Lecture 1: Philosophical Thoughts on Education
John Locke (Empiricist Educator)
Acquire knowledge through senses (Learning by doing and interacting
with the environment)
Simple ideas become more complex through comparison and reflection
(Inductive method)
Political order should be based upon a contract between the people and
the government.
People should be educated to govern themselves intelligently and
responsibly.
Herbert Spencer (Utilitarian Education)
The concept of survival of the fittest where the human development had
gone through an evolutionary series of stages from the simple to
complex.
Curriculum should be emphasized the practical, utilitarian, and specific
subjects that helped humankind master the environment.
Individual competition leads to social progress. He who is fittest
survives.
John Dewey (Learning through experience)
Education is a social process and so school is intimately related to the
society that it serves.
The sole purpose of education is to contribute to the personal and social
growth of individuals.
The school is democratic because the learner is free to test all the ideas,
beliefs, and values.
George Counts (Building a new social order)
Education is not based on eternal truths but is relative to a particular
society living at a given time and place.
Teachers should lead society rather than follow it. Teachers are agents of
change.
Schools are ought to provide an education that afford equal learning
opportunities to students.
Theodore Brameld (Reconstructionism)
A philosophy that emphasizes the reformation of society.
Technological era is an era of interdependence and so education must
be international in scope for global citizenship. Education is designed to
awaken students’ consciousness about social problems and to engage
them actively in problem-solving.
Lecture 2: Historical Foundation of Education
Socialization
John Dewey claimed that the school introduces and trains each child of
society into membership within such a little community, saturating him
with the spirit of service, and providing him with instruments of effective
self-direction.
Brinkerhoff and White (1998) pointed out that socialization is a process
of learning the roles, statuses, and values necessary for participation in
social institutions.
Garcia (1992) said that the socialization is the process by which an
individual learns to conform to the norms of his/her social group,
acquires a status, and plays a corresponding role.
Socialization is a lifelong process. The family and school are the most
important agents of socialization.
Primitive Society
Education in Primitive Society:
Life was very simple.
Their means of livelihood were hunting and gathering wild fruits and
vegetables.
They lived in crude huts.
Organization was tribal and usually headed by the oldest or wisest among
members.
There was no reading or writing.
Information was transmitted through word of mouth, songs, gestures,
ceremonial rites, and the like.
Family is considered as the basic school.
Security and conformity.
Simple way of life focused on providing basic needs of human.
Education is more on theoretical and practical skills.
Aims of Primitive Education:
Security and survival from dangers that could be inflicted by the
natural phenomena (Typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and fires), fierce,
wild, and poisonous animals and reptiles (Lions, tigers, snakes, and
rats), evil spirits, hunger because of scarcity of food, and other tribes
which were hostile to them.
Conformity (The interest of one was sacrificed for the interest of the
group)
Preservation and transmission of traditions (The ways they were doing
things were the best and they want to preserve it and be transmitted
to the incoming generation)
Types of Education:
Vocational (Such as hunting and constructing a hut)
Religious (Learning how to participate in ritualistic practices to please
or appease the unseen spirits)
Content to be Studied:
Ways of procuring the basic necessities in life and of protecting life
from dangers.
Superstitions (How to worship before the dwelling of an unseen spirit
such as big tree, a big rock, a river, a big bush, and etcetera)
Agencies of Education:
Home (Always the center of learning especially for the young)
Environment (For instance, if one happened to step on a thorn and got
hurt, he now became careful not to step on thorn)
Organization of Grades:
There was none. There were not gradations in instruction, neither were
there organized classes.
Method of Instruction:
All instruction was done informally (Merely enculturation of
characteristics, skills, knowledge, and attitudes upon children)
Observation and imitation from parents.
Simple telling and demonstration (This are lecture-demonstration
nowadays)
Participation (Children participated in the work of their parents and
they learned)
Financing:
There was no financing involved since there was no teacher to pay, no
learning materials to buy, and no school to construct because
education was strictly informal.
Outstanding Contribution to Education:
The primitive man started the rudiments of education from which
evolved the modern educational systems of today.
Pre-Spanish Curriculum
The barangay played a major role as to how the early Filipinos were educated.
What the barangay already practiced and believed in were passed down from
generation to generation. The curriculum was then unsystematic, unplanned,
and spontaneous.
The inhabitants were a civilized people, possessing their system of writing,
laws, and moral standards in a well-organized system of government. They did
not have an organized system of education as we have now.
