The Global Teachers:

Knowledgeable of K to 12
Program of Various
Countries
 Introduction
Basic Education is defined as the whole range of educational
activities that are taking place in either informal or non-formal
setting with the goal of meeting the learner's basic learning needs.
Basic education in developing countries is essential to build stable
training partners with developed countries especially that quality
education is afforded to learners to become knowledgeable, skillful
and competent ready for global economy. In coming years, the
establishment of ASEAN Economic Community will commence for
the free flow of goods and services including education services. This
will change the educational landscape as a result of the changing
world, transformed by advances in technology, knowledge revolution
and global perspectives.
 The Present Basic Education Scenario in the
Philippines
• Several educational reforms have been initiated because of
the Department of Education’s commitment to enhance the
quality of basic education.
• The mandate of ensuring that no learner shall be left behind
and that every Filipino child will have access to quality
education.
• Republic Act 10533 known as Enhanced Basic Education
Act of 2013 – having Kindergarten as part of the basic
education curricula and having it mandatory.
• Enhanced Basic Education/ K to 12 – Objective of producing
more productive and responsible citizens fully equipped with
the essential competencies, skills for both lifelong learning
and employment.
 What are the reasons for coming up with K to 12?
1.The additional two years hopes to
address the deteriorating quality of
Philippine education system as
revealed by the low achievement
score of Filipino students in the
National Achievement Test (NAT).
• The Philippines also had low
performance in the Trends in
International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMMS) as revealed
in the 2003 and 2008 TIMMS.
2. Another reason is the unpreparedness for
employment, entrepreneurship or higher education of
Filipino High School graduates because of the congested
ten year curriculum.
3. Since the educational ladder of almost all countries is
12 years, the additional two years make the Philippine
education system comparable and recognized in
meeting international standards. Graduates of the 12
education cycle has potential to be globally competitive.
 What is K to 12 Education Program?

• K to 12 is a term for the sum of primary and

secondary education. It is used in countries
like United States, Canada, Turkey and
Australia. The expression is a shortening of
Kindergarten (K) for 4-6 year old learners,
through 12th grade (12) for learners who are
17-19 years old.
 HOW DO K TO 12
PROGRAMS OF
VARIOUS
COUNTRIES DIFFER?
A.PHILIPPINES
K to 12 Programs covers the Kindergarten plus the 12 years of basic
education (6 years of primary education), 4 years of Junior High School
and 2 years of Senior High School.

