Module 4
Historical Foundations of
Education
Education denotes the methods by which a society
hands down from one generation to the next its
knowledge, culture, and values. The individual being
educated develops physically, mentally, emotionally,
morally, and socially. The work of education may be
accomplished by an individual teacher, the family, a
church, or any other group in society. Formal education is
usually carried out by a school, an agency that employs
men and women who are professionally trained for this task.
Marked Differences Between the Primitive and Civilized Culture
PRIMITIVE
EDUCATION 1.
2.
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4.
Primitive culture was relatively simple.
Primitive man had relatively narrow social and cultural contacts.
The organization of primitive life was tribal.
The most significant feature is the absence of reading and writing.
AIMS
1. Security and survival- to prepare the young to secure himself and his family
and to appease the gods or spirits which they believed to control
their existence.
2. Conformity- to teach the next generation how to act in accordance with the
tribe’s prevailing social standards, attitudes, beliefs, and traditions.
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Starts when nomadic tribes finally settled along the region of Mesopotamia
and Nile.
There was mingling of folkways of the settlers and their conquerors that
resulted to the development of a higher level of culture.
They developed the use of bronze and iron and acquired an elaborate system
of writing as their culture became more complicated.
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Leader of the dominant tribe became king or priest who organized complex
government which demanded obedience from the people.
Developed well-organized political, economic, and religious institutions that
are centered on the need for maintaining a way of life.
A longer period of training was given to the members of the tribe to provide
them with skills necessary for complex living.
CHINESE EDUCATION
Chinese civilization originated in the Huang He (Hwang Ho or Yellow River)
valley.
Agriculture, domestication of animals, and the use of bronze have been
evident (Shang Dynasty 1766-1027 B.C.).
A standardized system of written characters was adopted, and its use was
made compulsory (Qin Dynasty 221-206 B.C.).
Shang Bronze Objects
The Shang dynasty was marked by important advances in the use of bronze, for
weapons and artifacts as well as for tools. Among objects shown here are a ge, or
halberd, (upper left), a badge of rank, and a yüeh (second from left), an axe used
in human sacrifices. The mattock and axe (bottom left) are made of stone.
Aim- to select and train people for public service
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HINDU EDUCATION
Started when Vedic, a highly developed civilization flourished in the Indus
Valley, around the sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, about 2000 B.C.
Uses a system of writing known as Sanskrit
Hindu’s Different Social Class/The Four Varnas/Caste System
*Varna- the Sanskrit word for color
1. Brahmans/Brahmins- priestly class (priest)
2. Kshatriyas- class of warriors or military executives (the king and warriors)
3. Vaisyas/Vaishyas- industrial class (who, with the rise of trade and agriculture,
became the farmers and merchants)
4. Sundras/Shudras- service class (servants)
*Social class was divided in accordance with their sacred text called Rig Veda.
Rig Veda- (dating back to about 300 B.C. but representing a far older oral
tradition), which described the division of the primeval Man, Purusha,
into four parts, the mouth becoming the Brahmins, the arms, the
Kshatriyas, the legs, the Vaishyas, and the feet, the Shudras
* Pariahs- a group of people considered as outcast or untouchables; they are not
considered as part of the social class; they were tasked with collecting
garbage, burying corpses, and other menial jobs.
Aims
- to be able to live according to the demands of your specific social class in the
caste system
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JEWISH EDUCATION
the English word Jew is derived directly from the Latin Judaeus, meaning an
inhabitant of
Judaea/Judea. (Judea- The southern region of ancient Palestine: existed
under Persian, Greek and Roman rule; divided between Israel and Jordan in
1948; occupied by Israel since 1967.)
Aim- to prepare men to know God and to live peacefully among their fellows
Started within a civilization that was developed by the
Hamitic people when they inhabited the valley of the Nile
20, 000 years ago.
- Egyptian culture was dependent on the activity of the Nile.
