Skip to main content

Involving Teachers in the Change Process: One English Language Teacher’s Account of Implementing Curricular Change in Philippine Basic Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
International Perspectives on Teachers Living with Curriculum Change

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on English Language Teaching ((INPELT))

Abstract

Through the experiences of a Filipino English teacher who was actively involved in both initial consultations about curriculum content and new textbook design , Vilches highlights the value of such involvement in helping the teacher to make sense of the changes. The teacher’s story illustrates the important link between planners’ willingness to establish genuine communication with local implementers at the initiation stage of any curriculum reform process , and the extent to which teachers feel empowered to bring about desired changes in the classroom. Vilches also reasserts the importance of viewing any national curriculum change as a process not an event, and so of planning ongoing support to those tasked with implementing change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Literature-based means that literature is the main reading material in the English textbooks classified as follows: Grade 7 (1st year HS) is Philippine Literature, Grade 8 (2nd year HS) is Afro–Asian Literature, Grade 9 (3rd year HS) is British–American Literature, Grade 10 (4th year HS) is World Literature.

References

  • Al-Daami, K.K., and G. Wallace. 2007. Curriculum reform in a global context: A study of teachers in Jordan. Journal of Curriculum Studies 39 (3): 339–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alberto, R., and S. Gabinete. 2014. Levelling up to ASEAN community 2015: Basic education reforms in the Philippines. Proceedings of the 7th international conference on educational reform (ICER 2014), Innovations and Good Practices in Education: Global Perspectives, 123–135. Available at http://www.icer.msu.ac.th/index/paper/fullpaper/13.Rosario%20P.%20Alberto.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2015.

  • Altinyelken, H.K. 2010. Pedagogical renewal in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Uganda. Comparative Education 46 (2): 151–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bascia, N., and A. Hargreaves. 2000. Teaching and leading on the sharp edge of change. In The sharp edge of change: Teaching, leading and the realities of reform, ed. N. Bascia and A. Hargreaves. London: Routledge/Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briefer on the Enhanced K-12 Basic Education Program. Available at http://www.gov.ph/2010/11/02/briefer-on-the-enhanced-k12-basic-education-program/. Accessed 1 July 2016.

  • Department of Education. 2013. K-12 Curriculum Guide: English (MS). pp. 1–166. Available at http://deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/page/2015/English%20CG%20Grade%201-10%20July%202015.pdf. Accessed 6 April 2015.

  • Fullan, M. 2000. The return of large scale reform. Journal of Educational Change 1 (1): 5–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fullan, M. 2007. The new meaning of educational change, 4th ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallinger, P., and M. Lee. 2011. A decade of education reform in Thailand: Broken promise or impossible dream? Cambridge Journal of Education 41 (2): 139–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphries, S., and A. Burns. 2015. ‘In reality it’s almost impossible’: CLT-oriented curriculum change. ELT Journal 69 (3): 239–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, T., and E. Torres. 1994. The textbook as agent of change. ELT Journal 48 (4): 315–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karavas, E. 2014. Implementing innovation in primary EFL: A case study in Greece. ELT Journal 68 (3): 243–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, C. 1983. Language planning and language education. London: Unwin Hyman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D., and D. Macdonald. 2001. Teacher voice and ownership of curriculum change. Journal of Curriculum Studies 33 (5): 551–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkgöz, Y. 2008. A case study of teachers’ implementation of curriculum innovation in English language teaching in Turkish primary education. Teaching and Teacher Education 24: 1859–1875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. C.-K., and H-B. Yin. 2011. Teachers’ emotions and professional identity in curriculum reform: A Chinese perspective. The Journal of Educational Change 12: 25–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovett, S., and A. Gilmore. 2003. Teachers’ learning journeys: The quality learning circle as a model of professional development. School Effectiveness and School Improvement: An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice 14 (2): 189–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markee, N. 1997. Managing curricular innovation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohammed, R.F., and B. Harlech-Jones. 2008. The fault is in ourselves: Looking at ‘failures in implementation’. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 38 (1): 39–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, D.E. 2008. Learning to anticipate the unforeseeable. In Planning change, changing plans, ed. D.E. Murray, 5–10. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Park, M., and Y.-K. Sung. 2013. Teachers’ perceptions of the recent curriculum reforms and their implementation: What can we learn from the case of Korean elementary teachers? Asia Pacific Journal of Education 33 (1): 15–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program. Available at http://www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/order/2015/DO_s2015_08.pdf. Accessed on 7 July 2016.

  • Power, T., R. Shaheen, M. Solly, C. Woodward, and S. Burton. 2012. English in action: School based teacher development in Bangladesh. Curriculum Journal 23 (4): 503–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priestley, M., R. Edwards, A. Priestly, and K. Miller. 2012. Teacher agency in curriculum making: Agents of change and spaces for manoeuvre. Curriculum Inquiry 43 (2): 191–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Republic Act No 10533. 2013. MS. Republic of the Philippines. pp. 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Song, E. 2015. Cambodian teachers’ responses to child-centred instructional policies: A mismatch between beliefs and practice. Teaching and Teacher Education 50: 36–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vilches, M.L.C. 2005. Learning to learn: Perspectives from the Philippines English Language Teaching Project. In Teaching English from a global perspective (Case studies In Tesol practice series), ed. A. Burns, 113–127. Virginia: TESOL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vilches, M.L.C. 2009. The Philippine experience of reflective practice in INSET teacher development initiatives. In English education in Asia: History and policies, ed. Y.E. Choi and B. Spolsky, 115–139. Seoul: AsiaTEFL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters, A. 2005. Expertise in teacher education: Helping teachers to learn. In Expertise in second language learning and teaching, ed. K. Johnson, 210–229. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, A. 2006. Facilitating follow-up in ELT INSET. Language Teaching Research 10 (1): 32–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, A., and M.C.L. Vilches. 2000. Integrating teacher learning: The school-based follow-up development activity. ELT Journal 54 (2): 126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, A., and M.C.L. Vilches. 2008. Factors affecting ELT reforms: The case of the Philippines basic education curriculum. RELC Journal 39 (1): 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, A., and M. Vilches. 2012. ‘Tanggap, tiklo, tago’ (receive, fold, keep): Perceptions of best practice in ELT INSET. Report on British Council English Language Research Award Project, 2009: Identifying Best Practice in ELT INSET. ELT Research Papers 12-01. Available at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications. Accessed 8 October 2016.

  • Waters, A., and M. Vilches. 2013. The management of change. In Innovation and change in English language education, ed. K. Hyland and L. Wong, 58–72. Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedell, M. 2003. Giving TESOL change a chance: Supporting key players in the curriculum change process. System 31 (4): 439–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wedell, M. 2009. Planning for educational change—putting people and their contexts first. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Luz C. Vilches .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Vilches, M.L.C. (2018). Involving Teachers in the Change Process: One English Language Teacher’s Account of Implementing Curricular Change in Philippine Basic Education. In: Wedell, M., Grassick, L. (eds) International Perspectives on Teachers Living with Curriculum Change. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54309-7_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54309-7_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54308-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54309-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics