TEACHING SKILLS EXPECTATIONS FOR KINDERGARTEN

READINESS IN THE DISTRICT OF TUBIGON EAST, TUBIGON, BOHOL

A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of Graduate School
And Professional Studies
Bohol Island State University
Clarin, Bohol

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts in Educational Management

By

WINNIE D. PODADOR
September 2017
 CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE
INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Experiences of early childhood educators narrate challenges and feeling of fulfilment in

dealing with kids. Teaching has always been challenging but enjoyable amidst exhilarating

tasks. The teachers, who, through the years, have become selfless doing their work day in and

day out, without counting the hours, their efforts, and the cost-what have been sacrificed and

given up just so they can perform to their level best what they have been sworn to do- to teach.

Many preschool teachers have been so engrossed in their teaching. Despite the many

problems that come their way, they are still there because they have to. They make do with

what meagre resources they have, many times spending their own money even if it meant

sacrificing their families’ needs. They may have complained sometimes because of the utter

neglect of their welfare but still they are there because they are dedicated, devoted and loyal

teachers. They are our modern-day unsung heroes in the classroom (Guangco, 2014).

In the district of Tubigon East, there are 15 early childhood educators who are tasked to

carry out the goals and objectives of the early childhood education program. To ensure quality

and efficient implementation of instruction, assessment and support for young learners,

management and teaching personnel are tasked to undertake the activities monitoring, reporting

and evaluation which are regularly conducted.

To ensure success in their teaching and to make their children ready to fulfil the tasks in

Grade 1, learner –centered instructional techniques and tools must be employed. To plan and

implement the same, benchmarks and baseline data must be studied carefully. Understanding
the skills required in the grade level is a first step towards instructional innovations in preschools

education.

All 6 years old pupils in the Early Childhood Education Program must be prepared to the

tasks in Grade 1. They must be ready to at least identify letters, write their names, socialize

with other kids and above all they must learn to love school.

In the course of these pedagogical tasks, the researcher who is a Kindergarten teacher

in the district of Tubigon East has observed gaps and disconnects between the expected skills

and the skills manifested by Grade 1 pupils who completed Kindergarten class.

Teachers have different ways of implementing their lesson plans that include pupil

development activities such as training, educational visits, camp activities, sports activities,

academic, literary and musical activities and pupil participation in Early Childhood Development

activities.

To document and analyze the teachers’ skills expectations among their pupils, this study

is conducted. The findings and the corresponding output will be utilized as framework to

address the gap between the teaching and the need of the pupils.

Theoretical Framework

The Piaget stages of development is a blueprint that describes the stages of normal

intellectual development, from infancy through adulthood. This includes thought, judgment, and

knowledge. The stages were named after psychologist and developmental biologist Jean

Piaget, who recorded the intellectual development and abilities of infants, children, and teens.

Piaget’s four stages of intellectual (or cognitive) development are: Sensorimotor. Birth

through ages 18-24 months; Preoperational. Toddlerhood (18-24 months) through early
childhood (age 7); Concrete Operational. Ages 7 to 12; and Formal Operational. Adolescence

through adulthood (Benaroch, 2012)

Piaget acknowledged that some children may pass through the stages at different ages

than the averages noted above and that some children may show characteristics of more than

one stage at a given time. But he insisted that cognitive development always follows this

sequence, that stages cannot be skipped, and that each stage is marked by new intellectual

abilities and a more complex understanding of the world.

Sensorimotor Stage. During the early stages, infants are only aware of what is

immediately in front of them. They focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical

interactions with their immediate environment.

Because they don’t yet know how things react, they’re constantly experimenting with

activities such as shaking or throwing things, putting things in their mouths, and learning about

the world through trial and error. The later stages include goal-oriented behaviour which brings

about a desired result.

At about age 7 to 9 months, infants begin to realize that an objects exists even if it can

no longer be seen. This important milestones – known as object permanence- is a sign that

memory is developing.

After infants start crawling, standing, and walking, their increased physical mobility leads

to increased cognitive development. Near the end of the sensorimotor stage, infants reach

another important milestones-early language development, a sign that they are developing

some symbolic abilities.

Preoperational Stage. During this stage, young children are able to think about things

symbolically. Their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and
imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and

engage in make-believe. But their thinking is based on intuition and still not completely logical.

They cannot yet grasp more complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison

( Benaroch, 2012 cited Guangco, 2014).

Concrete Operational Stage. At this time, elementary –age and preadolescent children

demonstrate logical, concrete reasoning. Children’s thinking becomes less egocentric and they

are increasingly aware of external events. They begin to realize that one’s own thoughts and

feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality.

Children also develop operational thinking - the ability to perform reversible mental actions.

During this stage, however, most children still can’t tackle a problem with several variables in a

systematic way.

Formal Operational Stage. Adolescents who reach this fourth stage of intellectual

development are able to logically use symbols related to abstract concepts, such as algebra and

science. They can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, formulate hypotheses, and

consider possibilities. They also can ponder abstract relationships and concepts such as justice.

Although Piaget believed in lifelong intellectual development, he insisted that the formal

operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development, and that continued intellectual

development in adults depends on the accumulation of knowledge (Benaroch, 2012 cited

Guangco, 2014).

The zone of proximal development often abbreviated ZPD, is the difference between

what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. It is a concept

introduced yet not fully developed by Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky during the last two years

of his life. Also, many theorist are still applying to their work today.
 Vygotsky stated that a child follows an adult’s example and gradually develops the ability

to do certain tasks without help. Vygotsky’s often-quoted definition of zone of proximal

development presents it as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined

by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through

problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers. For

example, two 8 yr. old children may be able to complete a task that an average 8 yr. old can do.

