education issues in the philippines research paper

Advertisement

At all costs: educational expansion and persistent inequality in the Philippines

• Open access
• Published: 11 August 2023
• Volume 87 , pages 1809–1827, ( 2024 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Karol Mark Ramirez Yee   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1240-4622 1 , 2  

12k Accesses

16 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This paper studies educational inequality in the Philippines from 1950 to 2015, examining changes in the association between social origin and educational attainment against a backdrop of educational expansions and fluctuating economic conditions. Using data from the World Bank STEP Skills Survey, the study employs a sequential logit model to illustrate trends in secondary and college completion, followed by a multinomial logit model to look into differences in college destinations (type and status) between advantaged and disadvantaged students. The findings indicate that despite sustained expansions in the past six decades, disparities in secondary and tertiary completion deepened in relation to social background. The paper also finds that although expansions occurred mainly in public higher education institutions, it did little to alter the trends in college destinations, with advantaged students still more likely to complete in “high-status” universities than disadvantaged ones. Finally, the paper sheds light on how economic recessions have varying consequences on educational attainment, routing disadvantaged students out of college in the short term, while resulting in significant declines in the likelihood of completing higher education for advantaged students enrolled in “high-status” public entities in the long term.

Similar content being viewed by others

Measuring (In) Equality in Education

The effects of the great recession on educational attainment: evidence from a large urban high school district.

“Lost at the starting line”: a reconsideration of educational inequality in China, 1978–2008

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Around the world, educational attendance surged following the Second World War, with most advanced economies reaching saturation in secondary while doubling higher education participation (Arum et al., 2007 ; Bar Haim & Shavit, 2013 ). This has motivated the study of inequalities in education, or the extent to which ascribed characteristics such as socioeconomic origin or gender, impact attainment in expanding systems (Breen & Jonsson, 2005 ; Coleman, 1968 ; Gruijters, 2019 ). Since then, researches in Europe, the USA, and East Asia have found that expansions have either maintained or intensified the role of social background for higher levels of study (Byun & Park, 2017 ; Shavit & Blossfeld, 1994 ; Torche, 2005 , 2010 ).

The Philippine case has long puzzled education stratification researchers. Despite having one of the highest income and wealth inequalities in the world (The World Bank, 2018b ), its higher education participation rates have historically approximated those of developed countries with higher incomes per capita (A. Orbeta, 2002 ; The World Bank, 1988 ), at one point second only to the USA, and outperforming 120 countries including the UK and Japan (Kim & Hunt, 1968 ; Lande, 1965 ). That the Philippines reached these levels of attainment appears to defy reason: in a comparative study in 1999, Hout concluded that while most countries exhibited a waning effect of social origins, the Philippine case was inconclusive on “whether the effect of family background is too high or the estimate of post-secondary enrolment is too high…for a country with such low GDP” (2006, p. 246).

This paper studies trends in inequality of educational opportunity in the Philippines in the latter half of the twentieth century: a period marked by intermittent economic growth and opportunistic educational expansion, culminating with the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education law in 2017, abolishing tuition in all public higher education institutions. Against this backdrop, the research seeks to examine the following questions: have efforts to expand access across different levels of education in the Philippines reduced inequities in educational opportunity? Does public and private provision in higher education provision reinforce or weaken said inequities? How do economic downturns affect these dynamics?

While previous research in educational inequality in the Philippines have provided quantitative estimates on access of the poor (see A. Orbeta, 2002 ; Ortiz et al., 2019 ; E. Tan, 2008 ), this paper extends the literature by providing a comprehensive picture of education inequality across levels of attainment, spanning reforms from 1950 to 2015. Apart from illustrating the consequence of sequential expansion in access to education, it more importantly sheds light on where inequalities in access between advantaged and disadvantaged students emerge. To my knowledge, the study is also the first to disentangle the relationship between social background, higher education completion, and the characteristics of the institution attended—a critical factor in an education system with 2396 colleges and universities. Finally, the paper further develops the study by Smith and Cheung ( 1986 ) on the role of family background on attainment in the Philippines (1918–48), and by Tan ( 2008 ) on the role of public entities in enhancing equity in the 1990s.

This paper is organized in six sections. Following the introduction, the second and third sections present the literature on educational expansions and inequalities, and the context of the Philippine education system between 1950 and 2015. The fourth, fifth, and sixth sections then discuss the analytical strategy, results, and discussion.

Theoretical approaches

“Equality of opportunity” in education refers to the extent to which an individual’s chances to access education are independent of one’s ascribed characteristics (Breen & Jonsson, 2005 ). Many studies have since explored how industrialization and educational expansion, prevalent in developed countries in the West after the Second World War, may have contributed to reducing these inequalities (Breen et al., 2009 ; Shavit & Blossfeld, 1994 ). Another branch of study has examined how these inequalities manifest in developing economies, or those which experienced downturns, noting the differing consequences of macroeconomic conditions on the rich and poor (Gerber & Hout, 1995 ; Gruijters, 2019 ; Torche, 2010 , 2014 ).

Most studies on the inequality of educational opportunity have been anchored on two opposing theories. While modernization theory proposes that the expansion of education systems alongside the rise in demand for skilled workers reduces inequality (Treiman, 1970 ), reproduction theory contends that inequality is instead maintained, with schools helping reinforce the advantage of the elite. Thus far, studies have shown that while expansions are seen to relate to reductions in inequality in some systems, it does not automatically translate into improved opportunities for the disadvantaged, at times even worsening inequalities due to intensified stratification and competition (Cantwell et al., 2018 ; McCowan, 2016 ), often in relation to parental education and occupation (Bar Haim & Shavit, 2013 ; Breen & Jonsson, 2005 ; Breen et al., 2009 ).

Given the persistence of inequality, Raftery and Hout ( 1993 ) proposed Maximally Maintained Inequality (MMI), contending that expansions will maintain the same rates of education transition across classes and cohorts, all else being equal, unless a given level becomes saturated for the advantaged groups, and as long as the expansion in enrolment for the disadvantaged could not be accommodated in any other way. While the hypothesis has since been found to be applicable in the UK, studies in the USA, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands have varied from MMI, with inequality either diminishing despite “saturation” not being reached by advantaged classes, or shifting from access, to the type and quality of education received (Breen et al., 2009 ; Hout & DiPrete, 2006 ; Lucas, 2001 ).

This shift in inequalities, from the level attained, to the type received, relates to criticisms of MMI in its inability to account for differences in the characteristics of schools attended by students coming from different social origins. Later embodied in Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), Lucas proposed that once a certain level of education becomes saturated or quantitatively similar, the socioeconomically advantaged will secure qualitative advantages for themselves, given their ability to navigate complex school systems or afford programs and institutions often out-of-reach to the disadvantaged (Lucas, 2001 , 2017 ). This has since been extended to show how qualitative advantages may exist even prior to saturation, whether in the status or selectivity of the institution and program, or the subject pursued (Ayalon & Shavit, 2004 ; Ayalon & Yogev, 2005 ; Torche, 2005 ).

Further scholarship has since substantiated these, noting the heightened association of social background and school characteristics, with the disadvantaged often ending up in less selective institutions, which in turn have far-reaching effects on completion, achievement, and returns (Alon, 2009 ; Brewis, 2019 ; Brint & Karabel, 1989 ; Byun & Park, 2017 ; Crawford et al., 2017 ; Goldrick Rab, 2006 ; Luo et al., 2018 ; McCowan, 2007 , 2016 ; Salto, 2018 ; Torche, 2011 ). In the USA for instance, attendance of the poor in community colleges has been found to limit completion of a bachelor’s degree, while also negatively impacting adult occupational status (Brint & Karabel, 1989 ; Goldrick Rab, 2006 ).

The Philippine case

As with the rest of the world, the postwar period in the Philippines was characterized by significant population growth, rapid urbanization, and a massive expansion of its education system (McHale, 1961 ). With newfound independence from colonial powers, the college diploma, previously unattainable to ordinary Filipinos during the Spanish regime (1521–1898), became the way to gain standing in the new social order (Carson, 1961 ; McHale, 1961 ). As the government struggled with elementary, secondary was left to local governments and the private sector (E. A. Tan, 2001 ; The World Bank, 1988 ), while the unmet demand for college, which could not be accommodated by pre-war institutions, was filled by newly established private entities (Gonzalez, 1989 ; Lande, 1965 ; Orata, 1956 ). With surging demand in the 1950–60s came the proliferation of many “institutions of higher learning in name only” (Orata, 1956 , p. 168), with most keeping tuition fees and admission requirements to a minimum (Carson, 1961 ; Isidro, 1957 ) in order to cater to students who are unable to access prestigious and competitive public programs. These early years were also critical in that it set the framework for private education governance in the country through The Corporation Law ( 1906) and The Private School Law (1917), both enabling private non-profit and for-profit institutions to operate (Yee, 2020 ).

By the 1970s, the Philippines saw a four-fold increase in college enrolment since the 1950s (Arcelo & Sanyal, 1987 ) as it faced the worst inflation since the war (Villegas, 1986 ). This led the government to implement wide-ranging reforms to curb the high rates of college graduates entering a stagnant labor market (Baluga, 1987 ; Cardozier, 1984 ; Maca, 2018 ; Perlman, 1978 ; Ruiz, 2014 ). These included the following: the introduction of the National College Entrance Examination, the streaming of students to technical-vocational education, the institution of professional licensure exams, and the adoption of a labor export program that established supports for Filipinos wanting to migrate. During this time, education spending fell lower than 2% of GDP (The World Bank, 2018a ). By 1985, the Philippines was badly hit by the worst economic recession, identical to the one faced in Latin America by Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico (Fig.  1 ) which had profound consequences on inequality (Torche, 2010 ).

Gross domestic product growth, in percentages

Following the People Power Revolution of 1986, the country hurdled severe backlogs in classrooms, seats, and textbooks. Despite this, the government pursued vigorous expansions in secondary, abolishing all fees in all public secondary institutions in 1989 and triggering a mass migration from private to public (A. Orbeta, 2002 ; The World Bank, 1988 ). Inevitably, the growing number of secondary completers was accompanied by a strong pressure to expand public higher education. The 1990s thus saw public institutions increasing by 30% (Presidential Commission on Educational Reform, 2000 ; E. Tan, 2008 ), with research evincing that the poor were least likely to be in high-status public institutions (E. Tan, 2008 ), but instead in public entities that are of “low quality at high unit cost” (Presidential Commission on Educational Reform, 2000 ). Despite this, public expansion was unremitting from 2001 to 2010, with 38 new entities established, mostly during election years.

Since 2010, three major expansion bills were passed: (1) the addition of kindergarten education as a pre-requisite to grade 1 beginning 2012, (2) the addition of grades 11 and 12 in 2016 and 2017, as precondition for entry to college, and (3) the abolition of tuition and fees in all public colleges and universities beginning 2017. Today, while elementary and secondary have since become largely public (Fig.  2 ), higher education continues to be served by a formidable but receding private sector, alongside a rapidly growing public sector, together comprising a diverse array of 2396 colleges and universities.

Private education share in student enrolment (1946–2015), in percentages

Examining the Philippine system from 1918–48, Smith and Cheung remarked that educational attainment was “an ever-expanding pie that is always sliced in the same proportions” (1986, p. 1387). Much however has changed since, with access being attained by a larger proportion of Filipinos than ever before. This has fueled notions that “if education is free, it will reach the poor” (E. Tan, 2008 ), justifying sustained expansions since, now at the higher education level. Whether or not it has indeed improved educational opportunities for disadvantaged students—specially, in relation to completion, and the type of institution attended—remains an empirical question in the Philippine case, and is thus the focus of this paper.

The study examines an unattended intersection in the literature on educational expansion, probing the consequences of economic downturns and private education provision, on inequalities. While MMI was developed against a backdrop of rapid industrialization and economic growth in Ireland in the 1960s, the Philippines pursued expansion amidst economic downturns, as it struggled to transform its economy from an agricultural to an industrial one (Ruiz, 2014 ; The World Bank, 2013 , 2018b ), more akin to the cases of Latin America and Russia (Gerber, 2000 ; Torche, 2005 , 2010 , 2014 ).

