Assessment on the Bachelor of Physical Education Program Curriculum Based on the 1st Plenary Dialogue by the Physical Education Department at a Local College

Joseph T. Lobo

Academic Coordinator, Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences

City College of Angeles, Angeles City, Philippines

INTRODUCTION

A common observation from some Physical Educators of a local college that, there is an imbalance in the curriculum of the Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) program. BPEd is a new program under the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences. In City College of Angeles, the curriculum was enhanced to equip all the graduates of necessary knowledge and skills as preparation for their board examinations. There are certain subjects that were added in the curriculum, such as electives in the Music and Arts, as well as Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) courses. In this, the Physical Education Department have organized the 1st Plenary Dialogue: Curriculum Mapping and Review, where it invited external stakeholders from the Department of Education (DEPEd), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the sector of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Local Colleges and Universities (LCUs) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs). 

Corresponding Author: Joseph T. Lobo

*Cite this Article: Joseph T. Lobo (2022). Assessment of the Bachelor of Physical Education Program’s Curriculum Based on the 1st Plenary Dialogue Organized by the Physical Education Department at a Local College. International Journal of Social Science and Education Research Studies, 2(6), 187-192

The main goal of the said conference is to solicit recommendations that may be highly beneficial toward the improvement of the curriculum of the program. The said academic conference was held last April 25, 2022 via Zoom Meetings. The aim of this present study is to provide major findings based on stakeholders’ assessment of the said program curriculum.

THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Physical Education is an integral part of education program which aims to uphold holistic development on a human physical, mental, social, emotional, and even spiritual in the performance of properly selected physical activities. In accordance with the provision of Republic Act (RA) No. 7722 also known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994,” and by the virtue of the Commission en banc Resolution No. 197-2011, and pursuant to Article XIV, Section 19 of the Philippine Constitution which mandates that:

The State shall promote physical education and encourage sports programs, league competitions, and amateur sports, including training for international competitions, to foster self-discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry. All educational institutions shall undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors. (CMO No.23, Series of 2011)

It plays an important role as an academic discipline and as profession to the development of human and continually expanding in a fast rate (CMO No. 23, Series of 2011). Physical education is important in education because students should not only be equipped with concepts and theories, but also with physical activities that will help them to be mentally and physically fit.

The New Bachelor of Physical Education based on CMO No. 80, Series of 2017

A new program has been offered by a local college which is from the original Bachelor of Physical Education major in School Physical Education (BPE-SPE) based on CMO No. 23, Series of 2011, and changed to Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) in accordance to CMO No. 80, Series of 2017:

The Bachelor of Physical Education or BPEd is a (4) four-year program aimed at equipping graduates with the competencies to meet the psychomotor, cognitive and affective needs of learners. These consists of: (1) strong and substantial foundation of the subject matter (disciplinary knowledge) that informs their curricular choices when planning, designing, implementing and assessing learning activities (curriculum and program planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation); (2) an understanding of the scope and sequence of various movement forms; as well as elements, strategies and tactics of these various movements in a multitude of settings (movement competency and proficiency) that enables them to meet the needs of learners to know how, be able to do and how to learn; (3) expert knowledge of pedagogy for maximizing student engagement, monitoring students and modeling respect for differences in gender, ability and culture; (4) reflective practice that (a) propels them to set high standards for and hold themselves accountable to the professional standards (professional accountability and responsibility; (b) enables them to identify gaps in their current competencies and pursue professional development opportunities; and (c) assists them in studying the impact of their teaching on student learning; and (5) building and cultivating relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, other professionals and learning communities; advocating for PE, being role models of integrity and professional excellence, as well as leaders in the service of education.

The specific professions/careers/occupations graduates may venture in are: Physical Education Teacher in Basic Education, Dance and Sports Club Moderator, and School-based Sports Program and Events Moderator/Coordinator.

