Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

Senior High School is two years of specialized upper secondary education; students may
choose a specialization based on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career
track will define the content of the subjects a student will take in Grade 11 and 12. SHS subjects
fall under either the Core Curriculum or specific tracks (Official Gazette,2012). Senior High School
(SHS) covers the last two years of the K to 12 program and includes grade 11 and 12. In SHS,
students will go through a core curriculum and subjects under a track of their choice. The K to 12
Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of baic education( 6 years of primary education, 4
years of junior high school and 2 years of senior high school(SHS) to provide sufficient time for
mastery of concept and skills, develop lifelong learners and prepare graduates for tertiary
education, middle level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. Each student in
Senior High School can choose among 3 tracks: Academic; Techical Vocational- Livelihood; and
sport and arts. The academic track includes three strands: Accountancy, Business
Management(ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences(HUMMS): and Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics(STEM). Students undergo immersion which may include earn-while-
you-learn opportunities, to provide them relevant exposure and actual experiencein their chosen
track( Official Gazette, 2012). Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community.
However, our current education system hinders us from becoming even more competitive. Starting
in the 2012-2013 school year, the education system of the Philippines was enhanced from the ten
years of basic education to a 12 year program through an initiative called the K-12 Education Plan
sponsored by the Department of Education( HubPages Inc. 2016). The K-12 programs offer a
decongested 12- year program that gives student sufficient time to master skills and absorb basic
competencies. According to Official Gazette (2012), Senior High School is two years ofspecialized
upper secondary education; students may choose a specialization based onaptitude, interests, and
school capacity. The choice of career track will define thecontent of the subjects a student will take
in Grades 11 and 12. SHS subjects fall undereither the Core Curriculum or specific Tracks.The K to
12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (sixyears of primary education,
four years of Junior High School, and two years of SeniorHigh School) to provide sufficient time for
mastery of concepts and skills, developlifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary
education, middle-level skillsdevelopment, employment, and entrepreneurship. Each student in
Senior High Schoolcan choose among three tracks: Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood;
and Sportsand Arts. The Academic track includes three strands: Accountancy,
BusinessManagement (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); and
Science,Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM). Students undergo immersion, whichmay
Include earn-while-you-learn opportunities, to provide them relevant exposure andactual
experience in their chosen track. Senior High School curriculum in various parts of the world is
offered to prepare students for work or a university life. The World Education News and Reviews
(2016) presented various basic education curriculums in the world. Taiwan, for example, has three
years of either senior vocational schools or senior high schools made mandatory in 2014.
Indonesia also has three years of Upper Secondary Education (Senior High) with the first
curriculum being more generalist and the last two is either for general academic or vocational
stream (WENR, 2014). High schools in South Korea are divided into general/academic, vocational,
and special purpose curriculum which students are graduating from Middle School can opt to enroll
(WENR-2, 2013). Despite not being compulsory or free, the progression rate is as high as 99%
(ibid). The Philippines is relatively new in the implementation of the Senior High program with
Grade 11 enrolled during School Year 2016-2017. Its curriculum is patterned to the US secondary
schools. Based on the comparative data for top performing countries, Japan outperformed US in
Mathematics, Science and Reading in the Programme for International Student Assessment or
PISA (NCEE, 2012). What is their curriculum? How different is it to its model nation or an adjacent
leader, Japan? 2. Objectives The paper aims to provide insights on the of the Senior High School
curriculum of the Philippines, Japan, and the USA. Specifically, it tries to; 1. Present key
information on each country’s basic education program, 2. Present their (senior) high school
curriculum 3. Compare and contrast each country senior high school curriculum. 3. Methodology
The paper is all based on secondary information using the literature review protocol. The literature
review stated planning a review protocol, then searching for potentially relevant literature and
snowballing (backward and forward) to exhaust all available literature, selecting the relevant
articles, analyzing and synthesizing then writing this manuscript (Myllarniemi, 2015). The paper
uses official publication of each government, specifically the agencies that have authority over the
delivery of the basic education, such as their respective Department of Education, its affiliates or
their partner institutions. International organizations conducting researches on education were also
considered as sources of data. On the other hand, the paper has also used literature published in
other agencies including news articles to enrich discussions about the issues regarding the subject
under assessment. In Japan, the kindergarten curriculum is not mandatory however the huge
proportion of its student enroll in it for better chances of entering into the best schools throughout
college/university. Compulsory schooling in Japan is nine (9) years, grades 1 to 6 (elementary) and
grades 7 to 9 (lower secondary school). The student can proceed to Upper High School (UHS) and
take up another three years of schooling. It is usually to prepare student entry to higher education.
The UHS curriculum, however, is not free. A Huge proportion of their students in the UHS goes into
general academic courses (74%) and only 24% go into vocational (specialized) courses, the
remaining 3% were in integrated courses (academic and vocational) (WENR, 2015). In 2013, there
was a total of 19,127,474 basic education students, 17.35% are in the Upper High School (MEXT,
ND). The structure of government in the US allows their education to adopt various forms and
programs for their basic education. Some states combine the senior and junior high school while
others have no distinction between the two. The mandatory schooling in the US also varies from
state to state (NCES, 2008). There are around 55.4 M enrolled in elementary and secondary
schools in the US in SY 2013-14 (NCES, 2016). Some schools in the US offer also designed tracks
such as STEM curriculum. The program is considered new as many are not yet well informed
about it (Haynie, 2014). Kevin Bals, the principal of High Technology High School says that "if you
don't love math and science, it's probably not the place for you". He has seen cases where
students enrolled because of parents' wishes who did not last long. The curriculum is for those who
have the passion for it not necessarily who are gifted (ibid).

