Integrating Concepts and Expressions of Inclusion in the K – Curriculum: The Case of the Philippines

Abstract

Inclusive education as a curricular trend is implemented by countries as an action taken in response to the collective call of the Salamanca Statement. It carries the tenet that all learners should be educated alongside their peers regardless of physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, and economic, language, cultural, and other perceived differences. School children, as peers of children with special needs, are co-implementers of the inclusive agenda. Young children are competent, possess their views and agencies, and have nascent characteristics that promote inclusion. As such, it is essential to explore how knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and ethics can further be developed and refined for the sake of creating an inclusive community through integrating them in the school curriculum. This paper sought to analyse the articulation of inclusive concepts and expressions in the K-curriculum and strategies utilized by the teachers to reinforce them. Two documents were analysed in this study to address the research questions: (a) prescribed k-curriculum currently used in the Philippines (b) interview transcripts of the key informants. Through content analysis, results of the study revealed that several inclusive concepts and expressions are articulated in the kindergarten curriculum across domains and are reinforced by teachers using varied strategies. Recommendations of the study are discussed.

Family Transformation as a Source of Early Childhood Character Education (Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory Perspective)

“…The process of character cultivation is made through a continuous and sustainable social process during the stages of child development. These educational patterns can be formulated into a learning curriculum that can be practiced at school and home (Raguindin, 2020).…”

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“…The material components in the textbook should consider several aspects such as the learning objectives, the development of science, the diversity of students, its ability to increase student knowledge, its accuracy and its ability to support learning activities (Mahmood et al, 2009;Muljono, 2007;Muslich, 2010;Sinaga et al, 2017). The material in textbooks should also consider gender equality and non-discrimination, to provide space for diversity (Atay & Danju, 2012;Llorent, 2012;Raguindin, 2020;Sovič & Hus, 2015), and the socio-cultural context (Farzaneh et al, 2014;Mortari & Ubbiali, 2017;Tüm & Uğuz, 2014).…”

The spiral progression approach in teaching science: Its Volatilities, Uncertainties, Complexities, and Ambiguities (VUCA)

“…Regarding the high school science curriculum, it consists of four fields: integrated science, biology, chemistry, and physics. In the old curriculum, integrated science was taught in the first year, the second year of biology, the third year of chemistry, and the fourth year of physics (Raguindin, 2020). However, in the high school science curriculum which was only implemented in 2012, the concepts of these four main areas are taught simultaneously.…”