The BPEd curriculum was enhanced by the college through the help of the academic committee in helping all the teacher education students to be more equipped with knowledge and skills that can be of great help in their future careers as teachers and other job opportunities, but also for their upcoming licensure examinations. Electives in Music and Arts were added on the curriculum. Aside from the aforementioned electives, courses in Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) were also added, because the said program is accredited by the Asia Pacific Institute for Events Management (APIEM) where it was awarded as Center of Excellence (COE) for its events management program.

The enhanced curriculum was being implemented after the last batch of BPE-SPE graduates last Academic Year 2020. Additional subjects were added throughout the 4 years of taking up the discipline. Some major subjects for Physical Education were offered already during students’ 1st year in the program, and 1 music subject were added in the 1st semester of 4th year students as electives, and MICE subjects are offered every semester starting every 2nd year of the second semester. As per the instructors of physical education and other professional education subjects, there is an imbalance and overload in the subjects offered to the students just for them to meet their needs and able to pass the licensure examinations and comply with the added MICE courses.

IMBALANCED CURRICULUM AND ITS EFFECT

If a program curriculum is imbalance, it doesn’t only affect the teachers who give the instructions to their students, but it’s also a disadvantage to students who are the subjects of it. Also, if there are additional subjects added which can cause an overload in the curriculum. Overload has been defined as too great a load (Webster, 2000, p.1027), an excessive load (Collin, 1994, p.1113, Random House, 2009). It follows that the phrase, curriculum overload suggests some imbalance or incongruity between our capacity to enact or activate a curriculum which itself is perceived as overloaded (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2010).

The recently published Cambridge Primary Review’s enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England has described what was expected to be broad, balanced and rich curriculum as overcrowded and unmanageable (Cambridge Primary Review, 2009, p.3). The review argued that as teachers endeavoured to attain high standards in ‘the basics’ there was a little time for thinking, reflecting, problem-solving or exploration and the time for subjects such as Arts and Music, was often diminished. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2010) highlighted one of their related literatures on their review; overload is caused by important subjects competing for space with one another and also competing with what some consider being less important subjects.

There is a study of capacity in education reform which has shown the trend toward overload is common to other countries around the globe. Overload trend to increases in the size of a new/revised curriculum and the limited time provided for implementing it fully (UNESCO, 2003a). For example, in the Philippines, an overcrowded curriculum was blamed for low levels of achievement among students and delays in the development of critical competences; research showed that the coverage of an extensive subject matter tended to take priority over in-depth learning, given the relatively little time provided for implementing the curriculum (UNESCO, 2003b).

Curriculum should be well balanced in all aspects not only the subjects to be offered per semester, but also the availability of staffs, facilities and logistics to be used. Turner-Bisset (2007) argues that there many schools which are reluctant to become more innovative which conflict in imbalance exist. In seeking to provide breadth and balance within subject areas, there are schools that are inevitably constricted by available facilities, staff and timetable arrangement (Lord and Jones, 2006). Across United Kingdom, concerns have been expressed over the lack of balance within subject areas arising from the recent changes to the curricula.

Education degree is not an easy task to deal with, especially those who are majoring in the field of Physical Education. This course doesn’t only require professional education courses, but also practical subjects that are more of physical activities. Students from the tertiary level should enjoy a well-balanced curriculum. As per Lord and Jones, pupils themselves have expressed a need for greater balance between ‘academic’ and ‘practical’ subjects achieved through making lessons more relevant to their lives.

Curriculum should be aligned and balanced in order to maximize skills of the learners and to set the standard that the institution is aiming for their students. Aligning the curriculum is important in making sure that the assessments and standards coverage are addressed in the instructional process (Squires, 2012). A curriculum should not be exhausting, but it should be enjoyable as the level of difficulty is increasing.

