UNIT IV: CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

Overview
When a new curriculum is introduced, there are many things that teachers and school
administrators must expect. Will it be warmly accepted by the faculty or will the gain resistance
from it?
This unit will discuss the processes that the schools undergo when implementing new
curriculum and the reasons why teachers show resistance to this kind of change. More so, this unit
will tackle how the school administrators and other educational authorities should treat and
respond to teacher’s resistance as a result of curriculum change.

Learning Objectives
At the end of Unit IV, I am able to:
1. Analyze the models of curriculum implementation in the context of
curriculum administration;
2. Identify the reasons why teachers become resistant to curriculum
implementation;
3. Determine the factors influencing implementation of curriculum in schools;
and
4. Reflect on the importance of the roles of stakeholders and curriculum workers in
curriculum implementation.

Setting Up

Direction: It was year 2016 when K-12 Curriculum was fully implemented in the country. This
unprecedented change led to huge negative response not only from the parents of the students but
also from the teachers themselves. What do you think were the reasons why many resisted to this
kind of change? List down your answers below:
1. __________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________________

Direction: Identify the specific stakeholder using the descriptions given below.
Moreover, identify their role in the implementation of the curriculum in the new normal.
Correct
Descriptive Role Jumbled Letters Role in the New
Answer
Normal
1. They are the direct
beneficiary of the curriculum NLAERER
implementation. Upon them lie
the success or failure of the
curriculum.
2. The persons who directly
implements the curriculum, in RCTAEHE
whose hands, direction and
guidance are provided for
successful implementation.
3. Spend their personal
resources to achieve the
program targets. The emphasis RNETPAS
is on returning the investment
through the students ' learning
outcomes.
4. They ensure that the written
curriculum is applied correctly RMAIDOTSN
in classrooms, while providing RISTA
help through their leadership to
the entire organization.
5. Indirectly or directly involve INO CMUMYT
in school activities as resource. RBMSMEE

Lesson Proper

MODELS OF CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

1. OVERCOMING- RESISTANCE- TO-CHANGE MODEL (ORC)

It is the nature of a person to be resistant to change because we are creatures of habit,
changes make us feel uncomfortable, it makes us feel less competent. This is true also when we
talk about the implementation of new curriculum. ORC is a model that discusses the phases or
the stages that teachers undertake when new curriculum is introduced to them, what are the
challenges they are facing, why they become resistant to innovations. More importantly, this
theory also helps school administrators to identify reasons why teachers become resistant to
change letting them also realize the need to properly address these kinds of concern. The
following are its stages:

Stage 1: Unrelated Concerns

At this point, when curriculum is made the teacher complies with it but does not realize
and even recognize its effect to him/her. He/she thinks that the change has no connection with
him/her. For example, when K-12 Curriculum was first introduced, there were teachers
probably who just considered as part of their job but bears no impact to them personally.

Stage 2: Personal Concerns

During this time, the teacher recognizes how the innovation in the curriculum could
affect him/her. He/She becomes more curious about it asking questions such as “what it is all
about?”, and “how will it benefit me?”.
Stage 3: Task-Related Concerns
During the second stage, the concern of the teachers focuses more on their capacity and
ability to cope with the demands brought by the innovation in the curriculum as well as the
availability of the resources. For example, as the teachers of today experience the “new normal”
in the education (i.e. blended, distance, flexible, offline), the major concern here is how to
manage the innovation. For example, “How can I properly assess my students’ performance”,
“What platform will I use?”, How can I organize my modules?”

Stage 4: Impact-Related Concerns

If during stage 2, teachers become concern with the effect of the innovation towards
them but this time they become more concerned with the students learning. Given the current
 situation that we are in brought by COVID 19, students should study at home, be given
instructions online, and should basically study on their own using the modules created by their
teachers. These instances create questions among teachers such as “Can they be able to cope
with the lessons?” “Do they have reliable internet connections for our online classes?” “Will the
modules be enough for them to learn everything about the course?”.

What does this ORC Model Tell You as A Future Teacher and School Administrator?
a. Teachers should be adaptive and flexible. Change is inevitable specially in the field of
education. Educational system will always adapt to the societal changes. Thus,
teachers must learn to cope with the demands brought by changes in the curriculum.
b. Survey must be conducted among teachers for needs assessment. In this way, school
administrators may know what assistance they need to give to their faculty members
to successfully initiate the new program.
c. School administrators must be open to the idea that teachers are human beings too.
Yes, they are adaptive, but they still need time to prepare and adjust to the changes
because these require new skills and knowledge, that’s why trainings are very
important.

