Bangsamoro Education: Three Years Implementation of the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program in the Public Schools and the Standard Madrasah Curriculum in the Private Madaris

Research Review - Review Report on the Three Years Implementation of the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program in the Public Schools and the Standard Madrasah Curriculum in the Private Madaris (2008)

The year 2005 is when the ARMM and the rest of the country started to implement the ALIVE curriculum in public schools and the standard madrasah curriculum (SMC) in private madaris. The review of ALIVE targeted the first regions which undertook the program, Regions X, XI, XII, and NCR, and those regions, RIX, RIII, RIVA, RIVB, RVI, RVII, Caraga, which joined the programs in 2006- 2007.

The overall aim was to conduct a review of the three years implementation of the ALIVE and Standard Madrasah Curriculum in the private madaris in the implementing regions by exploring activities, approaches and processes developed and undertaken at all levels.

1. Summary of the Review Findings of the ALIVE program in the public schools

In relation to the ALIVE program, this implementation review was conducted primarily to assess the outcomes of the three years of implementation, identify key issues and weaknesses affecting its implementation and sustainability. The program is being implemented; the regions had policies in place, teachers were deployed and the curriculum was being implemented in the schools. However in terms of existing structures and support systems for effective pedagogy in ALIVE, the regions, divisions and schools were challenged. There were many themes that emerged in relation to policies, administration, teachers, pupils, community participation, and issues and concerns.

Policies and administration

On program orientation, both school administrators and division coordinators identified in the survey confirmed to have conducted and attended ALIVE orientation which included familiarization with the Regional Operations Manual and inclusion of cultural notes on Islam but it was apparent that further orientations and ongoing advocacy at all levels are needed.
Since supervision of classes is the primary function of school administrators, ALIVE classes were also observed and division coordinators made it a point to monitor implementation of the program. They noted that ALIVE teachers made some efforts on preparing visual aids, writing lesson plans and preparing classroom tests.
The respondents in the survey gave varied responses re allocation and utilization of ALIVE learning materials. However, both the school administrators and division coordinators confirmed the importance and usefulness of the materials, especially the Grade I textbooks on Arabic Language and Islamic Values; Curriculum Guide or the ‘blue book’ and the prototype lesson plans. Appropriateness of the Arabic Language textbook for Grade 1 was a recurring theme across the groups.
One of the most difficult obstacles noted in the implementation of the ALIVE program in the elementary schools was class scheduling and contact hours, especially in schools/divisions that are not predominantly Muslim populated. Schools scheduled either on weekdays or weekends where the time allotment as prescribed in DepEd Order 51, s. 2004, was usually violated rather than followed.
On ALIVE documentation, both school administrators and division coordinators surveyed stated that they kept data on the ALIVE program since SY 2005-2006 in the form of compilation of reports, photo documentation and basic statistical data. It appeared that there was no particular requirement from DepEd.
The findings revealed the conduct of division and school level in-service trainings for teachers which dealt with the areas of preparation of instructional materials, Arabic Language Enhancement trainings, content in English, Math and Science, and further trainings on teaching strategies, test construction, art of questioning, classroom management and discipline, and tools of assessment. Attendance to LEaP and ATEP trainings were confirmed by both groups with variation on gender attendance.

ALIVE teachers

On selection/recruitment and deployment of ALIVE teachers, both the school administrators and division coordinators, agreed that the minimum requirement in the selection of teachers was thanawi or high school graduate in Arabic studies and secular education with priority for those with two years teaching experience.
The division coordinators survey confirmed that of the school administrators regarding the utilization of the ALIVE curriculum framework which accordingly facilitated the teaching-learning process. Furthermore, it set parameters for the program.
Aside from class scheduling and time allotment, the issue on the honorarium of the ALIVE teachers in the public elementary schools was of major concern. Compensation ranged from below P5,000 to P5,000 monthly with very few – and in only some regions - receiving above P5,000. While the salary range is already low, it is not even received on time. Attendance of ALIVE teachers was never a problem as indicated in the high percentage response of school administrators on the issue.

