CHALLENGES OF AN Alternative

Learning System (ALS) TEACHER

By Esmeralda G. Salcedo, EPS II

During the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the global health crisis has alerted
all social institutions to ‘new normal’ protocols. Significantly, the pandemic has unveiled
problems in the Education System of the Philippines, further staggering the effect on
underprivileged children, out-of-school youth (OSY) and out-of-school adult (OSA). The
Department of Education (DepEd), reported that almost 4 million students were not able
to enroll for the 2021 school year. Moreover, the 2017 Philippine Statistics Authority
data showed that 9 percent or 3.53 million of the estimated 39.2 Filipinos aged 6 to 24
years old were considered OSY/As. Due to this pressing dilemma, the Alternative
Learning System (ALS) was established.

The pandemic’s occurrence made Alternative Learning System (ALS) a crucial element
in ensuring that all students, both formal and non-formal, continue their education. Many
believe that since Alternative Learning System (ALS) is already performing the learning
system in advance, there will be fewer issues. In spite of that, the fact that ALS students
come from underprivileged communities, groups with disabilities, indigenous tribes,
people deprived of liberty, and individuals who have been impacted by war or natural
disasters, puts the system on par with formal education. The new normal was only
addressed earlier by ALS teachers.

Prior to the pandemic, formal education was frequently conducted in classrooms with
teachers attending to their students in accordance with their grade level and needs.
Teachers can support one another and work together for the good of their students. Daily
interaction also makes it simpler to keep tabs on the student’s well-being. Everything can
be done in one location.

Expounding on the areas of learning in ALS, it includes various salient features. These
include communication skills, problem-solving and critical thinking, sustainable use of
resources, development of self and a sense of community, and expanding one’s world
vision. These features explain the overall goal of the education system, which is
inclusivity, and equality, regardless of socioeconomic status.

In Alternative Learning System (ALS), learning takes on a new level. Teachers visit
locations where they interact with their students, out of youth and adults, who are not
currently enrolled in school and who, for various reasons, have been unable to complete
their education. Indigenous people who reside in remote areas without access to
transportation are among those who have dropped out. To get to these places, teachers
must walk for hours, swim across rivers, and climb hills and mountains. Some even make
multi-day trips just to reach these areas. No wonder they were called mobile teachers.

In addition to having to travel a great distance, not having a conducive space is also a
challenge. Mobile teachers meet learners in makeshift classrooms or under trees in the
absence of Community Learning Centers. If they are taking classes outside, a sudden
downpour could halt the lesson. The learners are also distracted by the noise and other
people walking by, which makes the lesson last longer.

Inconsistent attendance of the learners also poses a concern. Some of the ALS students
were also working adults who support their families. In such cases, teachers are obliged
to conduct home visits and investigate. Then, discussions are held to develop solutions
that will enable the learner to move forward. Most often, the teacher would adjust to the
schedule preferred by the student.

Another challenge is that educational resources are inadequate and don’t meet the needs
of the students. Teachers have to outsource the appropriate learning materials for them.
Some areas have an unstable internet connection to access these materials on the internet.
Hence, they have to find a good spot to download these. Added to this is the late release
of their allowance, as they rely on it for the expenses involved. Some of them take money
from their own pockets to cover the cost.

These are only a few of the problems our Alternative Learning System (ALS) facilitators
have faced and still is being faced throughout the pandemic. But the pandemic did not
only bring difficulties and problems. It also led teachers and students to have a stronger
relationship along with their families. Sweat and tears are indeed spent. There are many
who took the initiative to make sacrifices for the good of others. Some have gotten sick
and some lost their lives in serving their students and their families. This pandemic has
shown that nothing can stop these teachers from helping their students, even going the
extra mile to fill-in the missing gap in the education system.

And so we are proud to say that despite the pandemic trying to bring us down, our
Alternative Learning System (ALS) facilitators and students have worked hand in hand to
cope through it. And true, the output is never 100% success, but knowing that there are
people who managed to go out of their comfort zones and wore masks to continue to
reach their goals, then we can be confident that we have won against covid-19.

