Historical

Foundations
of Philippine
Education
Prepared by:
Labog, Michael John R.
II-21 BSE Social Science

Development of
Education in the
Philippines from
Pre-Spanish to
Present times

Timeline
Before 1521
1521-1896
1896-1899
1898-1935
1935-1941
1941-1944
1944-1946
1946-present

Education before the coming of

Spaniards
Education during the Spanish Regime
Education during the Philippine
Revolution
Education during the American
Occupation
Education during the Philippine
Commonwealth
Education during the Japanese
Occupation
Education after the World War II
Education under the Philippine Republic

Pre- Hispanic Education

Pre- Hispanic education in the
Philippines was not formal
Education was oral, practical, and
hands-on
The objective was basically to
promote reverence for, and adoration
of Bathala, respect for laws, customs,
and authorities represented by parents
and elders
When the Spaniards arrived in the
Philippines they encountered islanders
who knew how to read and write.

Education during the Spanish

Regime
The Friars established parochial
schools linked with churches to
teach catechism to the natives
Instruction was in the dialect
Education was managed,
supervised, and controlled and
the friars
Education in the country was not
uniform
The system of schooling was not
hierarchical nor structured, thus
there were no grade levels

Major Problems
Lack of trained teachers
Lack of teachers
(150 teacher-missionaries to instruct over
half a million inhabitants)
Lack of funds, instructional materials, and
in many instances school houses

Because of need, higher level

schools were established much
later by virtue of royal decrees.
Colegios
Beaterios

Subjects: Based on the Royal

Decree of 1863
Languages(Latin, Spanish grammar and
literature, elementary Greek, French and
English)
History( Universal, Spanish)
Mathematics(Arithmetic, Algebra,
Trigonometry, Geometry)
Philosophy(Rhethoric, Logic, Ethics)
Geography
Pshychology

Philippine Revolution
Illustrados spearheaded the
Propaganda Movemnent
Curricular reforms
1. Secularization of education
2. Instruction of Spanish
3. Greater attention to natural
science
4. The design of a relevant
curriculum
5. Improvement of higher centers of
learning
6. Improvement of educational
system

 Jose Rizal criticized unequivocally the

friars method of instruction in his
two novels Noli Me Tangere and El
filibusterismo
1. Disproportionate focus on religion
2. Discourage the attempt of Filipino
students to speak in Spanish
3. Lack of pedagogical skills
4. Irrelevant courses in the curriculum

Curriculum
To improve the existing curriculum, Rizal considered
the ff. Subjects as required courses in secondary
schools
Science
Math
History
Philosophy
Law
Language
P.E
Religion
Music
Social Sciences

Graciano- Lopez Jaena

The outstanding cause of the distressed
situation of Filipinos today is the anomalous
education received by the youth in schools.
They learn to read correctly and write
gracefully, but they do not learn anything
useful because they are not taught any.
They are taught how to pray and never go
to work

American Occupation
The Americans used education as a
vehicle for its program benevolent
asimilation
American soldiers were the first
teachers
Restore damaged school houses,
build new ones and conduct classes
Trained teachers replaced soldiers
Filipinos warmly received their new
teachers, Thomasites
American teachers infused their
students the spirit of democracy and
progress as well as fair play

TAKE NOTE!
It is not surprising that the
democratic values espoused by the
Americans, whether SINCERE or NOT,
touched a receptive nerve un the
Filipino psyche.

