APPROACHES TO

TEACHING READING :
A PHILIPPINE PERSPECTIVE

It has been a widely accepted

phenomenon that the four macro-skills
LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND
WRITING, are important parts in the
development of the whole being of each
individual. These skills have their respective
roles in the formation of an educated
individual.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE
PRONGED APPROACH

This is in response to what the Philippine

Constitution states relative to the
educational system in the country.
Education sector, in cooperation with other
agencies run by the government, has the
task of contributing to the achievement of its
national development goals advocated in
the countrys development plan. Article XIV
Section 1, Section 2(1) and Section 3(2) of
the Constitution states :

SECTION 1

-the state shall protect and promote the

right of all citizens to quality education at all
levels, and shall take appropriate steps to
make such education accessible to all.

SECTION 2 (1)

-the state shall establish, maintain, and

support a complete adequate, and
integrated system of education relevant to
the needs of people and society.

SECTION 3 (2)
-all educational institutions shall inculcate patriotism and
nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights,
appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical
development of the country, teach the right and duties of
citizenship strengthen, ethical and spiritual values, develop
moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and
creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological
knowledge and promote vocational efficiency.

Moreover, the 1982 Education Act states

the goals of both elementary and secondary
education. Elementary education aims :

 To provide the knowledge and develop the

skills, attitudes and values essential to
personal development and necessary for
living in and contributing to a developing
and changing social milieu.
To provide learning experiences which
increase the childs awareness of and
responsiveness to the changes in and just
demands of society and to prepare him/her
for constructive and effective involvement.

 To promote and intensify the childs knowledge

of, identification with, and love for the nation
and the people which he/she belongs .
To promote work experiences which develop
the childs orientation to the world of work and
creativity and prepare him/her to engage in
honest and gainful work. Each regions level of
basic education objectives and goals are
tailored to match local concerns, however,
these are still reflective of national level goals.

SCHOOL YEAR 1983-1984

DECS (Department of Education,
Culture and Sports) launched the program
for Decentralized Education (PRODED)
for elementary education to modify the
curriculum and put emphasis on:
Science
Technology
Math
Reading
Writing

As of follow, the New Secondary Education

Curriculum (NSEC) was employed in 1989 to
replace the 1973 Revised Secondary Education
Program (RSEP). NSEC is a major part of the
Secondary Education Development Program
(SEDP), that brought PRODED into the secondary
education system, to effect continuity, to improve
quality graduates , and to expand access to
quality education. NSEC brings a studentcentered, community-oriented style of education
where Values Education is incorporated into the
teaching of other subject areas.

The main objectives of SEDP include :

Strengthening of the teaching of science and
technology.
Developing the quality and coverage of basic,
non-formal and secondary education.
Creating a market-driven Technical Education
and Vocational Training (TEVT) program.
Fortifying the Science and Technology (S & T)
capacity at the tertiary level
Directing the governments poverty alleviation
strategy in the educational sector.

 Towards the end of the reign of SEDP, came

the 2001 Governance of Basic Education Act.
Referred to as Republic Act No. 9155, is an
act of instituting a framework of governance
for basic education, establishing authority
and accountability, renaming the Department
of Education, Culture and Sports as the
Department of Education, and for other
purposes.

RBEC is termed to be a millennium curriculum

for this was coincidentally launched launched
two (2) years after the opening of the 21 st
century. It is a restructuring of the past curricula.
It does not aim to totally change but to enhance
the curricula RBEC was implemented in June,
2002.

In 1998, the Philippine Commission on

Education Reform, (PCER) concluded that
focus on basics in education must be
implemented. The same Commission
emphasized that integration is the key to
basic education and that interaction is
important to awaken the childrens mind.

ACCORDING TO GUZMAN and

SEVILLANO (2003)
RBEC aims to produce more functionally
literate students by empowering them with life
skills and promoting more ideal teachers that
will perform collaborative teaching in a nonauthoritarian way of instructing.

Subjects in this curriculum respond to

the individual students needs. Practice of
group dynamics is inevitable, thus
interaction between student-teacher, among
students, students-instructional materials,
students-multi-media sources; studentsteachers of different disciplines is observed.
The approach to the subjects is integrative.
Hence, Filipino and English with reading,
writing and grammar, include literature,
cultural and current affairs.

Reported by:
Lorilyn Celestra