Information Technology Education:It’s Role towards Sustainable National Development

Dr. Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz1
Dr. Ruth A. Ortega-Dela Cruz2

1 College of Computer Studies, Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, City of Cabuyao, Laguna
2 Institute for Governance and Rural Development, College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los
Baños

途上国において持続的な経済成長を可能にし、貧困を解消するにはITの活用が不可欠で、そのためには実務的なIT教育の充実が求められる。本稿ではフィリピンの大学での聞き取り調査をもとにIT教育の課題を探った。

Abstract

This study used survey research design to explore the purposes and outcomes of Bachelor of Science in Information
Technology (BSIT) degree program in the Philippines. Using purposive sampling of professors and students, thisstudy identified the ability of the IT education to meet its purposes by way of validating its current outcomes. The
study also provides clear indication of how the outcomes were perceived differently based on how the respondents
experienced the actual IT education curriculum. Though the results show some favourable agreements among the
respondents, statistical findings reveal underlying issues related to the implementation of outcomes-based IT education system in the country. This calls for the active role of HEIs offering BSIT programs to take another more
careful look on the entire curriculum structure of the degree program as it serves as the foundation of an effective
and efficient IT education that will lead towards sustainable national development of the country.
Keywords

information technology, higher education, purposes, outcomes, national development

Introduction

Information Technology plays a vital role in advancing economic growth and reducing poverty of a country.
It is being utilized to support development efforts in thedeveloping world. In fact, IT and other technologies
have the potential to enhance the prospects of various
developments in any third world nation such as in education, agriculture, economics, social infrastructure andin other issues that can alleviate the poor condition ofman (Papaioannou & Dimelis,2007). Thus, this makes
IT education a significant factor to national development for countries across the globe.
However, no one can deny the fact that the field of IT
is ever dynamic. Its rapid and continuous advancementand development had resulted to a serious challenge inthe field of IT education. Specially, when the kind of
training and skills developed do not match with what
are needed by the IT industries.

In the Philippines, as early as in 1993, the Educational
Commission (EDCOM) of the Senate of the Philippines
reported a mismatch between the products of educational system and the needs of the labour market whichleads to slow economic performance (Santiago-Arquiza,2017). Besides, several studies recognize this slow economic performance to other quality indicators such as
inadequate skills and global competencies of the workforce and unemployability of graduates in the global
environment (Pastrana and Manabat, 2014).
Understanding the roles that Higher Educational
Institutions (HEIs), employers, graduates and professional associations could play in the professional preparation of new graduates for work can help the alignmentof these expectations. Since the HEIs have a crucial rolein this process, the academic staff ought to find ways on
how to address this issue on labour mismatch. Likewise
making them realize how they affect the way students

043

Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz, et al.

should be prepared for their productive and contributingroles in the country’s IT industries towards sustainable
national development.
By studying the perceptions of IT education professionals, this study identifies what purposes of IT education curriculum are considered significant. The study
also identifies the current outcomes of these purposes inan effort to identify influences that affect both purposesand current outcomes of IT education curriculum giventhat the Philippine IT education system is in a state oftransition.
The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology(BSIT) is a four-year degree program in the Philippinesthat deals with the processing and distribution of datawith emphasis on its application on businesses. It is thestudy of utilization of computers and computer software
to plan, install, customize, operate, manage, administerand maintain information technology infrastructure.
The BSIT program prepares students to be IT professionals, be well versed on application installation, operation, development, maintenance and administration,and familiar with hardware installation, operation, andmaintenance.
HEIs in the Philippines offering BSIT program haveadopted an outcomes-based education framework indeveloping an IT education curriculum. Implementationof this new approach is in response to the country’s critical issue on mismatch between the products of educational system and the needs of the labour market.
Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) is an approach toeducation as well as a type of learning process wherein
decisions about the curriculum are driven by the exit
learning outcomes that the students should display at theend of the course (Borsoto et.al. 2014 in Dela Cruz &Ortega-Dela Cruz, 2017; Ortega & Ortega-Dela Cruz,
2016). It is a term used to imply that everything will be
designed and organized around the intended outcomes,
which a learner needs to demonstrate at the end of thelearning program (Ortega & Ortega-Dela Cruz, 2016 in
Dela Cruz & Ortega-Dela Cruz, 2017). On this account,the BSIT curriculum is designed to reflect the country’s
needs for graduates that are well prepared to enter theworkforce and to assume their place of responsibility in044