Next, more difficult tasks are presented with very little assistance from an adult. In the end, both

children were able to complete the task. However, the styles methods they chose depended on

how far they were willing to stretch their thinking process (Chaiklin, 2003 cited Guangco, 2014).

Vygotsky and some educators believe education’s role is to give children experiences

that were within their zones of proximal development, thereby encouraging and advancing their

individual learning.

“The zone of proximal development defines functions that has not matured yet, but is in

a process of maturing, that will mature tomorrow, that are currently in an embryonic state; these

functions could be called the buds of development, the flower of development, rather than the

fruits of development, that is, what is only maturing.” The concept of ZPD has been expanded,

modified, and changed into new concepts since Vygotsky’s original conception.

The concept of the ZPD is widely used in world to study children’s mental development

as it relates to education. The ZPD concept is seen as a scaffolding, a structure of “support

points” for performing an action. Although Vygotsky himself never mentioned the term; instead,

scaffolding was developed by other sociocultural theorists applying Vygotsky’s ZPD to

educational contexts. Scaffolding is process through which a teacher or more competent peer

helps the student in his or her ZPD as necessary, and tapers off his aid as it becomes

unnecessary, much as a scaffold is remove from a building during construction. “Scaffolding is

the way the adult guides the child’s learning via focused questions and positive interactions.

“this concept has been further developed by Ann Brown, among others. Several instructional

programs were developed on this interpretation of the ZPD, including reciprocal teaching and

dynamic assessment (Chaiklin,2003).

While the ideas of Vygotsky’s ZPD originally were used strictly for one’s ability ot solve

problems. Tharp and Gallimore point out that it can be expanded to examining other domains of

competence and skills. These specialized zones of development include cultural zones,

individual zones, and skill-oriented zones. Early –childhood-development reaerchers commonly

believe that young children learn their native language and motor skills generally by being

placed in the zone of proximal development.

Through their work with collaborative groups of adults. Tinsley and Lebak, 2009 cited

Guangco,2014 identified the “”Zone of Reflective Capacity”. This zone shares the theoretical

attributes of the ZPD, but is a more specifically defined construct helpful in describing and

understanding the way in which an adult’s capacity for reflection can expand when he or she

collaborates over an extended period wwith other adults who have similar goals. Tinsley and

Lebak found out that, as adults shared their feedback, analysis, and evaluation of one another’s

work during collaboration, their potential for critical reflection expanded. The zone of reflective

capacity expanded as trust and mutual understanding among the peers grew.

The zone of reflective capacity is constructed through the interaction between

participants engaged in a common activity and expands when it is mediated by positive

interactions with other participants, exactly along the same lies as the ZPD, as Wells (2009)

described. It is possible to measure the learner’s ZPD as an individual trait showing a certain

stability across instructional settings. The second perspective draws on work on interactive

formative assessment integrated in classroom instruction. In this approach, assessment

intervenes in the ZPD created by a learner’s on-going interactions with a given instructional

setting (CHaiklin, 2003 cited Guangco, 2014)

The theory of constructivism looks at the way a learner learns. Constructivists believe

that the learner learns best when he/she is actively engaged. The student is viewed as one who

acts on objects and events within his or her environment and in the process gains

understanding and derives meaning of those objects and events.

The constructivist assumes that cognitive skills are most fully potentiated through active

engagement. It is believed that knowledge is presented explicity as being constructed

personally and in interaction with other people and with the physical world. The constructivist

believes that the acquisitions of knowledge is not sufficient to education. It is the sense the

student cognitive schemes are mentally constructed through the integration of new information

or experiences into the fabric of the student’s understanding of the world and then the student is

able to use this knowledge in dealing with new phenomena and in new contexts. (Benaim, 2005

cited Guangco, 2014).

Constructivists would debate the theory that students acquire knowledge by internalizing

if from the environment. Rather, constructivists show that children acquire knowledge by

constructing from the inside in interaction with the environment. Children construct theories or

hypothesis about learning situations by putting things into relationships. By using this process of

constantly putting formerly learned relationships inot new relationships, they become aware of

their circular reasoning and construct meaningful explanations of phenomena (Kami et al., 2001

cited Guangco, 2014).

Constructivist would not think that children absorb ideas that are spoken to them by

teachers or that they somehow internalize them through endless repeated practice,

constructivist argue that children actually invent their ideas. They assimilate new information to
simple, pre-existing notions and modify their understanding according to the new data. During

this process, the ideas of children grow in complexity and power so that with support, children

develop critical insight into how they think and what they know about the world grows in depth

and detail. Constructivism looks carefully at how children create and develop their ideas

(Strommen and Lincoln, 2002).

According to Laura M. Martin (2001) “Children become aware of the substantive content

of objects if they attend to the principles of construction of the features. That is, through

interacting with and manipulating objects, subjects come to know the principles that organize

the object’s properties. “She goes on to state,” The stages of activity leading to cognitive

learning actions have these components: educational tasks which children come to accept as

tasks and which then provide goals to motivate their activity; educational acts which are

designed to help the children performing them move between general and concrete

understandings; and, acts of control and evaluation, which help children grasp the task and

reflect on whether their actions are on track”.

Seymour Papert, (2008) explains that an example of a constructivist point of view would

be how a child perceives number. Number is not something with an independent objective

existence with which children have a particular concept. The study of number is the study of

something in evolution or something in the process of construction. The constructivist asserts

that children don’t conceive number, rather they construct it. This concept will not come to a

child all at once, but in a process of building intellectual structures that form a relationship of

change, interaction and combining.

Constructivists feel that everyone brings different ideas and concepts to a learning

situation. Therefore, it can be concluded that everyone takes away different ideas and concepts

from the same learning situation.

