QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF TEACHERS' ADAPTATION AND CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MATATAG CURRICULUM

Elementary Education

This study primarily aimed to quantitatively assess the level of adaptation and the severity of challenges encountered by public school teachers in the Maco North District during the MATATAG Curriculum transition. The quantitative approach utilized adapted survey instruments to gather data from 170 universally selected public kindergarten and elementary school teachers across twenty distinct schools. The findings of the study revealed that teachers are moderately challenged by the system-wide curriculum rollout, specifically facing everyday operational pressure due to a lack of physical textbooks, limited digital resources, and a fast instructional pace that is hard to align with student readiness. Despite these ongoing difficulties, the teachers have successfully adapted their instructional routines, demonstrating high proficiency in modifying lesson plans, using active learner-centered learning methods, and shifting to qualitative rubric-based grading models. Statistical processing showed a significant, low positive relationship between the challenges faced and teacher adaptation, proving that field challenges act as a direct driving force that pushes educators to collaborate more and find creative classroom solutions. Moreover, the study found out that a teacher’s educational background makes a significant difference in how they handle changes, with doctorate holders managing curriculum demands much more easily, while total years of teaching experience and the specific level of training attended show no significant variance. Hence, it is concluded that while public school teachers face uniform systemic resource constraints during this educational shift, they remain highly resilient and active in changing their pedagogical practices. As a recommendation, it is imperative for the Department of Education to prioritize the fast distribution of standardized materials, provide explicit scheduling relief by reducing heavy non-instructional workloads, and build structured peer-mentorship networks during School Learning Action Cell sessions.

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