the nation. The goal of the IT education is to produce
graduates having strong technology and communication
skills as well as a good understanding of business practices and work ethics. The purpose of the OBE approachis to provide students a focused and coherent academic
program that will enhance the skills and competencies
required by the economy and the market. Thus, it prepares the graduate students for a rapidly changing andunpredictable future.
Generally, this study seeks to determine the perceptions of IT education professionals regarding the purposes and current outcomes of the revised BSIT OBE
curriculum. Specifically, this study aims to: (i) determine the perceptions of IT education professionals
regarding the purposes of BSIT curriculum; (ii) determine the perceptions of IT education professionals andstudents regarding the outcomes of BSIT curriculum;and (iii) analyse the difference in the perceptions of IT
education professionals and students regarding theintended and expected learning outcomes of BSIT
curriculum.

Materials and Methods

This study is descriptive in nature and it seeks todetermine the perceptions of IT education professionals
as well as the students regarding the purposes and current outcomes of BSIT curriculum using survey methods. This type of research uses questionnaires andinterviews to gather information from groups or subjects.
The respondents for this study were IT education
professionals or those who were teaching under thebachelor degree program and purposive sampling of
graduating students taking BSIT in a Public University
in the Philippines. There were 18 faculty members and
50 randomly selected students or 66 per cent of theentire graduating students in the College of Computer
Studies.
The Outcomes of BSIT Curriculum Instrument was
designed by the researchers. This was developed afteran extensive literature review. This was primarily basedon the Philippine Commission on Higher Education(CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) number 25 seriesof 2015 regarding the Revised Policies, Standards and6th AFC Best Papers (2022)

Guidelines for BSIT program. The questionnaire has
two types: The first type is for the academic staff andthe other is for the students. It assesses their perceptionsof regarding the outcomes of BSIT curriculum. This
contains several items which were measured using a five
point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (5) tostrongly agree (1). The student questionnaire helped validate the responses of the IT education professionals ifwhat they teach are the ones they are supposed to teachto their students.
The library research deals with gathering pertinent
data about the bachelor degree program in information
technology including the: (i) description, (ii) admission
requirements, (iii) content, (iv) resources, (v) instruction/evaluation methods, (vi) graduation requirements/
employment requirements, as well as the (vii) practicaltraining of the students.
The instruments were validated by specialists in thefield who were not part of the subject of the study. The
validation process resulted to slight alteration in thecontents of the survey questionnaire.
Confidentiality was addressed by assigning a code
number to each respondent as they complete the survey
and using only that code to indicate survey responses.
This code was entered on each survey enabling the
researcher to link the survey and the respondent. This
link allows the survey results to remain confidential
without being anonymous to the researcher.
The study employs descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means to provide descriptive
analysis of the survey; and standard deviations to determine the difference between the mean perceptions of
the professionals and students on the outcomes of IT
education.
To further validate the outcomes, the Kendall’s W or
Coefficient of Concordance was used to assess theagreement in the responses among respondents. The
Kendall’s W or Coefficient of Concordance for each
item ranges from 0 to 1. A Kendall’s W yield of zero
indicates no agreement at all among raters, while 1 indicates perfect agreement (Legendre, 2010). And to test if
there are significant differences among outcomes, thenon-parametric method Kruskal–Wallis test by ranks or

Kruskal–Wallis H test or one-way ANOVA on ranks
was applied.