 A conflict occurs, for example, when new knowledge is introduced that is not consistent

with already known knowledge. In order to bring about resolution, new learning must occur.

Reflection is used to construct or transform the learner’s representation to reality. This

restructuring of information must occur through self-regulation (Flake, et.al., 2000).

The first major contemporaries to develop an idea of constructivism in a classroom and

with childhood development were Jean Piaget and John Dewey. (Building an Understanding of

Constructivism) In the early 1930’s and 40’s, constructivism was a leading perspective among

public school educators. There were two schools of thought that fell within this theory: (1) social

constructivism and (2) cognitive constructivism. Although they differ as theories, they fall within

the same basic assumption about children’s learning and that is the child’s individual

development is at the center of instruction.

John Dewey believed that education depended on action. He contended that knowledge

and ideas only emerged from a situation in which the learners had to draw them out of

experiences that had meaning and importance to them. These situations had to occur in a

social setting, such as a classroom, where students were involved in manipulating materials and

therefore, a community of learners was built and knowledge was formed together within the

community.

Piaget’s concept of constructivism is based on his view of the psychological

development of the child. Piaget is a Swiss psychologist who began to study human

development. Piaget called for teachers to understand the steps in the development of the

child’s mind. He cited stages in the development of children and felt that children will develop

through each of these stages until he or she can reason logically.

Piagetian principles in the classroom include: Possible the most important role for the

teacher is to provide an environment in which the child can experience spontaneous research.
The classroom should be filled with authentic opportunities to challenge the students. The

students should be given the freedom to understand and construct meaning at their own pace

through personal experiences as they develop through individual development processes.

Learning is an active process in which errors will be made and solutions will be found. These

are important to assimilation and accommodation to achieve equilibrium. Learning is a social

process that could take place among collaborative groups with peer interaction in a natural as

possible setting.

Piaget contends that the development of the child’s knowledge of the world and reality is

not a copy of the real world. Each individual over the course of his or her development

construct knowledge and reality through assimilation and accommodation. Knowledge is not

transmitted directly, but it is constructed (Wadswoth, 2001).

Jerome S. Bruner believes that a “theory of development should go hand in hand with a

theory of instruction” (2005) and that the outcome of cognitive development is thinking. By

creating a well-developed and intelligent mind it has endless possibilities. Moreover, the aim of

education is to create independent and selpropelled thinkers.

Bruner believes that people understand the world in 3 ways: 1. Enactive representation:

representing one’s understand through motor responses; 2. Iconic representation: using

images to represent understanding; and 3. Symbolic representation: using symbols

(i.e.language, music notes or math notation) to represent understanding.

Unlike Piaget, Bruner believes moving through these stages is not dependent upon a

particular age; rather the influence of the environment can help the learner progress through the

stages, allowing for a spiral curriculum. In order to determine which mode of representation is

appropriate, one must know about the learner’s prior knowledge.

 Bruner also believed that learning by discovery is a key contributor to intellectual

development. He is not suggesting going through discovery steps randomly, rather using

strategies for searching and finding out information, such as formulating a hypothesis and

working through problem solving. Furthermore, Bruner believed guided practice could hinder

discovery learner and rather wanted the learner’s to focus on his or her own reflection. By

reflecting on the process it allowed learner’s to really understand the steps they took towards a

particular outcome. And through Bruner’s discovery learning, Collins and Stevans formed their

model of inquiry of teaching. This model has 2 goals:1. Students derive a particular concept,

rule or principle that the teacher has in mind; and 2. Students derive general rules or theories;

learn the conduct of inquiry.

Moreover, it is important to understand haw skills are influenced by culture, giving the

teacher a better understanding. Bruner suggests that cross-cultural differences appear,

especially with the two cognitive cultures (narrative thinking and logical scientific thinking).

Overall, Bruner suggests that with a theory of instruction that brings together the “nature

of knowledge, the nature of the knower, and the nature of the knowledge-getting process”, you

can develop independent and self-propelled learners

(http://team2developmental.wordpress.com/jerome-bruner/).

Erikson stages of psychosocial development, as articulated by Erik Erikson, explain

eight stages through which a healthy developing human should pass from infancy to late

adulthood. In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. Each

stage builds upon the successful completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stage not

successfully completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future (Carin, 2011)

However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage. Erikson’s

stage theory characterize and individual advancing through the eight life stages as a function of
negotiating his or her biological force and sociocultural force. Each stage is characterized by a

psychological forces and sociocultural forces. Each stages is characterized by a psychosocial

crisis of these two conflicting forces (as shown in the table below). If an individual does indeed

successfully reconcile these forces (favouring the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), he/she

emerges from the stage with the corresponding virtue. For example, if an infant enters into the

toddler stage (autonomy vs. shame & doubt) with more trust than mistrust, he or she carries the

virtue of hope inot the remaining life stages.

As the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, then they begin

to explore their surrounding. The parents still provide a strong base of a security from which the

child can venture out to assert their will. The parents’ patience and encouragement helps foster

autonomy in the child. Children at this age like to explore the world around them and they are

constantly learning about their environment. Caution must be taken at this age while children

may explore things that are dangerous to their health and safety.

At this age children develop their first interests. For example, a child who enjoys music

may like to play with the radio. Children who enjoy the outdoors may be interested in animals

and plants. Highly restrictive parents, however, are more likely to instil in the child a sense of

doubt, and reluctance to attempt new challenges. As they gain increased muscular coordination

and mobility, toddlers become capable of satisfying some of their own needs. They begin to

feed themselves, wash and dress themselves, and use the bathroom.

