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Factors Affecting ELT Reforms

The Case of the Philippines Basic Education Curriculum

Lancaster University (UK) A.Waters{at}lancaster.ac.uk

Ma. Luz C. Vilches

Ateneo de. Manila, Philippines mvilches{at}ateneo.edu

A number of recent studies, especially within the East Asian region, have chronicled the problems involved in successful implementation of the English language teaching component of large-scale, system-wide educational innovations. This paper reports on the findings of research into the implementation, in both general and ELT-related terms, of another similar recent initiative, the Philippines Basic Education Curriculum (BEC). The data indicate that classroom-level implementation of the BEC has been difficult to achieve, principally because (i) the curriculum design is insufficiently compatible with teaching situation constraints and, (ii) the necessary levels of professional support and instructional materials have not been provided. The data also show that both drawbacks can be traced in the first instance to a shortage of teaching situation and implementation process resources, a phenomenon frequently noted in the other studies and elsewhere. As the literature on curriculum development also indicates, however, such problems occur in both resource-rich as well as resource-poor contexts. The paper therefore concludes by discussing a number of additional possible underlying causes for inappropriate forms of curriculum innovation, with a view to informing directions for further enquiry.

Key Words: BEC • curriculum • development • ELT • implementation • Philippines.

RELC Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1, 5-24 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0033688208091138


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