Results and Discussion

Profile of the major subject of the study
IT professors were described in terms of their age,highest educational attainments as well as number ofyears in teaching. Whereas, the students were characterized based on their age, sex, and self-assessment of
academic performance in terms of grade point average.
The age of the faculty members ranged from 20-50
years old which constituted 94 per cent of the total
number of respondents. A total of 18 respondents participated in filling out the survey questionnaire. Forty-four
per cent of the professors have earned their master’s
degrees. While 17 per cent of them have their doctorate
degrees. Most of them have been into teaching from fiveto 20 years in the service.
On the other hand, there were 50 students who participated in answering the self-administered questionnaires, 66 per cent male and 34 per cent female. Majorityof these students were in between 20 to 24 years of age.
In terms of college academic performance, 60 per centof the respondents’ grade point average fall on two. Thismeans that most BSIT students have an average or satisfactory performance in their degree program.
The following sections present the detailed discussion of the findings based on the objectives of the study.
Objective no. 1 of the study deals with the perceptions of IT education professionals regarding the purposes of IT education.
Table 1 presents the perceptions of the faculty members on the goals of IT education in the Philippines. The
result of Kendall’s W coefficient of concordance reveals
evidence of weak agreement among IT education professionals as to the ranking of purposes of BSIT program (Kendall’s W (df=4, n=18) = 0.17, p= 0.01). The
respondents agreed most favourably on the BSIT program goals that have to do with educating the students
in the basic principles and utilization of both hardware
and software technologies involving planning, installing,customizing, operating, managing and administering,and maintaining information technology infrastructure045Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz, et al.

that provides computing solutions to address the needsof an organization (A), preparing the graduates toaddress various user needs involving the selection,
development, application, integration and managementof computing technologies within an organization (B),assisting the students in developing knowledge, attitude,
skills, and competencies for productive careers as
employees, employers and candidates for graduate studies who are capable of contributing to the country’s
national development goals (C). Examples include
ethics, the critical (i.e., research skill) and. It helps
develop the students’ ethical decision making and problem-solving skills, their critical or their research skills,
as well as their sense of professionalism. Furthermore,
the program aims to prepare graduates to become

globally competent, innovative, and socially and ethically responsible computing professionals engaged inlife-long learning endeavours.
However, the IT professors agreed least favourablyon the purposes that deal with fostering industry partnerships (regional and/or national) to offer experiential
learning opportunities to students and a pathway for
productive careers in the IT industry (E), developing thestudents’ knowledge of a discipline, their communication, leadership, planning and management skills, also
their entrepreneurial and marketing skills, and theirsense of social responsibility.
In the Philippines, IT education is built upon a coreof courses and a series of professional courses leading to
one or more of the three programs. The New General

Table 1. Purposes of IT Education
Program Learning Goals
A. Educate students in the basic principles and utilization of both hardware and software
technologies involving planning, installing, customizing, operating, managing and administering,and maintaining information technology infrastructure that provides computing solutions toaddress the needs of an organization.
B. Prepare graduates to address various user needs involving the selection, development,
application, integration and management of computing technologies within an organization.
C. Assist students in developing knowledge, attitude, skills, and competencies for productive
careers as employees, employers and candidates for graduate studies who are capable ofcontributing to the country’s national development goals. Examples include but not limited to:
1. ethics
2. the critical (i.e., research skill) and creative thinking skills that are necessary for fostering
innovation
3. basic decision-making and problem-solving
4. professionalism
5. negotiation and facilitation skills
6. respect for social and cultural differences
7. social, interpersonal and team building skills
8. technical and vocational skills in computing
9. business, income-generating and entrepreneurial skills
10. lifelong learning skills
11. knowledge of a discipline, that is, scientific understanding of theoretical and practicalaspects of computing
12. leadership, planning and management skills
13. communication skills (oral and written including cross- cultural
14. social responsibility
15. marketing skills
D. Prepare graduates to become globally competent, innovative, and socially and ethically
responsible computing professionals engaged in life-long learning endeavours.
E. Foster industry partnerships (regional and/or national) to offer experiential learning
opportunities to students and a pathway for productive careers in the IT industry.