If caregivers encourage self-sufficient behaviour, toddlers develops sense of autonomy-

A sense of being able to handle many problems on their own. But if caregivers demand too

much too soon, refuse to let children perform tasks of which they are capable, or ridicule early

attempts at self-sufficiency, children may instead develop shame and doubt about their ability to

handle problems (Crain, 2011)

 Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory taught that these unconscious

thinking patterns form during several stages of development until they are eradicated by normal,

healthy sexual development. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is divided inot five

stages. These are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Freud’s theory was an important

factor to his teaching based upon the development of the human personality.

In the Phallic Stage, Freud believes the phallic stage of the Oedipus or Electra

complexes occurs during a child is three to six years of age. The belief is that male children

harbour unconscious, sexual attraction to their mothers, while female children develop a sexual

attraction to their father. Freud taught that young boys also deal with feelings of rivalry with their

father. These feelings naturally resolve once the child begins to identify with their same sex

parent. By identifying with the same sex parent, the child continues with normal, healthy sexual

development. If a child becomes fixated during this phase, the result could be sexual deviance

or a confused sexual identity (http://www.datehookup.com/content-sigmund-freuds-pschosexual

development-theory.htm).

The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R framework of behavioural

psychology: Learning is the result associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such

associations or “habits” become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the

S-R pairings. The paradigm for S-R theory was trial and error learning in which certain

responses come to dominate others due to rewards. The hallmark of connectionism (like all

behavioural theory) was that learning could be adequately explained without referring to any

unobservable internal states.

Thorndike’s theory consists of three primary laws: (1) law of effect-responses to a

situation which are followed by a rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened and become

habitual responses to that situation, (2) law of readiness- a series of responses can be chained
together to satisfy some goal which result in annoyance if blocked, and (3) law of exercise-

connections become strengthened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued. A

corollary of the law of effect was that responses that reduce the likelihood of achieving a

rewarding state (i.e. punishment, failures) will decrease in strength (Thorndike, 2002).

The theory suggested that transfer of learning development upon the presence of

identical elements in the original and new learning situations ; i.e., transfer is always specific,

never general. In later version of the theory, the concept of “belongingness” was introduced;

connections are more readily established if the person perceives that stimuli or responses go

together (c.f. Gestalt principles). Another concept introduced was “polarity” which specifies that

connections occur more easily in the directions in which they were originally formed than the

opposite. Thorndike also introduced the “spread of effect” idea, i.e., rewards affect not only the

connection that produced them but temporally adjacent connections as well.

Connections was man to be a general theory of learning for animals and humans.

Thorndike was especially interested in the application of his theory to educations including

Mathematics, spelling and reading, measurement of intelligence and adult learning.

The classic example of Thorndike’s S-R theory was a cat learning to escape from a

“puzzle box” by pressing a lever inside the box. After much trial and error behaviour, the cat

learns to associate pressing the lever (S) with opening the door (R). This S-R connections is

established because it result to a satisfying state of affairs (escape from the box). The law of

exercise specifies that the connections was established because the S-R pairing occurred many

times (the law of effect) and was rewarded (law of effect) as well as forming a single sequence

(law of readiness) (Thorndike, 2002).

Lawrence Kohlberg theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of the

Swiss Psychologist Jean Piaget and the American philosopher John Dewey. He was also
inspired by James Mark Baldwin. These men had emphasized that human beings develop

philosophically and psychologically in progressive fashion.

Skill expected from Kindergarten pupils include the observance of school and classroom

policies, being friendly, sociable, knows how to wait, to fall in line or to take turns in getting

something. This involves teaching right and wrong. Kohlberg believed and was able to

demonstrate through studies that people progressed in their moral reasoning (i.e., in their bases

for ethical behavior) through a series of stages. He believed that there were six identifiable

stages which could be more generally classified into three levels (Barger, 2000).

The first level of moral thinking is that generally found at the Elementary school level. In

the first stage of this level, people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they

are told to do so by some authority figure (e.g., parent or teacher). This obedience is compelled

by the threat or application of punishment. The second stage of this level is characterized by a

view that right behavior means acting in one’s own best interest (Barger, 2000).

The second level of moral thinking is that generally found in the society, hence the name

“conventional”. The first stage of this level (stage 3) is characterized by an attitude which seeks

to do what will gain the approval of others. The second stage is one oriented to abiding by the

law and responding to the obligations of duty.

The third level of moral thinking is one that Kohlberg felt is not reached by the majority of

adults. Its first stage (stage 5) is an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in

the welfare of others. The last stage (stage 6) is based on respect for universal principle and the

demands of individual conscience. While Kohlberg always believed in the existence of Stage 6

and had some nominees for it, he could never get enough subjects to define it, much less

observe their longitudinal movement to it.

 Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages one stage at

a time. That is, they could not jump stages. They could not, for example, move from one

orientation of selfishness to the law and order stage without passing the good boy/girl stage.

They could only come to a comprehension of amoral rationale one stage above their own.

Thus, according to Kohlberg, it was important to present them with moral dilemmas for

discussion which would help them to see the reasonableness of a “higher stage” morality and

encourage their development in that direction. The last comment refers to Kohlberg’s moral

discussion approach. He saw this as one of the ways in which moral development can be

promoted through formal education. Note that Kohlberg believed, as did Piaget, that most moral

development occurs through social interaction. The discussion approach is based on the insight

that individuals develop as a result of cognitive conflicts at their current stage (Barger, 2000).

Legal Basis

The legal basis of this study is the Republic Act No. 10157. This is an act

institutionalizing the Kindergarten Education into the Basic Education System and Appropriating

Funds Therefor.

