ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM HISTORY

1. ALTERNATIVE LEARNING
SYSTEM (ALS)

2. • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948- recognized education
as an "indispensable means of unlocking and protecting other human rights
by providing the scaffolding that is required to secure good health, liberty,
security, economic well-being, and participation in social and political
activity" (UN, 2002) This landmark declaration paved way to the rights-
based discourse of education to be asserted by marginalized groups like
children, women, people with special needs, and Indigenous People
communities.
• The Philippine government has signified its commitment to EFA (Education
for all) goals
• Alternative Learning System that address as promote continuing education.
• Young people and adults are to be given “equitable access to appropriate
learning and life skills programs”

3. • To decentralized the education sector, policies were
created towards a tri-focalized educational system -- the
Department of Education (DepEd) is to manage Basic
Education (Kindergarten to high school and Alternative
Learning System), the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) to manage technical-
vocational training and Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) to manage Higher Education.

4. Various Forays into the ALS World
• There is a dearth of study about the Alternative Learning System in the
Philippines.
• Most reports focus on macro issues like number of participants, funding,
and assessment results.
• One source of data was the observation notes and reflection papers of
teacher education students.
• The courses Alternative Learning Delivery Systems (Educ 101) & Nonformal
Education: Theory and Practice (EDNFE 221)
• The engagement of the students with the ALS learners extended beyond the
classroom. A Facebook group was created for ALS learners where sharing of
materials and discussion of various concerns.

5. ALS teachers Workshop:
• Write about there views and experiences about ALS
• Describe the nature of ALS learners, especially those who are working.
• Asked them to write about their strategies and improvisations in handling
their classes.
From Non-Education to Alternative to Formal Schooling
• Previously in the Education Act of 1982, nonformal education was considered a “non-
education service” that catered to the needs of “illiterate adults” and “out-of-school youth
and adults.”
• It aimed to;
- 1) eradicate illiteracy and increase level of functional literacy
- 2) provide technical-vocational training for employment
- 3) to instill values and attitude for personal, community and national development.

6. • Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) and its major purpose is to deliver
quality education to the “deprived, depressed, and underserved” Filipinos.
• The ALS was meant to address two main concerns – improve functional literacy
rate and school participation rate.
• Subject areas in formal basic education are called learning strands
- Math and Science became “Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Strand
-Filipino and English subjects are called “Communication Skills Strand,”
-Technical and Livelihood Education is called “Sustainable Use of Resources
and Productivity”
-Values Education is called “Development of Self and a Sense of Community”
- Social Studies is called “Expanding One World’s Vision.”

7. Non-formal, Informal and Lifelong Education
• Non-formal education (NFE) is an educational program introduced by
development agencies to countries that were once described as “third
world” like the Philippines. It was introduced in a United Nations meeting in
1968 in the context of a widespread feeling that formal education was
failing (Rogers, 2004). Upon the growing “world educational crisis,”
educators expressed concern over unsuitable curricula insofar as they
realized that jobs did not emerge directly as a result of educational inputs
(Smith, 2001). Consequently, many countries were facing a difficulty of
paying for the expansion of formal education. Reform movements and
development communities in the West saw non-formal education as a
solution to all the ills of education in developing countries

8. • Informal education (InfEd) in some instances was also categorized as
nonformal education but later it gained a life of its own. It is defined as a
lifelong process whereby every individual acquires attitudes, values, skills
and knowledge from daily experience especially in the workplace.
• Smith (2001) further explains that the distinction among the three concepts
is administrative. ;
-Formal education is linked with schools and training institutions;
-Non-formal with community groups and other organizations;
-Informal covers what is left, e.g. interaction with friends, family, and work
colleagues.

9. Alternative Education
• Alternative Education or Alternative High School is a term that is found to
describe some high school institutions in the United States that are serving
the needs of vulnerable youth who do not succeed in the traditional
schools.
• Since alternative education programs are associated with “disengaged and
uninterested” learners, there is the impression that the programs are of
poor quality .
• Alternative High Schools do not only provide academic learning but would
usually include psychosocial and vocational support services provided by a
multidisciplinary team.

