Senior HighSchool Curriculum as Perceived by Grade 11 Students of Canossa Academy Lipa City

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

To comply with the Philippines' K-12 Program signed as law in 2013, Canossa Academy Lipa City started the Senior High School Curriculum in school year 2016-2017. Anchored on the students' attitudes towards the program in determining its success, this paper studied the perceptions based on the experiences of the pioneer Grade 11 batch regarding the school's implementation of the Senior High School Curriculum. It focuses on the students' experiences and concerns on the following aspects: academics, environment, and school system. The students' means of adjustment to the changes and their suggestions for the improvement of the program were also described.

METHODS

A descriptive case study was used. One hundred forty-one (141) Grade 11 students of school year 2016-2017 of Canossa Academy Lipa City responded to the survey questionnaire about their perceptions of and coping mechanisms with the Senior High School Curriculum. Added were their suggestions for the curriculum improvement. The answers of theparticipants were collected, interpreted, and analyzed by the researchers.

RESULTS

The participants described the academic aspect of the program to be quite challenging as they experienced more complicated requirements, hectic schedules, and a lot of independent learning. On the other hand, many of them found their physical environment to be conducive for learning, with adequate convenient facilities. They also experienced a friendly and accommodating social environment with their teachers and batch mates. Fifty percent of the participants, however, claimed that they experienced difficulties with the school system, especially regarding announcements, rules implementation, and provision of assemblies for general concerns. Nevertheless, the participants identified their means of adjustment or coping with their experiences under the program. They also gave overall rating and suggestions for improvement to the program.

DISCUSSIONS

Overall, based on their experiences, 85% of the Grade 11 students perceived the Senior High School Curriculum of Canossa Academy Lipa City satisfactory to highly satisfactory. Results showed that despite encountering difficulties concerning the three aforementioned aspects, the students were able to find different means of coping with the curriculum. However, the school programs supposedly beneficial to their adjustment were not fully implemented, and some negative feedback suggested the need for further improvement of such.