Pupils

With regards to pupils attendance, school administrators and division coordinators, gave contradicting responses, school administrators attested 63.16% Muslim pupils attendance to ALIVE classes, while a very low percentage response (37.70%) was reported from the division coordinators group. However, both groups came up with similar justification for low attendance, like, helping in family livelihood, pupils already attending weekend madrasah classes, and financial problems, among others. Multiple anecdotal improvements were noted in the behavior of Muslim pupils. Positive changes were noted in class discipline, participation in class activities, appreciation of culture and sensitivity, orderliness and cleanliness.

Stakeholder participation

Community involvement was evident due to extensive program advocacy through series of orientations, community visits, periodic meetings, and other school-based activities. Stakeholders identified different forms of support, like donations in kind, monetary for physical facilities improvement, moral support, and cooperation.

Other issues and concerns

A raft of ideas was offered on how to improve various parts of the program including teacher qualifications and selection and deployment. As a result of issues raised about the qualifications of ALIVE teachers and lack of knowledge on Arabic Language of those involved in the selection process, it is recommended that credible ulama be asked to help screen pertinent papers in Arabic. It is strongly recommended that the Qualifying Examination be retained as a requirement for recruitment, for how can ALIVE teachers teach Arabic if they are not proficient in the language? The overall findings suggest that a comprehensive and ongoing advocacy program is required for quality ALIVE program.

2. Summary of the Review Findings of the Standard Madrasah Curriculum in the Private Madaris

On policies and administration

As with the implementation of the ALIVE program in the public schools, the results revealed that the Standard Madrasah Curriculum was being implemented in the private madaris; there were policies in place, teachers were deployed and the curriculum was being implemented. However in terms of existing structures and support systems the madrasah managers were constrained, and for effective pedagogy the madaris teachers were challenged. There were many similar themes that emerged in relation to policies, administration, teachers, pupils, community participation, and issues and concerns.

There was general awareness of the Madrasah Improvement Planning process in the madaris and of the value of having an MIP and the overall direction. The development and use of MIP had led to a range of improvements including physical facilities, implementation of the new curriculum with lesson planning ad proper recording, improved classroom management, improved pupil performance and rapport between teachers and parents. However, there was discrepancy among the groups as to the existence and use of a Madrasah Manual.

Teachers and the curriculum

Selection and recruitment of RBEC and ISAL teachers covered the qualifications, selection process and orientation of RBEC and ISAL teachers in the madaris. There was discrepancy, that is the lack of unanimity among the groups in identifying the selection process for both BEC and ISAL teachers and determining what were both the secular and religious education requirements. This partly points to the absence of a clear-cut policy on selection criteria, or if such criteria exist, they may not have been adequately disseminated which means that stakeholders are not fully aware of the existence of such policy and criteria.

From the survey it was noted that not every teacher had undertaken an orientation. Every teacher in the madrasah should be properly oriented on the SMC and DepEd rules and regulations pertaining to the operations of the private madrasah. It is unfair to assign teachers to classes and expect them to abide by madrasah policies if these policies were not made clear to them in the first place.

The very low salary received by the teachers was not always received on time. It was not possible to authenticate responses about other benefits received. Most of the surveyed madaris sourced their income from tuition fees, trust funds and donations, indicating that they had a very small source pool, suggesting a need for madaris to expand their sources of income. Access to financial assistance through DepEd Order 81, s. 2007, provides details of an additional source of support which could be explored for improving the compensation structure in the madrasah.

Among madrasah managers class monitoring was mainly done on a weekly basis a view contradicted by RBEC teachers and ISAL teachers who said they were being monitored on a daily basis. All three groups affirmed that some form of observation or monitoring tool was being used in their madrasah.

Aside from actual teaching obligations, RBEC teachers indicated they were also tasked with other activities. Balancing two sets of tasks, particularly for full-time teachers, is a delicate matter - it is essential that the quality of teaching and learning is not compromised.