10. Three-type typology of alternative education
• Type I is often referred to as “popular innovation” or “true educational
alternatives” because they alter organizational, administrative and
pedagogical approach of the whole school to provide an engaging
environment, and a range of options for youth at risk or potential dropouts.
• Type II is “last chance” program which focuses on behavior modification for
chronically disruptive youth. It includes in-school suspension programs,
cool-out rooms that are likened to “soft jails.”
• Type III program is meant for students who need temporary remediation or
rehabilitation to address academic, social/emotional issues. It’s remedial
nature.
• Anything that is not traditional schooling falls under alternative education.

11. The ALS Program
• ALS classes are conducted in community learning centers numbering about 4,467
found all over the Philippines. Incoming learners, mostly out-of-school youth and
adults, are assessed.
• Those who do not pass the basic literacy test are placed at Basic Literacy Program.
The rest are placed either at elementary or high school level
• Mobile teachers are provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) to handle
basic literacy learners.
• Active recruitment of learners happens from January to April
• Learning sessions using various delivery systems (independent learning, tutoring
and classroom instruction) are conducted starting in March until the end of the
year.
• The much awaited Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Examination, is
administered in all regions of the country from October to December. The test
includes multiple choice questions and essay writing.

12. The School Goes Where the Learners Are
• The students of UP College of Education who were deployed to facilitate ALS
lessons recorded what they saw the first time they entered the community.
One student wrote:
“When we went to the community, I was not surprised with what I saw;
garbage everywhere, kids everywhere, an unkempt community, and all the
other factors that would paint a slum. “
• The out-of-town field visits gave the realization that ALS learning centers are
found in hard to access places.
• The image of a mobile teacher with school materials in his or her backpack
traversing rivers and mountains represents a paradigm shift in teaching.
• The teachers would sometimes describe what they do as a “search and
rescue” process.

13. • The ALS learning centers are sometimes found in unlikely places—village
meeting hall, jails, basketball court, women shelter and in the public market.
• The requirement to go and find learners in difficult places poses a challenge
to the teachers. They have to deal with exhaustion, bad weather, and all
forms of danger.
• There were reports of accidents and encounters with the anti-government
rebels along the way. One male ALS teacher said that members of the
military mistook him for a rebel and brought him to the military camp for
questioning.

14. A Diverse Group
• One common lament coming from the ALS teachers is the fact that they are teaching a
very diverse group – from young children (at least 10 years old) to the elderly.
• Majority are school leavers who had to leave to school for various reasons – early
pregnancy, the need to work and support themselves and their family or to care for a
young sibling, dismissed from school due to an offensive behavior and so forth.
• There are adults who can hardly read or write, children or youth in, members of
indigenous people communities, victims various types of abuse, children and youth in
high-conflict areas, including those whose homes and schools were devastated by a
typhoon or earthquake.
• The law requires employers to send their domestic help and youth laborers to attend ALS
classes.
• The ALS teachers reported that the most difficult group of learners to teach are adult
illiterates, those who never went to school or had to leave school early in life.
• Among the younger population, the most difficult ones, described as “extra challenge” are
the itinerant street children. This group includes members of an indigenous group from
the south who are commonly called “Bajaus.”

15. • One ALS supervisor mentioned about an interesting group of learners in his
district -- the middle age mothers who left school early because they
married young. Now in their 40’s and with grown up children, they have the
opportunity to resume their studies.
• Another interesting group of learners are men and women in correctional
institutions. Their confinement provides bulk of time to study and thus they
perform better in equivalency examinations.
• In some places, the jail wardens are trained to become ALS teachers.
• There are also reports that ALS is utilized as part of the reintegration process
for communist rebel returnees and women who have left prostitution.