Above all, the study is all about the assessment of the BPEd Program Curriculum. This present study would like to validate if all subjects offered are balanced and if the goals and objectives of the said program is attained. The researcher executed the study at City College of Angeles located at Arayat Avenue, Brgy. Pampang, Angeles City after the 1st Plenary Dialogue organized by the Physical Education Department. The researcher also aims to suggest recommendations for the improvement and development of the curriculum being offered to students. Assessment of the curriculum is a must to know if it offers an enjoyable and balanced ‘academic’ and ‘practical’ course. The study aims to answer the following questions:

1. How may the respondents be described in terms of Gender and Educational Attainment?
2. How may the respondents’ assessment of the curriculum be described in terms of:

1. Instructional Design
2. Instructional Material
3. Assessment and Assignments
4. Student Performance Expectations
5. Equity and Access
6. Qualification and Evaluation
7. Implementation

METHODOLOGY

Design

The researcher has used survey-descriptive research to conduct the study. The main objective of this study is to assess the enhanced BPEd program curriculum being offered by the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences of the City College of Angeles.

Participants and Sampling Techniques

The said program curriculum was assessed by the stakeholders who attended the said 1st Plenary Dialogue who are experts in the field of curriculum and Physical Education. Expert Sampling was used by the researcher in the study. The said technique is a form of purposive sampling where it requires experts to acquire knowledge. The sampling is subjective, judgmental and selective sampling. Stakeholders are professionals who are holding Master’s and Doctorate Degree.

Instruments

The researcher adapted a rubric from Apex Learning, a Digital Curriculum Evaluation. The instrument is Likert scale from 1-4 was used in different categories. It is divided into categories for assessing the curriculum: 

• Instructional design
• Instructional material
• Assessment and assignment
• Student performance expectations
• Equity and access
• Qualification and evaluation
• Implementation

Each category is different in terms of the scaling procedure. For Instructional design, equity and access, and Qualification and evaluation, the criterion is shown in Table 1. The criterion for instructional material, assessment and assignment, student performance expectation, and implementation is shown in Table 2.

Table 1. Interpretation of the overall weighted mean for Instructional design, equity and access, and qualification and evaluation

Table 2. Interpretation of the overall weighted mean for Instructional Material, Assessment and Assignment, Student Performance Expectation and Implementation

Analysis and Interpretation

Data were analyzed quantitatively. The researcher used IBM SPSS 26 to run all the data gathered from the respondents. Frequency and percentage were used to describe the respondents’ gender and educational qualification. Mean and Standard Deviation were also used to describe each category from the survey questionnaire used.

RESULT

Table 3. Demographic Profile

Table 3 illustrates the demographic profile of the respondents who assessed the curriculum of the program. From the result, most of the respondents are female (N = 3, 60%) compare to male. (N = 2, 40%)

Table 4. Total Mean of each Category

Table 4 illustrates the total mean of each category assessed by the respondents. It was found out that Instructional design has (M = 2.03, SD = .857) which corresponds to ‘occasionally,’ Instructional Material (M = 2.98, SD = .857) ‘often,’ Assessment and assignment (M = 3.12, SD = .722) ‘often,’ Student performance expectations (M = 3.24, SD = .788) ‘often,’ Equity and access (M = 1.80, SD = .676) ‘occasionally’, Qualification and Evaluation (M = 1.67, SD = .488) ‘somewhat evident’ and Implementation (M = 1.53, SD = .516) ‘occasionally.’

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

The result on the instructional design of the curriculum is somewhat evident. It means that the course organization and design may not be clear and concise, and may not be presented in a developmentally appropriate way. The instructional design of the curriculum should be in line with the current trend and with the integration of technology. According to Martz (n.d), as the educators today are facing millennial; and generation Z students, the design of the curriculum should be encouraged to integrate new technologies and resources in order to remain effective and relevant within the context. Added by Martz, change should be expected and approached proactively by educators in ways that address the changing the educational needs with sound principles of educational integrity and professionalism.