2. LEADERSHIP OBSTACLE COURSE (LOC) MODEL

This model tells the significance of knowing the extent of resistance of the teachers against the new
program or innovation. There must be a gathering of data that must be done to determine this extent or
scope. This can be done by making sure that the following five conditions exist:
a. the organizational members must have a clear understanding of the proposed innovation;
b. individuals within the organization must be given relevant skills so that they possess the
capabilities requisite for carrying out the innovation;
c. the necessary materials and equipment for the innovation must be furnished; if need be, the
organizational structure must be modified so that it is compatible with the innovation being
suggested;
d. The innovation participants must be inspired to invest the time and energy needed to make
innovation a success.

model considers educational change as a sequence of three stages:

i) initiation;
ii) attempted implementation; and
iii) incorporation
The LOC model considers educational change as a sequence of three stages:

INCORPORATION

IMPLEMENTATION

INITIATION

Figure 11. Stages of the LOC Model

Remember, before reaching the last stage of educational change obstacles may still arise during
the implementation period. Resistance may still develop, that’s why there is still need for feedback and
monitoring until all the issues and concerns are solved.

3. Linkage Model (LM)

This model acknowledges that aside from the school itself, there are innovators in research and
development centers, universities, etc. who can provide clearer pictures of problem that exist because of
the implementation of the new programs. These are referred to by this model as the resource system
while school on the other hand is said to be the user system. There has to be a link between these two
systems, it is the job of the resource system to know the user system’s problem and analyze it.
Furthermore, the resource system in order to be effective needs to create appropriate strategies in
analyzing the cause and effect of the problem through a cycle of diagnosis and evaluation to assess the
educational packages the user system has created.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CURRICULUM IN SCHOOLS

The following are the identified factors that greatly influence the implementation of the curriculum.

Table 7. Factors that Influence the Curriculum

Factors Description
Adequacy of Adequacy of equipment, facilities and general resources for implementing a
Resources new curriculum
Time available for preparing and delivering the requirements of the new
Time curriculum e.g. teachers need enough time to develop their own
understanding of the subject they are required to teach.
Overall school beliefs towards the new curriculum. Status of the curriculum
School Ethos as viewed by staff, administrators and community. E.g. school administration
recognizes the importance of the subject in the overall school curriculum.
Professional Support for teachers from both within the school and outside. e. g.
Support opportunities to receive on-going curriculum professional support
Professional Teachers own ability and competence to teach the curriculum i.e confidence
Adequacy in teaching
Professional Knowledge and understanding teachers possess regarding the new
Knowledge curriculum. E.g. different ways of teaching to foster student learning.
Professional
Teacher attitudes and interest towards the new curriculum. e.g. keen to
Attitude and
teach the subject
Interest

THE ROLES OF STAKEHOLDERS IN CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

Stakeholders are individuals or institutions that play important functions in the school
curriculum. Their interests vary in degree and complexity. They get involved in many different ways in
the implementation because the curriculum affects them directly and indirectly.

The Curriculum Workers

The success or failure of curriculum defends on people working for its implementation. Oliva
identified these persons as curriculum workers. At any level of curriculum implementation, curriculum
workers, through their expertise, creativity, and dedication make sure that curriculum is implemented
as planned.

 The Teachers
Their roles as implementers of the curriculum is very crucial. It is through their
expertise, creativity, and commitment that any curriculum success is attributed. Their
educational background, educational philosophy, teaching styles, and personality affect the
implementation of the curriculum.
They are the most visible curriculum workers. Teachers develop lesson plans, unit plans
and syllabi for each subject that they teach. They also prepare instructional materials select
methods and strategies, and assess students’ progress.

 The Principals
 The principals are the chief academic and administrative officer of the school. They
provide curricular and instructional leadership and supervision to the teachers and other school
personnel in the local context. Furthermore, they lead teachers in planning different school
activities and make sure that all educational goals set by the DepEd are met.
Other responsibilities of the principal are checking the lesson plans developed by each
teacher, prepare the school calendar, supervise instruction and prepare school report. Principals
also work with parents and community leaders and win their support to any school activities
and projects.

