlighted attendance in in-service training, collaborative support, and learner-centered teaching. In terms of the learning process under the K to 12 Curriculum, the themes that emerged were collaborative learning, reflective learning, and flexibility and adaptability to change. Meanwhile, the teaching-learning process under the MATATAG Curriculum was characterized by contextualized learning methods, a roadmap for daily instruction, and the learning station approach. Based on these findings, the study proposed an in-service training program for teachers as its output.
Keywords: Teachers’ Experiences, K-12, MATATAG Curriculum, In-Service Training
INTRODUCTION
The Philippine Basic Education system has undergone several changes in past decades, aiming to improve the quality of basic education in the country. These reforms include the Revised Basic Education Curriculum in 2002, the Enhanced Basic Education Curriculum in 2023, and the MATATAG Curriculum in 2023.
The MATATAG Curriculum is a Philippine basic education reform by the Department of Education (DepEd) launched to improve education quality and relevance. It features a decongested, competency-based curriculum focusing on foundational skills like literacy and numeracy, while integrating 21st century skills such as critical thinking, and digital literacy (Deped Order no. 25, s. 2002).
The Enhanced Basic Education curriculum was introduced through Republic Act number 10533, which aims to strengthen the curriculum by increasing the number of basic education programs by adding Kindergarten and two years of senior high school, which provides technical-vocational courses (Barrot, 2021).
Recently, the Department of Education launched the "MATATAG" Curriculum, which emphasizes providing students with essential 21st-century skills while decongesting the learning competencies by focusing on fundamental skills like numeracy and literacy (DepEd Order no. 10, s. 2024).
Gouëdard et al. (2020) stated that many countries are constantly reviewing their curriculum to provide learners with the knowledge, skills and competencies required to meet global trends. However, these changes in the curriculum can bring many challenges for teachers. According to Tribuzzi (2017), teachers can experience exhaustion from frequent curriculum changes due to adjustments they need to make, like adapting to new teaching practices, adjusting instructional materials, and aligning assessment methods to meet the new standards.
Teachers, as front-line implementers of educational policies, play an important role in the success of any curriculum reform (Irembere, 2019). However, Magallanes et al. (2022) suggest that understanding how teachers perceive these changes is also important because their attitudes and insights directly influence how curriculum reforms translate into classroom practices and student outcomes.
The large number of competencies in the curriculum can be overwhelming for teachers, leading to time constraints and lack of deep learning, which may hinder the development of critical thinking, encourage. It is along this line that the researcher was encouraged to conduct this study on the full implementation of MATATAG curriculum.
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