046

f
14

%
78

Mean Rank
8.69

14

78

9.22

13

72

8.69

14
13

78
72

8.72
9.22

12
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
9

67
67
61
61
61
61
56
56
50

9.78
9.81
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
12.4
10.9
11.4

9
8
8
7
11

50
44
44
39
61

11.4
12.0
12.3
12.6
10.3

9

50

11.4

6th AFC Best Papers (2022)

Education Curriculum as mandated by the Commission
forms part of the requirements for IT education. The
required natural science courses in the General
Education curriculum include a laboratory component.
The curriculum outline is divided into five components
namely: General Education, Basic IT education Core zelectives and free electives with a minimum requirement of 140 units. The outline is as follows: Language
and Humanities 24 units; Mathematics, Natural Scienceand Technology 15 units; Social Sciences andCommunication 15 units; Basic IT education Core
Courses 18 units; IT Professional Courses 33 units; IT
Electives 12 units; Free Electives 9 units; PE and NSTP
14 units; 140 units Thesis and Capstone projects are
required as a scholarly work of scientific approach with
contents and concepts focused on computing. Thesestudies may be presented in public forum. Internship is
also required of all majors. It is an immersion program
wherein the student will have the opportunity to be in
the IT industry. This program is important because thestudents will have the chance to apply the skills, knowledge and attitude learned in the school and at the sametime the opportunity to experience the corporate
environment.
Learning expectations in the IT related field shouldbe established between the HEI and the industry in theform of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Internship is arequirement. Students are eligible to enrol in the internship program after completing the 80 per cent of thetotal number of units in the curriculum. The minimum
number of internship hours are 286 (see complete details
on CMO #53 at www.ched.gov.ph/policies/index.html).
This indicates how the curriculum of BSIT program
corresponds with its major goal in preparing graduates
for the tasks they are going to perform on their jobs. The
kind of education and training in preparation for their
future employment after graduation.
Objective no. 2 of the study covers the perceptions ofIT education professionals and students regarding theoutcomes of BSIT program. These outcomes are of two
types: the Intended Student Learning Outcomes (ILO)
and the Expected Student Learning Outcomes (ELO).

Both are composed of 8 major items and 69 sub-items, a
total of 70 items in all. Several items are provided which
are also measured using five point Likert scale ranging
from strongly disagree (5) to strongly agree (1).
The following tables present the top 20 outcomes ofIT education. Quantified data were shown in a mannercorresponding to the order of overall frequencies fromthe highest to lowest value/s of the strongly agree (1)scale. This serves as the point of reference in the analysis and interpretation.
Table 2 shows the intended student learning outcomes BSIT curriculum based on the perceptions of IT
education professionals. Majority of the IT professors
strongly believed that the IT education aims to produce
graduates who are able to identify and solve computing
problems by discussing the best practices, standards(A1); explaining the fundamental principles, concepts,
and evolution of computing systems (A2) and applying
the knowledge of computing, science and mathematics
appropriate to IT discipline (A10). This fundamental
knowledge helps enable them to analyse problems in IT(B3, B4). Thus, enables them to design and develop IT
solutions (C5, C6, C7, C8, C14, and C21) with emphasis on
the use of modern tools (D2, D3, D5, and D10). However,
the result reveals no significant agreement among IT
education professionals as to the ranking of perceived
ILOs of BSIT program (Kendall’s W (df=7, n=18) =0.07, p= 0.28).
Table 3 presents the expected student learning outcomes of BSIT curriculum based on the perceptions ofIT students. Of all the 69 sub-items, the students strongly
believed that their academic experiences and activities
in their BSIT program developed their knowledge, attitude, skills and competencies in being able to identify
and solve computing problems by analysing the different user populations (A5) and the appropriateness of adecision to in-source or out-source IT services in a given
situation (A6), applying the knowledge of computing,science and mathematics appropriate to IT discipline(A10) as well as recommending appropriate operating
systems based on given system requirements (A13 andA14). This fundamental knowledge helps enable them toanalyse problems in IT (B1). Thus, enables them to047

Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz, et al.

