Homeroom Guidance Program 

    The introduction and implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Program necessitated changes and revisions on existing DepEd programs to align them with the new curriculum. The K to 12 curriculum puts emphasis on capacitating learners with skills in doing their tasks and enriching these as they progress up to Grade 12. The curriculum takes into account societal factors and the learner’s developmental needs. They need to perform different tasks, confront personal and social issues, and eventually decide for their curriculum exit. A responsive and proactive program in addition to the existing academic programs must address these needs. 

     In 1998, Revitalized Homeroom Guidance (RHG) for secondary learners was created to answer the learners’ needs. However, certain considerations to make it more comprehensive, developmental, and proactive are deemed necessary. 

    Contemplating on the above-mentioned concerns, the Department of Education launches the Homeroom Guidance (HG). The program is relevant as it promotes rational thinking, healthy behavior, and positive disposition. Issues like academic failures, school dropouts, bullying, unhealthy sexual behavior, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, online and social media addiction, and confusion in and/or poor career choice, and other challenges that beset our learners today were considered in developing the program. 

     These provisions were formulated based on relevant current literature, and in consultation with teachers, School Heads, and Guidance and Counseling experts. This will provide clear and functional understanding about the important processes in the implementation and the proper monitoring and evaluation of the program, which is an important component for its sustainability and continual improvement.

    Based on the relevant literature and the practice in other countries, Homeroom Guidance is equivalent to Guidance Class, which is just a part of the Information Services of Guidance and Counseling Office (Villar, 2007; Mendoza, 2003). Aquino and Razon (1993) defined Homeroom Guidance as “an organized segment of the school's guidance services, which is given to a homeroom group usually a section or a class with a teacher-adviser as facilitator.” Hence, the term Guidance Class Curriculum or Guidance Class is the most common nomenclature. 

   Homeroom Guidance is a responsive program that equips learners with competencies to address issues not included in the formal learning areas but is very essential to their development. Learners who go through Homeroom Guidance have been found to have significantly decreased inappropriate behaviors and demonstrated positive attitudes toward school as compared to those learners who were not part of the School Counseling Program (Baker and Gerler, 2001). The study of Brigman and Campbell (2003) also showed that elementary and middle school learners who were part of the school counseling curriculum and group interventions that emphasized cognitive, social and self-management skills have consistently exhibited good performance in Mathematics and Reading. Furthermore, the study of Schlossberg et.al (2001) supported the effectiveness of Homeroom Guidance. They showed that there is a significant improvement in terms of learners’ behavior, attitude and knowledge in the areas of goal-setting, problem-solving, career exploration, and school resources. Further, the study of Carey and Dimmitt (2012) found that student’s success in school, academically and behaviorally, can be attributed to the student’s access to school counselor and comprehensive guidance programs and this is particularly true for students in high- poverty schools.

     Based on the consultations conducted with the regional representatives and Guidance and Counseling experts, there is a great need for a program that advocates the developmentof skills along academic, personal and social, and career aspects. At present, Homeroom period is part of the class program, however, there is a need to update and improve its implementation. Some schools reported that Homeroom period is being used for classroom cleaning, extension of breaks, collection of reply slips, and the like. Clearly, the current practices do not aid the realization of the program objectives. More so, the consultation with different stakeholders, reiterated the significance of collaboration among home, school, and community to ensure the holistic development of learners. It has been raised that there should be a systematic and consistent monitoring and evaluation of the program to achieve its proper implementation. 

To obtain the vision of the Homeroom Guidance, this document serves to guide the schools in:

a.  implementing the program properly to support the learners’ development;

b.  providing systematic process in the overall conduct of Homeroom Guidance;

c.  organizing resources needed in the program such as budget, manpower, facilities, learning materials, and other logistical needs; and

d.  articulating the scope and limits of the program including its monitoring and evaluation.

           The Homeroom Guidance’s Philosophy, Vision and Mission were rooted on the Department of Education’s Vision, Mission, and Core Values.

PHILOSOPHY

Homeroom Guidance believes that every learner is unique and has the ability to develop him/herself using his or her own learning and experiences from family, community, school and society. This shall be realized through the collaborative efforts of family, school, community, government, and other institutions.

VISION

Homeroom Guidance shall complement the Department’s goal which is to produce holistically developed Filipinos who are able to achieve academic success, demonstrate healthy behavior, exemplify positive disposition, and systematically plan their future. It shall produce learners who can work for the common good of society while upholding the international standards.

MISSION

Homeroom Guidance is dedicated to address the academic, personal/social, and career development needs of the learners in a developmental, comprehensive, and proactive manner. This shall be realized through the collaborative efforts of family, school, community, government, and other institutions.

    Homeroom Guidance is dedicated to address the academic, personal/social, and career development needs of the learners in a developmental, comprehensive, and proactive manner. This shall be realized through the collaborative efforts of family, school, community, government, and other institutions. 