16. • Three teaching strategies were recurring in the survey taken.
-One is the use of informal sharing of experiences at the beginning of the session..
-Another strategy is the use of various computer-based technologies, especially video clips.
-The third one is the use of group activities which are meant to create a closer relationship
among the learners. Eventually, the class becomes a support group.
• Addressing the psycho-social need is another issue that was expressed by the teachers and
the ALS facilitators. One of my student-facilitator wrote in her paper. What really caught
my attention was when we were discussing local issues and conflicts because they were all
scared and they felt powerless. They believe that in this society, they are minorities who
don’t enjoy the same freedom as those who are educated.
• Another said that during the lesson, he ended up giving what he called a “pep talk,”
something he felt was needed especially that the students would be undertaking the
Accreditation and Equivalency Test.
• ALS teachers share many ways of dealing with the psycho-social needs – inspirational
songs, spiritual support (prayer, religious materials), counseling, mentoring.

17. • All these attest to the fact that ALS teachers are
dedicated and multi-skilled. This affirms previous
findings that NFE cannot operate without such dedicated
teachers (Rogers, 2004). The ALS teacher’s counterparts
in a regular high school are specialists of a particular
discipline. However, the ALS teacher is a generalist and
should be capable of facilitating learning in all subject
areas. In some cases, the ALS teacher would invite
volunteers and resource persons to explain difficult
lessons.

18. Impact and Consequences
• In places like jails or rehabilitation centers, participation in ALS program does not
only provide the possibility of getting an elementary or high school diploma but it
creates new identities. Inmates would be quite hostile at first, as they were
required to go out of their cell to meet my students.
• However as their ALS teacher would introduce them as “ALS learners” and talk
about their ALS experiences, we observed a change of their demeanor. They were
not longer just inmates, but learners and achievers.
• The prison cell was re-casted as a learning center. The learners would later talk
about their experiences, their life before they were jailed, the lessons learned from
the ALS classes, their jubilation of passing the A&E test. There were instances
where inmates would describe their incarceration as a “blessing in disguise.”
• The goal of every ALS student is to pass the equivalency test and receive an
elementary or high school diploma, something that would allow him/her to pursue
further education in technical-vocation or in a higher education institution, get a
better employment and gain more self-confidence.

19. • Actually there are very few who pass the Accreditation and Equivalency
Examination. Reports show that when A&E passing rate has been steadily
increasing from 9% in 2000 to 21% in 2006 (Caoili, 2007).
• The passing rate peaked in 2013 at 28% but the figure was not sustained in
2014.
• Those who fail the test have to retake the test the next year. The teachers
expressed in several instances that the A&E paper and pencil test does not
really capture what their learners are capable of.
• They observed that some learners are doing well during class sessions and
they are quite successful in their trade but they are not able to pass the test.
• Reports show that the Department of Education allocates only less than 1%
of its budget to ALS program.

20. The Most Likely to Succeed
• The ones who would stand to benefit from the ALS classes and most likely would
pass the AE test are the recent school dropouts, especially those who left the
school at grade 9 and 10.
• Another promising group are those who are already working. Based on the survey
conducted among the teachers, about 38% of their learners are working as
household help, nannies, vendors, laborers, restaurant workers, and the like. The
recurring descriptors for these working students are “pursigido” (determined,
persevering), “madiskarte” (street smart, intuitive, resourceful), responsible,
diligent and more knowledgeable.
• They have better literacy and numeracy skills. Teachers reported that they are able
to understand the lessons better and would find it easier to write an essay.
• They are also more polite and able to relate better with their peers.
• What constrains them is the limited time they can give to ALS classes due to their
work schedule.

21. • And there are some scholars who would raise the idea that the
high dropout rate and low outcomes cannot be attributed to the
educational system alone but symptoms of bigger and broader
societal issues like poverty and inequality.
• Critics would describe development initiatives like ALS and NFE as
Band-Aid solutions. What is required really is structural change
(Roger, 2004).