Mapping the alignment of DepEd’s grade 10 reading curriculum, PISA reading literacy, and NCTE’s adolescent literacy framework

• Main Author: Camba, Arnel M., Jr.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Reading > Curricula; Literacy; Curriculum and Instruction; Language and Literacy Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_deal/11; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=etdm_deal
• Institution: De La Salle University

In 2018, the result of PISA which was administered to selected adolescent learners from 79 participating countries called the attention of educational leaders, policymakers, and teachers all over the world. The Philippines, as a new participating member in this assessment, yielded a dismal result in reading, ranking the lowest in the assessment together with other domains such as mathematics and science. Looking into the results of the PISA 2018, specifically in the reading domain, the Filipino learners who participated in the assessment were identified as learners with reading skills lower than the minimum level of proficiency, which is approximately in Level 2 according to PISA’s standards. The results of PISA-18 in reading show that most Filipino learners who participated were able to locate information in the text but obtained low mastery of questions requiring higher-order thinking skills. The present study scrutinized the Department of Education’s curriculum guide, learner’s material, and policies through content analysis, viewing it under the integrated lens of PISA-2018’s Reading Literacy Framework and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)’s Adolescent Reading Literacy Framework. The goal was to map the alignment of the content of these documents with the existing frameworks concerning adolescent literacy. Specifically, the present research attempted to describe the similarities and differences of the following: (1) English Curriculum Guide (ECG) compared with PISA-18’s reading framework; (2) English Learners’ Manual (ELM) compared with PISA-18’s reading framework; (3) the Department of Education (DepEd)’s policies in reading with NCTE’s Adolescent Literacy framework and; (4) the alignment of the curriculum and learners’ material to PISA-18 (OECD, 2018). Using Bengtsson's (2016) Content Analysis Framework, the researcher analyzed the content of the documents through codes, classifying the process of analysis into two namely: manifest and latent analysis. Manifest analysis, also known as the surface structure, classified the coded data according to the criteria present in the PISA-2018 and NCTE’s adolescent literacy framework; while latent analysis or the deep structure allowed the intercoder to categorize the gathered data based on their perceived theme or subtheme they are to be classified. To yield reliable data, an intercoder and a validator contributed to the empirical process of content analysis. Moreover, Cohen’s Kappa Reliability Formula is used as the metric to identify or verify the level of agreement between two coders in qualitative papers. Based on the findings, the curriculum should be aligned appropriately to distribute reflecting, evaluating, locating, and understanding processes. Concerning learning materials, other text types such as transaction, description, argumentation, and interaction must be evenly given emphasis to familiarize learners with the other types of texts available in real-life situations. Furthermore, educational policies should be expanded on digital literacy, especially to improve navigational skills, which will be focused on the forthcoming PISA cycles. Future researchers should investigate the other grade levels in Junior High School in the Philippines to observe the trends in processes, texts, and situations of the ECG and ELM, considering the limitations of the study. This study presents the results showing the relevance or the alignment of the Department of Education’s curriculum, learning material, and policies in reading to the international adolescent reading frameworks such as PISA-2018 and NCTE (2018). This study aims to bridge the gap in adolescent learning in the Philippines, aiding the education policymakers and teachers to reconsider the contents of the curriculum, learners’ materials and policies, and its alignment to the needs of our adolescent learners in the contemporary sphere. Keywords: Adolescent Learning, Adolescent Literacy, Content Analysis, PISA, NCTE, English Curriculum, English Learning Materials, Educational Policies