What are the Ways Forward of the MATATAG Curriculum?

The Department of Education in the Philippines (DepEd) introduced the MATATAG curriculum as a strategic shift in the educational sector. The curriculum aims to provide Filipino students with the 21st-century core competencies and life skills that they require along with academic excellence. The curriculum itself has been designed very carefully to meet all these needs.

However, the success of the MATATAG curriculum depends on a number of other factors, such as instructional design framework, stakeholder support, effective implementation, evaluation, and revision.

In this article, we will explore the ways forward for the MATATAG curriculum that will ensure its long-term success.

Ways Forward of the MATATAG Curriculum

1. Clearly Understand and Communicate the Goals of MATATAG Curriculum

Everyone associated with the curriculum – students, stakeholders, educators, parents and instructors should have a proper understanding of what the MATATAG curriculum is all about. Its structure, objectives and goals should be made public. Moreover, people should understand DepEd’s reason for changing the old K-12 curriculum to the MATATAG curriculum.

Now, this can be done through a proper process. DepEd should hold a seminar in which it invited the school heads and stakeholders to attend. In this seminar, it should outline all the reasons and objectives of the curriculum.

Next, the school heads need to hold a seminar for the instructors and parents to bring them together to understand the curriculum and the major objectives which are as follows:

Integrating 21^st-century life skills: One of the most important agendas of the MATATAG curriculum is to provide Filipino students with social and practical skills along with academic knowledge to help them survive and excel in life.
Importance of Foundational Subjects: Emphasis will be given to developing strong numeracy and literacy skills. In Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2, the focus is on these two. These grades will focus on these foundational subjects and the other subjects will be introduced later on.

2. Educator Development

The educator/instructor has a pivotal role to play in the proper implementation of the MATATAG curriculum. Therefore, DepEd should invest in them if they want to move forward effectively with the MATATAG curriculum. Under the curriculum, the teaching methodologies, courses being taught and even the assessment strategies have been revised. Therefore, teachers need to be developed side by side. The following are some things that can be done:

Mentorship Programs: Senior educators who have experience with the MATATAG curriculum can act as guides and mentors to help their colleagues.
Professional Development: Regular training programs need to be introduced to get the teachers familiar with digital tools and new pedagogies that align well with the MATATAG curriculum.
Educating about New Technologies: The curriculum encourages blended/hybrid education. After the COVID-pandemic, online learning has opened many doors. Additionally, teachers should know about technological tools and digital platforms.

3. Curriculum Revision and Feedback

Undoubtedly, the curriculum has been established to meet the needs of 21^st-century Filipino students. But, we will not know if the curriculum is doing its job or not until we have numbers backing this fact. A robust system should be developed to check the effectiveness of the curriculum by:

Data Collection: Students, teachers and schools should be asked to give feedback regarding the curriculum and its implementation. With 2024 coming to an end, the first year of the curriculum has been completed. These numbers will help polish the curriculum further and make it more relevant.
Curriculum Revisions: DepEd shouldn’t let the curriculum become static. Along with school evaluations and feedback, DepEd should keep an eye open on the international landscape. The curriculum should be revised in line with the world.

4. Ensuring Equal Digital Access

Digital tools and technology are a core component of the MATATAG curriculum. However, there is a digital divide in the Philippines which no one can ignore. Not every student has access to digital devices or even the internet in many remote and rural areas. For the MATATAG curriculum to have a bright future ahead, it is important to address this divide. The following steps can be taken to overcome it:

Subsidized Technology: The Filipino government should provide needy students with free or affordable tablets and laptops. This will help bridge the digital divide and ensure equal access to modern learning tools for all students.
Community Learning Center: An excellent way to ensure everyone has access to the internet and a device is to establish community centres, barangay halls and even libraries with these things. These places are open for students all the time and anyone can come here regardless of monetary status as they are free.

Conclusion

DepEd has worked hard in devising and implementing the MATATAG curriculum to ensure that the Filipino student can survive and excel in life. Now, it is the job of schools, teachers, students, stakeholders and parents to take it forward from here.

The ways forward of the MATATAG curriculum continuously focuses on improving the standards of education by adapting to the needs of the students and integrating modern teaching strategies.

What are the Ways Forward of the MATATAG Curriculum?

Ways Forward of the MATATAG Curriculum