In consonance with the Millennium Development Goals on achieving Education for All

(EFA) by the year 2015, it is hereby declared the policy of the state to provide equal

opportunities for all children to avail of accessible mandatory and compulsory kindergarten

education that effectively promotes physical, social, intellectual, emotional and skills stimulation

and values formation to sufficiently prepare them for formal elementary schooling. This Act

shall apply to elementary school system being the first stage of compulsory and mandatory

formal education. Thus, kindergarten will now be an integral part of the basic education system

of the country. Kindergarten education is vital to the academic and technical development of

the Filipino child for it is the period when the young mind’s absorptive capacity for learning is at
its sharpest. It is also the policy of the State to make education learner-oriented and responsive

to the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners,

schools and communities through the appropriate languages of teaching and learning.

The State shall hereby adopt the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-

MLE) method. The mother tongue of the learner shall be the primary medium of instruction for

teaching and learning in the kindergarten level. However, exceptions shall be made to the

following cases: (a) When the pupils in the kindergarten classroom have different mother

tongues or when some of them speak another mother tongue; (b) When the teacher does not

speak the mother of the learners; (c) When resources, in line with the use of the mother tongue,

are not yet available; and (d) When teachers are not yet trained how to use the MTB-MLE

program.

In such exceptional cases, the primary medium of instruction shall be determined by the

DepEd aligned with the framework being used in the elementary level including teacher training

and production of local resources and materials under DepEd Order No. 74, series of 2009.

The DepEd, in coordination with the Commission on Filipino Language and in close

collaboration with academic and research institutions concerned with education, shall formulate

a mother tongue-based multilingual framework for teaching and learning: Provided, that the

DepEd will include teaching strategies as defined in Section 7 (c) which aims to introduce and

eventually strengthen the child’s understanding of English, which is the official language. The

authority to regulate the organization, operation and/or implementation of the kindergarten

education program of both public and private schools shall be vested upon the DepEd, through

the creation of a new Division under the BEE and other necessary support to achieve

successful implementation of kindergarten education to include, but not limited to, increasing the

number of kindergarten teacher positions with the required salaries and benefits, enhancing
teacher training in early education, and providing the necessary allocations for classrooms and

chairs, facilities and equipment and textbooks.

The DepEd, through the BEE, shall exercise the following powers and functions: (a)

Oversee and supervise the organization, operation and implementation of the kindergarten

education program; (b) Develop the curriculum for kindergarten consistent with the universally

accepted norms and standards, including values formation all of which shall be developmentally

appropriate, and use of the MTB-MLE as a medium of instruction and to periodically review

such for purposes of upgrading; (c) Develop teaching strategies using the unique feature of the

MTB-MLE which shall include, but not limited to, the following: (1) The two-track method

(storytelling and reading, listening story, oral communication activities); (2) Interactive

strategies; (3) Use of manipulative games; and (4) Experiential, small group discussions and

total physical response (TPR) among others.

The learning development materials shall consist of the following at the minimum: (i)

Listening story; (ii) Small books; (iii) Big books; (iv) Experience story;(v) Primer lessons; and

(vi) Lesson exemplars; (a) Conceive, develop and extend a continuing professional

development program for kindergarten teachers to ensure constant updating of their knowledge

in current trends, pedagogy, methodologies and concepts on early childhood education; (b)

Prescribe the necessary qualifications for the hiring and accreditation of teachers who will

handle the kindergarten education program; (c) Exercise authority over the operation of private

kindergarten institutions; (d) Supervise the establishment of various venues for early childhood

education which may be institution-based, home-based, hospital-based or community-based,

and which shall be duly accredited by the DepEd; and (e ) introduce innovative programs in

kindergarten that shall include educational technologies, whenever applicable.

 The DepEd shall immediately include in the program of the Department the

operationalization of the free, mandatory and compulsory public kindergarten education, the

initial funding of which shall be charged against the current appropriations for kindergarten

education of the DepEd. Thereafter, such sums which shall be necessary for the continued

implementation of the free public kindergarten education program shall be charged to the

General Fund and included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act, the DepEd, in consultation with the

Department of Budget and Management, shall promulgate the rules and regulations needed for

the implementation of this Act. If any provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the

same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions hereof. Pertinent

provisions of all other laws, decrees, executive orders and rules and regulations contrary to or

inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. This

Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2)

newspapers of general circulation (www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2012/ra_10157_2012.

html).

Related Literature

Early Childhood Education Program. Early childhood education is a set of educational

programs or services designed to meet the particular needs of exceptional children. It is that

type of education tailored to meet the particular needs of children who cannot profit normally

from general education because of disabilities or exceptional abilities.

Early childhood education meets the needs of a given exceptional child or a group of

exceptional children with educational plans and instruments which will bring the individual to the

highest level of his potential and capacity.

 The basic philosophy of early childhood is derived from the premise that in a democracy,

every individual is valuable in his own right and should be afforded equal opportunities to

develop his full potential. Every child, even the most severely handicapped, should be given

equal educational opportunities within the nation’s educational system. Equal educational

opportunities do not mean the same educational experiences but rather “different” educational

experiences based on the child’s unique needs. In brief, the right to education cannot be denied

a person if only because of his disabilities (Department of Education,2000).

Every individual, however he may be handicapped, is worth cherishing for the potential

contribution he may make to his community and for what this contribution may mean to others.

Further, the more we do to supply each handicapped with the educational climate and

opportunities favourable for his development and self-fulfilment, the more we contribute to

national progress.

Early childhood education Center. A growing alternative delivery system is the Early

childhood education center. Which holds classes for children with special needs within the

regular school. Itinerent, resource room services, special and cooperative classes are held in

the early childhood education center. Classes range three to more than twenty, depending

upon the population and affluence of the community. The school-within-a –school concept

receives much support from parents of the children themselves and from civic and social

community organizations. The Center is administered by a principal and operated according to

the rules and regulations that govern a regular school (Article VI, Sef.1).