Aims of Education:
Survival, conformity, and enculturation
Types of Education:
Informal education, practical training, and theoretical training
Educational Method:
Show and tell, observation, trial and error, imitation, and suggestion
Curriculum:
More vocational than technical, code of Kalantiaw and Maragtas,
solidarity of the family modesty of women and valor of men, belief in
Bathala, and obedience and respect for the elders
Medium of Instruction:
Alibata/Baybayin
Educators:
People from the barangay, Babaylan, tribal tutors, and parents
Spanish-Devised Curriculum (1521-1869)
When Spain began to colonize the Philippines, the Spanish missionaries played
a major role as to how the Filipinos were educated and controlled. Religion was
the tool Spain wielded to make the Philippines its colony. The Philippine
curriculum then was a lot more structured compared to what the Filipinos had
before the Spaniards came, but the emphasis of the Spanish-taught curriculum
was more on religion rather than the basic literate skills, science, and arts.
The curriculum for boys and girls was aimed to teach them to serve and love
God, discover what is good and proper for oneself, and enable the individual to
get along with his or her neighbors.
Aims of Education:
Promote Christianity, promotion of Spanish language, and imposition of
Spanish culture
Types of Education:
Formal education, religious education, catechism, doctrine, and
vocational courses
Educational Method:
Dictation, memorization (Banking-concept), and theater presentation
Curriculum:
Subject organization
Medium of Instruction:
Spanish
Educators:
Spanish missionaries
Type of School:
Parochial or convent schools
Educational Level:
Basic (The three-grade level such as entrada, ascenso, and termino),
secondary, and tertiary
Curriculum:
Christian doctrine, values, history, reading and writing in Spanish,
mathematics, agriculture, etiquette, singing, world geography, and
Spanish history
American-Devised Curriculum (1898-1935)
After the Filipinos rebelled against Spain, America began to take the reins. The
Philippines slowly underwent an American acculturation and this was the
largely because of the education the Americans provided. The Thomasites
played a major role as to how the Filipinos were educated. Contrary to the
Spanish missionaries, the Americans did not make religious instruction
compulsory. The Philippine curriculum then evolved into a more organized,
systematic, and academe and skill focused dynamism.
Aims of Education:
Teach democracy, separation of church and state, and westernization
Types of Education:
Formal education and democratic education
Educational Method:
Socialized recitation, participation, debate, and games/play
Curriculum Organization:
Separate-subject organization
Medium of Instruction:
English
Educators:
Thomasites and soldiers
Type of School:
Public schools
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, and tertiary
Curriculum:
Good manners, hygiene and sanitation, geography, English grammar
composition, reading and spelling, science, mathematics, and intensive
teaching of geography
Consist of 4 primary years and 3 intermediate years. Body and mental
training were given to each student. As each student progresses, the
subjects taught become more complicated and advanced.
Teacher’s training curriculum was established in normal schools (Cebu
Normal University, Silliman University, Philippine Normal University, and
Far Eastern University), so that Filipino teachers could teach the Filipino
children and slowly replace the Thomasites.
Curriculum during the Commonwealth (1935-1946)
The Philippines was then beginning to prepare for its independence from
America (Tydings-McDuffie Act) and the expansion and reformation of the
Philippine curriculum began in this period. Filipino teachers were empowered to
improve the curriculum and as a result, content-rich and culture-specific
courses were added. Patriotism was then also considered as an important
factor in the Philippine curriculum.
Educational Method:
Memorization, recitation, and socialized recitation
Curriculum Organization:
Separate-subject organization
Medium of Instruction:
Filipino
Educators:
Filipino teachers
Type of School:
Public school and private school
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, and tertiary
Curriculum:
Farming, trade, business, domestic science, and teacher’s collegiate
education
Japanese-Devised Curriculum (1941-1944)
The growth of the Philippine Curriculum was stunted because of the Japanese
invasion. The Japanese tried to erase every influence of the Americans in the
Philippine society most especially in the Philippine curriculum.
Aims of Education:
Eradicate reliance on Western nations, love of labor, and military
Types of Education:
Formal education and vocational training
Educational Method:
Stressed dignity of manual labor, emphasis on vocational education, and
lectures with emphasis on Japanese culture and sovereignty
Medium of Instruction:
Nihongo
Educators:
Japanese imperial tutors
Type of School:
Public school
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, and tertiary
Curriculum:
Filipino and Tagalog, Philippine history, character education to Filipino
with emphasis on love for work and dignity of labor, agriculture,
medicine, fisheries, engineering, and Nihongo
Curriculum during the Liberation Period (1944-1946)
After the war, the Philippines started to recuperate and began modernizing,
likewise, the Philippines curriculum started to gain some traction. More Filipino
educators began to experiment on the different types of curricula and
researches were then conducted to find out which type of curriculum would
best suit the Filipino learners, but despite these efforts, the Philippine
curriculum gained only little expansion.
