Basic Education Curriculum under the Newly Implemented K to 10 (MATATAG) Curriculum in the Philippines: The Case of Science Education

Abstract

Curriculum reform is essential to address the current needs of the community, nation, and global demands. By doing this, community members are equipped with relevant skills and competencies that are timely and relevant in modern times. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the nature of the newly implemented K to 10 or MATATAG curriculum under basic education-science in the Philippines. Discussion of the topic revolves around understanding the reasons for curriculum reform and determining the new features and competencies of the new basic education-science curriculum. Moreover, document analysis was carried out to address the objectives of the study. Results revealed that there are four main reasons why curriculum reform is needed in basic education in the country. Reasons include poor performance of learners in national and international assessments, congested curriculum, insufficient time to teach, and mismatch of prerequisite skills and knowledge assumed by the learning competencies. In terms of new features of the basic education science curriculum, the addition of technology and engineering literacy is highlighted, along with an addition of theoretical foundations and approaches to teaching. The analysis further revealed that the highlighted competencies are aligned with the relevant skills and competencies needed in the 21st century, Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0. Thus, it can be concluded that the newly implemented basic education science curriculum is responsive to global demand, thus making the country more resilient and adaptive to change.