1|Page

Reaction paper

By JOEY D. ARROYO

We ought to think that we are one of the leaves of a tree, and the tree is all of humanity. We
cannot live without others, without the tree.
-Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist and conductor

In revisiting the role of education, our goal is guided by a central concern for sustainable human
and social development. Sustainability is understood as the responsible action of individuals
and societies towards a better future for all, locally and globally one in which social justice
and environmental stewardship guide socioeconomic developmenti. The changes in todays
interconnected and interdependent world are bringing new levels of complexity, tensions and
paradoxes, as well as new knowledge horizons that we need to consider. Such patterns of
change require efforts to explore alternative approaches to progress and to human well-being.

With the role of education in todays environment, I am convinced we need to think big again
today about education. I like the quotation from James Welton when he said that education
consists in an attempt on the part of the adult members of human society to shape the
development of the coming generation with its own ideals of life.ii Indeed, this is the very
reason why in our desire to pursue continuing education, we are also confronted with the
challenges of making a difference in the educational landscape.

The world is changing education must also change. Societies everywhere are undergoing deep
transformation, and this calls for new forms of education to foster the competencies that
societies and economies need, today and tomorrow. This means moving beyond literacy and
numeracy, to focus on learning environments and on new approaches to learning for greater
justice, social equity and global solidarity. Education must be about learning to live on a planet
under pressure. It must be about cultural literacy, on the basis of respect and equal dignity,
helping to weave together the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable
development.

The K to 12 Basic Education Program is the flagship program of the Department of Education in
its desire to offer a curriculum which is attuned to the 21st century. This is in pursuance of the
reform thrusts of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda, a package of policy reforms that
seeks to systematically improve critical regulatory, institutional, structural, financial, cultural,
physical and informational conditions affecting basic education provision, access and delivery
on the groundiii. Education is key to the global integrated framework of sustainable
2|Page

development goals. Education is at the heart of our efforts both to adapt to change and to
transform the world within which we live. A quality basic education is the necessary foundation
for learning throughout life in a complex and rapidly changing world.

In the Higher education Institutions, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) highlighted
the Philippine initiatives and directions on education for sustainable developmentiv. This is in
response to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura #146;s call for the FRAMEWORK OF
ACTION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION to extend the EFA (Education for All) global program. The
overall societal goal is the attainment of inclusive growth and sustainable development while
the higher education sub-sector goals are: the formation of high-level human resource, and
generation, adaptation, and transfer of knowledge and technology for national development
and global competitiveness.v It also includes the Aligning HEI programs with national
development goals using these three focus strands: Job-Skills Matching Project, Relevant and
Responsive Research, Development and Extension (RDE), and Gender and Development (GAD)
Programs.

So what is now the role of basic education and higher education in attaining social mobility for
common good?

According to Philippine Institute for Development Studies, there are constraints to education
reformvi. Reform efforts aimed at improving education in the Philippines have not always been
fully successful in translating the results of structural reforms and programmatic changes into
sustainable improvements in educational outcomes, for several reasons: (i) Projectization
where donor-initiated foreign-assistance programs are not always mainstreamed into line
operations, (ii) lack of alignment between national budget funding releases and project
implementation; (iii) political influence over project implementation; (iv) constant change in
Department of Education (DepED) leadership; and (v) resistance to change within the DepED
bureaucracy. These reasons would probably affect the over-all attempts in making education-a
potent factor for social change.

The basic structure of education systems affects equity. Traditionally, education systems have
sorted students according to attainment. Evidence from studies of tertiary, secondary and
primary schools suggests that such sorting can increase inequalities and inequities, particularly
if it takes place early in the education process. Early sorting can also weaken results overall. This
prompts two conclusions: early tracking and streaming need to be justified in terms of proven
benefits; and school systems using early tracking should postpone it to a later stage to reduce
inequities and improve outcomes. The issues below can be the opportunities too in making
education as means to attain social mobility. I will highlight and italized some of them. I will
include also the measures I will undertake to improve the system of education.
3|Page

Selecting pupils on the basis of academic achievement tends to create great social differences
between schools. It also increases the link between socio-economic status and performance it
tends to accelerate the progress of those who have already gained the best start in life from
their parents and is also associated with stronger performance at the top end of the scale in
mathematics and science. So academic selection needs to be used with caution because of the
risks it poses to equity.

