The education reform in the Philippines is continuously undergoing turning points with the birth of K-12. However, it is not only the law or key decisions made by those in position. Education policy is not the only reason for educational change.

There are educational policies still at the battleground. Policies to ensure school and teacher accountability do not vanish, defend high quality schools, other forms of parental choice in relation to education, low-performing schools, ensuring high achieving poor students are not ignored, among many others

Advocacy organizations help out in attracting funding and capabilities to help ensure that children centered educational laws and regulations are placed rightly and realized. Also, policies that help teachers preserve their status quo and not threaten their interests for career growth, job satisfaction, and just compensations are looked into by these organizations. 

However, the many policies being served and the advocacy groups are not enough to ensure that more effective and equitable schools would not be impossible dreams.

In a 2013 National Affairs article in the US entitled “The Missing Half of School Reform,” Rick Hess argued:

While public policy can make people do things, it cannot make people do those things well. This is especially salient in education for two reasons. First, state and federal policy makers do not run schools; they merely write laws and regulations telling school districts what principals and teachers ought to do. And second, schooling is a complex, highly personal endeavor, which means that what happens at the individual level—the level of the teacher and the student—is the most crucial factor in separating failure from success. In education, there is often a vast distance between policy and practice.

I believe the same truth applies to the condition of Philippine education today. As Hess explained, while right policies enacted and implemented can do wonders, these cannot do all to change practice in education for the better. More investigation and reenactments are needed. There is hope nonetheless. If not today, the policies being enacted now might be the foundation for better situations in the education sector of the country soon.

References:

Dolhenty, Jonathan.“Philosophy of Education and Wittgenstein’s Concept of Language-Games”. The Radical Academy. RetrievedJanuary 10, 2014.

Hess, F.M.(2013) The Missing Half of School Reform. National Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-missing-half-of-school-reform on April 2, 2016

Philip H. Phenix (January 1963). “Educational Theory and Inspiration”.Educational Theory

By: Heidi N. Gatchula | Teacher III | New Alion Elementary School