For Alternative Learning System (ALS) teachers with families, being apart from their
loved ones is also a challenge, primarily if they are assigned to distant or remote areas.
Trainings and seminars are also required in their position to make them equipped, which
lasts for a few days. Therefore, great effort, courage, and flexibility are needed to be one
of them.

https://deped-ne.net.ph/2023/01/06/challenges-of-an-alternative-learning-system-als-
teacher/
Challenges in the Implementation of
Alternative Learning System
Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Teaching, Learning, and Education

Year: 2019

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/2nd.ictle.2019.11.691

[Fulltex PDF]

Challenges in the Implementation of Alternative Learning System

Mario E. Campilla, Ed.D., Dr. Freda B. Lopez

ABSTRACT:

Every Filipino has a right to free basic education. Hence, the Philippine government
through the Department of Education has implemented the Alternative Learning System
(ALS) as a crucial component of Philippine education to provide every individual the
access to quality basic education to reduce illiteracy rate as envisioned in the Education
for All (EFA) 2015 Philippine Plan of Action. Like any other organization, ALS in
Urdaneta City has not been spared with challenges and problems. Descriptive research
method was used particularly frequency, percentage, and mean to determine the problems
encountered by the ALS teachers and learners. There were 7 mobile teachers and 175
learners who answered a questionnaire where some indicators were constructed by the
researchers and some were adopted from the study of Mercado (2015). It was found out
that the challenges encountered by the teachers were the following: students’
tardiness/absenteeism, inability to deliver lesson, unpredictable content of the
examination, and unavailability of state of the art equipment. Results also revealed that
leading problems encountered by the students were the following: teachers give too much
memory works, there is distraction in the learning environment, and they lack basic
computer knowledge. The results demonstrate the need for the establishment of
interventions that will address the problems encountered by the ALS teachers and
learners. Constant monitoring and application of these interventions will lead to the
effective teaching and learning process between the teachers and the learners. Like any
organizations, Alternative Learning System in Urdaneta City has not been spared from
problems and challenges. Based from the results, the following management
mechanisms/ interventions were formulated. The leading problems of teacher gives too
much memory work, students’ tardiness/ absenteeism, teachers’ inability to deliver the
lesson, unpredictable content of the examination, unavailability of state of the art
equipment, there is distraction in the learning environment and students’ lack of basic
computer knowledge. The proposed management mechanisms/ interventions are
preparation of activity sheets/ cards suited to the ability of the learners, constant
monitoring of the als learners, one on one tutorial, home visitation, crafting of schedules
wherein teacher with the specialization will teach particular topics, coaching and
mentoring, demonstration of all mobile teachers with feedbacking, cover all the skills/
competencies intended for als learners, update modules, gathering of data about the
coverage of the examination from learners of als who took the exam, strengthen
partnership/linkages with different stakeholders, provision of learning centers in the
community, separate learning centers for ALS learners, exposure of students in
computers, implementation of computer literacy week wherein different activities will be
conducted like computer tutorials on the use of Microsoft and invite experts in the field to
teach basic computer knowledge/skills.

Keywords: Alternative, Challenges, Implementation, Learning, System.

https://www.dpublication.com/abstract-of-2nd-ictle/37-ictle/#

Problems Encountered in Alternative

Keywords:

alternative learning system, education, teaching, learning

Published
2019-01-18

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Every Filipino has a right to free basic education. Hence, the Philippine government
through the Department of Education has implemented the Alternative Learning System
(ALS) as a crucial component of Philippine education to provide every individual the
access to quality basic education to reduce illiteracy rate as envisioned in the Education
for All (EFA) 2015 Philippine Plan of Action. Like any other organization, ALS in
Urdaneta City has not been spared with challenges and problems.

METHODS
The descriptive research method was used particularly frequency, percentage, and mean
to determine the problems encountered by the ALS teachers and learners. There were 7
mobile teachers and 175 learners who answered a questionnaire where some indicators
were constructed by the researchers and some were adopted from the study of Mercado
(2015).

RESULTS

It was found out that the leading problems encountered by the teachers were the
following: students' tardiness/absenteeism, inability to deliver a lesson, unpredictable
content of the examination, and unavailability of state-of-the-art equipment. Results also
revealed that the leading problems encountered by the students were the following:
teachers give too much memory works, there is a distraction in the learning environment,
and they lack basic computer knowledge.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate the need for the establishment of interventions that will address
the problems encountered by the ALS teachers and learners. Constant monitoring and
application of these interventions will lead to the effective teaching and learning process
between the teachers and the learners.