In contrast to both countries however, wherein educational expansion occurred in a predominantly public and a small but emergent private system, the Philippines moved from private-dependence to “deprivatization” (Kwiek, 2017 ).Thus, while the literature indicates the vulnerability of disadvantaged students during economic downturns in publicly dominated systems, with inequalities often being maintained or worsened, its consequences in privately dominated ones remain untested. Thus, for this paper, I ask: How has educational expansion related to trends in attainment between advantaged and disadvantaged students in the past decades? How are high-status college destinations allocated in privately dominated and market-oriented systems? Does public expansion relate to reductions in inequalities in access?

Data and methods

The data used for this study is the World Bank Philippines—STEP Skills Measurement Household Survey 2015–2016, a global initiative to study skills requirements in labor markets in low- and middle-income countries (The World Bank, 2016a ). Data was collected from August to November 2015, following a four-stage sample design, stratified for urban regions (The World Bank, 2016b ). All analyses are weighted to account for the multi-stage sampling design used. Since the dataset uses an urban sample, findings will be limited to those residing in urban areas, as well as those who may have migrated to urban areas for education or employment. While the full dataset contains a total of 3000 individuals, only 2639 respondents born between 1950 and 1992 (aged 23–65 in 2015) were included. This is to ensure that all respondents have completed their education at the time of data collection, avoiding right censoring. While the response rate for the survey was at 94.8%, some covariates had missing values, notably, parental education (22.66%). Alternate models were thus generated to check for the impact of these values in the analysis.

Table 1 provides descriptive statistics of the variables used, arranged by birth cohort. The outcome variable, highest grade completed, simplifies the standard International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 1997 used in the survey (The World Bank, 2018c ) resulting in three categories: “Less than Secondary”, for those with no level attained, less than elementary, completed elementary, and less than secondary (Levels 0, 1, 2), “Secondary” for those who completed secondary, other post-secondary non-tertiary, and less than college (Levels 3 and 4), and “College”, to include those who finished associate, bachelors, and professional degrees, and postgraduate programs (Levels 5A, 5B. and 6). This is in line with the sequential design of the Philippine education system, with the attainment of the previous level being a pre-requisite for admission to the next.

My main variable of interest is parental education, which serves as proxy for socioeconomic status given the unavailability of direct measures for socioeconomic background (Buchmann & Hannum, 2001 ; Hout, 2006 ; Shavit & Blossfeld, 1994 ; Smith & Cheung, 1986 ). In the interest of parsimony, a dominance approach (Erikson, 1984 ) will be used reflecting the parent with the highest level of attainment. This assumes that the advantages accrued by children correspond to the highest level of human capital in the family, as used in other studies (Torche, 2019 ).

To study the relationship between higher education characteristics and social background, I examine differences in institutional type (“public” or “private”) and status (“regular” or “high status”). In the absence of explicit rankings in the Philippines, I use publicly recognized government recognitions for private (autonomous/deregulated) and public institutions (Level 4) as proxy for “high status.” These recognitions consider several factors, including percentage of accredited programs, research productivity, extension programs, and employability of graduates, among others. While in practice relating to indices of quality, for this study, such recognitions will be exclusively interpreted as signals of quality to students, parents, and prospective employers.

Analytical approach

Since the aim of the paper is to measure changes in the relationship between social background and educational attainment, I use the widely employed sequential logit model proposed by Mare. By viewing educational attainment as a series of yes or no decisions for the subsample at risk of making that decision, the Mare model enables me to estimate this association for each transition, control for educational expansion, and identify at which point inequalities emerge (Benito & Alegre, 2012 ; Blossfeld et al., 2015 ; Buis, 2011 ; Gruijters, 2019 ; Mare, 1980 ). Following a long line of research highlighting the importance of formal qualifications when it comes to labor outcomes, I am interested in the successful completion of a transition. Thus, if an individual moves to the next transition but is unable to complete it, said student is counted in the previous transition (Blossfeld et al., 2015 ).

Since the main aim of the paper is to assess trends in inequality of education opportunity in the Philippines in relation to policy reforms and macroeconomic conditions from 1950 to 2015, and not to identify nor quantify variables and the degree by which they impact inequality, I use a cohort analysis approach (Torche, 2005 , 2010 ). As the data shows that the full sample was eligible to begin secondary, the study will focus on the two later transitions: completing secondary, conditional on completing elementary (Transition 1), and completing college, conditional on completing secondary (Transition 2). Birth cohorts will follow 5-year intervals, covering those born from 1950 to 1992 (23–65 years old at the time of the survey), yielding nine groups, depicted in Fig.  2 : Cohort 1 (1950–54), Cohort 2 (1955–59), Cohort 3 (1960–64), Cohort 4 (1965–69), Cohort 5 (1970–74), Cohort 6 (1975–79), Cohort 7 (1980–84), Cohort 8 (1985–89), and Cohort 9 (1990–92). These cohorts were tested as both continuous and categorial variables, with results indicating that 5-year intervals provide the most significant insights (Fig.  3 ).

Projected educational career of respondents, by birth cohort. (Note: the dashed vertical lines represent severe economic recessions which occurred between 1950 and 2020)

To test MMI, I estimate the conditional probability of passing through each transition relative to the explanatory variables (Buis, 2017 ), with birth cohort as a continuous variable. I then analyze main and secondary effects, examining interactions between birth cohort and parental education, using both linear and quadratic models. My later analysis showed a difference of 9.3 and 6.8 in BIC for the first and the second transition respectively, providing very strong support for the use of the latter (quadratic) model. To further the analysis, I later assess the unconditional probability of completing college to consider the cumulative effect of the same social background variables in one’s educational career.

To test EMI, or the relationship between social background and the type and status of higher education institution attended, I use a multinomial logit model to estimate the unconditional probability for four types of outcomes: (1) no degree, for those who did not make it to the transition to college, (2) regular, to include those who made it to college but not to high-status institutions, whether public or private, (3) high-status public, and (4) high-status private. For this analysis, variables have been limited to three to four categories only as it is the “sweet spot for testing the qualitative question of EMI” (Lucas & Byrne, 2017 , p. 139). To test for Independence of Irrelevant Assumptions (IIA), I used the Suest test which indicated that additional control variables were independent of other alternatives, as the Hausman test is sensitive to weighted and clustered data.

Inequality of opportunity in educational transitions

Results from the sequential logit models are presented as odds ratios in Table 2 . To aid in interpretation, predicted transition probabilities are presented in Fig.  4 by parental education, with “primary and lower” for “disadvantaged” and “secondary and higher” for “advantaged.”

Average conditional transition probabilities (by parental education)

The first transition is the completion of secondary education, for which the entire sample was eligible ( n  = 2372). Table 1 shows relative stability in secondary completion for the 1950–54 to 1970–74 Cohorts, before hitting a low of 64.55% for the 1975–79 Cohort, then steadily climbing to 87.17% for the 1990–92 Cohort. The latter cohorts likely benefitted from the Free High School law (1989), with completion increasing by 23% between the 1975–79 and 1990–92 Cohorts.

Despite these gains, relative inequality in relation to parental education was maintained from 1950 to 2015 (Fig.  4 ). While for the 1950–54 Cohort, parental education was not significant in the likelihood of making it through the transition, by the 1990–92 Cohort, this gap had increased to 20 percentage points. This is supported by the odds ratios in Table 2 , which shows parental education as being significant ( p  < 0.05). Furthermore, while secondary completion peaked for advantaged students at 85%, it contracted for the disadvantaged between the 1950–54 and 1990–92 Cohorts, from 73 to 65%. Contrary to MMI which predicts that inequalities will decline as the advantaged approaches saturation, data shows the opposite for the Philippines, with inequality even moderately widening during this period, similar to Chile (Torche, 2005 ).

Two findings are of note: first , the economic recession of the 1980s appears to have a long tail, affecting the 1970–74 and the 1975–79 Cohorts. Where, against a backdrop of private-dominated provision, the deterioration of economic conditions appears to have aggravated inequalities in secondary completion relating to earlier dropouts, particularly in secondary for the 1970–74 Cohort and in elementary for the 1975–79 Cohort. Second , while Free High School may have reversed the downward trend in secondary completion, it appears unable to overcome the socioeconomic gap in educational attainment for the 1975–79 to 1990–92 Cohorts.

The second transition is the completion of college education for the subsample that successfully hurdled secondary ( n  = 1651). Table 1 shows relative stability in college completion, until falling dramatically by 17 percentage points for the 1970–74 Cohort (from 50.83 to 34.44%), and persisting for the later cohorts. For this transition, parental education is seen to have an even stronger association with college completion ( p  < 0.01) (Table 2 ).

As portrayed in Fig.  4 , relative inequality in college completion worsened during the period, with the advantaged maintaining a stable position while the disadvantaged suffered successive declines. Plots diverge beginning the 1960–65 Cohort, the first cohort that entered college following the introduction of the National College Entrance Exam and the streaming of students to technical-vocational education options, signifying increasing inequality in college attainment beginning the 1970s. The same figure shows how between the 1950–54 and 1970–74 Cohorts, the probability of completing college worsened dramatically for the disadvantaged (20 percentage points), from 55% for the 1950–54 Cohort, to 35% for the 1970–74 and 1975–79 Cohorts.

Notably, the widest gap in college completion is seen for the 1970–74 and 1975–79 Cohorts. That completion remained constantly low for the disadvantaged in these two cohorts despite increased selectivity in the subsample that made it to college defies convention, with most studies typically finding that the few who reach college are so talented or motivated that it cancels out their initial disadvantage (Buis, 2011 ; Cameron & Heckman, 1998 ; Gruijters, 2019 ). One plausible explanation for this is economic scarring, or the long-term consequences of recessions, leading to reduced economic activity, high unemployment, and a decline in wages (Irons, 2009 ), weakening the ability of families to afford education (Fallon & Lucas, 2002 as cited in Torche, 2010 ). If this is the case, it means that economic recessions deter even the most able disadvantaged students to complete college.

Following the economic recession of the 1980s, the gap in attainment continued to widen, with inequality persisting at 20 percentage points from the 1970–74 to the 1985–89 Cohorts despite intensified public sector growth. To illustrate, by the 1985–89 Cohort, individuals whose parents completed “primary or lower” had a 40% chance of completing college conditional on completing high school, compared to 60% for those whose parents completed “secondary or higher.” This gap only appears to narrow after two decades (14 percentage points for the 1990–92 Cohort). Concluding declining inequality would be premature however due to the change in the profile of the disadvantaged, with more parents completing secondary or higher (73.83 vs. 26.17%), and the small sample size of this cohort ( n  = 132), leading to high standard errors.

Cumulative inequality in overall educational attainment

Despite its usefulness in examining the role of social background across transitions, the Mare model has been criticized for selection bias from unobserved variables which affect the ability of individuals to make it through transitions (Buis, 2011 ; Cameron & Heckman, 1998 ), and for its tendency to obscure the cumulative effect of social background in educational attainment (Buis, 2017 ; Gruijters, 2019 ; Torche, 2010 ). To account for these limitations, I run a logit model on absolute inequality in educational attainment for the full sample ( n  = 2372) to predict the unconditional probability of college completion. Results are presented in Table 3 as odds ratios, and illustrated in Fig.  5 .

Predicting college attainment by parental education (unconditional)

Table 3 shows the significance of the quadratic term for birth year ( p  < 0.05) and an even stronger association of parental education ( p  < 0.001) in the unconditional probability of college attainment. Figure  5 meanwhile illustrates increasing inequality between advantaged and disadvantaged groups, from a gap of only 5 percentage points for the 1950 Cohort, to as much as 22 percentage points for the 1990 Cohort. Notably, by 2012, disadvantaged students were even less likely to complete college (30%) than after the Second World War (40%). Increasing inequality is even more evident here than in the conditional transition probability model, with the advantaged remaining on a stable if not upward trajectory, as the disadvantaged saw successive setbacks in attainment.