 The Curriculum Consultants

Curriculum consultants are individuals with rich background experiences on doing
curriculum planning, curriculum development, and curriculum evaluation.

 The District Supervisors

They are the persons responsible for supervising the implementation of the curriculum
in the district level. They help public school principals in ensuring that the programs of the
DepEd are implemented in their respective schools. District supervisors are also responsible for
implementing policies and programs of the DepEd in private schools.

 The Education Supervisors

Education supervisors are assigned to specific subject areas in basic education. They
help the district office of the DepEd in supervising the implementation of projects and programs
specific for each subject area.

 The Division Superintendents

They are the chief academic officer of each division. They supervise the implementation
of the DepEd curriculum, programs, and projects in the division level for both public and private
schools. Usually, each province or a city is considered a division for the DepEd.

 The Regional Directors

Regional Directors manage the programs and projects of the DepEd in the regional level.

 Education Program Specialists

They work at the national level or at the central offices of the CHED and the DepEd. They
assist the two government agencies in the development of curriculum policies that will help
teachers and other curriculum leaders in the implementation of the curriculum.

 Technical Panels and Technical Committees

These are professionals who are professors and experts from different disciplines and
fields who assist the CHED in developing curriculum, formulating curriculum policies, and
evaluating the compliance of higher education institutions to the CHED program standards.
Glathorn, Boschee, and Whitehead (2006) emphasized that curriculum workers are curriculum
leaders too. As they implement the curriculum at any level of education and in any school.

Levels of Curriculum Implementation

National Level

Regional Level

Division Level

District Level

Local School Level

Figure 12. Levels of Curriculum Implementation
To ensure that the curriculum is implemented smoothly, each department or ministry of
education in any country has developed a system that will take over the entire work of curriculum
planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. Integrated in this system are the curriculum
workers mentioned earlier.
Republic Act 9155, also known as the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, Chapter 1
Section 7 defines the function of each level as follows:
A. National Level
Through the leadership of the secretary of education, undersecretaries, and different
Bureau Officers are responsible for the ff.:
• Formulating national educational policies;
• Formulating a national basic education plan;
• Promulgating national educational standards;
• Monitoring and assessing national learning outcomes;
• Enhancing the employment status, professional competence, welfare, and working
conditions of all personnel of the Department; and
• Enhancing the total development of learners through local and national programs and/or
projects.

B. Regional Level
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans, and standards, the regional office under
the Regional Director shall be responsible for the ff.:
 Defining a regional educational policy framework which reflects the values, needs, and
expectations of the communities they serve;
 Developing a regional basic educational plan;
 Developing regional educational standards with a view toward benchmarking for international
competitiveness
 Monitoring, evaluating, and assessing regional learning outcomes;
 Undertaking research projects and developing and managing region-wide projects which may
be funded through official development assistance and/ or other funding agencies.
 Ensuring strict compliance with prescribed national criteria for the recruitment, selection, and
training of all staff in the region and division.
 Formulating, in coordination with the regional development council, the budget to support the
regional educational plan which shall consider the educational plans of the divisions and
districts;
 Determining the organization component of the divisions and districts and approving the
proposed staffing pattern of all employees in the divisions and districts;
 Hiring, placing, and evaluating all employees in the regional office, except for the position of
assistant director.
 Evaluating all school division superintendents and assistant division superintendents in the
region;
 Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical and fiscal
resources of the regional office, including professional staff development.
 Managing the database and management information system of the region; and
 Approving the establishment of public and private elementary and high schools and learning
centers.

