What Does “HEKASI” Stand For?
“HEKASI” stands for geography, history and civics and is the standard Makabayan basic educational curriculum in the Philippines. HEKASI, the Department of Education Social Studies curriculum was relabeled as Makabayan and clustered with physical education, music, arts and livelihood lessons.
Upon the monitoring of educational curriculum in the Philippines by UNESCO, the UNESCO Education Committee has instituted changes, such as the 2001 EFA-DAKAR pilot, which transformed the traditional curriculum into the Pagsasarili system. The Pagsasarili system is drawn from the Montessori system, according to Arizona State University. Another concern was UNESCO Social and Human Science mandates, which led to a stronger focus on the Montessori Cosmic Science curriculum.