Differences in higher education destinations

While the results thus far suggest increasing inequality in college completion, it does not provide insight on whether differences in destinations are apparent between advantaged and disadvantaged students, as premised by EMI. Using multinomial regression, I find that higher parental education (secondary and higher) is strongly and negatively associated with not having a degree ( p  < 0.001), and is positively associated with college attendance, whether in a regular, a high-status public or private institution ( p  < 0.001), holding all other predictors constant (Table 4 ).

To better test EMI, Lucas and Byrne propose the use of predicted probabilities as it is more robust in predicting the variance in destinations (2017), and because “regression-type coefficients by themselves cannot reveal whether social background moves people over thresholds” (Lucas, 2001 , p. 1671). Thus, using the same multinomial logit model, I present estimated probabilities for the four possible outcomes. Figure  6 illustrates how following the Second World War, advantaged students were more likely to be enrolled in high-status institutions compared. Notably, the proportion of advantaged vs. disadvantaged students was more even in high-status private entities than in public ones (3% vs. 2% for those born in 1980–92).

Average predicted probabilities by birth cohort (unconditional), weighted. Note: Lucas and Byrne ( 2017 ) caution against calculating standard errors for the predicted values in testing EMI as it leads to overcorrection of the test. Standard errors are thus only presented here as additional reference

As economic conditions frayed in the 1980s, the likelihood of completing in regular institutions for the 1960–69 Cohort diverged by 17 percentage points for advantaged and disadvantaged students, with the probability of attaining college halved for the latter. Nuancing my previous findings that quantitative inequalities worsened for disadvantaged students in general, I find that in the short term, it is disadvantaged students enrolled in regular institutions who are routed out of college, with the probability of having “no degree” increasing by 6 percentage points (1970 and 1980 Cohorts). Further declines however are also evident in the long-term (1970–79 Cohort), with the proportion of those enrolled in high-status entities, public and private, dropping by 3 percentage points.

Contrary to my hypothesis that the well-off are shielded from economic shocks, I find delayed consequences among advantaged students in the 1970–79 Cohort. Where, unlike disadvantaged students who saw immediate declines in college completion, setbacks only later emerged for those with high-SES, with the percentage with “no degree” increasing by 16 percentage points, while those completing from high-status public entities declined by 10 percentage points. There are various possible explanations for this. First , this may imply a further distinction among “advantaged” students, with those in high-status private being more resilient and able to continue paying for high tuition fees despite economic downturns, in contrast to advantaged students in high-status public institutions who pay relatively low fees. Second , this could also be attributed to the highest educational attainment of parents for the 1975–79 Cohort (see Table 1 ), for whom a larger percentage of whom are less educated (66.5%) relative to other cohorts.

Finally, contrary to the usual expectation that intensified public expansion could democratize access to high-status institutions, my findings suggest the opposite. In fact, data shows that the likelihood of completion in high-status public is very strongly associated with having higher-educated parents ( p  < 0.01). As shown in Fig.  6 , as public entities expanded, inequality increased, with the advantaged doubling their likelihood of completing in high-status public, and benefitting more than disadvantaged students (1980–92 Cohorts). There are two possible reasons for this: prior to the 2017 abolition of fees, public entities also charged tuition, thus still making one’s ability to pay consequential, although to a lesser extent. It is also likely that the high demand for finite slots in high-status public entities intensified competition, favoring those with higher-educated parents.

The paper had two primary objectives: to assess changes in the association between social background and educational attainment from 1950 to 2015 and to examine the relationship between ascribed characteristics and higher education destinations. The findings indicate that expansions did not reduce educational inequality in the Philippines, with the gap in secondary and college completion between advantaged and disadvantaged even widening from the 1950–55 to the 1990–92 Cohort. These results are consistent with those of Smith and Cheung which characterized the Philippine system as “an ever-expanding pie that is always sliced in the same proportions” (1986, p. 1387).

As it stands against the literature, the Philippine case deviates from the MMI hypothesis, while approximating findings in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico (Torche, 2010 ), Russia (Gerber, 2000 ; Gerber & Hout, 1995 ), and China (Gruijters, 2019 ), where worsening inequality was observed despite expansions. The Philippine experience likewise corroborates findings in Russia and Latin America, on how economic downturns could compound existing inequalities while providing evidence on the distinct short- and long-term consequences faced by advantaged and disadvantaged students.

Specifically for higher education, I find that despite sustained expansions, inequalities widened and persisted at 20 percentage points since the 1980s. These highlight three novel insights demonstrated by the Philippine case: (1) when private-dominated provision coincides with economic recessions, drastic declines in completion are seen among disadvantaged students, and even the most able and motivated ones, and (2) public expansion appears to benefit advantaged and disadvantaged groups in the same proportion, increasing the ability of disadvantaged students to complete college, but unable to narrow the gap between the two.

In relation to higher education characteristics, I find that in the context of economic recessions, disadvantaged students are deterred from completing in regular institutions in the short-term, and in high-status institutions in the long term. Strikingly, only long-term consequences are evident for advantaged students, with significant declines observed in their likelihood to complete in high-status public institutions, alongside a commensurate increase in completion in regular entities. This proposes a modification to EMI, which states that “when quantitative differences are common qualitative differences are also important; if so, the socioeconomically advantaged will use their socioeconomic advantages to secure both quantitatively and qualitatively better outcomes” (Lucas, 2017 , p. 485). Where, in the Philippine case, given that advantaged students remained in school at the cost of transferring to a regular institution in times of economic recessions, one may say that the advantaged appear to cede qualitative advantages to maintain quantitative ones.

Notably, the findings also show that the role of parental education was most associated with the predicted probability of completing in a regular higher education institution, as compared to having no degree. In short, while parental education is able to predict the probability of an individual to complete college per se, it is unable on its own, to predict completion in high-status public or private institutions. There could be various reasons for this: for instance, it is possible that predicting entry to “high-status” institutions requires higher levels of attainment from parents (college or graduate studies), or alternately, that other socioeconomic variables (e.g., type and sector of employment, extended family networks) come into play, which could not be tested using available data.

These findings provide relevant insight for policy. With findings suggesting inequalities in attainment emerging in secondary, government interventions to improve access for higher education must begin there. At the secondary level, with secondary graduation rate at only 48% for the poorest compared to 78% on average, this means paying special attention to critical dropout points, specifically, the transition from 7th grade to secondary, from junior to senior high school, and from high school to college (see recent study by A. C. Orbeta et al., 2021 ). Such interventions require a gender lens: for boys, this pertains to financial supports that account for the opportunity cost of them staying in school versus going to work. Meanwhile, for girls, this includes interventions that address early pregnancy, as well as traditional responsibilities at home (e.g., taking care of siblings).

At a systems level, with secondary participation rate at 90% as of 2021, this points to the need for the Department of Education to formulate programs that locate the remaining 10%. Likely, “last mile learners” and out-of-school youth that have historically faced severe deterrents to participation. Apart from its current Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) program which enables those who dropped out in elementary to return to high school, this means mapping out and profiling the 10% of learners to enable the Department to come up with responsive programs that meet the learners where they are.

For higher education, while the Universal Access law has since lowered the financial barriers to participation, the findings suggest the need to (1) introduce interventions as early as secondary, considering that most of the poor dropout in the transition between secondary to tertiary (e.g., providing disadvantaged students guidance on institution/program choice, waivers for application fees, review classes for entrance exams), (2) guarantee adequate and timely funding early on (see Dynarski, 2022 ), (3) deliberately lower the barriers in attending “high-status” institutions (pertaining to the cap of P60,000 in the current financial assistance program of government), and (4) have supportive and agile systems that enable said students to complete (e.g., flexibility in policies for working students, providing bridging classes and mentorship). This requires a review of Republic Act 10,931, and the implementing guidelines of the Tertiary Education Subsidy, to ensure that it is able to fulfill the intents of the law—that is, to enable the poorest of the poor to finish college.

The study is not without its limitations. While reforms occurred nationally, the available data limits the samples to individuals living in urban areas at the time of data collection, relating to two key caveats in the interpretation of our findings. First, considering the massive overseas migration of Filipino professionals from the 1970s to 1990s (many of whom were college graduates in urban centers but are no longer residing in the Philippines), the findings of this study may understate trends in urban contexts. On the other hand, given that poverty in the Philippines is disproportionally rural with 80% of the poor living in rural areas (The World Bank, 2018b ), it must be emphasized that the findings of this paper provide only a partial view of reality, with trends likely to differ in rural contexts, and nationally.

Other methodological limitations of the study include the lack of a direct measure for socioeconomic background, the inability to control for previous achievement, and the presence of unobserved characteristics, such as motivation and extended family supports, known to impact the likelihood of complete transitions and gaining admission to high-status institutions. Given this, results may confound these unobserved variables, likely overstating the role of expansions in the ability of individuals to complete transitions.

Despite its limitations, the study plays a modest yet important function, providing an initial baseline for further research on educational stratification in the Philippines given drastic reforms which followed the period covered by the study, from 2016 to 2022. These include the addition of grades 11 and 12 and the introduction of academic and technical-vocational and livelihood strands in 2016, the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act beginning 2017, and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020–2022, all of which are likely to impact the trends observed in this study.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, and so are not publicly available. The data may be made available however from the author upon reasonable request and within the allowable parameters.

Alon, S. (2009). The evolution of class inequality in higher education: Competition, exclusion, and adaptation. American Sociological Review, 74 (5), 731–755.

Article   Google Scholar  

Arcelo, A. A., & Sanyal, B. C. (1987). Employment and career opportunities after graduation: A study on the transition from college to work in the Philippines (Vol. 61, Issue 1988).

Arum, R., Gamoran, A., & Shavit, Y. (2007). More inclusion than diversion: Expansion, differentiation, and market structure in higher education. In Stratification in higher education: A comparative study . Stanford University Press.

Ayalon, H., & Shavit, Y. (2004). Educational reforms and inequalities in Israel: The MMI hypothesis revisited. In Sociology of Education (Vol. 77, Issue 2, pp. 103–120). American sociological association.

Ayalon, H., & Yogev, A. (2005). Field of Study and Students’ Stratification in an Expanded System of Higher Education: The case of Israel. In European sociological review, 21 (3), 227–241.

Baluga, L. R. (1987). The role of the Phillipine education system in national development during and after the new society 1972–1986 . Loyola Marymount University.

Google Scholar  

Bar Haim, E., & Shavit, Y. (2013). Expansion and inequality of educational opportunity: A comparative study. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 31 (1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.10.001

Benito, R., & Alegre, M. À. (2012). The changing patterns of individual and school effects on educational transitions. Evidence from Catalan data (Spain). Educational research, 54 (1), 65–87.

Blossfeld, P. N., Blossfeld, G. J., & Blossfeld, H. P. (2015). Educational expansion and inequalities in educational opportunity: Long-term changes for East and West Germany. European Sociological Review, 31 (2), 144–160.

Breen, R., & Jonsson, J. O. (2005). Inequality of opportunity in comparative perspective: Recent research on educational attainment and social mobility. Annual Review of Sociology, 31 (1), 223–243.

Breen, R., Luijkx, R., Müller, W., & Pollak, R. (2009). Nonpersistent inequality in educational attainment: Evidence from eight European countries. American Journal of Sociology, 114 (5), 1475–1521.

Brewis, E. (2019). Quality and equitable access: Insights from Indonesia. In International higher education (Issue 99, pp. 12–13).

Brint, S. G., & Karabel, J. (1989). The diverted dream: Community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America . Oxford University Press.

Book   Google Scholar  

Buchmann, C., & Hannum, E. (2001). Education and stratification in developing countries: A review of theories and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 27 , 77–102.

Buis, M. L. (2011). The consequences of unobserved heterogeneity in a sequential logit model. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 29 (3), 247–262.

Buis, M. L. (2017). Not all transitions are equal: The relationship between effects on passing steps in a sequential process and effects on the final outcome. Sociological Methods and Research, 46 (3), 649–680.

Byun, S. Y., & Park, H. (2017). When different types of education matter: Effectively maintained inequality of educational opportunity in Korea. American Behavioral Scientist, 61 (1), 94–113.

Cameron, S., & Heckman, J. (1998). Life cycle schooling and dynamic selection bias: Models and evidence for five cohorts of American males. In National Bureau of Economic Research (Issue 6385).

