Localized Curriculum on the Reading Achievement of Grade 8 Students

This study aimed to determine whether a localized curriculum would improve the reading achievement of the Grade 8 students. The research subjects were the Grade 8 students of Escalante National High School, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Pretest-posttest experimental design was utilized in this study. Two groups of subjects were compared in terms of their pretest and posttest results. The experimental group was exposed to the localized curriculum for their reading instruction while the control group received the reading instruction as prescribed by the K to 12 – Grade 8 English curriculum. The data were obtained using the researcher-made test instrument. Descriptive mean, paired and independent sample t-tests were the statistical tools used for the data analysis. The research findings revealed that the reading achievement of the Grade 8 students in English in the experimental group improved from ‘approaching proficient’ to ‘proficient’. It implied that localized curriculum helped increase the level of reading achievement of the students, thus the hypothesis of no significant difference between the pretest and posttest of the experimental group was rejected. This study suggested that since localized curriculum improved the reading achievement of the students, the school may establish a ‘school-based curriculum localization matrix aside from using the ‘regional and division curriculum localization matrix’ and ensure a continuous capability building for teachers on how to localize curriculum. A similar investigation may be conducted like the teachers’ knowledge and skills and effective strategies in localized curriculum in relation the students’ academic performance.

Keywords – curriculum localization matrix, localized curriculum, reading achievement, K to 12