Table 2. Intended Learning Outcomes of IT Education
Student Learning Outcomes
B4. Design a database based on user requirements using a widely used modelling notation
A1. Discuss the best practices, standards and their applications.
A10. Apply knowledge of computing, science and mathematics appropriate to IT discipline.
D3. Apply knowledge through the use of current techniques, skills, tools and practices necessary for the IT
profession.
A2. Explain fundamental principles, concepts, and evolution of computing systems as they relate to different
fields.
B3. Use appropriate mathematical tools for decision making.
C21. Implement the proposed IT Solution.
D2. Analyse routing algorithms protocols, process routing tables and configure routers for proper orientation ofan efficient network.
D5. Develop specifications for a software development effort that precisely articulates the functional
requirements, expected execution paths, and the explicit use of cutting edge or emerging technologies which
include hardware devices and software library.
E2. Assist in the creation of an effective IT project plan.
G1. Discuss professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities in the utilization of
information technology.
G2. Discuss the legal and ethical considerations related to the handling and management of enterprise
information assets.
A9. Evaluate the design of existing user interfaces based on the cognitive models of target user.
C5. Design, implement, test, and debug programs intended to solve computing problems using fundamental
programming constructs.
C6. Design, implement, test, and debug programs intended to solve computing problems using basic data
structures and standard libraries.
C7. Design, develop and test a program that uses a messaging service that sends asynchronous messages acrossthe network.
C8. Design, develop and test a program that uses SAX or DOM to parse an XML document, XSL and XSLT totransform a data stream from one format to another.
C14. Deploy and serve media contents within web applications.
D10. Implement an enterprise integration middleware platform.
F1. Communicate effectively with the computing community and with society at large about complex computing
activities through logical writing, presentations, and clear instructions.

design and develop IT solutions (C2, C5, C6, C7, C8, C14,
and C16) that are to be communicated to a range of audiences (F1, F2, and F5). Moreover, the result reveals nosignificant agreement among the students as to the ranking of perceived ELOs of BSIT program (Kendall’s W(df=7, n=50) = 0.04, p= 0.07).
Statistical findings show a significant difference inthe perceptions of the students regarding their overall
assessment of the BSIT program in its goal on addressing the demands of the labour market (x2(3, n=50) =32.400a, p<.01). About 42 percent of them strongly
agreed, 48 per cent agreed, while the remaining 10 per
cent were either uncertain or disagreed with the pro-

048

f
15
14
14
13

%
83
78
78
72

12

67

12
12
12

67
67
67

12

67

12
12

67
67

12

67

11
11

61
61

11

61

11

61

11

61

11
11
11

61
61
61

gram goal attainment.
Coefficient of Concordance reveals congruence inthe perceptions of IT education professionals and students regarding the intended and expected learning outcomes of BSIT curriculum. Table 4 affirms the extent of
the ability of BSIT program to meet the purposes thathave been set forth. That is, if what the professors teachunder the BSIT program (i.e., expected outcomes) iswhat they are supposed to teach and develop in theirstudents (i.e., intended outcomes). Basically, the statistical findings show a strong agreement between the perceived ILO and ELOs relative to the knowledge andunderstanding of computing problems (A) (Kendall’s6th AFC Best Papers (2022)