     The Homeroom Guidance (HG) is guided by the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) Model which is comprised of the three domains such as Academic Development, Personal and Social Development, and Career Development. The standards and competencies of HG are anchored on certain theories since each domain has its own peculiarities in consideration to the needs of Filipino learners and society. 

   The Academic Development is guided by Jerome Bruner’s Scaffolding Theory that espouses that children will become independent learners as they mature if they are given the support and active help from their parents and teachers at the onset of their learning. The said theory states that the ‘scaffold’, reminiscent of a building scaffolding, of the growing child in their learning process is the knowledgeable person within their proximity, that is, their parents at home and teachers in school (rely to more knowledgeable people than them). Gradually, parental and teachers’ support can be removed as the learners develop independence in thinking and knowledge and skills acquisition. 

    Some concepts from the Learner-Centered Theory of Jean Jacque Rousseau were derived for the Academic Development domain. The theory stipulates that learner’s cultural capital or life experiences should be tapped in designing the learning process. In this way, a participative classroom interaction will be in place. Learners are not viewed as tabula rasa and they are assumed to possess cultural kit or accumulated experiences which serve as a significant factor in the learning process. If learners’ experiences are ignored, thinking will be limited and meaning-making of lessons will be hardly attained. 

    Cognitive Learning Theory of Jean Piaget has its share in this domain. It believes that cognitive development is a continuous process as the biological maturation and environmental influence take place. Learners gain knowledge and go through the differences between what they learned and what the existing realities are. Furthermore, it claims that learning and new knowledge can be stored if there are effective cognitive processes while learners encounter learning difficulties with ineffective cognitive processes. The theory tries to illustrate the processes and mechanisms of how reasoning skills and thinking using hypotheses develop by an infant as he/she becomes an adult later on. Piaget included the concept of schema which refers to “a cohesive, repeatable action sequence processing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning.” It is a set of linked mental representations of the world which people used to make meaning and act on different situations. During the development of mental processes, schema/schemata increase in number including its complexities. 

    Another concept in this theory that HG embraced is the adaptation process that includes assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. Assimilation occurs when a person uses his/her schema to understand the new situation or things while accommodation happens when the previous knowledge is irrelevant and needs to be changed to understand the new situation or things. Moreover, equilibration directs the learner to attain equilibrium which happens when learner assimilates or accommodates new information.

    The Personal and Social Development Domain in Homeroom Guidance got inspiration from the theory of Eric Ericson’s Psychosocial Development. Its descriptive overview of social and emotional development was taken as one of the considerations in crafting the standards and competencies. His view on mastering the attitudes, ideas, and skills at each stage of development to help learners to be successful and contributing members of society is highly evident in the program.

    Super’s Developmental theory of career choice is also a great influence in this domain.  . As a person’s career advances, it undergoes five ‘life-stages’ that include growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline. His concept of establishing a ‘self-concept’ as a person grows plays an important role in identifying occupation. The concept of vocational maturity which may be attributed to person’s age undergoes a cycle as manifested in his/her career transitions.

   The concept of career development as a lifelong process including its early development of Ginzberg is clearly reflected in the Career Development domain of the program. HG advocates the early inclusion of career concept in the lives of learners and guide them as they discover the path that they want to take.

       Homeroom Guidance is a developmental and proactive program that has standards and competencies that cut across all grade levels. The competency indicators are arranged from simple to complex and focuses on the development of higher order thinking such as analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and principles rather than just remembering.

A. Academic Development Domain pertains to all academic related needs or concerns of learners. This serves as a guide to implement strategies and activities to support and maximize each learner’s ability to learn which include but not limited to creative and critical thinking, communication skills and problem-solving skills.

B. Personal and Social Development Domain pertains to concerns or issues affecting learners’ individuality (self), relationship with others, and their interaction in community. It equips the learners with foundation for personal and social growth as they progress through school and into adulthood. This includes but not limited to intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, self-awareness, coping with emotions and stress, and resilience.

C. Career Development Domain pertains to all occupational and world of work- related concerns and issues of learners. This involves the acquisition of skills, attitudes, and knowledge that enable them to make successful transition from school to the world of work, and from job to job across the life span. This includes but not limited to learners’ discovery of their interests, talents and skills, decision- making, problem-solving, planning and in exploring their career options and opportunities.

1.  School ensures the proper implementation of Homeroom Guidance that leads to the  development of the learners’ life skills in the three domains. It convenes both home and  community for the realization of Homeroom Guidance’s vision.

2.  Home plays vital role in the learners’ life skills development through its consistent support, involvement, and collaboration with the school and community. It provides guided opportunities that complement the school activities of learners in Homeroom Guidance.

3. Community and other institutions reinforce the development of learners’ life skills through its engagement in the school programs and activities. It also serves as a support system of the school as they craft policies, programs, and projects that are relevant to the vision, mission, and philosophy of Homeroom Guidance.