Revisiting Personalized Education Program for Future-Ready Learners: Aligning Basic Education Curriculum With 21st-Century Skills

In response to the evolving demands of the 21st century, the Personalized Education Program (PEP) must be reassessed to ensure alignment with the development of future-ready learners. This study addresses the need to evaluate the current implementation of the PEP at a private Catholic school in Lucena City, Quezon Province, specifically in relation to the integration of Learning Skills (4Cs), Literacy Skills (IMT), and Life Skills (FLIPS). Despite efforts to personalize education, gaps persist in consistently cultivating critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, media literacy, information literacy, technology literacy, flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, and social skills. This research aimed to evaluate the extent of PEP implementation across four facets—Individual Work (IW), Normalization, Encounter, and Evaluation—assess the integration of 21st-century skills, identify hindering factors, and propose an enhanced framework to strengthen curriculum delivery.Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, 60 Junior High School teachers and 277 students participated in the quantitative phase, while a qualitative phase was conducted through interviews and thematic analysis. Results revealed that while PEP is generally implemented to a great extent, opportunities for deeper 21st-century skill integration and learner autonomy require enhancement. The study proposes a refined PEP framework focused on future-ready education, balancing personalized learning with systematic 21st-century skills development.