Table 3. Expected Learning Outcomes of IT Education
Student Learning Outcomes
C5. Design, implement, test, and debug programs intended to solve computing problems using fundamental
programming constructs.
A6. Analyse the appropriateness of a decision to in-source or out-source IT services in a given situation.
G1. Discuss professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities in the utilization of
information technology.
A10. Apply knowledge of computing, science and mathematics appropriate to IT discipline.
C7. Design, develop and test a program that uses a messaging service that sends asynchronous messages acrossthe network.
C14. Deploy and serve media contents within web applications.
E1. Function effectively as a member or leader of a development team recognizing the different roles within ateam to accomplish a common goal.
F5. Write a simple assembly-language program.
A5.Analyze different user populations with regard to their abilities and characteristics for using both softwareand hardware products.
C16. Construct an architectural model of a complex system using an architectural framework.
D10. Implement an enterprise integration middleware platform.
F2. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the area of study and research methods used.
B4. Design a database based on user requirements using a widely used modelling notation
C2. Integrate IT-based solutions into the user environment effectively.
C6. Design, implement, test, and debug programs intended to solve computing problems using basic data
structures and standard libraries.
C8. Design, develop and test a program that uses SAX or DOM to parse an XML document, XSL and XSLT totransform a data stream from one format to another.
F1. Communicate effectively with the computing community and with society at large about complex computing
activities through logical writing, presentations, and clear instructions.
G3. Analyse the local and global impact of computing information technology on individuals, organizations, andsociety.
A13. Recommend an appropriate operating system based on given system requirements.
A14. Recommend where an application language and a scripting language would be more appropriate and give avalid reason to support the selection.

W=0.60), while moderate agreement on the outcomes
relative to the development of skills on individual andteam work (E) (Kendall’s W=0.45), computing professionalism and social responsibility (G) (Kendall’s
W=0.35), and lifelong learning (H) (Kendall’s W=0.41).
Albeit most of the identified outcomes of the professors are being met by the students, the findings also
reveal that significant outcomes relative to the development of higher order thinking skills and competencies
were not given much emphasis on the BSIT program.
Indicatively, these outcomes reveal weak agreement
among the respondents. These include problem analysis(B) (Kendall’s W=0.19), design/development of solutions (C) (Kendall’s W=0.19), modern tool usage (D)(Kendall’s W=0.19), and communication (F) (Kendall’s

f
24

%
48

18
18

36
36

17
17

34
34

17
17

34
34

17
16

34
32

16
16
16
15
15
15

32
32
32
30
30
30

15

30

15

30

15

30

14
14

28
28

W=0.11). This is also reflected in the overall ranking of
the outcomes. The findings are mostly statisticallysignificant.
This finding is being validated by the results of the
Kruskal Wallis H Test or One-Way ANOVA on Ranks
which reveal significant difference among the perception rating of the respondents on the major outcomes ofIT education specifically in terms of developing theskills on problem analysis (H (1, n=68)=9.39, p=0.00)
and communication (H (1, n=68)=7.29, p= 0.01), competencies on the development of solutions (H (1,n=68)=8.14, p=0.00), and the use of modern tools (H (1,n=68)= 9.99, p= 0.00). On the other hand, analysis ofvariance on the outcomes relative to developing theknowledge for solving computing problems (H (1,049Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz, et al.

Table 4. Summary of ILOs and ELOs of IT Education
Student Learning Outcomes

Kendall’s W

A. Identify and solve computing problems.
B. Analyse problems in IT.
C. Design/Develop IT solutions.
D. Use modern tools
E. Demonstrate individual and team work.
F. Develop the skills and strategies in communicating IT solutions/systems,
information or argument to a range of audiences for a range of purposes.
G. Practice computing professionalism and social responsibility.
H. Demonstrate interest in lifelong learning.