Instructional materials for the BPEd program curriculum were assessed by the professionals. The result yielded that it is often used in teaching by the instructors. It means that instructional materials are utilized averagely. The teachers are more on teacher-centered rather than student-centered. There should be a simulation to all students in order to learn. Like teaching social studies to students, teaching resources means anything that can assist the teacher in promoting teaching and learning. The curriculum should be supported with supplementary materials for their enrichment and remedial activities.

Assessment and assignment is the third category in assessing the curriculum. The result is often. It means that, it is used averagely by the instructors. Assessment and assignment are important in education. These are important factors in determining the knowledge and skills of the learners. Teachers should not only rely on the textbook that is available and apply what is given. Innovation of activities for assessment and assignments can be effective in achieving the goals and objectives of the course and curriculum. Some books may be outdated and out of trend, that is why teachers should be resourceful and creative in providing assessment and assignment to learners. As Muskin (2015) said, the curriculum embodies the knowledge and skills with which a nation or other jurisdiction or institution intends to equip youths so that they are ready to assume adulthood in engaged, productive and fulfilling way (p.4). In that, each course of the curriculum should deliver assessments that can meet all intended objectives.

Students’ performance expectations’ result is often from the Likert scale that the professionals answered. There are lots of factors that need consideration in distinguishing students’ performance. Teachers should be aware of their students’ characteristics and attitudes in order to classify what are the lapses that they need to fill out in order to maximize the skills of students to achieve the competencies needed. Therefore, teachers should set standards and treat students fairly in order to maximize the skills of the students and to achieve the goal of the course and the curriculum.

Equity and access of the curriculum was also measured by the professionals, and the result is somewhat evident. It means that there is an average access in the technical requirements. Instructional materials are somehow balanced and bias-free, and sensitive to the cultural differences of students. Researcher may also conclude that there is only average access in the logistics and venues that are used for classes. Some courses may require some equipment such as gym, gymnastic equipment and the like. These are important factors in the educational needs of the students in order to achieve the goal of the course, most especially the curriculum itself. Equity was defined by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2007) as

The definition of equity is broad and emphasizes both equity in opportunities and equity in educational outcome. Equity in education is, thus, not only a question of opportunities provided in the educational system, but it is also concerning the actual results of the various educational choices and performances of different groups of pupils and students through the educational system.

According to the study of Reisberg and Watson (n.d), one of the problems of the tertiary schools is that of unequal opportunity. Students who are disadvantaged (economic background, racial prejudice, geographic location, physical disability) are often inadequately prepared for postsecondary study. Reisberg and Watson also added that, institutions face the challenge of not only widening access but also addressing deficiencies and disadvantages that have accumulated over years of schooling if these targeted populations are to be integrated successfully at the university or college level. Therefore, aside from the college provides free tuition fee to the students because of the Commission on Higher Education – Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UNIFAST), the college should also provide adequate access to facilities in order to maximize their learning.

The assessment for qualification and evaluation of the curriculum was also measured by the professionals, the result is somewhat evident. The curriculum is accredited by the Commission of Higher Education (CHEd) and granted the college to offer the degree. The curriculum was designed by the academic committee of the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences to ensure its implementation. The curriculum should be evaluated carefully in all aspects such alignment of courses, and other matters to ensure that there will be a smooth flow throughout the implementation of the said curriculum.

The implementation of the curriculum is also occasional. It means that, there is a weak flow when the curriculum was implemented for the new set of BPEd major students. Overall, the curriculum is not that cohesive, because it was enhanced to accommodate the needs of the students and of the accrediting body. In this, professionals should keep in mind the effect of the enhanced curriculum to all the students who are taking up the program. Because of the overload in course units, students are not able to focus well because they are thinking a lot of things such as course works and other requirements needed to comply with each course they are taking. 

Since the curriculum is still on process, the researcher is looking forward on the result of its graduates this academic year based on the upcoming Licensure Examinations for Professional Teachers.

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