Parents’ Beliefs on Philippine Educational and Curriculum Practices: What Educators Can Learn from Them

Abstract

Parents are part of the school community. However, schools have neglected to tap parents’ opinions and perceptions of new programs for implementation (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009). Upon this background, Dodd (1988) conducted her research to gain a better understanding of the curriculum and practices parents favored, including their underlying beliefs about teaching and learning high school English. This study replicated Dodd’s (1998) research to explore the understanding of educational practices that Filipino parents prefer in the light of curriculum innovations, particularly the K to 12 Junior High School English subject. Key informant interview (KII) was used as the main data-gathering technique following Dodd’s (1988) interview protocol. The KII information was subjected to thematic analysis to gather the major ideas that are essential in answering the research questions. The findings revealed that parents’ beliefs are based on their own and their children’s experiences and their children’s well-being. Thus, their approval of the curriculum and educational practices are largely dependent on how these will affect and benefit their children based on their understanding of policies and practices. They further place a significant value on teachers’ role in the implementation of the curriculum as facilitators of learning and academic leaders who could help their children maximize their potential. Parents can also help identify problems concerning curriculum implementation, teachers’ roles and duties, teacher-parent and teacher-student relationships, and school environment. In this regard, home-school partnerships can be strengthened to gain parents’ support and obtain valuable insights on how curriculum and educational practices affect their children. Therefore, cultivating parent involvement is ultimately beneficial for schools as this provides essential feedback on the introduction and implementation of curricular reforms and the improvement of practices.