- Their agriculture was advanced aided by their knowledge
in astronomy for predicting rain and their use of irrigation.
- The principles of life was taught from treatises known as
Books of Instruction which emphasized the importance of
wisdom, justice, obedience, piety, fairness, truthfulness,
and above all, humanity.
- Egyptians were polytheist or worshippers of many gods.
- They have devised a system of picture writing known as hieroglyphics around
3100 B.C.
EGYPTIAN
EDUCATION
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hieroglyphics- system of writing using pictures to represent a sound or group of
sounds.
For example, a very basic rebus (combine words, symbols, and pictures) might
consist of symbols for an eyeball, waves, and a sheep and would mean, “I see
you” (eye; sea; ewe).
 Education Depended on Social Class
*Lower Class
- children of low-status families or fellahin learn their skills from their
parents
Boys - help in fields with simple farm tasks
- apprentice in certain crafts/profession of their father
Girls - confide in doing domestic tasks e.g. weaving, brewing, and bread
making
 Royalty and Elite/Rich
- literacy remained to be their privilege
- girls were tutored
- young boys were trained by scribes how to read and write
- court schools were set up by court officials to teach boys the duties
of royalty through apprenticeship
scribe – a prestigious profession, usually hereditary having the duty of teaching
royal and elite children
This hieroglyphic papyrus
scroll is part of the Book of
the Dead, from ancient
Egypt.
Papyrus- the stem of this plant
was used to make sheets of
paper-like writing materials.
Tablet
(The tablet
shown here is
the Rosetta
Stone)
Aims- cultural and utilitarian/function
writing- was taught
using tablets, ostraca
(broken pieces of
pottery), and papyrus
scroll (made out of the
papyrus plant. By
layering, wetting, and
then drying layers of
the plant’s cellulose
together, people could
create a fine writing
surface.)
GREEK
EDUCATION
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Greek civilization flourished from 2000 B.C. along the Danube valley in the
Balkan Peninsula.
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Their nation was made up of Germanic and Aryan people, known for their physical
vigor and vitality.
Greek education gives the transition period between primitive and classical era a
higher culture and enlightenment.
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Ancient Greece was divided into several poleis (literally “cities”; singularpolis-city).
The most popular and progressive among its city-state were Sparta and
Athens. Peloponnesian war that lasted for 27 years was the result of the
constant struggle of these two Greek cities.
Since cities are small, for each evolved from a clan or a large family that
recognized a common ancestor all the citizens of a polis participated directly
in all civic and military affairs serving as soldiers, judges, members of the
assembly, or as state officials.
Each of the cities has their own gods, laws, customs and traditions.
Their cities were totalitarian state wherein they claimed full authority over the
lives of individuals that are part of their polis.
To fulfill the duties of citizenship was the chief essential of Greek morality.
The Greeks became the first and greatest sportsman. Olympian or Olympic
games that originated from them first took place on 776 B.C.
It is from the Greeks that we could trace the beginning of creative activity and
logical thinking that have made for genuine intellectual progress.
Through their cities rise the three most popular thinkers that the world have
known they were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Their alphabet evolves from Phoenician symbols.
Greek Alphabet- The
modern Greek alphabet
has 24 characters and is
written from left to right
Spartan
Education
- Sparta was also known as Lacedaemon, the largest city-state in ancient
Greece, and the most important in the Peloponnese Peninsula.
- The city of Sparta occupied a site on the right bank of the River Evrotas, about
32.5 km (20 mi) from the sea, in the foothills of Mount Taygetus.
- The ancient city, even at its most prosperous, was a group of five villages with
simple houses and a few public buildings. The passes leading into the valley of
the Evrotas were easily defended, and Sparta had no fortification walls until the
end of the 4th century B.C.
- Life in Sparta was similar to that in other Greek cities, where art and poetry,
particularly the choral lyrics flourished. However, Spartan society was
characterized by stark austerity, militarism, and discipline. To be a Spartan
was to be strong and hardy, physically fit, terse of speech, austere, and full of
valor (It is from these qualities that the modern term “Spartan” comes.).