Cantwell, B., Marginson, S., & Smolentseva, A. (Eds.). (2018). High participation systems of higher education . Oxford University Press.

Cardozier, V. R. (1984). Public higher education in the Philippines. Interational review of education , 193–208.

Carson, A. L. (1961). Higher education in the Philippines. In US Department of Health, Education and Welfare Bulletin (Vol. 29). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.1973.tb00445.x

Coleman, J. S. (1968). Equality of educational opportunity. Equity & Excellence in Education, 6 (5), 19–28.

Crawford, C., Dearden, L., Micklewright, J., & Vignoles, A. (2017). Family background and university success . In Oxford University Press.

DiMaggio, P. (1982). Cultural capital and school success: The impact of status culture participation on the grades of U.S. high school students. American sociological review, 47 (2), 189.

Dynarski, S. (2022). Widening access to higher education: Reforms that work . UCL centre for education policy and equalising opportunities annual lecture.

Erikson, R. (1984). Social class of men, women and families. Sociology, 18 (4), 500–514.

Fallon, P. R., & Lucas, R. (2002). The impact of financial crises on labor markets, household incomes, and poverty: A review of evidence. The World Bank Research Observer, 17 (1), 21–45. https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:wbrobs:v:17:y:2002:i:1:p:21-45

Gerber, T. P. (2000). Educational stratification in contemporary Russia: Stability and change in the face of economic and institutional crisis. Sociology of Education, 73 (4), 219–246.

Gerber, T. P., & Hout, M. (1995). Educational stratification in Russia during the Soviet period. American Journal of Sociology, 101 (3), 611–660.

Goldrick Rab, S. (2006). Following their every move: An investigation of social-class differences in college pathways. Sociology of Education, 79 (1), 67–79.

Gonzalez, A. (1989). The Western impact on Philippine higher education. In P. G. Altbach & V. Selveratnam (Eds.), From dependence to autonomy (pp. 117–142). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Gruijters, R. J. (2019). Expanding inequality : Trends in educational stratification during China’s market transition . 1–39.

Hout, M. (2006). Maximally maintained inequality and essentially maintained inequality: Crossnational comparisons. Sociological Theory and Methods, 21 (2), 237–252. https://doi.org/10.11218/ojjams.21.237

Hout, M., & DiPrete, T. A. (2006). What we have learned: RC28’s contributions to knowledge about social stratification. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 24 (1), 1–20.

Irons, J. (2009). Economic scarring: The long-term impacts of the recession. Econmic Policy Institute Briefing Paper , 1–17.

Isidro, A. (1957). Philippine education: Social reconstruction through the schools. The Phi Delta Kappan , 39 (3), 119–123. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20342014

Joshi, K. M. (2006). An exploration of private sector financing of higher education in the Philippines and its policy implications for India. Ankara Universitesi Egitim Bilimleri Fakultesi Dergisi , 001–026.

Kim, C. I. E., & Hunt, C. (1968). Education and political development: A comparison of Korea and the Philippines. The Journal of Developing Areas, 2 (3), 407–420. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4189486 .

Kwiek, M. (2017). De-privatization in higher education: A conceptual approach. Higher Education, 74 (2), 259–281.

Lande, C. (1965). The Philippines. In Education and political development (313–349). Princeton University Press.

Lucas, S. R. (2001). Effectively maintained inequality: Education transitions, track mobility, and social background effects. American Journal of Sociology, 10 (6), 1642–1690.

Lucas, S. R. (2017). An archaeology of effectively maintained inequality theory. American Behavioral Scientist, 61 (1), 8–29.

Lucas, S. R., & Byrne, D. (2017). Seven principles for assessing effectively maintained inequality. American Behavioral Scientist, 61 (1), 132–160.

Luo, Y., Guo, F., & Shi, J. (2018). Expansion and inequality of higher education in China: How likely would Chinese poor students get to success? Higher Education Research and Development, 37 (5), 1015–1034.

Maca, M. (2018). Education in the ‘new society’ and the Philippine labour export policy (1972–1986). Journal of International and Comparative Education, 7 (1), 1–16.

Mare, R. D. (1980). Social background and school continuation decisions. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75 (370), 295–305.

McCowan, T. (2007). Expansion without equity: An analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil. Higher Education, 53 (5), 579–598.

McCowan, T. (2016). Three dimensions of equity of access to higher education. Compare, 46 (4), 645–665.

McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing colleges : How social class and schools structure opportunity . State University of New York Press.

McHale, T. R. (1961). The Philippines in transition. The Journal of Asian Studies, 20 (3), 331–341.

Orata, P. T. (1956). Philippine education today. International Review of Education, 2 (2), 159–173.

Orbeta, A. (2002). Education, labor market, and development: A review of the trends and issues in the Philippines for the past 25 years. In Philippine institute for development studies discussion paper series (Issue 19).

Orbeta, A. C., Corups, J. P. P., & Araos, N. V. (2021). Who are the youth NEET in the Philippines today? (No. 2021–21; Discussion Paper Series).

Ortiz, M. K., Melad, K. A., Araos, N. V., Orbeta, A. C., & Reyes, C. M. (2019). Process evaluation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931): Status and prospects for improved implementation .

Perlman, D. H. (1978). Higher education in the Philippines: An overview and current problems. Peabody Journal of Education, 55 (2), 119–126.

Pfeffer, F. T. (2008). Persistent inequality in educational attainment and its institutional context. European Sociological Review, 24 (5), 543–565.

Presidential Commission on Educational Reform. (2000). Philippine agenda for educational reform: The PCER report .

Raftery, A., & Hout, M. (1993). Maximally maintained inequality: Expansion, reform, and opportunity in Irish education. Sociology of Education, 66 (1), 41–62.

Ruiz, N. G. (2014). Made for export: Labor migration, state power, and higher education in a developing Philippine economy . Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Salto, D. J. (2018). To profit or not to profit: The private higher education sector in Brazil. Higher Education, 75 , 809–825.

Shavit, Y., & Blossfeld, H. P. (1994). Persistent inequality: Changing educational attainment in thirteen countries. British Journal of Educational Studies, 42 (4), 413–415.

Smith, H., & Cheung, P. (1986). Trends in the effects of family background on educational attainment in the Philippines. American Journal of Sociology, 91 (6), 1387–1408.

Tan, E. A. (2001). Labor market adjustments to large scale emigration: The Philippine case. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 10 (3–4), 379–400.

Tan, E. (2008). Republic of the Philippines: Studies on the access of the poor to higher education .

The World Bank. (1988). The Philippines education sector study .

The World Bank. (2013). Philippine development report: Creating more and better jobs .

The World Bank. (2016a). Framing the future of work (Issue 6).

The World Bank. (2016b). STEP survey weighting procedures summary .

The World Bank. (2018a). Learning to realize education’s promise .

The World Bank. (2018b). Making growth work for the poor .

The World Bank. (2018c). Philippines - STEP skills measurement household survey 2015–2016 (Wave 3) (Vol. 2016, Issue Wave 3).

Torche, F. (2005). Privatization reform and inequality of educational opportunity: The case of Chile. Sociology of Education, 78 (4), 316–343.

Torche, F. (2010). Economic crisis and inequality of educational opportunity in Latin America. Sociology of Education, 83 (2), 85–110.

Torche, F. (2011). Is a college degree still the great equalizer? Intergenerational mobility across levels of schooling in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 117 (3), 763–807.

Torche, F. (2014). Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality: The Latin American case. Annual Review of Sociology, 40 (1), 619–642.

Torche, F. (2019). Educational mobility in developing countries (Issue WIDER Working Paper 2019/88).

Treiman, D. J. (1970). Industrialization and Social Stratification. Sociological Inquiry, 40 (2), 207–234.

Triventi, M. (2013). Stratification in higher education and its relationship with social inequality: A comparative study of 11 European countries. In European sociological review (Vol. 29, Issue 3).

Villegas, B. (1986). The economic crisis. In Crisis in the Philippines: The Marcos era and beyond (pp. 145–175).

Yee, K. M. (2020). The Philippines’ two private sectors: Normative and policy challenges vs. driving market and societal forces. International higher education , 103 .

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Professor Pauline Rose and Dr Rob Gruijters of the University of Cambridge for their guidance and support in the writing of this paper. All remaining errors are my own.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Downing College, University of Cambridge, Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1DQ, UK

Karol Mark Ramirez Yee

Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karol Mark Ramirez Yee .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Ramirez Yee, K.M. At all costs: educational expansion and persistent inequality in the Philippines. High Educ 87 , 1809–1827 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01092-y

Download citation

Accepted : 03 August 2023

Published : 11 August 2023

Issue Date : June 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01092-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Philippines
• Higher education
• Education policy
• Educational expansion
• Higher education access
• Equality of opportunity
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Literacy Disparities and Educational Challenges in the Philippines: A Systematic Review

• Rainlee B. Echavez Teacher I, Department of Education Cebu Province Division, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7839-591X
• Artemio M. Echavez, Jr. Teacher III, San Antonio Integrated School, Cebu Province Division, Boljoon, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9270-1749
• Mira Christie M. Comaling Teacher II, Nug-as Elementary School, Nug-as Cansuje, Argao, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8001-6370
• Verginia O. Obiasada Teacher III, San Antonio Integrated School, Cebu Province Division, Boljoon, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1313-7118
• Marissa O. Baquiran Teacher III, San Antonio Integrated School, Cebu Province Division, Boljoon, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3843-5167
• Osias Kit T. Kilag Principal, PAU Excellencia Global Academy Foundation, Inc., Toledo City, Philippines and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, ECT Excellencia Global Academy Foundation, Inc., Balamban, Cebu, Philippines Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0845-3373

This systematic literature review examines literacy and education in the Philippines, revealing disparities in national literacy data compared to international assessments such as PISA and SEA-PLM. Systemic challenges within the education system, including integrity issues during examinations and curricular deficiencies, hinder educational quality. Despite these challenges, initiatives like the BELRCP and collaborations with international organizations like USAID aim to improve literacy outcomes. Research gaps highlight the need for longitudinal studies and investigations into socio-cultural factors influencing literacy acquisition. Addressing these gaps requires a coordinated effort from stakeholders to foster inclusive learning environments and prioritize evidence-based strategies for educational reform. By bridging these disparities and leveraging promising initiatives, the Philippines can work towards a more equitable and accessible education system that empowers learners and promotes societal development.

Abella, J., Kilag, O. K., Andrin, G., Tañiza, F. N., Groenewald, E., & Cordova Jr, N. (2024). Literacy Leadership in Elementary Schools: The Connections between Principal Practices and Reading Performance. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 2(1), 69-78.

Aguilar, M. G. W. (2021). Academic Dishonesty in the Philippines: The Case of 21st Century Learners and Teachers. International Journal of Management, Technology and Social Sciences (IJMTS), 6(1), 306-313.

Andrin, G., Kilag, O. K., Abella, J., Tañiza, F. N., Groenewald, E., & Cordova Jr, N. (2024). Leadership in Literacy: The Role of Instructional Leadership in Fostering Student Reading Achievement. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 2(1), 100-109.

De Gracia, A. M., Canubas, A. L., Suba-an, J., Alfar, J., Kilag, O. K., & Abendan, C. F. (2023). Understanding Early Literacy Development in Emerging Readers: Insights from Dorothy Strickland. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 1(5), 171-182.

Department of Education, Philippines. (2020). Basic Education Learning and Recovery Continuity Plan (BELRCP). https://depedro1.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/rm0664s2022.pdf

Flores, G. T., & De Los Reyes, C. E. P. (2021). Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Community-Based Practices of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) in Caraga Region. Education, 5(10), 47-54.

Lacson, R. E. (2004). Text and transformation: Refiguring identity in postcolonial Philippines. University of San Francisco.

Lumando, E., Uy, F., Kilag, O. K., & Abendan, C. F. (2023). Multisensory Structured Language Techniques: A Key to Bridging the Literacy Practice Gap in Intervention Strategies. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 1(5), 256-267.