Equality, equity and quality in the education of children and youth with special needs as

mandated in our fundamental laws are contingent on the efficient and effective management

and operation of special schools and centers. The provisions for upgrading the quality of these

schools emanate from the following legal bases.

 Everyone has the right ot education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary

and fundamentals stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and

professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally

accessible to all on the basis of merit.

The Education Act of 1982 declared a basic State Policy that the educational system

make maximum contribution to the attainment of national development goals; that among others

the State promote and maintain quality of access to education and of employment of the

benefits of education by all citizens; that the state recognizes education as an instrument for the

development of the cultural communities of the nation; that the educational system reach out to

serve educationally deprived communities to enrich their participation in the community and

national life, and to unify all Filipinos into free and just nation.

School Principal and other School Administrators in ECD Program shall help maximally

in the development and continuing success of an effective early childhood education program

by: creating within the school the atmosphere of acceptance of the program; involving the early

childhood education teacher in all staff activities and programs in the school; linking the

programs with other programs offered by the school including guidance services, physical

education practices, music activities, home economics and other programs; providing and

adequately equipped Resource Room, or an adequate place for the itinerant teacher, securing

necessary equipment and materials which are available within the school building for the

education program; making available to early childhood education teachers pertinent data

concerning the family background, scholastic and other pertinent records of all children enrolled

in the program; involving parents, teachers, and other community group about ECD program

and strengthening home-school collaboration through periodic dialogues, seminars, and

conferences; initiating/encouraging early childhood education teachers to create

innovative/differentiated instructional materials for ECD learners; establishing linkages with

Local Government Units (LGU’s), Non-government Organization (NGO’s) and other

organizations for support; recommending budget for the school’s ECD Program; and

institutionalizing home-school collaboration seminars and conferences (Department of

Education, 2000).

Regular Classroom Teacher in the Early Childhood Education Program views the learner

as a total person who can learn and succeed despite of his limitations; assess the behavioral

signs of disorders or difficulties in all learners; provide varied activities for a wide range of

individual differences among the learners with special needs; provide a setting for, and expect

achievement of the learner in terms of his scholastic aptitude and other attributes; provide

strategies that help the learner develop concepts meaningful to himself and provide first-hand

experiences for the learner rather than vicarious ones; obtain assistance in the form of

constructive consultation and specialized materials and equipment from those who assume

special responsibilities for the learners; and confer regularly with the ECE teacher in terms of

progress, needs and problems of the learners (DepEd, 2000).

All the theories, related literatures and studies mentioned in the theoretical background

serve as the guiding principle in the formulation of this study. The problems and research design

are anchored on the concepts and principles.

Theoretical Background

Cognitive Development Theory

Zone of Proximal Development Theory Legal Basis

Constructivism Theory Republic Act No. 10157

Psychosocial Development Theory Institutionalizing the Kindergarten

Educaion into the Basic Educational
Psychosexaul Development Theory Syste.

Learnig Theory

Moral Development Theory

 INPUT

 Profile of the early childhood educators in terms of age, gender, highest educational
attainment, and number of years in teaching kindergarten
 Teachers’ Skill Expectations of the early childhood educators in terms of classroom
routines, following verbal directions, transitions, receptive language, expressive
language, social interaction, self-care, large group time and classroom conduct

PROPOSED INTERVENTION PROGRAM

Figure 1: Research Flow

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

 This study determined the teaching skill expectations for Kindergarten Readiness as

perceived by the early childhood educators in the District of Tubigon East,Tubigon, Bohol. The

findings served as bases for intervention program.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following inquiries:

1. What is the profile of the early childhood educators interms of:

1.1 age;

1.2 gender;

1.3 highest educational attainment;

1.4 number of years in teaching kindergarten?

2. What are the teacher’s skill expectations of the early childhood educators with reference

to:

2.1 classroom routines;

2.2 following verbal directions;

2.3 transitions;

2.4 receptive language;

2.5 expressive language;

2.6 social interaction;

2.7 self-care;

2.8 large group time; and

2.9 Classroom conduct?

3. Is there a significant relationship between profile and teaching skill expectation for

kindergarten among the respondents?

4. Is there a significant degree of difference in the perceptions in the teaching skill

expectation among the teachers in the context of:

4.1 classroom routines;

 4.2 following verbal instruction;

4.3 transitions;

4.4 receptive language;

4.5 expressive language;

4.6 social interaction;

4.7 self-care;

4.8 large group time; and

4.9 classroom conduct?

5. Based on the findings of the study, what innovations program may be proposed?

Statement of the Null Hypotheses

Ho1- There is a significant relationship between profile and teaching skill expectation for

kindergarten among the respondents.

Ho2- There is a significant degree of difference on the perceptions in the teaching skill

expectations among the teachers in the context of:

2.1 classroom routines;

2.2 following verbal instruction;

2.3 transitions;

2.4 receptive language;

2.5 expressive language;

2.6 social interaction;

2.7 self-care;
 2.8 large group; and

2.9 classroom conduct.

Significance of the Study

Classroom teachers are at forefront in undertaking the ECE programs. There are

activities geared towards cultivating and sustaining a culture of excellence in early

childhood. Teachers are then expected to bring about the atmosphere of harmony and unity

that promotes achievement. With this important information taken into consideration, the

researcher hopes that this study will prove useful to the following:

Pupils of Early Childhood Education Program- They will benefit whatever will be the

innovation in ECE instruction, assessment and classroom management in the various pre

school in the District of Tubigon East.