Aims of Education:
Citizenship, morality, democracy, industry, family responsibility,
helping the community, cultural heritage for youth, and understanding
of other
Types of Education:
Formal education and vocational training
Educational Method:
Memorization, recitation, and socialized recitation
Medium of Instruction:
Filipino/vernacular
Type of School:
Public school and private school
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, and tertiary
New Declarations:
Academic freedom, religious instruction in the public schools is
optional, creation of scholarships in the arts, sciences and letters was
for specially gifted citizens and those that are unable to afford the cost
of college education, compulsory flag ceremony, and restoration of
grade 7
Curriculum:
Moral character, vocational efficiency, productivity, complete and
adequate system of public education, and subjects change with the
changing time and needs of human beings
Spanish-Devised Curriculum (1521-1869)
Research then became more prevalent, and it greatly helped in facilitating the
expansion and improvement of the Philippine Curriculum. The largely
traditional curriculum of the Philippines then became more colored with the
progressivist’s methodology and mindset. Filipino resources, culture, and
approaches were now melded into the education system.
Aims of Education:
Appreciate of Philippine culture, preservation of cultural heritage,
character education, usage of Filipino books and literature, citizen’s
increased self-awareness, bilingualism, and greater skill specialization
Types of Education:
Formal education and vocational education
Medium of Instruction:
Filipino/vernacular and other foreign languages
Type of School:
Public school, private school, and trade school
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, and tertiary
Curriculum in the New Society (1971-Present)
The late President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued the Educational Development
Decree of 1972 which greatly aided the development of the Philippine
curriculum. It ensured the constant responsiveness of the schools to the needs
of the new society and heavily articulated the need to teach nationalism,
patriotism, moral values, and relevant academic courses.
Aims of Education:
Love of country, duties of citizenship, develop moral character, self-
discipline, and vocational efficiency
Types of Education:
Formal education and vocational training
Medium of Instruction:
Filipino/vernacular and other foreign languages
Educational Level:
Elementary (Primary and intermediate), secondary, undergraduate
studies, and graduate studies decree of 1972
Presidential Decree 6-A
Achieve and maintain social and economic development progress to
assure maximum participation of all the people.
Provide for a broad and general education.
Attain in his potential as human being.
Enhance the range and quality of individual.
Acquire the essential educational foundation.
Train the nation’s manpower in the middle level skills.
Develop high level professions for leadership of nation.
Respond effectively to changing needs.
Lecture 3: Education and Society
Society
The aggregate of people living together in an ordered community.
An organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity
(Oxford dictionary)
A community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common
traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests (Merriam-
Webster dictionary)
Large aggregate of people
Limited geography boundary
People in society form a loose group because interaction among all in
such huge population is not possible.
Self-sufficient
Face to face is not always possible.
Post-Industrial Societies
Urban:
Large scale industries
Large urban population
Rural:
Limited areas of wilderness
Strong land tenure
Intensifying agriculture
Community
A group of people having common territory, culture, geography,
element of feeling, and self sufficient.
A group having a common culture.
Small group of people
Has no such rigidity in area people in community
Has close social interaction and develop into group
With strong social solidarity
More or less sufficient
Interaction is to be found
Types of Community
Urban:
Large population
Presence of modern facilities
Expanding social institutions
Division of labor
Fast interaction
Rural:
Small population
Lack of admin organization
Absence of big social institution
Agrarian in nature
Scattered housing
Lecture 4: The Social Science Theories of Education
Theories Theorist
A system of ideas intended to explain
A person concerned with the
something, especially one based on
theoretical aspects of a subject, a
general principles independent of the
theoretician.
thing to be explained.
Socialization
Socialization is the process through which people are taught to be
proficient members of a society.
It describes the ways that people come to understand societal norms
and expectations, to accept society’s beliefs, and to be aware of societal
values.
Education
Learning in schools or school-like environments.
Through its curriculum, trains and educate people with the necessary
knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are necessary for its
continued maintenance, growth, and development.
The Social Theories
Structural-Functional Theory
Herbert Spencer
Proponent of structural-functional theory
Views society as a system of interconnected parts each with a unique
function, the parts have to work together for stability and balance of
society.
Emile Durkheim
Applied Spencer’s theory to explain how societies change and survive
over time.
Believed that society is a complex system of interrelated and
interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability.
Alfred Radcliff-Brown
Defined the function of any recurrent activity as the part it played in
social life as a whole, and therefore the contribution it makes to social
stability and continuity.
Functionalism
Sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the
biological and social needs of the individuals in the society.
Social Institutions
The parts of society that Spencer referred to the patterns of beliefs and
behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government,
education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy.
