CHAPTER 20

INTRODUCTION: HISTORY OF
EDUCATION
Education developed from mans struggle for survival and
enlightenment.
During the prehistoric period or before the invention of reading
and writing, people were concerned mostly with physical survival
in a more or less inhospitable environment.
The skills of hunting animals and gathering food, building shelters,
making and using tools and weapons were passed on from adults to
children through observation, imitation, and actual participation in
the activities of survival.
The culture and history of the preliterate people were passed on
from one generation to the next through oral tradition.
 By using language, people learned to create and use
symbols, words, or signs to express their thoughts and
feelings.
With the increasing division of labor, some members
took the primary role of formally transmitting the
culture. The different subjects and subject matters to
be taken by the young members were carefully and
deliberately planned to meet the developmental tasks
of the learners and to prepare them for their adult roles
in the society.
Thus, with the establishment of the schools, the
selection and preparation of professionally trained
teachers, the enrollment and admission of the learners,
and the creation and formulation of the curriculum, the
educational institution was formally and deliberately
organized.
Nowadays some kind of education is compulsory to all
people in most countries.
 THE NATURE AND ETYMOLOGY OF
EDUCATION
EDUCATION the whole process of development through which a
human being passes from infancy to maturity, gradually adapting
himself to his physical and social environment
- Refers to that deliberately and consciously planned process
of systematic instruction, schooling, or training in preparation for
life or some particular task
Sociologists and anthropologists view education as the process,
in school or beyond, of transmitting a societys cultural
knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors. Every society seeks to
educate its young members to prepare them for adult roles.
Education may be viewed in different perspectives:
1. Formal Education instructions given in schools; hence, it is
often called schooling. This is the education system with its
hierarchical structures and chronological succession of grades,
from primary to university. In the end, learners may earn a
diploma, a certificate, or degree as a ark of their success over
the years.
2. Informal Education lifelong process of learning while people
go about their daily lives. Each individual acquires knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values through everyday experience
influenced by the environment and mass media.
3. Non-formal Education comprises all those education activities
that are organized outside the established formal system and
designed for identifiable clientele and educational objectives
such as those for out-of-school youths and illiterate adults.
EDUCATION (Latin)

E or Ex what is inside is brought out

ducere to draw out; to bring forth;

develop from the latent, rudimentary or
potential condition.
Education is the process by which one draws out what is
within a person; it helps a person to externalize what is
internal and present within him.
Education assumes that a person is not a complete blank
sheet or empty space, but rather he has potentialities
and experiential meaning that can be brought out, used,
and developed by means of the educational process.
A true and liberating education is one where the
teacher is like a midwife as envisioned by Socrates.
(Maieutic Method)
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE
PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Education in the Philippines has undergone several stages of
developments from the pre-Spanish times
As early as in pre-Magellanic times, education was informal,
unstructured, and devoid of methods. Children were provided
more vocational training and less academics (3 Rs) by their
parents and in the houses of tribal tutors.
The pre-Spanish system of education underwent major changes
during the Spanish colonization. The tribal tutors were replaced
by the Spanish missionaries. Education was religion-oriented. It
was for the elite, especially in the early years of Spanish
colonization.
 The defeat of Spain by American forces paved the way
for Aguinaldos Republic under a Revolutionary
Government. For more than 3 centuries, schools
maintained by Spain were closed for the time being but
were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of
Interior. A system of free and compulsory elementary
education was established by the Malolos Constitution.
A highly centralized public school system was installed
in 1901 by the Philippine Commission by virtue of Act
No. 74. This created a heavy shortage of teachers so the
PC authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to
bring to the Philippines 600 teachers from the USA.
(Thomasites)
In 1902, the PC established the high school system
supported by provincial governments and special
educational institutions. In 1908, the Philippine
Legislature approved Act No. 1870 which created the
University of the Philippines.
 Japanese educational policies were embodied in Military
Order No. 2 in 1942. Under the Japanese regime, the
teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History, and Character
Education was reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and
dignity of labor was emphasized.