The responses on questions relating to in-service provided information which encompassed both pre-service, in-service and other forms of training programs that they were able to access while in the madrasah. Madrasah managers, RBEC and ISAL teachers had accessed training programs through various sources – programs developed by the madrasah, through the BEAM Project and other service providers. These training programs focused on the SMC and improving the teacher and management skills. The traditional notion of professional development as training and seminar should be expanded to include other effective modes, such as job-rotation, mentoring, peer coaching, and self-learning.

The subject of teacher performance covered the utilization of Standard Madrasah Curriculum, lesson planning, RBEC and ISAL subject offerings, class program, class organization, number of school days [school week, week days, school days, daily contact hours], monitoring and supervision of classes. Although those surveyed had been in madaris which had been implementing the program since 2005 and had been involved in on-going advocacy, monitoring, and a series of training programs, the respondents were still not unanimous in identifying the SMC as their point of reference. It is disappointing to note that this was happening despite these madaris having applied to DepEd for a Permit to Operate (PTO), and that they were inspected and consequently informed about compliance with certain DepEd standards. This point to a breakdown in certain aspects of the management system in the madrasah.

In both RBEC and ISAL subject offerings, the RBEC teachers and madrasah managers were largely challenged over which subjects were required or not. The survey showed that a number of required subjects were not seen as such and therefore not offered in their madrasah curriculum. There were subjects offered which were not required for a particular grade level. This implies that, to a certain degree, the offering of non-required subjects will have an effect on sound teacher deployment; while the non-offering of required subjects will have a lasting impact on the academic preparation of pupils.

The results of the survey showed that there was minimal awareness among managers of the required contact hours. This will have negative repercussions on their ability to provide correct information to the madrasah community as well as check on the class program drafts of teachers.

While ISAL teachers were unanimous in their response of having to prepare lesson plans, this was only shared by 77.78% of the RBEC teachers. Whether or not lesson planning was required for madrasah teachers was not asked in the survey of madrasah managers. However, in the FGD, a manager from Malabang claimed he required his teachers to develop and follow their lesson plan. A manager from Sulu said that while he required his teachers to develop a lesson plan, he put more value on actual classroom teaching-learning interactions.

Lesson planning appears to be a new concept for ISAL teachers who were not used to it in the traditional madrasah. With the SMC piloting, they were expected to grow in competence in developing lesson plans. Despite the fact that lesson planning was a novel idea for ISAL teachers, they were unanimous in responding to it. In contrast, the responses from RBEC teachers who had been trained in lesson planning, indicated that not all were using lesson plans. One speculation has to do with the secular qualification of RBEC teachers, and that is some of them were neither education graduates nor have taken education subjects in college.

Among RBEC teachers, contextualization came mainly in the forms of integrating Islamic values into lessons including the use of Islamic terminology (33.33%) and in discussions by citing Islamic events (18.52%). The low percentage responses about types of lesson plans from both groups of teachers, imply that the respondents may not have been fully aware of the different types of lesson plans or that they were not using lesson plans at all. Responses like these could also boomerang on the quality of monitoring undertaken by madrasah managers, given that in this report and across respondent groups, a specific monitoring tool was not identified.

From the varied responses as to how lesson plan objectives were formulated, it appears that there were missing standards or a set of rules in the surveyed madaris when it came to preparing lesson plans and more specifically in terms of formulating objectives.

The variety of teaching-learning strategies included in the responses is an indication that learning from the series of teacher trainings started in 2005 had made a presence in the madrasah classrooms. This observation is equally important given the fact that ISAL teachers who were used to rote memorization in the traditional madrasah, were talking about interactive strategies. This development should be sustained and enhanced.

There was a common perception among madrasah managers, ISAL and RBEC teachers that classroom management was about physical, material or tangible things. The mention of ‘multiple intelligence’ by the RBEC teachers is indicative of the need for enhanced non-physical, nonmaterial and intangible aspects of classroom management. Since the outlawing of corporal punishment, the concept of discipline needs to move away from the physical, material or tangible aspects of classroom management.

The survey showed there were madrasah managers, RBEC and ISAL teachers who were not clear about the difference between the nature (formative and summative) and mode (paper-and-pencil, portfolio) of assessment. Inconsistencies in approaches to and lack of understanding on student assessment clearly demonstrated a need to review this aspect of the curriculum.

