JOHN CARLO S.

LUCINO BSED-MATH 2
ST3 - A1 Monday & Thursday @ 7:30am - 9:00am
Mrs. Grace Flores

My 4 F’s
Education in the Philippines have come a long way. Right now we are
adopting Outcome-based Education which sets the learners as the center of learning
and focuses on the outcomes each learners will have when they leave the academe
which will enable them to find a job and secure a better future. In the past,
education was only available to the wealthy and the clergy during the Spanish
colonialism which only provided basic education and was largely inaccessible to the
majority of Filipinos. When the Philippines became a colony of the United States in
1898, the Americans established a public school system based on the American
model which provided more opportunities for Filipinos to receive education. From
then on, the Philippine government were making ways to improve the education
system of the country and these improvements are backed with laws implemented
to the whole country. One of the major legal bases of the Philippine educational
system is the passage of 1987 Constitution Article XIV Sections 1 which states that
the state shall protect and promote the right of all the citizens to quality education
at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all,
and in Section 2(5) provide adult citizens, the disabled and out-of-school youth with
training in civics, vocational efficiency and skills. With the 1987 Constitution as the
base of Philippine educational systems, the government adopted Outcome-Based
Education (OBE) that aimed to improve the quality of education and produce globally
competitive graduates. Two significant policies that support OBE in the country are:
(1) The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, also know as K-12 Program was
signed by Former President Benigno Aquino III which expanded the basic education
cycle in the Philippines from ten to twelve years and introduced senior high school as
the final two years of high school. The K-12 Law also mandated the implementation
of OBE in all public and private schools in the country. This policy aims to prepare
students for college, employment, and entrepreneurship by developing their skills,
competencies, and attitudes. And (2) the Commission on Higher Education
Memorandum Order No. 46, issued in 2012, institutionalized OBE in all higher
education institutions in the Philippines. This memorandum order provides the
principles, framework, and guidelines for the development, implementation, and
assessment of OBE in HEIs. CHED requires all HEIs to implement OBE as a quality
assurance mechanism to improve the quality of education and ensure that graduates
possess the competencies and skills required by their respective industries and
produce globally competitive graduates. These policies paved way to the usage of
OBE to the country and making sure that students are well-equipped with
knowledge, skills and behaviors which they can use throughout their life.

As for me, there are really noticeable differences to the methods of teachings
today and in the past. I had my elementary and high school days from 1996 to 2006.
In those times, my teachers oftentimes instructed us to write down notes from the
blackboard and the way of assessing is like evaluating what we had memorized. To
be honest I find it easy and received good grades in school but there were major
downside to it which I soon realized when I went to college. Even though I had
confidence, I cannot escape the fact that I lacked creativity and collaboration. I really
had a hard time making essays like these and takes me a lot of time to make one.
Also being an introvert makes it hard for me to stay in long conversations. Now that
I’ve decided to continue my degree, I felt the differences in teaching now and then.
OBE now is in full swing and I had mixed feelings about it. Well, I was disheartened at
first because it is not what it used to be but I was amazed to what OBE can do. I was
having a feeling of regret and pity to myself that this method wasn’t introduced in
the past. Right now, I am having a little bit of struggle to cope up with the teaching
methods of today’s time but OBE’s way is really effective. I noticed that I have
become more creative and adaptive in a way that I can somehow cope up well with
the classes and my classmates. Well, I accept it as a challenge as this will greatly
improve me as a whole and looking into the future even though with my current age
I am hoping for a bright future that will in-store for me.

Outcome-based Education is now in full swing throughout the country. Given

that it is backed with policies and laws from elementary, secondary and up to
tertiary levels, OBE have made great improvements which contributes to the
betterment and development of the country. I noticed these improvements when
the government wants to continue the academic year when the Covid-19 pandemic
was rampant in the country. They used a modular method to deliver learning to the
learners and when I read some of the modules I found out that all of it were student-
centered. Student-centered in a way that activities, analysis, abstractions and
applications were focused to instill creativity and critical thinking to learners which is
possible because of the K-12 program. The country also have Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority that provides technical and vocational education
and training programs to develop skills and competencies that are relevant to the
needs of the industry. I also had my firsthand experiences in OBE when I came back
to college continuing my degree where we are taught developed our competencies
and skills that are relevant to my chosen fields. And the DepEd's Alternative Learning
System (ALS) that provides basic education to out-of-school youth and adults and is
designed to help learners acquire knowledge and skills that are necessary for
employment and entrepreneurship.

Outcome-based have come a long way but to be able for it to be fully

successful we must address the challenges of implementing the system to the
country. One of the primary challenges faced by the education system in
implementing OBE is the lack of resources. The implementation of OBE requires
significant resources, including funding for technology and materials, such as
textbooks and other instructional resources. The legal framework can address this
challenge by ensuring that there is sufficient funding allocated to educational
institutions to implement OBE effectively. Another significant challenge is the need
for teacher training. Implementing OBE requires teachers to have specialized training
in assessment techniques, lesson planning, and the use of technology in the
classroom. The legal framework can address this challenge by mandating that all
teachers receive ongoing professional development training to ensure they are
equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to implement OBE effectively.
Curriculum development is also a challenge in implementing OBE. Developing an
outcomes-based curriculum requires significant planning, collaboration, and
coordination among various stakeholders. The legal framework can address this
challenge by providing guidelines for curriculum development and ensuring that
there are mechanisms in place to assess the quality of curricula developed under the
OBE model.

The future of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in the Philippines from a legal

perspective is promising. The implementation of OBE is still ongoing, and the legal
framework will continue to play a critical role in supporting and guiding its
implementation. Policy makers can make that OBE be the standardized framework
for all institutions in the country. They can also revise laws and policies, example of
this is the traditional assessment and grading system in the country which is based
on a summative approach that emphasizes knowledge acquisition and
memorization. The impact of these changes on the education system in the long
term could be significant, leading to improved student achievement and
engagement, greater consistency and standardization across educational
institutions, and opportunities for innovation and professional development in the
teaching profession.