In 1947 by virtue of Executive Order No. 94, the
Department of Instruction was changed to Department
of Education. During this period, the regulation and
supervision of public and private schools belonged to
the Bureaus of Public and Private Schools.
The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sports, which became the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1987 by
virtue of EO No. 117. The Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) were established in
1994 and 1995 respectively, to supervise tertiary degree
programs and non-degree technical-vocational
programs.
 The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM)
report provided the impetus for Congress to pass RA
7722 and RA 7796 in 1994 creating the CHED and TESDA,
respectively.
The trifocal education system refocused DECS mandate
to basic education, which covers elementary, secondary
and non-formal education, including culture and sports.
TESDA now administers the post-secondary, middle-level
manpower training and development, while CHED is
responsible for higher education.
In August 2001, RA 9155, otherwise called the
Governance of Basic Education Act, was passed
transforming the name of Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of
Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field
offices. The goal of basic education is to provide the
school age population and young adults with skills,
knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant,
productive and patriotic citizens.
STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE OF
THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM
 The Philippine education system is an organized
bureaucracy which provides formal and non-formal
education. The thre academic levels of formal schooling
are the elementary or primary, secondary and tertiary.
The first level, elementary education, involves
compulsory six grades in public schools and seven grades
in some private schools, in addition to optional pre-
school programs.
The second level or secondary education corresponds to
four years of highschool.
Non-formal education includes acquisition of knowledge
even outside school premises.
The DepEd has the responsibility of administering,
supervising and regulating basic education. The
administration and supervision of higher education is
lodged in CHED while the post-secondary technical-
vocational education is under the TESDA.
 AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF PHILIPPINE
EDUCATION
The aims and objectives of education vary from one country to
another.
The primary goal of education is to socialize the young along
society's beliefs, values, social norms, skills and knowledge for
the preservation of the existing social order.
In the Philippines, the aim and objectives of education vary from
one historical epoch to another.
During the pre-Spanish period, education was through
apprenticeship, imitation and rituals (ceremonials).
 The Spanish and American colonizers influenced greatly the
objectives of Philippine education. During Spanish regime, the
aim of education was the Hispanization of the Filipinos and the
propagation of the Christian religion.
The objectives of education during the American colonial period
shifted to the institution of popular education, liberal democracy,
training for citizenship and eventual self-governance of the
Filipinos. English was imposed as the medium of instruction.
During the short-lived Japanese regime and Japanese-sponsored
puppet government, the aim of Philippine education was the
transmission of Japanese culture and ideology under their vision
of East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. While Niponggo was taught in
the school, Filipino and the vernacular were used as the medium
of instruction.
 FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION
1. Manifest Functions
- these refer to the explicit, expected, intended or predertermined
activities, goals, or purposes of formal education.
Inculcation of values and norms of society.
Maintenance and perpetuation of the cultural heritage.
Extension and addition to the cultural heritage.
Selection, training and allocation to adult position.
Political and social integration.
2. Latent Function
-these activities, goals or purposes are unintended or not originally
designed to serve.
Childcare.
Postponing job hunting.
Reduce the level of unemployment.
Marriage market/marriage broker.
Social Control.
Reflection of the society's social structure.
Prepares cheap labor capital.
 SOME FACTS AND FIGURES IN THE
PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Filipinos have very high regard for and value on society where
there is much poverty and where members of narrow affluent
classes are associate with a good education.