Only the madrasah managers were surveyed on the specific textbooks used in the madrasah. There was much diversity in terms of titles and grade levels. Most RBEC textbooks and references used were published locally, while the ISAL textbooks and references were sourced overseas. It was also noted that RBEC textbooks and references were grade-specific, while ISAL textbooks and references were general religious materials.

In the FGDs, the participants mentioned difficulty in keeping up with DepEd expectations on the quality of the RBEC and ISAL offerings with limited access to RBEC textbooks and references. The few they had were accessed through their networks with local DepEd offices. The few ISAL subjects developed by DepEd have been previously put into question in terms of age appropriateness, usability and relevance.

It was observed that the piloting of the SMC was largely underpinned by the so-called ‘blue book’ which only includes a set of objectives and competencies by subjects and grade level. It does not contain a detailed explanation of the philosophical framework, and how these competencies evolved and were expected to be realized. There is no mention of procedures as to how the SMC may be implemented. Lack of clarity, maybe explains why madrasah managers gave varied interpretations of its implementation.

This and a host of other data from the survey and FGDs point to the need to come up with a manual for madaris implementing the SMC which contains explicit expectations on curriculum implementation, developing the learning environment, managing human and other resources and community building. Without such a manual, it is unlikely that there will be the quality improvement desired and the sustainability of the program will be in doubt.

The review also took into account the learning environment. There were generally enough classrooms; however, the year-to-year enrolment was affecting a few madaris which had resorted to use of temporary structures and construction of new ones. There were limited sanitation facilities in some madaris and seating facilities were not adequate in almost half of the surveyed madaris. While madaris were open to accept further enrolments their capacity to provide adequate facilities was limiting their ability to respond to this demand.

While the survey allowed appreciation of the availability of varied instructional devices, it indicated that only in the madaris of six of the ten respondents were these available. As instructional devices are important in improving and sustaining pupil engagement, materials for developing the devices should be planned and budgeted for by the managers, training provided and the devices present in all madaris.

The survey revealed that the madaris keep two types of data, statistics and photo documentation and these can be traced back as far as SY 2005-2006, the first year of piloting of the SMC. While 10 of 11 madaris said that they had developed a madrasah handbook, these were not made available during the review.

On Pupils

It appears that there is no policy on pupil attendance or if there is one, it is not clear and thoroughly understood by teachers. Multifarious actions were implemented for tardiness and absenteeism. Actions for bullying echoed the generic responses for tardiness and absenteeism.

The madrasah policies on tardiness, absenteeism and bullying need to be clarified in relation to the actions taken on these matters.

While the survey did not provide explicit information as to the correlation of responses among Madrasah managers, RBEC and ISAL teachers from the same madrasah, the value of being informed, explicit and consistent in the application of madrasah policies is reiterated. Stakeholders must be fully informed of the details of these policies; the policies should be clear, concise and with opportunities for misinterpretation minimized; and applicable to everyone.

A variety of grading systems and a host of generic responses were generated on this matter from the respondent groups including ‘averaging and cumulative systems’ and ‘averaging’. The survey also showed there were madrasah managers, RBEC and ISAL teachers who were not clear about the difference between the nature (formative and summative) and mode (paper-and-pencil, portfolio) of assessment.

The importance of one policy on the grading system (nature and mode of assessment) in every madrasah is critical for consistency of policy and its application, especially in the ranking of honor pupils. This matter cannot be left entirely to the discretion of the teacher. The validity of the entire assessment practice in the madrasah will be called into question.

In general, madrasah managers, RBEC and ISAL teachers claimed noticeable changes in pupil behaviors. The survey also provided specific information about the behavior of boys and girls. However, in analyzing their responses, there is no distinguishing feature between mere observation of pupil behavior and behavioral change. It was noted that few non-Muslim children attended the madrasah.

On community involvement

Both the survey and the FGDs provided information that the madaris are able to generate some forms of support from the community and they showed a degree of creativity in achieving this goal.
Overall, these forms of support can only be sustained if the madrasah management continues to engage in a manner that is transparent, efficient and accountable.