Structural Functionalism
In a healthy society, all parts work together to maintain stability, a state
called dynamic equilibrium by later sociologists such as Parsons (1961)
Purpose of Schooling According to Functionalists:
Intellectual purposes
Political purposes
Economic purposes
Social purposes
General Structure of Action System (George Ritz (2000) and Vega (2015)
Cultural System performs the latency function by providing actors with the
norms and values that motivate them for action.
Social System copes with the integration function by controlling its component
parts.
Action System is the behavioral organism that handles the adaptation function
by adjusting to and transforming the external world.
Personality System performs the goal attainment function by defining system
goals and mobilizing resources to attain them.
Parson’s Social System consists of:
Individual factor
Interaction
Physical or environmental aspect
Motivation towards the optimization of gratification
Relation to situation and each other is defined and mediated by a
system of culturally structured and shared symbols
Social Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory
First purported by Karl Marx, is a theory that society is in a state of
perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources.
There are always two opposing sides in a conflict situation.
People take sides between maintaining the status quo and introducing
change and arrive at an agreement.
The purpose of education as maintaining social inequality and
preserving the power of those who dominate society.
Conflict theorists see the educational system as perpetuating the
status quo by dulling the lower classes into being obedient workers.
Conflict theorists find potential conflict between any group where
inequality exists, such as racial, gender, religious, political, and
economic.
How do proponents of Conflict Theory regard education?
Education is a powerful means of maintaining power structures and
creating a docile workforce for capitalism.
The purpose of education is to maintain social inequality and to
preserve the power of those who dominate society and teach those in
the working class to accept their position as a lower-class worker of
society.
Interactionist Theories
Symbolic Interactionism
A framework in sociological theory that relies on the symbolic meaning
people develop and build upon in the process of social interaction.
Society is socially constructed through human interpretation. It is
because symbolic interactionism examines society by analyzing
subjective meanings human impose on objects, behaviors, and events.
According to the interactionists, the fundamental of symbolic
interactionism is the manner in which the individual is connected to the
social structure and the possible interplay between the individual and
others.
The interactionist perspective maintains that human beings engage in
social action on the basis of meanings acquired from social sources,
including their own experience (Collins, 1994)
Symbolic Interactionism (George Herbert Mead)
Human capacity for thought is shaped by social interaction.
People are able to interact because of shared meanings and symbols.
Intertwined patterns of interaction are basis for groups and societies.
Principles of Symbolic Interactionism:
Human beings, unlike lower animals, are endowed with a capacity for
thought.
The capacity for thought is shaped by social interaction.
In social interaction, people learn the meanings and symbols that allow
them.
Meanings and symbols allow people to carry on distinctively human
action and interaction.
Symbolic Interactionism (Herbert Blumer)
Student of Mead
Symbolic interactionism is a down-to-earth approach to the scientific
study of human group life and human conduct.
Its empirical world is the natural world of such a group life and conduct.
Premises of Symbolic Interaction (George Herbert Mead)
People act toward the things they encounter on the basis of what those
things mean to them. Thing refers to objects, people, activities, and
situations.
We learn what things are by observing how other people respond to
them through social interaction.
Implications of Symbolic Interaction Theory:
Let the teacher continue to teach meaning.
Promote and create opportunities for genuine interactions among
students, teachers, between teachers and students.
Interaction includes reading, listening, and viewing.
Use positive symbols in the form of gestures, words, actions, and
appearances.
Lesson 5: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Filipino Characters (A Socio-
Cultural Issue)
In 1998 Senator Leticia Shahani submitted to the senate this Report titled “A
Moral Recovery Program: Building a People, Building a Nation”. This report cites
the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino character.
Strengths of the Filipino:
1. Pakikipagkapuwa-tao
2. Family orientation
3. Joy and humor
4. Flexibility, adaptability, and creativity
5. Hard work and industry
6. Faith and religiosity
7. Ability to survive
Weaknesses of the Filipino:
1. Extreme family centeredness
2. Extreme personalism
3. Lack of discipline
4. Passivity and lack of initiative
5. Colonial mentality
6. Kaniya-kaniya syndrome
7. Lack of self-analysis and reflection
8. Emphasis on porma rather than substance
Value Education in School (Core Values of Department of Education)
Maka-Diyos
Maka-Tao
Maka-Kalikasan
Maka-Bansa
Lesson 6: Global Issues that Concern Schools and Society
World Issues based on World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers (Survey in
2017)
1. Climate change
2. Large scale conflict
3. Inequality
4. Poverty
5. Religion
6. Government accountability and transparency
7. Food and water security
8. Lack of education
9. Safety and wellbeing
10. Economic/employment
Current Global Issues (Chloe Turner)
1. Climate change
2. Pollution
3. Violence
4. Security and wellbeing
5. Lack of education
6. Unemployment
7. Government corruption
8. Malnourishment and hunger
9. Substance abuse
10. Terrorism