Maligalig, D. S., Caoli-Rodriguez, R. B., Martinez, A., & Cuevas, S. (2010). Education outcomes in the Philippines. Asian Development Bank Economics Working Paper Series, (199).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2018). Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 Results. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_PHL.pdf

NEDA National Economic and Development Authority (2022a, August 3). Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 to Provide Roadmap towards Sustained and Inclusive Growth NEDA. https://pdp.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PDP-2023-2028.pdf

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) 2019. https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/education-mass-media/node/163646

Pinaaling, G. H., & Valle, A. M. (2023). Teachers’ Culture-Based Practices and Students’ Self-Efficacy. Teachers’ Culture-Based Practices and Students’ Self-Efficacy, 129(1), 15-15.

Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) Assessment. (2019). https://www.unicef.org/philippines/media/2556/file/Southeast%20Asia%20Primary%20Learning%20Metrics%202019%20National%20Report%20of%20the%20Philippines.pdf

Tañiza, F. N., Kilag, O. K., Groenewald, E., Andrin, G., Abella, J., & Cordova Jr, N. (2024). Leading the Way: A Strategic Approach to Large-Scale Educational Reform in Literacy and Numeracy. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 2(1), 47-57.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID). (2020). ABC+: Advance Basic Education in the Philippines Program. https://www.rti.org/impact/rising-challenge-improving-basic-education-philippines#:~:text=Grade%20Reading%20Barometer.-,The%20ABC%2B%3A%20Advancing%20Basic%20Education%20in%20the%20Philippines%20project,in%20select%20School%20Divisions%20in

Vestal, P., Kilag, O. K., Alvez, G. G., Escabas, D., Ignacio, R., & Abendan, C. F. (2023). Bridging the Literacy Gap: A Multisensory Approach to Effective Intervention. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 1(4), 156-168.

Zagabe, M. J. P. (2017). Impact of English language training on linguistic and cultural identity of call center employees. The Qualitative Report, 22(13), 3461-3480.

How to Cite

• Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)

International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability, and Excellence (IMJRISE)

International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability and Excellence (IMJRISE)  is published by risejournals.org using the platform and workflow by OJS/PKP and is powered by KaSocius I.T. Solutions

These are open-access articles distributed under the terms of the  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability and Excellence  (IMJRISE) Address: Mercado, St., Poblacion, Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines Email Address: [email protected] | Contact No.: (032) 340-7925

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The philippine teachers concerns on educational reform using concern based adoption model.

• Department of Education, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea

This study aims to identify the Philippines teachers’ concerns in K–12 implementation. The Concerns Based Adoption Model was applied to determine the level of concerns, and the Stages of Concern Questionnaire has been administered to 400 teachers. Findings indicate that consequence and collaboration was the teachers’ current concern (impact stage). Furthermore, experience and education factors showed the biggest significance affecting their collaboration among teachers. These current concerns match the existing problems of Philippine education: poor PISA results and lack of resources. This research urges the Philippine government to promote professional development activities that encourage teamwork and collaboration among teachers.

1 Introduction

The approval of the Republic Act 10,533 (Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or K–12 law) reformed the entire education system of the Philippines including curriculum, teacher training, and offered programs ( Tamar and Atinc, 2017 ). Schools are expected to be the training ground for students to prepare them for the real world. As the curriculum is used as the blueprint on what students should learn, the teaching force plays the biggest role in delivering this essential information to the students ( Redondo, Jr. and Bueno, 2019 ). With the new program implementation in the Philippines, teachers’ response to this new policy should also be taken into consideration. As stated by Fritz (2001, as cited in Tuytensa and Devosab, 2009 ), teachers are susceptible to different outlooks to policy change hence it is essential to understand how teachers view the policy and it’s characteristics.

Educators and policymakers are responsive in implementing change and policies to suit the following needs of the students, teachers, and the educational environment. Educational developments and modifications in education require proactive participation and response from the teachers. Therefore, the teacher’s preparedness and self-regulation are essential for them to deliver proper instruction and exert their influence in the classroom ( Bray-Clark and Bates, 2003 ). To study these educational innovations and arising concerns surrounding them, the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) became one of the most effective frameworks and an “empirically grounded model” for implementation analysis ( Anderson, 1997 ). CBAM was conceptualized by Gene Hall and defines, describes, and predicts the possible levels of teacher concerns and behaviors during implementation ( Hall et al., 1979 ; Hall and Hord, 1987 ; Hall and Hord, 2001 ). The CBAM model can be utilized in various ways by using the tools for measuring the process of implementation like curriculum developments, school programs, etc. Significantly in the field of education, CBAM can aid in the field of education through the following reasons: (1) evaluate the effects of reform programs or initiatives for educators and recognize the dynamic structure of the educational organization which involves the interplay within various key players; (2) contains a “conceptual framework for change” that thoroughly recommends an effective change implementation and understand the individuals involved in the change process through the three dimensions of CBAM; and (3) study the individuals’ feelings, perceptions, behavior, and professional development ( Saunders, 2012 , pp. 187–188). The CBAM model consists of three dimensions: seven Stages of Concerns (SOC), eight Levels of Use (LoU), and innovation configurations. For this research, the focus will be on the seven SOC which consists of the Unconcerned/Awareness, Informational, Personal, Management, Consequence, Collaboration, and Refocusing stages ( George et al., 2013 ).

Considering the impact and importance of teachers in any educational implementation, it is important to investigate the basis of teachers’ concerns regarding the adoption process. Hence, the present study examines the concerns Filipino teachers have in response to new situations or demands emerging from the adoption of the K–12 educational system. The teacher’s ability to face different challenges and self-regulation is essential for them to deliver proper instruction and exert their effects in the classroom ( Bray-Clark and Bates, 2003 ). For this research, the following questions will be explored: (1) Among the seven stages on the CBAM, what is the current concerns level of the teachers regarding the new K–12 implementation and the difference across teachers’ experience and involvement with the innovation? and (2) What are the factors affecting the current level of concern on the K–12 implementation? Due to the nature of the new educational reform, recent research is directed more on the new system and its implementation process. Hence, there is currently a gap in the literature focusing on the teacher’s development and sentiments towards the reform. As Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones highlighted their intention to thoroughly review the K–12 educational program ( Montemayor, 2018 ), it is integral to assess the teacher’s level of preparedness by learning their personal insights on their own standing in the educational reform. This research will aid in understanding the current impact of the education reform on the teachers and students, and what should be the main points and focus on improvement.

1.1 Theoretical Background: Educational Reform and Teachers’ Concerns

1.1.1 k–12 educational reform in the philippines.

The Republic Act of 10,533 or Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (K–12) is one of the biggest reforms the Philippines has experienced after more than 50 years of having a 10-years educational system. The most significant contribution brought by this reform is the additional 2 years of Senior High School (SHS) which makes the new system befitting to international standards ( Oxford Business Group, 2021 ). Moreover, all technical and vocational courses are also offered to prepare students to join the workforce ( Barlongo, 2015 ). The adoption and implementation process of the K–12 system has been a well-discussed matter before its execution. In the Transitions to K–12 Education Systems: Experiences from Five Case Countries publication prepared by the Asian Development Bank, they enumerated eight factors that influenced the reform in the Philippines: large size, secondary lags, low cycle completion, inequality, academic test performance, teacher development, public-private partnership, and education spending recovering ( Sarvi et al., 2015 ). Hence, in 2010, the administration prioritized educational reform, and meticulously planned for the enactment of the Republic Act of 10,533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act (CHED, n, d). This educational reform is set not just to simply meet the global standards but to also assure that the next generation of graduates would be at par and on a level with the rest of the world.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization or SEAMEO (2017) stated that K–12 holds a set of objectives: aligning the system with the international standard, refining the youth’s educational experience, and boosting the country’s competitiveness. Table 1 shows the specific objectives and corresponding features of the K–12 education system:

TABLE 1 . Programs based on K–12 objectives.

The implementation of this program started in the year 2011 and the first batch of Senior High School students graduated by 2018. Figure 1 shows the yearly plan of the government and their targeted years for the new batch undergoing the K–12 system. Based on the plan, the universal Kindergarten started in 2011, while the Grade 7 and the new Grade 1 curriculum were implemented by the following year. In 2016, the first Senior High School program began and hence the first batch of Senior High School students graduated in the year 2018.

FIGURE 1 . Interaction effect between involvement in innovation and teaching experience.

The Basic Education is now compulsory for all and is structured based on the following: Kindergarten or Early Childhood Education, 6 years of Elementary or Primary Education (Grade 1–6), 4 years of Secondary/Junior High School (Grade 7–10), and 2 years of Senior High School (Grade 11–12). After graduating from high school, students can opt to attend a Technical Vocational Education and Training Program (TVET) and/or Higher Education. Students can start Kindergarten from the age of 5 and are expected to enter their last year of Senior High School by the age of 17 ( Sarvi et al., 2015 ).

1.1.2 Teachers’ Concerns on the K–12 Implementation

According to Vilches (2017) , teachers’ impact and performance are considered a huge influence on the success and failure of educational reforms; hence, implementing reforms and programs should be done alongside teachers. The sudden implementation of the K–12 in the Philippines left teachers in confusion with their roles in the new educational system, specifically the development of their roles throughout the process, the appropriateness of the new curriculum and the real classroom situation, and the difference in the internal communication of different education stakeholders. A study conducted by Braza and Supapo (2014) about the problems of the Mathematics curriculum under the K–12 education system showed that there are three main problems in the implementation: administrative, teacher-related, and student-related. The teachers were discovered to struggle in delivering the content of class materials and possess poor teaching strategies/skills. Due to the lack of professional development opportunities, teachers were unprepared to teach the content based on the assigned schedule and have a more diversified teaching methodology. Moreover, the absence of proper support and materials led to lesser time for teachers to efficiently instruct the content. Dizon et al. (2019) further supported this claim stating that there is a lack of preparation for teaching development. It is necessary that teachers themselves must be well-equipped with proper teaching strategies that maximize teacher-student participation.

Outside the four walls of the classroom, various concerned groups in the Philippines like Alliance of Concerned Teachers Partylist Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro strongly expressed that the Philippines was not yet ready for the full implementation of the K–12 system. They expressed that there is a “persisting shortages in school and classrooms, particularly senior high school; lack of textbook, learning facilities, and other needs of students.” Teachers were also left to shoulder the expenses on their own ( Tibay, 2018 ). The ACT noted that the Department of Education is already late in reviewing the implementation process; nonetheless, they are hoping that both the DepEd and Congress will have an “honest-to-goodness review” of the first run of the implementation to show the lapses and points of improvements the government can manage for the education sector ( Juntereal, 2019 ).

2 Concerns-Based Adoption Model

Hall and Hord, Hord et al., Loucks-Horsley and Stiegelbauer (as cited in in Khoboli and O’toole, 2012 , p. 140) explained that CBAM “focuses on how people, such as teachers, parents, students and policy makers, respond to change.” Moreover, it also shows the emotional and psychological processes individuals go through once they are confronted and/or adopt an innovation ( Hall, 1975 ). Under this model, there are 5 assumptions about the innovation in classroom and instruction: (1) change is a process, not an event; (2) change is executed by individuals; (3) change is an intimate personal experience; (4) change contains progressive growth in feelings and skills; (5) change can be enabled by interventions directed toward the individuals, innovations, and contexts involved ( Anderson, 1997 ).