C. Division Level
Division is consisted of a province or a city. Consistent with the educational policies, plans, and
standards, the division level through the leadership of the division superintendent shall be responsible
for the following:
• Developing and implementing division education development plans;
• Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical, and
fiscal resources of the division, including professional staff development.
• Hiring, placing, and evaluating all division supervisors and school district supervisors
as well as all employees in the division, including professional staff development
 • Monitoring the utilization of funds provided by the national government and the local
government units to the schools and learning centers;
• Ensuring compliance of quality standards for basic education programs and for this
purpose, strengthening the role of division supervisors as subject area specialists;
• Promoting awareness of and adherence by all schools and learning centers to
accreditation standards prescribed by the Secretary of Education; and
• Supervising the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary, and
integrated schools, and learning centers.
D. School District Level
A school district through the leadership of the District Supervisor is responsible for the
following:
• Providing professional and instructional advice and support to the school heads and
learning centers in the district or cluster thereof; and
• Curricula supervision
E. School Level
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans, and standards, the school level through
the leadership of school heads is responsible for:
• Setting the mission, vision, goals and objectives of the school;
• Creating an environment within the school that is conducive to teaching and learning;
• Implementing the school curriculum and being accountable for higher learning outcomes;
• Developing the school education program and school improvement plan;
• Offering educational programs, projects, and services which provide equitable opportunities for
all learners in the community.
• Introducing new and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning outcomes;
• Administering and managing all personnel, physical, and fiscal resources of the school;
• Recommending the staffing complement of the school based on its needs;
• Encouraging staff development;
• Establishing school and community networks and encouraging the active participation of
teacher organizations, non-academic personnel of public schools, and parents-teachers-
community associations
• works and encouraging the active participation of teacher organizations, non-academic
personnel of public schools, and parents-teachers-community associations; and
• Accepting donations, gifts, bequests, and grants for the purpose of upgrading teachers’ learning
facilitators’ competencies, improving and expanding school facilities, and providing
instructional materials and equipment.
Currently, the different offices of the DEpEd are doing their best in ensuring a smooth and efficient
implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Program of the Philippines, under the Republic Act
10533 or the Enhanced Basic Act of 2013.
For HEIs in the country, the Commission on Higher Education was established under Republic Act
No. 7722, otherwise known as the Higher Education Act of 1994.
 The CHED Office for Program Standards (OPS) is responsible for curricular matters.
 The CHED issues a memorandum order (CMO) per program to serve as a guide to HEIs on the
courses that should be offered per program, admission and retention policies, administrative
requirements, and others.
 All curricular changes ad application for new curricular offerings from HEIs are reviewed and
recommended for approval by the OPS to the commission en banc.
Experts in different academic fields and disciplines are invited to become members of
different technical panels and technical committees to help the commission in the development
of these CMOs per program
  The regional offices of CHED is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the
policies and guidelines developed by the Central Offices. The monitoring is done with the help of
regional experts on different fields known as Regional Quality Assurance Team (RQUaT)
State colleges and universities must seek the approval of their academic councils and
their corresponding board of regents for any curriculum changes and curriculum proposals
before these curriculum proposals are sent to CHED for approval. The UP does not have follow
the CHED prescribed curriculum because the university is exempted in this process. For UP, any
curriculum proposal must be approved by its university council and the UP board of regents.

Academic Board of
CHED
Council Regents
Figure 14. Process of Curriculum Changes for HEIs

Things to Consider in Implementing the Curriculum

Curriculum implementation must be systematically planned. At any level, curriculum
implementation requires careful consideration of several factors and variables:
1. Government Requirements
 Include memoranda policies, guidelines, and requirements from DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.
 The competencies required by the Board are also included.
2. School Philosophy, Vision, Mission, and Core Values
 Must be considered at the school level especially when selecting the specific contents and
learning experiences for all students enrolled in each program

3. Learning Environment
 Includes the various facilities required for the implementation of each program.
 In some schools, colleges or universities, housing facilities for faculty and students are also
provided.
 These facilities include laboratories, classroom, library, sports facilities, instructional
technologies, and other facilities prescribed by the government for each program.
4. Needs and Demands of the Society
 These can be addressed by the curriculum in the macro level by adding subjects or contents, or
in the local school level by integrating specific competencies in the various syllabi for each
course.
5. Needs of the students
 Needs of students including their interests are also considered when the school develops
academic policies and in the preparation of school syllabi.
6. Faculty expertise
 Faculty is the most important asset of each college or university.
 They also play an important role in the implementation of the curriculum.

References

Book
Ornestein, A & Hunkins, F, (1998). Curriculum Foundations, Principles and Issues (3rd Edition).
London. Allyn and Bacon.
Pawilen, G. (2015) Curriculum Development: A Guide for Teachers and Students. Rex Bookstore
Webliography

1. http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~lewthwai/introSCIQ.html
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333338710_Models_and_concepts_of_curriculu
m_implementation_some_definitions_and_influence_of_implementation