11
Career Decision making. A choice or decision leading to the type of work one will do in her

lifetime.

Theoretical Framework

Muhammad cites the American Sociological Association’s findings that a school’s level

of efficacy and its collectively held expectations for school success may be the leading indicator

in whether students attend post-secondary education (2009, p. 14). Collectively held expectations

are considered an essential factor in the culture of a school. Children of color and children living

in poverty make up the majority of students on the lower side of the achievement gap and have

received messages about their ability to succeed during their time in school (Saphier, 2017). This

constant message of inability may lead to a fixed mindset.

The organization’s development and ability to sustain expectations for universal student

success is an important issue which schools must confront in order to be effective (Muhammad,

2009). The beliefs and expectations impacting the student at the classroom level can be moved as

matters of interest to the school and district level. Beliefs are thoughts associated with attitudes

(Schroeder, 2009). Beliefs may become problematic when a negative stereotype is widely held,

particularly when held by decision-makers. The belief in the bell curve of ability and inherited

17 intelligence has permeated the United States education system to the point where it influenced

the practice of tracking to special education (Saphier, 2017). Perceptions and beliefs based on

flawed or erroneous thinking allow the development of stereotypes (Stangor & Schaller, 1996).

Consensual sharing of negative stereotypes within a society often creates destructive

consequences which may affect entire groups of people in a common way. Jussim and Fleming

(1996) indicate that significant evidence exists which documents to role of stereotypes in forming

7
initial erroneous expectations for individuals.Woodson discussed the role of education in socializing

Whites and Blacks by stating, “the same educational process which inspires and stimulates the

oppressor with the thought that he is everything and has accomplished everything worthwhile,

depresses and crushes at the same time the spark of genius in the Negro by making him feel that

his race does not amount to much and never will measure up to the standards of other peoples

(2006, p. 5). Predeterminations are understood to be a basis for expectations and are based on

and originate in sources from an individual’s cultural background (Graham-Johnson, 2014).

According to Muhammad, predeterminations fall into three types: institutional, intrinsic, and

perceptual. Institutional predeterminations are the barriers so ingrained within the school system

that we often fail to recognize their presence and power (2009, p. 25). DuFour and Eaker contend

that institutional predeterminations are found in the complex set of rules, procedures, and norms

which form the basis of master schedules, staffing allocations, academic policies, and support

systems (1998, p. 25). Social stereotypes are included in predeterminations. Social stereotypes

can play a role as educators build assumptions about students and their future performance

(Boser et al., 2014). Gestalt Theory goes against the Behaviourist movement such as Edward L.

Thorndike’s experiment, where he put a cat in a cage with a piece of string that could be pulled so

the cat could escape. The cat tried the escape and in the process accidentally pulled the string

which let him out. When the cat was placed back in the cage, after a few times, had worked out

that by pulling the string could get out the cage. Thorndike concluded that this was done through

trial and error, not intelligence (Rock and Palmer (1990)). The article goes on to say that Gestalt

theorist objected that this was a display of intelligence as the cat could hardly understand the

‘hidden mechanism’. Köhler conducted experiments with chimps, the findings conflicted with those

8
of Thorndike’s in two ways. Rock and Palmer (1990) state that ‘those who understand one topic

can apply this knowledge elsewhere through analogy.’ They talk about ‘achieving insight through

explanation’ being a good way to ‘grasp the solution’ rather than ‘rote memorization’.

Atherton J S (2011) suggests that Gestalts theory ‘concentrates on the way in which the mind

insists on finding patterns in things’ also how it ‘contributes to learning, especially the development

of “insight”.’ Harris, J (1998) in his work, points out that ‘people learn more when they take

responsibility for their own learning.’ This view highlights to ‘autonomy of learning’ and connects to

the ‘student-centred approach’ from Carl Rogers.

9
14
Perception and Decision Making of Senior High School of SMARTII towards academic track,

specifically Accountancy, Business and Management

BY: Mickaella Marie Populi

Jonelle Joy Tubis

Curly Sue Matol

Janna Victoria Ramos