Barangay Day Care Centers: Emergence, Current Status and Implications to Teacher Education

Abstract

Using documentary analysis of legislative literature as well as current articles, the study looked into the emergence of Barangay Day Care Centers and surveyed the status of daily operations of about 48 Centers located in the NCR and the nearby province of Cavite. During the visits, the assigned teachers in each center were requested to answer the survey interview. Based on the gathered data, the study attempted to draw implications to teacher education in general and to pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher education or the continuing professional education and training of teachers, in particular. Results of the study showed that the emergence of the day care centers in the country proved the state's deepening commitment to uphold early childhood education. However, it is clear that despite the four decade span the systematic administration of the centers' academic programs, including appropriations of ample budget to cope with the demands of the growing target beneficiaries nationwide is still wanting much less the political will to enact the pending bills at the two houses of the Congress to ensure standard operations of the centers as a pre-school, if not fair employment for the workers.

The physical facilities of the centers need attention from the local government units held responsible for them - the classrooms, space for outdoor activities, comfort rooms and others. As to the activities done, both academic and non-academic, the teachers were relatively implementing these at par with the comparable pre-school operation. However, there is no standard academic curriculum being followed. The majority of the workers, though evidently underpaid, expressed satisfaction with their work. Resiliency in facing the most common problems like inadequate teaching materials and lack of involvement from the parents were manifested by these teachers. The inadequate pre-service as well as in-service training of the teachers at the day care centers has crucial implications to teacher education. Hopefully, the passage of the pending bills at the Congress on day care operation can address this issue.

The study further recommended that the Philippine Normal University as the National Center for Teacher Education (NCTE) serve as one of the partners of the Department of Education in conducting training programs to enhance competencies of pre-school teachers. This is also in consonance with the mandates of Section 3 of the R.A. 9647, otherwise known as "An Act Designating the PNU as the Country's National Center for Teacher Education".