Early Chilhood Educators- Teachers are the immediate beneficiaries of this study.

This will serve sa innovative mechanism in which the teachers are given the opportunities to

evaluate their respective school head. They are all aware of varying personalities and

management competence of their superior. In return, this research will benefit the teachers

by being the recipients of the trainings and seminars to be conducted based on the output of

the study.

Department of Education- District Office- This study will provide a baseline

information on the teaching skills expectation of the teachers within the district, as well as

guide them as to what enhancement plans and program can be developed to a successful

early childhood education.

 School Heads- As leaders in Early Childhood Education Programs they may find in this

study features or aspects that evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the teachers

through improvement of their competence.

Stakeholders- The study will provide concepts and proofs that can be used to

strengthen teachers’ competence in making the ECE instruction effective and productive.

Knowing the strength and weaknesses of teachers will help them understand the processes

in dealing with some innovations and changes in ECE.

PTCA-Parents-Teachers and Community Associations- They will be guided in what

early childhood education programs and projects they will going to undertake that will help

address the needs of the school in terms of teaching-learning.

The Researcher- The relevant information acquired from the study will help the

researcher devise or create a comprehensive training plan to improve delivery of early

Childhood Educations Programs.

Future Researcher- Future researchers will make use of the information and findings

from this study to continue further researches and established renewed theories in different

aspects in relation to early childhood educators teaching skills expectations.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Design
 This descriptive survey study determined the teaching skill expectations for Kindergarten

Readiness as perceived by the early childhood educators in the District of Tubigon East,

Bohol. Quantitative data were generated to test the relationship between the profile of the

teachers and their teaching skills expectations. Further, test in the degree of differences is

employed to find out if the teachers’ skills expectations differ.

Environment

The district of Tubigon East, Bohol Province has 17 schools. There are 15 Kindergarten

teachers; 19 Grade 1 teachers; 19 Grade 2; 19 Grade 3; 19 Grade 4; 19 Grade 5; 19 Grade

6 teachers. There are a total of 110 teachers in the district. This school year 2017-2018,

there are a total of 2,250 pupils enrolled in 17 schools in the district. There are _______

male pupils and _____female pupils. There are 1,570 kindergarten pupils in the district with

________and ______females.

The district take pride in its special programs such as preschool service contracting

scheme which is six month period of schooling for preschool entrants who were not

accommodated during the opening classes. This starts in October.

Kinder Summer Program (KSP) is implemented for Grade 1 pupils who were not able to

enrol in kindergarten. The district also implements pre assessment tools for five-year

preschool pupils; benchmarking on Preschool Entrants’ Capabilities in the Public school;

Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP); Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI);

Child Friendly School System (SFSS); Read-A-Thorn, Purok Day and the like.

Outside the regular curriculum, the school is also offering a pre-school classes handles

by a professional teacher whose salary is subsidized by DEpED. There are _______ in the

school, ____are used as instructional rooms, while the rest are used as administrative
offices and ancillary services. Most of these rooms were designated as evacuation centers

when the need arises.

The quality education as the main concern of the school like the extra-curricular

activities, the desired pupil’s pupils’ performance level was not achieved.

Remedial Reading Program and Saturday Review classes were conducted to increase

pupils’ achievement. The school provides INSET, seminar-workshop to upgrade and

reengineer teachers’ competence in teaching the 5 tool subjects regularly for the

improvement of instruction.

The PTA meeting is regularly conducted so as to discuss some factors that could really

contribute academic excellence. Strategies that include financial assistance were

considered in the discussion to augment the school learning condition thereby improving

pupils’ achievement.

Participants

The research participant s of this study were the 15 early childhood educators in

Tubigon East District who were active teachers in this school year 2017-2018. Employing

the universal sampling techniques the early childhood educators provided the data in their

profile and teaching skills expectations.

Instrument

There were three tolls to be utilized in this study. The first tool is to generate details on

the early childhood educators’ profile. A researcher-made tool is composed ofteh foolowing

details: gender, age, civil status, highest educational attainment; related trainings and

seminars; and years of service as the early childhood educator.

 The second tool is the teaching skill expectation for kindergarten readiness which is

adapted from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED287610.pdf by Heins, Ann Higgins. It covers

the 9 categories such as classroom routines, following verbal directions, transitions,

receptive language, expressive language, social interaction, self-care, large group time, and

classroom conduct.

The following table shows the responses, parameters and interpretation of data.

Parameter Limits Response Category Interpretation

4.20-5.00 Extremely Important Very Highly Expected Skill (VHE)

3.40-4.19 Very Important Highly Expected Skill (HE)

2.60-3.39 Generally Important Expected Skill €

1.80-2.59 Somewhat Important Moderately Expected Skill (ME)

1.00-1.79 Not Important Not Expected Skill (NE)

Procedure

Data Gathering

The following research procedures were observed during the data gathering.

Step 1: The researcher sought approval from the District Supervisor of Tubigon East,

Bohol prior to conduct of the study.

Step 2: Orientation and dialogue were conducted in one of their meetings of the pre-

school teachers, explaining the purpose of the research its relevance and its impact towards

improving the delivery of quality early childhood education in Tubigon East District. It was during

this scheduled meeting where the tool on the profile and teaching skills expectations of the

teachers were distributed.

 Step 3: Respondents were given few minutes to complete the tool. Retrieval on the said

instrument was done immediately after the respondents completely answered the tool.

Step 4: The data gathered were tallied and processed to get the frequency and the

weighted mean of the profile and the teaching skills expectations respectively.

Step 5: The ungrouped data in excel format were submitted for data analysis.

Step 6: The tabled data and results were analyse and discussed.

Treatment of data

Parametric and non-parametric measures were used in the study to ensure the validity

and accuracy of the results.