The CBAM was inspired by the works of Frances Fuller as she theorized the “concerns theory for teacher education.” In one of her papers about Concerns of Teachers: A Developmental Conceptualization, she notes that there must be a close observation between knowing what teachers need and what is available to them. Her research contains two studies and groups of student teachers that were surveyed through a counseling method. The first study results showed that student teachers were first concerned with their “self” on how they can meet the supervisor’s expectations, deal with school authority, and perform class maintenance. This concern gradually shifted to their “students’” performance in class and effective learning. The second study showed a similar response with the first on how the student teachers’ concern shifted from “self” to “students.” In this study, the student teachers’ responses were divided into three categories: (1) Where do I stand? How adequate am I? How do others think I’m doing? [self] (2) Problem behavior of pupils. Class control. Why do they do that? [student management] (3) Are pupils learning? How does what I do affect their gain? [student concerns]. Results showed that there is a correlation in the student teachers’ concern between [1] and [2] while there is a difference between [1] and [3] and [2] and [3], which shows that there is a distinction between the flow of teachers’ concern from self to students ( Fuller, 1969 , pp. 211–214). Fuller’s work shows a developmental sequence of teachers’ concerns from themselves to student management to impact on students—the self, task, and impact concerns. Self-concerns refer to the personal dilemmas of the teacher in his/her ability to perform well; task concerns refer to the responsibilities and duties teachers need to keep in mind in managing the classroom; and lastly, impact concerns refer to the evaluation and worries of teachers in the possible effect of their teaching and management to the students ( Christou et al., 2004 ). Research works from the University of Texas conducted studies concerning the adoption of teachers and professors on certain implementation. They saw similar results with the one Fuller had before and hypothesized that there are certain categories of concerns and logical progression in the development of concerns. This led the researchers to identify the three dimensions of CBAM: seven Stages of Concerns (SOC), and eight Levels of Use (LoU), and innovation configurations ( Hall, 1975 ). Hall and Hord (2001) explained that the Stages of Concern which utilizes the Stages of Concern (SoC) questionnaire is the most important data gathering tool in the model ( George et al., 2013 ).

2.1 Stages of Concern

The Stages of Concern identify the individual’s worries or feelings about innovation. It is called stages because of the step-by-step development evolution of the concerns as they shift from one to another. These stages are used to determine in which part of the process the individual’s feelings are heightened. It consists of seven stages which were classified into three categories centering on Fuller’s developmental sequence of concerns: self, task, and impact ( Hall, 1975 ). Table 2 features the seven stages, their corresponding developmental sequence, and their definition.

TABLE 2 . CBAM stages of concerns.

2.2 CBAM Application

Christou et al.’s (2004) research investigated the reform in the Mathematics curriculum in Cyprus’ elementary schools. To efficiently instruct Mathematics, some developments were focused on changing the curriculum content and resource materials. Teachers were expected to assist the students to discover things by themselves rather than spoon-feeding them. Based on their research findings of curricular change, they believe that teachers are the key to the effective implementation by understanding how they handle the process. However, there seems to be a conflict between the teaching methods of teachers and reforms in the Math curriculum which led to a huge concern and frustration among teachers. Because of this, the researchers wanted to identify the concerns teachers have in the new curricula and Mathematics textbooks in Cyprus. They wanted to look at the “degree to which Cypriot teachers had accepted and followed it in the classroom.” Also, they wanted to see if there is any difference between the teacher’s experience in the education field and their involvement with the implementation. The participants consist of 155 male and 500 female teachers coming from 100 elementary schools in Cyprus. The researchers utilized their own adapted version of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire which includes 36 items and can be answered based on a 9-item Likert scale—ranging from Strongly Disagree [1] to Strongly Disagree [9]. Since the questionnaire was modified, factor analysis was done to check the validity of the questionnaire. Answering the two main research questions, the first result of the study showed that the informational and personal stages have the highest mean showing that teachers were acquainted with the objectives and philosophy of the Mathematics book. Meanwhile, the management stages (task) garnered a low mean value expressing those teachers were more concerned about their ability to deliver the objectives of the material. The fewer focus teachers had in their “self” phase showed that they are less concerned with starting the implementing the Mathematics curriculum since they had experiences with the implementation of other innovations before. Moreover, it was hypothesized that the more teachers overcome the task stage, the higher chances they will have little concerns over the impact phase of the development of concerns. The second result showed that teachers with more experience scored higher in the personal and informational stages than the beginning teachers. Highly experienced teachers, even in the absence of full information on the implementation, have more confidence in dealing with innovation. Beginning teachers showed more concern in collaborating with other colleagues and work than the consequence of the implementation on their students ( Christou et al., 2004 ).

In the case of Jordanian universities, CBAM was used to evaluate the E-learning system and check the “current stage of concern” of the faculty members in 12 Jordanian universities. A total of 400 faculty members received the questionnaire, and 138 faculty members finished the questionnaire. The responses were analyzed through the SPSS program. Results showed that teachers’ highest level of concern was on the informational stage which had 83%, which was followed by the management stage with 73%. These results showed that teachers are curious about using the E-learning system and the requirements needed to fulfill this system. The lowest group percentages are from Awareness (54%), Refocusing (55%), Collaboration (56%), and Consequence (59%). Based on Fuller’s developmental sequence of concerns, the lowest percentages are under the impact level, which means that teachers need more training on the use of the e-learning system to push their focus from personal concerns to the impact of the system on their students and on others ( Matar, 2015 ).

3 Methodology

This study follows cross-sectional research which aims to identify the current stage Philippine teachers are in regarding the K–12 educational implementation. The participants were chosen via random sampling and were asked to answer an online survey. The survey was distributed with the permission of the respective department of education branches and the researchers contacted the head or principals of different schools for assistance. The number of responses collected consists of 400 participants from different elementary and secondary private and public schools in the Philippines.

3.1 Data Analysis

For the 1st question, the independent variables of the study were the teachers’ total teaching experience and the years of their involvement in the implementation of the new educational system in the Philippines, and the dependent variables are the seven stages of concerns. Based on the study, four groups of teachers were dispersed across the whole range of teaching experience, and three groups covered the years of involvement with the innovation. Table 3 presents the numbers of teachers in each group. To answer research question 1, the mean and standard deviation will be computed to check the relationship between the levels and teachers’ experience and involvement with the innovation. The second question seeks to determine the factors affecting the teachers’ current stage of concern. To compute this, the regression analysis was done. Gender, Education level, School Type, School Location, Mountain area, and Teaching Level were chosen as predictors to determine the personal profiles and working (school) environment of the teachers. Table 4 presents the descriptive statistics of the following variables and predictors mentioned above.

TABLE 3 . Teachers involvement by years of teaching experience and years of involvement in the innovation.

TABLE 4 . Descriptive statistics for the Philippine teachers.

3.2 Instrumentation: Concern Scales

The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) was adopted as the data gathering tool for this research. Before the 35-item questionnaire was finalized, a 195-item instrument was analyzed using the item-scale score correlation and content analysis to avoid redundancy of the items which led researchers to decrease the items to 35 with 5 items per scale. This 35-item questionnaire was conducted in various research settings such as a cross-sectional and longitudinal study to a number of educational innovations. Conclusive evidence shows that SoCQ was able to accurately measure the Stages of Concerns, and at the same time shows reliability and validity ( Hall et al., 1979 ).

For this study, the SoCQ includes a set of scales to prepare a numerical representation of the level and possible causes of concerns toward the Philippines’ educational innovation. Specific words such as “10-years education system” were added to fit the context of the Philippines’ educational system innovation. The adopted SoCQ included a total of 37 items: 35 items for the statements/items where participants are asked to choose on a 0–7 Likert Scale: 0 = Irrelevant, 1 = Not True of Me Now, 2 = Not True of Me Now, 3 = Somewhat True of Me Now, 4 = Somewhat True of Me Now, 5 = Somewhat True of Me Now, 6 = Very True of Me Now, and 7 = Very True of Me Now. The remaining 2 items inquire about the year of involvement in the innovation and their training in preparation for the innovation. As per the SoCQ manual, the order of the items was kept in their exact order to avoid risks of reliability and validity.

Before analysing the variance and regression of the data, a reliability analysis was carried out on the CBAM scale comprising 7 items. Cronbach’s alpha showed the questionnaire to reach acceptable reliability, α = 0.90. The Cronbach alphas for all stages were high except for the Awareness stage which got α = 0.66. Nonetheless, the values of the alphas show that the instrument has acceptable reliabilities for the study. The alphas for each stage are as follows: (Informational α = 0.91, Personal α = 0.90, Management α = 0.85, Consequences α = 0.85, Collaboration α = 0.85, and Refocusing α = 0.88).

4.1 Research Question 1: Teachers’ Current Stage of Concern Across Experience and Involvement

Table 5 shows the mean and standard deviation responses in relation to the teacher’s experience and involvement in the innovation. Analyzing the table, the low mean value of Awareness (x̄ = 2.00) shows that teachers were all well-informed about the innovation given that frequent discussions and concerns have been raised by education-related organizations and even some private and public sectors. Moreover, because they were already involved with this innovation for a sufficient period, their awareness stage is on a low level.

TABLE 5 . Means of SoC by teachers’ experience and by teachers’ years of involvement in the innovation.

The next stage, Task stage (Management, x̄ = 2.1) has a lower mean compared to the Self Stage: Awareness (x̄ = 2.00), Information (x̄ = 2.12), and Personal (x̄ = 2.14). However, it has a relatively low mean average compared to that of the impact stage (Consequence, x̄ = 2.15; Collaboration, x̄ = 2.15; Refocusing, x̄ = 2.12). This means that teachers were now focusing on how to achieve their class objectives, assessing the students’ performance, and achieving the end goal of the innovation. Thus, it can be hypothesized that as the teachers under the new K–12 education became used to the new implementation, their concerns are more on finding ways for students to adapt to the new educational program.

The highest means can be seen on the Consequence (x̄ = 2.15) and Collaboration stages (x̄ = 2.15), indicating that the teachers are now more concerned about the effects of the implementation on their students and their colleagues’ activity. Under the consequence stage, teachers are more focused on the impact and relevance of the innovation to the students, educational outcomes, and changes needed for better student outcomes ( George et al., 2013 ). Anderson (1997) further explained this stage where teachers will also try to modify the innovation or their application to see better effects. The Collaboration stage, on the other hand, also shows the teachers’ willingness to work with others for the utilization and improvement of the implementation. As seen in the table, both the Consequence and Collaboration stages fall under the category of Impact which shows that teachers are now on the stage of worrying whether the implementation has a positive impact on their students’ lives.

4.2 Research Question 2: Factors Affecting the Current Level of Concern

To identify which factors of the CBAM were strongly related to each stage, we conducted a regression analysis using the CBAM stages as the dependent variables. The CBAM stages are divided into seven and Gender, Education level, School Type, School Location, Mountain area, and Teaching Level were used as predictors. We also calculated the interaction effect between Involvement with Innovation and Teaching Experience. Before checking which factors of the CBAM were strongly related to each stage, the coefficients were checked to see which stage gives the best level of significance and can be analyzed for this question.

As presented in Table 6 , Collaboration ( p = 0.012) showed the strongest significance among the seven. Based on their r-squared, the collaboration ( R 2 = 0.060) stage showed the highest significance among the seven. Table 7 illustrates the regression analysis with the chosen predictors for this study. The low R 2 value for this study can be attributed to the hard differentiation of human behavior towards the change process ( Frost, 2021 ). Achen (1977, as cited in Figueiredo Filho et al., 2011 ) also noted that the small R 2 value is not a sign of a weak relationship among variables. The variance interpreted from the R 2 can depend on the variation of the variables included in the study. Interpreting the significance of this study can also be seen from both the statistical and practical significance. Statistical significance focuses on the p -value (null hypothesis) while, on the other hand, practical significance observes the effect size and usefulness of the results based on the field of study. In short, a study that may not be statistically significant can still be practically important. One example is the area of Gene and Environmental study; the effect size of .01 can be considered as a significant effect size even if the value is small ( Lawrence, 2017 ).

TABLE 6 . Coefficients table for the CBAM stages.

TABLE 7 . Regression results with the Collaboration Stage regressed on multiple predictors.

Under the Collaboration stage, the highest significant effect is shown on teachers with years of experience, followed by education and the interaction effect for involvement and experience. For the education factor, teachers with a graduate degree, either master’s or doctorate, showed a significant result showing that there is an increase in the collaboration sense for teachers who had their graduate degree. Teachers who have more teaching experience tend to seek lesser collaboration with colleagues or any individuals. However, the interaction effect between involvement with innovation and experience showed significant results. As the teacher gains more years of involvement with the innovation and teaching experience, the more they tend to be open for collaboration. The line chart below shows the relationship of involvement and collaboration, assuming that experience is at 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. It is observable that levels of collaboration tend to increase at levels of involvement, and as the levels of experience increase, there is a higher rate of increase of collaboration per year of involvement. Hence, there is a higher impact of involvement to collaboration if the teachers have more teaching experience.