Salient Features of K to 12 Program

1. Universal Kindergarten or the mandated Kindergarten for 5 years old
learners.
2. Contextualization and enhancement by making the curriculum relevant
to learners – students are provided with in-depth acquisition of
knowledge, skills, values and attitudes across all levels and subjects
with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Integration;
Mother-Tongue Based instruction serves as foundation for learning
Filipino and English.
3. Mastery of knowledge and skills is done by introducing simple
concepts in spiral progression in subject areas like Mathematics and
Science.
4. The two years of SHS is a specialization based on the learners
aptitude and interest. Students take the core curriculum composed
of 15 core subjects , and 7 contextualized track subjects.
Specialization is a choice of 3 tracks: Academic Track, Technical-
Vocational Livelihood Track and Arts and Design Track. The
Academic track includes 4 strands: General Academic; Accountancy
Business and Management (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences
(HUMSS) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
(STEM)
5. Completing the Enhanced Basic Education from
Kindergarten, elementary, Junior High School
curriculum and the specialized Senior High School
Program, a Filipino K-12 graduate is ready to take
his/her choice path: further education, employment or
entrepreneurship. The focus skills are namely:
Information, Media and technology skills, learning and
innovation skills, effective communication skills and life
and career skills.
B. BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
• Starts with one year primary education and then 6 years
of elementary education. Students take and should pass
the end-of-cycle public examination before they
progress to diversified secondary level.
• Secondary level has two categories – General Secondary
Education Program (2-3 years) and another 2-3 years of
Upper Secondary Education where students are grouped
according to their academic abilities, talents and
interests.
• In the General Education Program, the students take four core
subjects and three complementary subjects and at least two
elective subjects with Science as one required elective.
• Students who excel academically can take secondary
education in two years.
• Differentiated and specialized education responding to the
different capabilities and interests of the learners are the
required secondary curriculum.
• Preschool in Brunei is playschool which aims to impart socio-
emotional and personality development for young learners
C. CANADA
• Canada follows the K to 12 educational curriculum with
secondary schooling or high school structure that varies
within a province.
• By law, Canadians must be in school starting ages 5 or 6
and remain in school until ages between 16 and 18
depending on the province or territory.
• All provinces and territory provide universal, free and
until secondary schooling of 12 years with the exemption
of Quebee where it offers education until 11 years.
D. KOREA
• Korea's school system follows the 6-3-3-4 education
ladder.
• High schools are in two categories: General High School
and Vocational training which is known as "Comprehensive
High School".
• Korean kindergarten provides nurturing learning
environment. The kindergarten curriculum includes
physical, social, expression language and inquiry life areas.
• Elementary education geared towards the acquisition of
fundamentals necessary for a productive civic life through nine
principal subjects:
• Moral Education • Physical Education
• Korean language • Music
• Social studies • Fine Arts
• Arithmetic • Practical Arts
• Natural Science
• The Middle School curricula are a combination of 11 basic or
required subjects, elective subjects and extra- curricular
activities.
E. MALAYSIA
• Malaysian education begins with Preschool where the
medium of instruction is both Malaysian and English.
• Malaysia offers a two year optional preschool for learners
ages 4-5.
• Elementary education is 6 years with the requirement of
passing the public examination.
• Malaysia has two levels category for Secondary or High
School: lower secondary (level 2) and upper secondary (level
3).
F. SINGAPORE
• Education in Singapore begins with Kindergarten or
Preschool at the age of 4-6 years old.
• In kindergarten, although not compulsory, a 3-4 hour
provision of language development, literary skills, basic
number concepts, social skills, creative skills and appreciation
of music and movement is being provided to the young
learners.
• Mother Tongue language includes Chinese, Malay, Tamil and
Indian.
• Preschool is followed by six years of Primary Education.
English language, Mathematics, Mother Tongue Language are
the significant subjects in the primary education curriculum.
• Two stages of Primary School:
 FOUNDATION STAGE students are provided with strong
foundation in English, Mother Tongue and Mathematics.
 ORIENTATION STAGE is the stage where students are taught
with Mathematics and Sciences appropriate to their level.
• At the end of Primary 6, all students are assessed on their
academic abilities through the Primary School Leaving
Examination (PSLE).
• At the secondary level, students may either go to
 SPECIAL (Secondary 1-4 years),
 EXPRESS (Secondary 1-4 years),
• NORMAL (Academic - Secondary 1-5 years) courses
depending on the measured academic ability of the PSLE
scores. These streamed courses offer highly differentiated
curriculum.
• Special and Express are four year courses which lead to
Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of (GCE 'O')
Education (Ordinary Level) examination.
• Students in the Normal (Academic) course take academically
based subjects while those in the Normal (Technical) course
receive curriculum that is practice oriented.
• Students who pass the GCE 'O' level examination at the end of
4 or 5 years of secondary education can qualify for Junior
College (2 years), a Polytechnic (3 or 4 years) or a Pre-
university center(3 years).
• Only those who qualify after passing GCE 'A' level examination
at the end of Junior College 2, Pre-University 3 or Polytechnic
Year 3/4 can enroll in local university or to the National
University of Singapore.
• The age of entry to compulsory education in the US varies
according to the state, between 5-7 years old with 6 years old
being the most common as an entry age for Kindergarten.
Kindergarten Certificate is awarded to allow learner's entry to
Elementary School / Primary Education.
• The length of primary education varies from four to seven
years depending on the States or local practice.
• Elementary education may be followed or not by a number of
years of middle school education which is generally three years
(Grades 4-6, 5-7, 6-8).
• High School (Grades 7-12 or Grades 8-12) length program is six
years depending upon the laws and policies of states and local
districts.
• There are mandatory subjects in almost all US High Schools which
include:
 Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
 Mathematics (Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus,
Statistics)
 English (Literature, Humanities, Composition, Oral Language),
 Social Sciences (History, Government, Economics), and
 Physical Education
• Most common standardized tests taken by US student are:
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) American College Testing
(ACT)
• High School diploma is awarded upon completion of Grade 12
and the diploma covers a variety of awards for different
curricula and standards like general/basic track, vocational
and academic/college preparatory.