To analyse the data gathered, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version

12.0) was utilized.

1. Simple Percentage. This was used to summarize the profile of the early childhood

educators in terms of classroom routines, verbal directions, transitions, receptive

language, expressive language, social interaction, self-care, large group time, and

classroom conduct.

2. Weighted Mean. This was used. To determine the perception on teaching skills

expectations for kindergarten readiness of the early childhood educators.

3. Chi-Square. This statistical tool determine the significant relationship between

teachers’ profile and teaching skills expectations.

4. Analysis of Variance (ANNOVA). This was used to determine the degree of

differences on the teaching skill expectations for kindergarten readiness among the

teachers.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
To fully understand the terms used in this study, the following were defined operationally:

Classroom Conduct. It is the toll responses or behavior of the child in school or in the

classroom in accordance with the schools’ rules and policies.

Classroom Routines. It refers to the skill of the pre-schoolers which is manifested by

observing classroom procedures and rules.

Early Childhood Education. It refers to the formal teaching of young children bt people

outside the family or in setting outside the home. This covers the nursery, kindergarten and

preparatory levels.

Expressive Language. It refers to the capability of the learners to communicate with

other, to share experiences and to speak intelligibly.

Following Verbal Directions. It refers to the compliance of the pupils in following

instruction of the teacher.

Language Group Time. It is the skill of the pre-schoolers to participate in group

activities according to rules and to pay attention to speaker/s when in a group.

Profile. It refers to the age; gender; civil status; highest educational attainment; related

training and seminars attended; and years of service as an early childhood educators.

Proposed Intervention Program. It is the output of the study. The interventions,

activities and enhancements are based on the findings and weaknesses of the early childhood

education as well as the indicators specified in the teaching skills expectations.

Receptive language. It refers to the ability of the pupils to respond to instruction, sound

and other communication activities.

 Social Interaction. It is the ability of the child to show verbal experiences, to show

courtesy and to demonstrate affection and feeling to others.

Self-care. It is the skill of the children to take care of themselves without or less adult

supervision such as toilet matters, washing hands, wiping face, nose and dressing up.

Teaching Skills Expectations. It refers to the teaching strategies and methods of early

childhood educators.

Transitions. It refer to the manner how the pupil locate belongings, materials and ability

to stay on track of their activities.

Profile of the Teachers

Name: (Optional)___________________________________________________________
Age:________________________________ Gender:______________________________

Highest Educational Attainment

Elementary School

Elementary Graduate

High School Level

High School Graduate

College level

College Graduate

Vocational/Technical

Number of years in teaching Kindergarten:_____________________________

Teaching Skills Expectations for Kindergarten Readiness

Guangco, 2014
 Category

Somewhat

Extremely
Important

Important

Important

Important

Important
Generally

Very
Not

5
CLASSROOM ROUTINES

Follows routine at the end of work session

Begins work following instruction to the group
Complete task on time
Uses classroom equipment independently
FOLLOWING VERBAL TEACHER DIRECTION (5
ITEMS)
Complies with one-step instruction
Complies with direction to the group
Complies with two-step instruction
Follows verbal teacher direction
Complies with three-step instruction
TRANSITIONS (7 ITEMS)

Locates personal possessions and returns them to

appropriate location
Goes to various areas of room when requested
and/or directed
Locates materials and replaces them or puts them
in order when finished
Stays “on-task” during transitions
Lines-up and stays in line during transition
Makes transitions using contextual cues
COMMUNICATIONSKILLS
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE (13 ITEMS)
Comes to adult when called by name
Respond to warning words
Identifies soft and loud sounds
Responds to position words
Respond to common nouns and words
Discriminates between sounds in words
Recognizes rhyming words
Recognizes incorrect pronunciation
Matches beginning and ending sounds in words
Matches sounds with written letters
Identifies opposite concepts
Understand past, present, future tenses
Discriminate between singular and plural nouns
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE (13 ITEMS)
Communicate needs and preferences
Show experiences and ideas with others
Uses yes/no and wh-questions
Speaks loudly enough but not too loudly
Has same breadth of vocabulary as peers
Take turns in conversation
Uses pronouns correctly
Speaks intelligibly
SOCIAL INTERACTION (12 ITEMS)
Initiates contact with peers
Shares, exchange materials with peers
Uses toys appropriately with peers
Uses Verbal requests during play
Uses peers’ and teachers’ names
Stays with activity appropriate amount of time
Wait turn to speak
Role-plays with peers
Expresses affection, emotions, and feelings
appropriately
Uses courtesy words spontaneously
Initiates play activities during play time
Responds to peer initiations
Maintains interaction with peers
Plays a simple table games
Demonstrate good sportsmanship
SELF-CARE

Take care of own toileting needs without

supervision
Washes hands without supervision
Dresses with minimal assistance
Eats skilfully with minimal assistance
Cleans own work space
Blows and wipes nose independently
Is responsible for personal belongings
Gives full name when asked
Put shoes on correct fee
Zips jacket or coat
Button garment correctly
Ties or fasten shoes
Buckles belt
Tell street address
Gives home telephone number
LARGE GROUP TIME (11 ITEMS)

Sits appropriately
Participation in group is appropriate to the tasks or
topic
Focuses attention on speaker and shifts
appropriately
Participate according to rules
Does not disrupt peers
Answers teacher’s question when individually
address
If misbehaving, complies with second instruction
Waits appropriately
Responds to praise/social reinforces
Handles corrections appropriately
Refrains from aggressive behavior
Complies with initial instruction
Reacts appropriately to changes in routine
Follows most classroom rules and routines
Uses time between activities appropriately
Ignores inappropriate peer behavior