Kendall’s W level of agreement: 0.00 No; 0.10-Weak; 0.30-Moderate; 0.60-Strong; 1.00-Perfect

0.60
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.45
0.11

Mean Rank
ILO
ELO
1.11
1.89
1.28
1.72
1.28
1.72
1.28
1.72
1.19
1.81
1.33
1.67

0.35
0.41

1.22
1.25

1.78
1.75

p-value
0.00
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.00
0.15
0.01
0.01

Table 5. Kruskal-Wallis Test on Outcomes of IT Education

Chi-Squaredf
Asymp. Sig.

A

14.5
1
.000

B

9.39
1
.002

Test Statisticsa,b
C
D
8.14
9.99
1
1
.004
.002

n=68)=14.5, p=0.00), the attitude towards individual
and team work (H (1, n=68)=6.24, p= 0.01), computing
professionalism and social responsibility (H (1,n=68)=7.13, p=0.01) and lifelong learning (H (1,n=68)=6.29, p=0.01) did not match with the findings on
the coefficient of concordance. This indicates that theperception rating of the ILO via-a-vis ELO is not thesame in all outcomes of the BSIT program among
respondents of the study.
Truly, academic qualifications such as having knowledge and skills are essential, but the aptitudes and attitudes of graduates are equally, if not more, important toindustries or potential employers. These “++ factors
according to Tan and French-Arnold (2012) include
problem solving and communication skills, and the ability to work both as part of a team and independently(UNESCO, 2012). It is also vital that IT graduates liable
to work in many different jobs and industries throughout their entire career seek to constantly improve andupdate their skill, and willing to learn new technologies.
This is where the relevance of lifelong learning skills
development comes in. Students therefore have a responsibility to prepare themselves for a changing world by

050

E

6.24
1
.012

F

7.29
1
.007

G

7.13
1
.008

H

6.29
1
.012

improving their knowledge and skills to meet thedemands of employers and the realities of the workplaceand IT education plays a crucial role in its fulfilment.

Conclusion

The study elucidates the purposes and outcomes ofIT education. The study also provides clear indication of
how the outcomes, in particular the ILOs, were perceived differently by the professors and the students inthe case of ELOs based on how they experienced theactual IT education curriculum. Though the results
show some favourable agreements among the respondents, statistical findings cannot veil the fact that there
are also underlying issues related to the implementationof outcomes-based IT education system in the country.
This calls for the active role of HEIs offering BSIT programs to take another more careful look on the entire
curriculum structure of the degree program as it serves
as the foundation of an effective and efficient IT
education.
One of the strengths of the Philippine IT industry is
the size and quality of its IT manpower base. However,
due to the pace of technological advancements,

6th AFC Best Papers (2022)

continuous ongoing curriculum development in IT education and training are necessary to maintain the country’s competitive advantage when it comes to a numberof training facilities for computer programming andcomputer related courses.
IT offers renewed opportunities for developing countries like the Philippines, which can shift from exploitation of natural resources at the expense of theenvironment, to tapping its human resources. It empowers people, expands the reach of government andimproves governance, transforms business organizations while reconfiguring business relationships, andintegrates economies seamlessly.
These opportunities and many other benefits of IT on
the economic and social development heighten theimportance of IT education in a country. IT education
purposes and outcomes need to be attuned with eachother, may it be based on the perspectives of the implementers (i.e., educators) and end users (i.e., educands) inorder for the country to benefit most out of its outputs.
IT is a highly technical profession, and the fact that it
demands highly technical manpower does not mean thatthat the purposes and outcomes it sets forth no longer
adhere to values formation and soft skills development,
which are equally important to fully utilize its capacityand purpose. It is therefore crucial for BSIT program tohelp its graduates cultivate qualities that are indispensable not only for IT industries but for inclusive economic
growth that will lead to sustainable development of theentire nation.

4) Papaioannou, S. K., and Dimelis, S. P. (2007). Information
Technology as a Factor of Economic Development: Evidence
from Developed and Developing Countries. Economics ofInnovation and New Technology, 16(3), 179-194.
5) Pastrana, R., and Manabat, A. (2014). An Outcomes-Based
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