For the poor majority of the Philippine population, earning a
college degree is an arduous climb or, more precisely, an
unaffordable one. The Philippines elementary schools are
dominated by public sectarian schools, and it moves into more
privatized as it moves to a higher level
LEVEL GOVERNMENT PRIVATE TOTAL
PRE- 2,458 1,143 3,691
HIGHSCHOOL 32, 875 1,651 34,526
ELEMTARY 3,347 2,149 5,496
SECONDARY
POST
SECONDARY/ 253 612 865
NON DEGREE
TECHNICAL/ 171 639 810
VOCATIONAL
HIGHER

SOURCE: DECS Statistical bulletin, 1989

1997/1998 Public Private Percentage
Level of Private
Education
Pre-school 4, 928 2,372 32.5
230 243 51.4
Elementary 35,516 3,083 8.0
11,296 938 7.7
Secondary 3,909 2,681 40.7
3,613 1,406 28.0
Technical 723 1,383 67.7
Vocation 47 214 62.0
Higher 237 1,019 81.1
Education 633 1,991 79.9
SOURCE: DCES Statistical Bulletins, TESDA Installing a quality
assured TESD system, CHED Statistical Bulletin
 The public sector is responsible for 95.2% of elementary
education and 60.8% od secondary education, in the tertiary level
government participation is only 25.3%.
The 69.2% enrollment rate jibes with the relatively higher
literacy rate in the Philippines, but being literate does not
necessarily mean being adequately skilled for high level of work.
As of 1989, there were some 810 schools providing programs
higher learning, of which 171 were government-owned. 82 of
these are classified as state colleges or Universities. Polytechnic
University of the Philippines , the most comprehensive SCU
university, have 7 campuses and 22 branches. The remaining 639
schools which 79% of tertiary schools are privately owned.
 Eight big non-sectarian colleges and universities in Manila account
for 50% of the total private tertiary school enrollment in the
national level and 70% in Metro Manila.
There are few elite colleges and universities in terms of education
quality and these are The Ateneo De Davao University, (De La Sale
University)DLSU and (University of Sto. Tomas)UST. These are the
best private institutions on the Philippines, but they are available
only at prohibitive costs, making them accessible only to children
of the narrow elite class.
The high rate of tuition fees enables them to hire better qualified
teachers, provide the best facilities, as well as admit students
with better high school education, all while maintaining a high
degree of profitability
Therefore, middle class students who gain access to tertiary
education have to content themselves with inexpensive private
schools at the expense of education quality
 The promise is often realized in the domestic service sector with
graduates working as Salesman, Domestic Helper, etc.
It is only very narrow elite class, who can pursue relatively high
quality of education, where they land on high paying management
jobs and business opportunities
This makes Philippines a Financial-capacity based societal
segregation a reflection of the inequitable social structure
For every 100 pupil who begin at Grade 1, only67 finish Grade 6; of
the drop-outs, 8% occur between Grade 1 and 2, the rest drop out
between Grade 4 and 6. In high school of an 100 from grade 1 only
46 finish high school.
This creates of out-of-school youth with few possibilities for
gainful employment.
 As shown by the report of the Commission on Higher Education
(1997-1998), the trend courses taken by students in the tertiary
level has not changed for the past 10-15 years with commerence and
business management courses on top, followed by education and
teacher training, engineering and technology courses, Mathematics
and Computer Science, and Medical and Health related Programs
Randy David wrote an Article entitled Repairing Basic Education.
He lamented that there is something wrong in the education of our
children. Poor Facilities and Underpaid teachers, as well as under
motivated and malnourished might not remove us from the category
with the poorest African countries
We have the shortest basic education system in the world
Many conscientious teachers know that English is a key to modern and
global learning, but they also know it can be deterrent to learning.
English is an important language, but its acquisition must not
impede or burden the learning process at the fundamental level.
 KEY ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE
PHILIPPINE EDUCATION
1. Deteriorating quality of education
It is not uncommon to hear college teachers decry the quality of
students that come to them. They lament the students inability to
construct a correct sentence, much less in a paragraph. Private
schools have been assailed as a profit-making institutions which
turning out half- baked graduates who later becomes a part of the
nations uneducated unemployed. All these are indication of the poor
quality of education.
Achievement level in elementary and secondary education still
fall below standards. In 1998, achievement scores of elementary
students stood only at 55.2% against a standard 75%. 38 of 131
competencies/were learned by the children. The test scores then
have not reached the standard since
Factors of low education:
low government budget
poor quality of teachers
poor management of schools
poor learning environment
inadequate books and science equipments
the poor method of instruction
shortages of classrooms
socio-economic factors
short and congested school curriculum
2. Colonial, feudal, imperial, commercial, and elitist orientation in
Philippine education
A rather sweeping indictment is that the Philippine educational
system has been and still is basically American in orientation and
objectives. At present, quality education is financial-capacity
based, making higher education more of a privilege rather than a
right.
