Challenges and Adjustments in the Curriculum and Instruction of the K+12 Program: Basis for Strategic Plan

The Philippines adapted the K+12 program to uplift its educational standards in order to become comparable to those of other countries. RA 10533 was enacted and mandated that all schools both public and private must comply with its provisions/guidelines to better equip its citizens with the necessary knowledge and skills to meet the higher educational demands of life and work of the 21st century. This study assessed the curriculum, instruction, challenges, adjustments, and compliance to the standard of the K+12 program implementation of teachers together with their principal/school heads in the Laboratory High School of Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, during the academic year 2019-2020. The study utilized the descriptive method in order to describe the current status of the K+12 curriculum implementation in the said school. A total of 69 respondents were selected through purposive sampling coming from the four campuses of NEUST namely Gabaldon Campus, San Isidro Campus, Fort Magsaysay campus and General Tinio Campus. Weighted means were used to analyze their assessment of the curriculum, instructional-related factors and the challenges and adjustments encountered. The findings showed that the curriculum content, objectives and instructional-related factors are in conformity with the standards, policies or guidelines set by RA 10533, or otherwise known as “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”, subject to some improvements due to the addition of elective subjects. Respondents consider their learners as the center of the educational process, use varied types of teaching strategies and techniques depending upon the learners need, and has individual, paired or group applications. Resource materials and facilities are available but they are not adequate, nonetheless, school environment is generally conducive to learning. No significant relationship exists on their assessments with respect to the challenges experienced and the adjustments made in the implementation of the K+12 curriculum.