Efforts to reform Philippine education include the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. This study explored how the cooperating teachers mentored student teachers in handling learners with disabilities, and gifted and talented learners (LDGTL) in regular classrooms during their practice teaching. The student-teacher participants were from a Teacher Education Institution in Manila and were mentored by the cooperating teacher participants of three public schools in the National Capital Region. A TRAINing model for beginning teachers was developed through single-case study approach that employed coding, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. The internship model highlighted themes that captured the concepts and practice of inclusive education and mentoring in the course of the practice teaching, Challenges, processes and success indicators in mentoring, in the context of inclusive education were also revealed. The study revealed a mismatch in the conceptualization and practice of inclusive education where mentors inadvertently limit the participation and achievement of LDGTL. Mentors were also found to be unequipped in handling inclusion in the regular classroom and this was evidenced by the inefficiency of their mentees, thus, mentoring was not enough to prepare student teachers for inclusion. The developed internship model was recommended as baseline information for policy makers and education leaders in strengthening the capacity of both pre-service and in-service teachers towards the implementation of inclusive education.

Contemporary literature reveal a robust number of curriculum implementation models focused on the change process occurring among schools. With this, there is a need to reflect at the curriculum implementation using the lens of classroom instruction in order to provide insights as to procedures and processes happening the implementing the intended curriculum. This study developed a conceptual model drawn from the current problems and issues in the curriculum translation and actual implementation of selected schools in Quezon City. The study involved three phases. The first phase involved key informant interviews with school administrators (n=18) as well as administration of survey questionnaires and focus group discussions with teachers (n=36) from 6 participating schools, composed of public and private schools. From the analysis of the preliminary data gathered, the researcher conducted field testing to a group of school administrators and teachers (n=191). Using principal component analysis and exploratory factor analysis, 8 elements emerged namely: translation presage, professional expectations, teacher’s profile, teacher’s beliefs, instructional designing, pre-instructional plan, teachers, and administrators. Based on these elements, an initial version of the proposed conceptual model was developed following the work of Saylor, Alexander, and Lewis (1981). The last phase involved a model validation workshop involving experts. Comments from the model] validation workshop were used to revise the proposed conceptual model. The results of this study delineates curriculum translation and actual curriculum implementation, which is often meshed in literature. The developed conceptual model for curriculum implementation can be useful for both school leaders and teachers as the elements of the conceptual model reveal the different elements affecting curriculum translation (translation presage, professional expectations, teacher’s profile, teacher’s beliefs, instructional designing, and pre-instructional plan) and actual curriculum implementation (administrators and teachers). These elements can inform decision-making of school administrators and teachers regarding the implementation of their respective school curricula.

When the Department of Education (Dep Ed) launched K to 12 in 2012, it was to be the largest curriculum development project the department has ever embarked on in its history. Part of this project was the development of an enhanced yet decongested curriculum in Araling Panlipunan. By interviewing a number of key participants in K to 12 Araling Panlipunan’s curriculum development, the researcher gained an in-depth look at the practices and factors that shaped the curriculum development process. In line with grounded theory, the constant comparative method was used to code and analyze the results of participant interviews. The results of the constant comparative method gave rise to an alternative curriculum development model for Dep Ed, as well as underscored the importance of curriculum presage and a clearly articulated curriculum development framework. This study enforces the importance of the application of curriculum theory to national curriculum development.

What is not taught nor learned, or the null curriculum, is a significant part of the school curriculum, and how it can be determined is essential. This study aimed to develop a procedural model to determine the null curriculum. Set in the context of the Philippine elementary teacher education program, it collected data through document reviews, structured interviews, participant observations, metadata activities, and questionnaire surveys, involving participants with experience in curriculum development. The gathered data were subjected to thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. The results initially indicated that a procedure entails four components: goal, prerequisites, instructions, and challenges. Guided by these components, the procedure to determine the null curriculum was consequentially designed with a terminal goal broken down into two enabling goals, knowledge support and material resources, direct instructions to act and the invitations to explore, and limitations and caveats. The overall strength of the procedure mainly rested on its clear guidelines, processed materials, and logical design. It extracted the not or less emphasized intellectual processes and absent contents that constitute the null curriculum. Towards the end of the study, a model that follows a systems approach, with its three key elements of input, process, and output incorporating the features of the final procedure, was developed. This model presents scholars, practitioners, and researchers with a structure to determine the null curriculum. In the light of the results, future researchers are recommended to test the applicability of the model in other contexts to further broaden the procedural knowledge on the null curriculum. Specific recommendations for theory and practice are likewise given.

This study aimed at determining the beliefs of public school teachers about learners, classroom teaching, and assessment of learning outcomes and how the beliefs on the teaching-learning process are translated into practice. Factors that influence the translation or non-translation of beliefs to practice as well as points of consonances and dissonances between beliefs and practices of teachers and the K-12 curriculum principles were identified. Forty five (45) Quezon City public high school teachers were interviewed, and from these, 16 teachers were selected for observation in their classes, four teachers in each area of studies: araling panlipunan (social studies), English, math, and science. Data gathered were analyzed thematically.

Biased and fixed mind-set dominantly represented the beliefs of teachers about the learners. The teachers believed that the most appropriate teaching approach for such learners was either the use of group aciivities as endorsed by the K to 12 curriculum or ones that characterize the principles of behaviorism. They also were more inclined to rely more on traditional assessment to gauge student learning.

Teachers’ beliefs and practices influence one another. Consonance between beliefs and practices lead to more favorable classroom teaching practice brought about mainly by better general pedagogical and content knowledge. Teachers’ rich pedagogical knowledge, strong conviction in their belief, passion and commitment, and focus on student learning facilitated translation of beliefs to practice. To bridge the gap between the intended curriculum prescribed by the Department of Education and the implemented curriculum by the teachers, it is recommended that the teachers’ be more involved in the planning and development of the curriculum as well as be provided continuing professional development.