3. Shortage of school buildings, textbooks and equipment
The shortages of classrooms and textbooks are particularly
severe. The nationwide classroom shortage is estimated to be
4,000 and the DECS (now DepEd) operates two shifts in many
schools. The textbook problem is even more serious. A survey done
in preparation for a World Bank education loan found that the
pupil-textbook ratio in the public elementary schools is 10:1 and
79% of the textbooks are more than 5 years old. This situation has
persisted for many years.
4. Overworked and underpaid teaching staff
The fact that teachers are paid subsistence wages is only half
of their sad story. Their daily bout with dilapidated classrooms,
overcrowded classes, and lack of teaching materials, among
others, make the teachers hardly rewarded work even more
difficult. Aside from classroom instructions, teachers perform a
host of backbreaking and time-consuming jobs unrelated to the
teaching function. To do all these, teachers are forced to work two
or three hours overtime everyday. They also have to report during
weekends and holidays and even during their yearly vacation time.
5. Bilingual policy and the problem of a national language
The bilingual policy in education aims to develop a Filipino
who is proficient in both English and Filipino. Filipino is used in
nationally conducted exams and tests. While the bilingual policy is
a law which not even the Secretary of Education can change, it has
become a growing concern that many student are deficient in
communicating skills.
6. Mismatch
The major problem of the tertiary level is the large proportion
of the so called mismatch between training and actual jobs, as
well as the existence of a large group of educated unemployed or
underemployed.
To address this problem, it is suggested that leaders in business
and industry should be actively involved in higher education.
7. Globalization issue in education
It is in the educational sector where the concept of
globalization is further refined and disseminated. It comes in
varied forms as global competitiveness, the information
highway, the Third Wave Theory, post modern society, the
end of history, and borderless economy.
A number of studies and fact-finding commissions have pointed
out that the problems of Philippine education are the problems of
quality and political will.
 THE NEED FOR AN ALTERNATIVE
EDUCATION
Since the institution of an American colonial education in the
Philippines, a number of progressive and nationalist Filipino
writers and educators have sounded a trumpet call for the need
for an alternative education in the country.
The observations and criticisms of the American educational
system by noted American writers and visionaries are very much
applicable to the Philippine educational system. These
educational romantics say that the institution we call school is
what it is because we made it that way.
What, then, is an alternative educational system that would
address the present ills that confront the Philippine educational
system in particular and Philippine society in general? And what
could be its philosophy of man and society?
AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
An alternative education is based on the belief that the human
situation is improvable through intelligent innovation.
An alternative educational system is one which rejects the
banking method in education.
An alternative educational system is one which is truly
liberating, critical, analytical, and creative.
An alternative educational system is a departure from the
conventional system where the teacher is an authority figure, a
strict disciplinarian, a task setter, a drill master or a dispenser of
knowledge.
An alternative education is, therefore, one that is truly critical and
liberating one that addresses the basic problems of the society,
one that promotes the development of full potential of the
learners, one which equips the learners of the qualities of the
mind to adapt and cope up with rapid social and technological
change, and one which prepares the learners for their effective
participation in the society, as well as to contribute in the
transformation of society to a more humane and just society.
 SUMMARY
Education has developed from the human struggle for survival to
enlightenment. Education may be formal, informal and non-
formal. Education serves many important manifest and latent
functions.
Education in the Philippines has undergone several stages of
development from the pre-Spanish times to the present. The
organizational structure, the curriculum, methods of teaching
and the aims/objectives of education are reflective of the
interests are priorities of the leadership and the needs of the
times at certain periods/epochs in our history as a race.
An education that would bring to realization our peoples dream
for social justice, national freedom and genuine democracy.