The best cure is to stave off the risk of dropout as early as possible. Basic schooling should
support and engage those who struggle at school as well as those who excel. One way of
improving performance and preventing dropout is to identify at-risk students early and take
action quickly. This means monitoring information on attendance, performance and
involvement in school activities, and having a concrete response to improve outcomes and
prevent dropout.

What happens in the classroom obviously affects equity, but the relationships between schools,
parents and communities also matter. Student learning benefits from an effective school-home
relationship, but weak support at home can hold back children from deprived backgrounds.
Effective provision for migrants and minorities in the education system is also a key challenge. It
is possible to improve classroom attainment with methods such as formative assessment a
process of feeding back information about performance to student and teacher and adapting
and improving teaching and learning in response, particularly with students at risk. Reading
recovery strategies short-term, intensive interventions of one-on-one lessons can help
many poor readers to catch up.

Since national education resources are limited, governments need to ensure that they are being
directed to the poorer students and regions so that minimum standards are met everywhere.
Extra resources also need to be channeled through schools to help disadvantaged students. This
should help overcome the effect of social background and help to tackle poor performance. The
stigma arising from labelling of particular schools as for disadvantaged children should be
avoided.

Teaching quality is also an issue. Disadvantaged schools have the greatest need of experienced
teachers, but in many regionsvii the difficult schools can only attract the less experienced
teachers. There should be incentives for more experienced teachers to work in these schools.

National testing of individual student performance on basic skills is a fundamental tool to

measure both individual performance and the performance of schools. But test results only
measure certain things, and a schools results depend on who its pupils are as well as the
quality of the school. Results of National Achievement Test (NAT) should be utilized to improve
4|Page

instruction. Feedbacking should be done immediately by school level with recommendations

based on the data. Particular school can then create program to address the gaps of learning.

Across the world, we have seen great progress in expanding learning opportunities for all. Yet
we must draw the right lessons to chart a new course forward. Access is not enough; we need a
new focus on the quality of education and the relevance of learning, on what children, youth
and adults are actually learning. Schooling and formal education are essential, but we must
widen the angle, to foster learning throughout life. Getting girls into primary school is vital, but
we must help them all the way through secondary and beyond. We need an ever stronger focus
on teachers and educators as change agents across the board. There is no more powerful
transformative force than education to promote human rights and dignity, to eradicate
poverty and deepen sustainability, to build a better future for all, founded on equal rights and
social justice, respect for cultural diversity, and international solidarity and shared
responsibility, all of which are fundamental aspects of our common humanity. Hence, in my day
to day encounter with teachers and students, I will integrate various literacies like Global
literacy, health literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacry and many other themes in
21st century environment.

This is why we must think big again and re-vision education in a changing world. For this, we
need debate and dialogue across the board, and that is the goal of this reaction paper to be
both aspirational and inspirational, to speak to new times and to draw our insights and be
agents of social transformation as a teacher and as administrator.

Endnotes

i
James, Paul; Magee, Liam; Scerri, Andy; Steger, Manfred B. (2015). Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice:. London:
Routledge.; Liam Magee; Andy Scerri; Paul James; Jaes A. Thom; Lin Padgham; Sarah Hickmott; Hepu Deng; Felicity Cahill
(2013). "Reframing social sustainability reporting: Towards an engaged approach". Environment, Development and
Sustainability. Springer.
ii
Taken from the article to draw out reaction (From the professors desk)
iii
http://www.haws.net.ph/index.php/2016/01/25/the-k-12-education-philippines/
iv
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/322898/philippine-initiatives-and-directions-education-sustainable-
development
v
http://www.ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CHED-Strategic-Plan-2011-2016.pdf

vi
Philippine Institute for Development Studies. 2009. Making reforms truly transform: the case of Philippine basic
education, Policy Notes No. 20092012, December, pp. 56.
vii
Philippine Journal for Investigative Reporting, no 23. Education Data