Inclusiveness of Child-Friendly School System in Public Secondary School

Abstract

This study investigated the level of implementation on the inclusiveness of Child-Friendly School System (CFSS) of Barobo National High School, Barobo, Surigao del Sur Philippines. It utilized the descriptive method where 150 respondents consisting of administrators, teachers and students were asked about their evaluation of the program through a survey questionnaire. Results revealed that the program implementation of the public secondary school has strengths and weaknesses. The strengths include the presence of a school mission and/or vision statement and existence of policies about inclusive, child-friendly education; convenient, affordable, and safe mode of transport is  available from home to school for all children; monitoring mechanisms exist to  identify students prone of dropping out; all children have equal opportunities to participate in all school and classroom activities; the school has links with existing health authorities who provide periodic health examinations for children regardless of background or ability; parents receive information from the school about their children’s attendance, participation, and achievement; the school has staff, such as counsellors; teachers believe that all children can learn regardless of their background and ability; the school allows teachers to innovate teaching methods for helping all children learn; teachers can identify culture and gender bias in teaching materials, the school environment, and in their own teaching; and learning materials are in the language children use in and out of school.