Transformative Learning in the MATATAG English 7 Curriculum: A Content Analysis with Teacher Perspectives

The Department of Education’s (DepEd) MATATAG Curriculum, launched in 2024, represents a major reform in Philippine basic education, aiming to address curriculum congestion and misalignment while fostering 21st-century competencies. This study evaluates the Grade 7 English curriculum through the lens of Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) to determine its potential for cultivating critical reflection, dialogue, and action-oriented learning. Employing a qualitative content analysis, the study examined content standards, performance standards, and learning competencies outlined in the MATATAG Curriculum Guide for English, complemented by a review of eight published studies on teachers’ perspectives. Results indicated strong alignment between the curriculum and TLT’s four phases: disorienting dilemmas, critical reflection, rational discourse, and transformative action. English 7 competencies were found to encourage learners to interrogate multiple perspectives, analyze sociocultural contexts, and produce multimodal outputs that reflect cultural identity and social engagement. Teacher perspectives, however, revealed both enablers and constraints in implementation. Supports included streamlined competencies, authentic communicative tasks, and collegial collaboration, while barriers comprised limited training, resource shortages, heavy workloads, and large class sizes. The findings highlight that while the MATATAG curriculum embodies transformative ambitions, their realization depends heavily on systemic support and teacher preparedness. The study concludes that professional development, resource provision, and participatory curriculum implementation are essential for translating policy intentions into classroom-based transformative learning.