STORY OF TIN: NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO EXPERIENCES OF FIRST PHILIPPINE K-12 GRADUATE

The implementation of the K-12 Basic Education Program in the Philippines brought significant programs and projects to expand and improve the delivery of basic education in the country. It added two more years of senior high school in the basic education, broadening the goals of basic education to higher education preparation, middle level skills development, entrepreneurship, and employment. The present study used narrative inquiry to narrate the past experiences of Tin as one of the first graduates of this 7-year old educational reform. It examined Tin's journey from junior high school to senior high school to gain a better understanding of being a K-12 student in the Philippines and a deeper and richer insight on the implementation of the K-12 curriculum. A qualitative analysis of an in-depth interview with Tin highlighted her struggles, both in her junior and senior high schools. In particular, her struggles included some personal conflicts such as being academically competitive amidst being introvert and financially poor, adjustment to a new environment as she transferred from a rural school to an urban school, rigidity of her senior high school academic subjects, and her trouble with her teachers' teaching styles. The story of Tin provided specific insights as to how similar conditions as hers may be avoided and how the teaching-learning process may be improved, particularly in the light of the K-12 curriculum implementation in the Philippines.