5 Discussion

In the present study, the current level of teachers’ concern, as shown in Table 2 , shows their concern for the innovation consequences and need for collaboration. This result can be attributed to the recent result of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is an examination given by OECD to 15-year-olds, was participated for the first time in 2018 by the Philippines to evaluate their current global standing. Unfortunately, the country performed worse among the 79 participating countries—ranking last with an average score of 340 points which is lower than the global 487 average ( Punongbayan, 2019 ). Table 8 shows the Reading, Mathematics, and Science scores of the 5 top- and low-ranking countries in the 2018 PISA.

TABLE 8 . PISA 2018 results of the 5 top and low countries.

As the students who experienced the first run of the K–12 implementation in 2018, the result above is a wake-up call for all the education stakeholders. More importantly, this is where the greatest concern of the teachers lies—on whether the current and teaching method is effective to the students. ACT France Castro specifically pointed out the “congested curriculum” as a huge contributing factor to the poor performance in the international assessment. According to him, the curriculum negatively influences the performances of the teachers and students as it jeopardizes the teaching time and the period of student learning ( Corrales, 2020 ). Moreover, this so-called “chopseuy method,” a coined teaching method where teachers try to teach a bit of each lesson, defeats the purpose of the mastery of content and teacher’s pedagogy ( Manuel, 2020 ). Unless the government decides to restructure the curriculum, students will graduate with lesser learnings and the PISA results will stay on the bottom tier. These problems raise the concerns of teachers to seek effective ways either through professional development or collaborating with their co-teachers to discover more teaching methods.

Suggesting collaboration among colleagues or any professional educator presents as a good solution to this disheartening result. Lara-Alecio et al. (2012) and Goddard et al. (2010) documented that teachers who were involved in collaborative activities had their students score higher in Science, Mathematics, and Reading assessments. Creating a positive community among the teachers where they can share ideas and teaching methods and lessen the stressors for teachers can directly impact not only the teachers’ personal needs but also support the students more on their educational journey. With all the issues surrounding the K–12 implementation, the Philippine government needs to strengthen its teaching force by providing sufficient materials and resources for teachers to utilize. Adding co-teaching programs will also be helpful to students who are lagging or needs educational attention are supported during and even after the class.

5.1 Collaborative Education for Effective Learning

Among the seven stages of concerns, collaboration showed significance for both research questions. An effective collaboration aims for not only personal development but also benefits the group which is achievable through proper cooperation with each other—a “community of learners and support” focusing on the social aspects of education ( Head, 2003 ) Previous research findings ( Lee and Smith, 1996 ; Goddard et al., 2007 ; Berry et al., 2009 ; Louis et al., 2010 ; Dumay et al., 2013 ) showed that encouraging collaboration among colleagues leads to the teacher effectiveness such as discovery effective teaching practices and better student outcomes. According to Mora-Ruano et al. (2019 ), research proved that there are benefits for teacher collaboration ( Lee and Smith, 1996 ; Louis et al., 2010 ; Dumay et al., 2013 ). Hailen (2015, as cited in Mora-Ruano et al., 2019 ) reported that Finland's 2016 curriculum reform identifies a “collaborative atmosphere” as the key to advancing the school system. Cooperating among each other in achieving the school curriculum objectives can promote teacher professional development ( Mora-Ruano et al., 2019 ). For students, collaboration benefits have improved learning and increased clarity about their intended outcomes ( Langer et al., 2003 ). Previous research ( Shachar and Shmuelevitz, 1997 ; Pounder, 1999 ; Berry et al., 2009 ; Goddard et al., 2010 ) showed that students who attended schools with high levels of teacher collaboration performed well in their school activities.

The second research question showed that teachers with higher teaching experience tend to focus less on collaborating with other teachers. Similar to other research findings ( Christou et al., 2004 ; Ronfeldt et al., 2015 ), the lesser sense of collaboration from highly experienced teachers can be attributed to their self-efficacy and background in dealing with the subtleties of classroom changes. On the other hand, the interaction effect between experience and innovation shows that as the levels of experience increase, the collaboration also increases per year of involvement. Regarding their educational background, teachers with graduate degrees showed significant results which are in contrast with previous research findings ( Puteh et al., 2011 ; Hao and Lee, 2015 ; Yea Lo, 2018 ). Other research shows that teachers have demonstrated equal concerns about the classroom system and delivering curriculum classroom content; particularly in preparing their materials and strategizing their teaching methods, teachers are distracted with their individual concerns that collaboration is not a viable option for them. In the Philippines’ case, teachers with higher education degrees than bachelors would likely engage in collaborative efforts compared to those who only have bachelors. Teachers with higher degrees are trained more on teaching pedagogy and have discovered more about the specificities of the education field. Given the lack of resources in the Philippines, these teachers are more flexible to plausible options available in their surroundings: cooperation with co-teachers.

6 Conclusion

This research was aimed to evaluate the current concerns of teachers as the first run of the K–12 implementation is done, and to see if their teaching experience and involvement with the innovation has an effect on their level concerns. Through using the CBAM questionnaire, the questions were classified into 7 stages—all can be classified into Fuller’s concerns theory for teacher education. The questions delved into topics concerning their teachers’ concerns from shifting to their decades-old 10-years system to a new K–12 system that modified not only the number of school years but also the curriculum and learning method. The data presented showed that teachers are more focused on the impact stage. Out of the three stages, consequence and collaboration showed the highest mean scores, indicating that teachers are heavily concerned about the impact of the new educational system on their students, and the ways they can do to improve their teaching methodology. We can hypothesize that Philippine teachers are now generally more concerned about two things: the influence of the innovation on their students, and professional development especially through coordination with others. Teachers are eager to know whether their students can gain sufficient knowledge from their teachings, can comprehend and learn about the things they need for school assessment and daily life, and can modify the ways of the implementation for better educational output.

The results of the study showed that educational organizations should focus more on reforming the innovation as the results and resources provided to the teachers are insufficient. Based on the issues and findings, there are three things the government should focus on now: (1) revisiting and loosening the curriculum; (2) investing in Professional Teacher Development; and (3) creating collaborative teaching programs and training. Teachers have expressed in the beginning that the proposed curriculum is hard for them to deliver, not only because of the lack of resources but also because of their insufficient skills and time. In the Philippine context, collaboration needs more work and attention as the resources and time of the teachers may be limited. Pursuing collaboration requires the cooperation of not only the teachers but also the government. Providing professional development opportunities that enable more collaborative activities among teachers is highly encouraged. If the curriculum developers can plan and create a more systematic curriculum flow, then it would help teachers to strategize their teaching methods and lesson plans. To make this more feasible, the government should invest in giving more opportunities for training and seminars. Moreover, the education department can also increase team buildings and training to open more opportunities for teachers to collaborate with each other and learn from each other’s teaching methods.

It is important to note that even if the concerning stage is in its higher stage, it does not mean that the lower-level concerns are gone. There are a lot of educational factors and individual insights that might affect and increase the concerns of some specific stages. What each education stakeholder should do is to make sure that the initial concerns—being informed of the context of the innovation, making sure that the involved individuals need and readiness are observed, and organizing and managing of innovation—are properly monitored and resolved so that teachers can focus on their roles in the classrooms. In summary, the Philippine Department of Education needs to understand that teachers, even in a different environment, are heavily concerned with the students’ welfare. Implementation efforts should focus on engaging collaboration and should also consider the availability of resources for the teachers and students. With the lack of the previous study addressing these concerns, this research hopes to contribute to the direction of the modification of the K–12 educational system.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusion of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

KM conducted the data gathering and wrote the manuscript. JC edited, reviewed, and assisted in the necessary steps to proceed with the study. SL assisted in the data analysis and final review of the paper.

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020S1A5C2A03093092).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Anderson, S. E. (1997). Understanding Teacher Change: Revisiting the Concerns Based Adoption Model. Curriculum Inq. 27, 331–367. doi:10.1080/03626784.1997.11075495

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Barlongo, C. (2015). Reforms in the Philippine Education System: The K to 12 Program. Available at: https://businessmirror.com.ph/reforms-in-the-philippine-education-system-the-k-to-12-program/ .

Google Scholar

Bray-Clark, N., and Bates, R. (2003). Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Teacher Effectiveness: Implications for Professional Development. The Prof. Educator 26, 13–22.

Braza, M. T., and Supapo, S. S. (2014). Effective Solutions in the Implementation of the K To12 Mathematics Curriculum. SAINSAB 17, 12–23.

Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., and Wieder, A. (2009). Collaboration: Closing the Effective Teaching Gap . Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509717.pdf .(Accessed August 13, 2021).

Christou, C., Eliophotou-Menon, M., and Philippou, G. (2004). Teachers' Concerns Regarding the Adoption of a New Mathematics Curriculum: An Application of CBAM. Educ. Stud. Math. 57 (2), 157–176. doi:10.1023/b:educ.0000049271.01649 www.jstor.org/stable/4150269 (Accessed May 21, 2020)

Corrales, N. (2020). K-12 Blamed for Low Math, Science Ranks. Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved June 15, 2021, from Available at: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1371337/k-12-blamed-for-low-math-science-ranks#ixzz7GqPPYcSQ .

Dizon, R. L. L., Calbi, J. S., Cuyos, J. S., and Miranda, M. (2019). Perspectives on the Implementation of the K to 12 Program in the Philippines: A Research Review. Int. J. Innovation Res. Educ. Sci. 6 (6), 757–765.

Dumay, X., Boonen, T., and Van Damme, J. (2013). Principal Leadership Long-Term Indirect Effects on Learning Growth in Mathematics. Elem. Sch. J. 114, 225–251. doi:10.1086/673198

Figueiredo Filho, D. B., Silva Júnior, J. A., and Rocha, E. C. (2011). What Is R2 All about? Leviathan (São Paulo) (3), 60. doi:10.11606/issn.2237-4485.lev.2011.132282

Frost, J. (2021). How to Interpret R-Squared in Regression Analysis. Stat. By Jim . Retrieved January 2, 2022, from Available at: https://statisticsbyjim.com/regression/interpret-r-squared-regression/ .

Fuller, F. F. (1969). Concerns of Teachers: A Developmental Conceptualization. Am. Educ. Res. J. 6 (2), 207–226. doi:10.3102/00028312006002207

George, A., Hall, G., and Stiegelbauer, S. (2013). Measuring Implementation in Schools: The Stages of Concern Questionnaire . Austin, TX: SEDL .

Goddard, Y. L., Goddard, R. D., and Tschannen-Moran, M. (2007). A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of Teacher Collaboration for School Improvement and Student Achievement in Public Elementary Schools. Teach. Coll. Rec. Rec 109, 877–896.

Goddard, Y. L., Miller, R., Larsen, R., Goddard, G., Jacob, R., Madsen, J., et al. (2010). “Connecting Principal Leadership, Teacher Collaboration, and Student Achievement,” in Paper Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting ( Denver, CO) .

Hall, G. E., George, A. A., and Rutherford, W. L. (1979). Measuring Stages of Concern about the Innovation: A Manual for Use of the SoC Questionnaire . 2nd ed. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory .

Hall, G. E., and Hord, S. M. (1987). Change in Schools: Facilitating the Process . Albany, NY: State University of New York Press .

Hall, G. E., and Hord, S. M. (2001). Implementing Change: Patterns, Principles, and Potholes . Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon .

Hall, G. (1975). “The Effects of “Change” on Teachers and Professors—Theory, Research, and Implications for Decision-Makers,” in Paper Presented at the National Invitational Conference on Research on Teacher Effects: An Examination by Policy-Makers and Researchers ( Austin, Texas .

Hao, Y., and Lee, K. S. (2015). Teachers' Concern about Integrating Web 2.0 Technologies and its Relationship with Teacher Characteristics. Comput. Hum. Behav. 48, 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.028

Head, G. (2003). Effective Collaboration: Deep Collaboration as an Essential Element of the Learning Process. The J. Educ. Enquiry .

Juntereal, C. J. (2019). Public, Private Schools Call for Thorough Review of K to 12. Manila Bull. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from Available at: https://mb.com.ph/2019/10/23/public-private-schools-call-for-thorough-review-of-k-to-12/ .

