After CQA, BukSU aligns with new Philippine teacher education standards

PASAY CITY (May 18) Bukidnon State University is now aligning its curriculum for teacher education with the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers, an outcome of its completion of the curriculum quality audit (CQA) partnership with the Philippine Normal University.

The two universities, members of the 3NS or the National Network of Normal Schools, completed the deliverables provided for in the memorandum of agreement signed earlier in 2017 to re-examine BukSU’s existing curriculum in teacher education through the CQA lenses. Officials said it is an initiative to ensure delivery of quality instruction and produce globally competitive graduates.

Dr. Oscar B. Cabañelez, BukSU university president, Dr. Estela C. Itaas, vice president for academic affairs and officials from the College of Education received the certificate of completion of CQA during closing rites on May 4, 2018 in Tryp Hotel here.

Asst. Prof. Desiree A. Barroso, a senior COE faculty member involved with the project as a specialist, said one of the outcomes of the CQA engagement is that the COE curriculum is now being aligned with the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST).

She added that BukSU was one of two Philippine state universities, which went ahead with the CQA process to align with the PPST, a privilege it has taken advantage as a member of the 3NS network.

In carrying out the pursuit to quality education, BukSU’s College of Education submitted itself to the tedious CQA process, which started in February 2017 with the entire teaching force of the College of Education to be acquainted with how CQA is done.

The Memorandum of Agreement between BukSU and PNU-Research Center for Teacher Quality (RCTQ) was signed on February 17, 2017.

This led to numerous seminars and training to achieve the end goal -- to produce teacher graduates ready for the real world of educating and molding the young. This is achieved through aligning the courses with the PPST.

In August 2017, the faculty of the College of Education started an in depth analysis as form of audit of all its subjects in professional education and other major subjects. The output of the first audit was submitted to the PNU-RCTQ for evaluation, en route to the next level of the CQA process.

The critical phase was done from November 28, 2017 to December 1, 2017 with Dr. Joy Hardy and other curriculum specialists from PNU-RTCQ.

The CQA team now transitioned from evaluating the syllabus to finalizing the exemplar CQA forms and syllabi, incorporating the Beginning Teacher Indicators (BTIs). They also walked through the new teacher education curriculum as mandated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

BukSU delivered the expected outputs given the time frame, as its CQA participants have reviewed most of the subjects and have reviewed the old syllabi and written the updated versions.

Barroso said Dr. Cabañelez and the rest of the university administration gave all out support in the completion of the CQA process with PNU.

BukSU’s partner, the PNU-RCTQ is at the forefront of the development of the PPST, which came because of changes brought about by various national and global frameworks such as the K to 12 Reform, ASEAN Integration, globalization, and the changing character of the 21st century learners.

The Department of Education, which adopted the PPST in August 2017, said in a department order that the PPST sets out clear expectations of teachers along well-defined career stages of professional development from beginning to distinguished practice. It added that the PPST also engages teachers to actively embrace a continuing effort in attaining proficiency and applies a uniform measure to assess teacher performance, identify needs, and provide support for professional development.

BukSU’s move to go through the CQA process for the alignment to the PPST came in time as the PPST will be used as a basis for all learning and development programs for teachers to ensure that teachers are properly equipped to effectively implement the K to 12 Program.

The DepEd also provided in its adoption of the PPST that the latter can also be used for the selection and promotion of teachers. All performance appraisals for teachers shall be based on this set of standards.

Barroso said for a student enrolled in BukSU’s College of Education, the alignment to PPST is an assurance that its curriculum in teacher education fits with the standards set to ensure quality education. (Ms. Gem Aiah Bolivia of COE and Walter I. Balane/BukSU Information and Publication Service)