Americans discarded the religious bias

Educational Act of 1901- Separation of
Church and State in education
Encourage filipino in the field of teaching
Outstanding filipino scholars were sent to
US to train as teachers

Curriculum
Primary Education
GMRC
Civics
Hygiene and Sanitation
Geography
Intermediate Curriculum
Grammar and composition
Reading, spelling
Science courses
Physiology
Hygiene and sanitation
Intensive teaching of geography

Government established NORMAL SCHOOL

for future teachers
Courses include
Methods of teaching, practice teaching,
psychology, mathematics, language,
science, history and government, social
sciences, P.E
White collar-job bias

Philippine Commonwealth
All schools should develop moral
character, personal discipline, civic
conscience and vocational efficiency
Promote effective participation of the
citizens in the processes of a democratic
society
Educational Act of 1940
meet the increasing demand for public
instruction and at the same time comply
with the constitutional mandate on public

Japanese Regime
6 basic principles of japanese Education
1. Realization of NEW ORDER and promote friendly
relations between Japan and the Philippines to
the farthest extent
2. Foster a new Filipino culture based
3. Endeavor to elevate the morals of people,
giving up over emphasis of materialism
4. Diffusion of the Japanese language in the
philippines
5. Promotion of VOCATIONAL course
6. To inspire people with the spirit to love neighbor

Curriculum
School calendar became longer
No summer vacation for students
Class size increased to 60
Deleted anti-asian opinions, banned the
singing of american songs, deleted
american symbols, poems and pictures
Nihongo as a means of introducing and
cultivvating love for Japanese culture
Social Studies

Take Note!
Spanish- Reign for 300 years
American- 50 years
Japanese- about four years
It is thus not surprising that despite the measure
they had instituted, the Japanese failed to succeed
in transforming the values and attitudes of the
people in line with their vision of the NEW ORDER.
A contributory factor was widely reported
brutalities that ushered in the Japanese occupation
that the filipinos did not experience with the same
degree during the American period

After World War II

In 1947, by the virtue ofExecutive 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 theBureau of Public and
Private Schools.

Education after 1940

The objective of the Philippine Education was
to established integrated, nationalistic, and
democracy- inspired educational system
included the ff.
1. Inculcate moral and spiritual values inspired
by an abiding faith in God
2. To develop an enlighten, patriotic, useful
and upright citizenry in a democratic society
3. Conservation of the national resources
4. Perpetuation of our desirable values
5. Promote the science, arts and letters

Great experiments in the community school and the use

of vernacular in the first two grades of the primary
schools as the medium of instruction were some of
them.
An experiment worth mentioning that led to a change in
the Philippine Educational Philosophy was that of school
and community collaboration pioneered by Jose V.
Aguilar.
Schools are increasingly using instructional materials
that are Philippine-oriented.
Memorandum No. 30, 1966 sets the order of priority in
the purchase of books for use in the schools were as
follows:
Books which are contributions to Phil. Literature
Books on character education and other library materials
Library equipment and permanent features

Martial Law period

The Department of Education became the
Department of Education and Culture in
1972, the Ministry of Education and Culture
in 1978, and with theEducation Act of 1982,
the Ministry of Education, Culture, and
Sports.
A bilingual education scheme was
established in 1974, requiring Filipino and
English to be used in schools.
Science and math subjects as well as English
language and literature classes were taught
in English while the rest were taught in
Filipino.

From 1986 to the present

The bilingual policy in education was
reiterated in the1987 Constitution of the
Philippines.
(EDCOM), Congress passed Republic Act
7722 and Republic Act 7796 in 1994,
creating theCommission on Higher
Education(CHED) and theTechnical
Education and Skills Development
Authority(TESDA). The institute governing
basic education was thus renamed in 2001
as theDepartment of Education(DepEd).

 The quality of public school education is generally

considered to have declined since the post-war
years, mainly due to insufficient funds. The
Department of Education aims to address the
major problems affecting public education by
2010.
Private schools are able to offer better facilities
and education, but are also much more
expensive. There is a wide variety of private
schools, including all-boys and all-girls schools,
religious schools, non-sectarian schools, Chinese
schools, special schools, and international
schools. Due to economic difficulties, there has
been a recent increase in the popularity ofhome
schooling and open universities in the Philippines.

Reference
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.p
hp?
title=Education_in_the_Philippines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educ
ation_in_the_Philippines
THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
(PHILIPPINE CONTEXT) by PROF.
RONNIE ESPERGAL PASIGUI

Thank You
for
Listening!