Khoboli, B., and O’toole, J. M. (2012). The Concerns-Based Adoption Model: Teachers' Participation in Action Research. Syst. Pract. Action. Res 25, 137–148. doi:10.1007/s11213-011-9214-8

Langer, G., Cotton, A., and Goff, L. (2003). Collaborative Analysis of Student Work: Improving Teaching and Learning . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development .

Lara-Alecio, R., Tong, F., Irby, B. J., Guerrero, C., Huerta, M., and Fan, Y. (2012). The Effect of an Instructional Intervention on Middle School English Learners' Science and English reading Achievement. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 49, 987–1011. doi:10.1002/tea.21031

Lawrence, E. (2017). Statistical Significance, Effect Size, and Practical Significance.

Lee, V. E., and Smith, J. B. (1996). Collective Responsibility for Learning and its Effects on Gains in Achievement for Early Secondary School Students. Am. J. Edu. 104, 103–147. doi:10.1086/444122

Manuel, P. (2020). Solon Blames K-12 Curriculum for PH's Dismal Performance in Int'l Assessments. CNN Philippines . Available at: https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/12/13/solon-K-12-curriculum-PH-dismal-performance-international-assessments.html (Accessed December 28, 2020).

Matar, N. (2015). Evaluating E-Learning System Use by CBAM-Stages of Concern Methodology in Jordanian Universities. World Comp. Sci. Inf. Tech. J. 5 (5), 75–81.

Montemayor, M. T. (2018). K-12 Program to Improve Quality of Education: Briones. Philippine News Agency . Retrieved February 3, 2021, from Available at: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1037617 .

Mora-Ruano, J. G., Heine, J.-H., and Gebhardt, M. (2019). Does Teacher Collaboration Improve Student Achievement? Analysis of the German PISA 2012 Sample. Front. Educ. 4 (85). doi:10.3389/feduc.2019.00085

OECD, U.S. Department of Education (2019). PISA 2018: Insights and Interpretations. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA%202018%20Insights%20and%20Interpretations%20FINAL%20PDF.pdf .

Oxford Business Group (2021). The Philippine Government Works to Implement its K-12 Programme while Raising Educational Standards. Available at: https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/philippine-government-works-implement-its-k-12-programme-while-raising-educational-standards (Accessed May 9, 2020).

Pounder, D. G. (1999). Teacher Teams: Exploring Job Characteristics and Work-Related Outcomes of Work Group Enhancement. Educ. Adm. Q. 35, 317–348. doi:10.1177/00131619921968581

Punongbayan, J. C. (2019). Dismal Pisa Rankings: A Wake-Up Call for Filipinos. Rappler . Retrieved June 15, 2021, from Available at: https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/246384-analysis-dismal-programme-international-student-assessment-rankings-wake-up-call-filipinos/ .

Puteh, S. N., Salam, K. A., and Jusoff, K. (2011). Using CBAM to Evaluate Teachers' Concerns in Science Literacy for Human Capital Development at the Preschool. World Appl. Sci. J. 14, 81–87.

Redondo, S. C., and Bueno, D. C. (2019). The Cognizance of the Basic Education Teachers on the K to 12 Program. Institutional Multidisciplinary Res. Dev. J. 2. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.27230.89924

Ronfeldt, M., Farmer, S. O., McQueen, K., and Grissom, J. A. (2015). Teacher Collaboration in Instructional Teams and Student Achievement. Am. Educ. Res. J. 52 (3), 475–514. doi:10.3102/0002831215585562

Sarvi, J., Munger, F., and Pillay, H. (2015). Transitions K-12 Educ. Syst. Experiences five case countries .

Saunders, R. (2012). Assessment of Professional Development for Teachers in the Vocational Education and Training Sector : an Examination of the Concerns Based Adoption Model. Aust. J. Edu. 56 (2). doi:10.1177/000494411205600206

SEAMEO (2017). Guidebook to Education Systems and Reforms of Southeast Asia and China . Bangkok: Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization . [Publication]Available at: https://www.seameo.org/SEAMEOWeb2/images/stories/Publications/Centers_Pub/2017SEAMEOChina/GuidebooktoEducationSystemsandReforms.pdf .

Seashore Louis, K., Dretzke, B., and Wahlstrom, K. (2010). How Does Leadership Affect Student Achievement? Results from a National US Survey. Sch. Effectiveness Sch. Improvement 21, 315–336. doi:10.1080/09243453.2010.486586

Shachar, H., and Shmuelevitz, H. (1997). Implementing Cooperative Learning, Teacher Collaboration and Teachers' Sense of Efficacy in Heterogeneous Junior High Schools. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 22 (1), 53–72. doi:10.1006/ceps.1997.0924

Tamar, L. R., and Atinc, M. (2017). Investigations into Using Data to Improve Learning: Philippines Case Study . Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution . Retrieved from Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/global-20170307-philippines-case-study.pdf .

Tibay, R. (2018). Lawmakers Start to Worry about Impact of K To12 Program on Ph Education System. Manila Bull. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from Available at: https://mb.com.ph/2018/05/26/lawmakers-start-to-worry-about-impact-of-k-to-12-program-on-ph-education-system/ .

Tuytens, M., and Devos, G. (2009). Teachers' Perception of the New Teacher Evaluation Policy: A Validity Study of the Policy Characteristics Scale. Teach. Teach. Edu. 25 (6), 924–930. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.02.014

Vilches, M. L. C. (2017). “Involving Teachers in the Change Process: One English Language Teacher's Account of Implementing Curricular Change in Philippine Basic Education,” in International Perspectives on Teachers Living with Curriculum Change . Editors M. Wedell,, and L. Grassick (London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan ), 15–37. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-54309-7_2

Yea Lo, Yueh. (2018). English Teachers’ Concern on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): An Application of CBAM. JuKu: Jurnal Kurikulum & Pengajaran Asia Pasifik 6 (1), 46–58. ISSN 2289-3008. Retrieved from Available at: https://juku.um.edu.my/article/view/11174 .

Keywords: Philippine education, CBAM, teacher collaboration, level of concerns, educational policy

Citation: Magallanes K, Chung JY and Lee S (2022) The Philippine Teachers Concerns on Educational Reform Using Concern Based Adoption Model. Front. Educ. 7:763991. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.763991

Received: 24 August 2021; Accepted: 04 January 2022; Published: 23 May 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Magallanes, Chung and Lee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Jae Young Chung, anljaHVuZ0Bld2hhLmFjLmty

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Transparency Seal
• Citizen's Charter
• PIDS Vision, Mission and Quality Policy
• Strategic Plan 2019-2025
• Organizational Structure
• Bid Announcements
• Site Statistics
• Privacy Notice

• Research Agenda
• Research Projects
• Research Paper Series
• Guidelines in Preparation of Articles
• Editorial Board
• List of All Issues
• Disclaimer and Permissions
• Inquiries and Submissions
• Subscription
• Economic Policy Monitor
• Discussion Paper Series
• Policy Notes
• Development Research News
• Policy Pulse
• Economic Issue of the Day
• Annual Reports
• Special Publications

Working Papers

Monograph Series

Staff Papers

Economic Outlook Series

List of All Archived Publications

• Other Publications by PIDS Staff
• How to Order Publications
• Rate Our Publications
• Press Releases
• PIDS in the News
• PIDS Updates
• Legislative Inputs
• Database Updates
• Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines
• Infographics
• PIDS Library
• PIDS Corners
• Infographics - Fact Friday
• Infographics - Infobits

Philippine Education: Situationer, Challenges, and Ways Forward

• Labor and Education
• Orbeta, Aniceto Jr. C.
• Paqueo, Vicente B.
• Philippines
• Basic Education
• Higher Education

While the Philippine education system is in the middle of profound changes with the passage of Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the country was rudely awakened by the poor results in its maiden participation in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tested 15-year-old students. This result was confirmed further by 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) results, which tested grade four students. Everyone's question is: What happened to the Philippine education sector? This paper describes the three education subsectors as answers to three questions: (a) Where does each of the subsectors in terms of their primary outcomes? (b) What are the primary reasons why the subsectors are currently in that state? (c) What are the recommendations on the ways forward? This report draws mainly from research done by the authors at the Institute and occasionally those by other authors. The assessment shows that the country still has high attendance rates at all levels compared to countries of similar development states. It is, however, facing the challenge of low quality on the average even if it also produces high-quality graduates, many of whom have been working in global labor markets for decades now. Another problem is that education outcomes reflect students' socioeconomic status rather than equalizing. Finally, the pandemic, which forced the country to remote learning mode largely unprepared like many countries, introduced another set of challenges in addition to its pre-pandemic problems. The country needs to learn from these experiences, rely more on data, and build rigorously validated evidence on what works for our educational system using our experience as educational outcomes are highly context-sensitive.

Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email [email protected]

This publication has been cited 21 times

• Bautista, Jane. 2022. Gov’t think tank: Make education stats public . Inquirer.
• Bautista, Jane. 2023. National Achievement Test for Grade 12 students set . Inquirer.
• Bautista, Jane. 2023. 12-year data track poor training of PH teachers . Inquirer.
• Bermas, Ronnel and Julia Uy. 2023. Free tuition by merit . The Guidon.
• Boo Chanco . 2023. Left behind . Philippine Star.
• BusinessMirror. 2022. PIDS study outlines inequality in pursuing quality education . BusinessMirror.
• Cahiles-Magkilat, Bernie. 2022. PIDS presses swift action on PH education crisis . Manila Bulletin.
• Crisostomo, Sheila. 2023. ‘No homework’ bill filed at House . Philippine Star.
• Crisostomo, Sheila. 2023. ‘No Homework’ bill filed at House . One News.
• Espiritu, Benjamin. 2023. Strengthening teacher education (Opinion piece by Benjamin Espiritu) . Daily Tribune.
• Limlingan, Victor. 2024. TESDA: The stepchild of Philippine education . BusinessWorld.
• Malasig, Jeline. 2023. Viral ‘past tense’ challenge video raises education concerns . Interaksyon PhilStar.
• Manila Standard. 2022. ‘Gov’t needs to act swiftly to avert education woes’ . Manila Standard.
• Panti, Llanesca. 2023. Lawmaker seeks permanent ban on homework during weekends . GMA News.
• RPN News. 2022. Study urges govt to review learning time in PHL schools . RPN News.
• San Juan, Andrea. 2022. Study urges govt to review learning time in PHL schools . BusinessMirror.
• Santos, Mari-An. 2023. Better pay, benefits lure Filipino teachers to schools in Japan . Rappler.
• Siegfred Bueno Mison . 2023. Extending the extension . BusinessMirror .
• Vigilia, Wendell. 2023. Solon pushes for ‘no homework weekends’ to give students breathing space . Malaya Business Insight.
• Villegas, Bernardo. 2024. Workforce development in the Philippines: The role of MSMEs . BusinessWorld.

Download Publication

Please let us know your reason for downloading this publication. May we also ask you to provide additional information that will help us serve you better? Rest assured that your answers will not be shared with any outside parties. It will take you only two minutes to complete the survey. Thank you.

Related Posts

Publications.

Video Highlights

• How to Order Publications?
• Opportunities

Philippine E-Journals

Home ⇛ international journal of multidisciplinary: applied business and education research ⇛ vol. 2 no. 10 (2021), unraveling deterioration in the quality of philippine education.

Bernardo K. Gumarang Jr. | Brigitte K. Gumarang

Education has a great role on the growth and development of economy. It builds the young generation to become competent and future leaders of a country. It is observed by the Filipino people that there are problems in the Philippine education. This paper identified and discussed the problems occurred in the education system of the Philippines. A Literature review process was utilized by the researchers. The researchers also identified solutions on the problems being identified using the findings of the different studies. The result showed three major problems in the Philippine education system such as overcrowded students in a classroom, teacher are teaching subjects that is not their expertise, and poor quality in instruction. It is recommended that the Philippine Education must review their policies in hiring educators and address the needs of its stakeholders. These findings can be used as basis in creating policies to ensure quality in education.

Share Article:

• Cite this paper
• ">Indexing metadata
• Print version

Copyright © 2024  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |   Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic Terms and Conditions -->