- Children belonged to the state not to the parents and those with deformities
were put to death.
Spartan Soldier
The soldier pictured here is typical of those employed in a phalanx, the
formation developed by the Spartans. Heavily armored spearmen such
as this would stand shoulder to shoulder in rectangular ranks eight deep
with overlapping shields. In such defensive formations they could
withstand cavalry charges, but being slow and burdened with heavy
armor and weaponry they were limited in their offensive capabilities.
Sparta’s Social Scale
1. Helots (slaves)- performed all agricultural work
2. Perioikoi - a subject class of free men without political rights, who were
mainly tradesmen and merchants.
3. Spartiatai - a governing class of rulers and soldiers, descended from the
Dorians, who had invaded the area about 1100 B.C.
Aim
- Their education aimed to develop a nation of unequalled military skill with
citizens absolutely devoted to the state.
- It is focused in developing the capacities of men only for war.
- The aim of education was in accordance with the aim of their constitution,
which was to train powerful body of soldiers that should be capable of
conformity, endurance, strength, cunning, and patriotic efficiency.
Athenian
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Education
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Solon (639-559 B.C.) a great lawgiver who belonged to a noble family
brought order to Athens and the attitudes toward education sprang from
his influence.
Athens implemented a democratic and free society unlike Sparta, which
was totalitarian.
Democracy was one of the lasting legacies of the Athenians to the world.
There was a direct democracy wherein every citizen took part on running
the government. Everyone of them served on the jury, acted as arts,
architecture, law, astronomy, and philosophy.
Aims
- “Men sana en corpore sano”, a Latin expression which means “sound mind in
a sound body” was the ultimate aim of their educational system.
- They also aim to develop individual excellence which meant a full rounded
development of mind and body and public usefulness, the ability to take
active part in the business of the state.
- Athenians also sought beauty and grace of body, knowledge and things of the
spirit.
- Their idea of manhood embraced external and internal beauty, physical and
mental harmony.
The Sophists (wondering scholars or well-traveled men)
- Greek sophistes, “expert, master craftsman, man of wisdom”, originally, name
applied by the ancient Greeks to learned men, such as the Seven Wise Men
of Greece also known as the Seven Sages, Greek sages of the 7th and 6th
centuries B.C. who were active in science, philosophy, and politics. Although
their identities differ in some accounts, the seven sages usually appear as
Bias of Priene, Chilon of Sparta, Cleobulus of Lindus, Periander of Corinth,
Pittacus of Mitylene, Solon of Athens, and Thales of Miletus.
- In the 5th century B.C. the name sophists was applied to itinerant teachers
that were mostly non-citizen of Athens who provided instruction in several
higher branches of learning for a fee.
- Because they believe that man is the measure of all things, they stressed
individual development.
- Most of them concluded that truth and morality were essentially matters of
opinion. Thus, in their own teaching, they tended to emphasize forms of
persuasive expression, such as the art of rhetoric, which provided pupils with
skills useful for achieving success in life, particularly public life.
- The sophists were of minor importance in the development of Western
philosophical thought. They were, however, the first to systematize education.
Leading 5th-century sophists included Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias of Elis,
and Prodicus of Ceos.
- The sophists were popular for a time, especially in Athens; however, their
sceptical view on absolute truth and morality eventually provoked sharp
criticism. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle challenged the philosophical basis of
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the Sophists' teaching, and Plato and Aristotle further condemned them for
taking money.
Later, they were accused by the state of lacking morality. As a result, the
word sophist acquired a derogatory meaning, as in the modern term
sophistry, which can be defined as subtle and deceptive or false
argumentation or reasoning.
Reasons Why Conservative Athenians were Against Sophists
1. They collected teachers’ fee from their students.
2. Since they were aliens, the Athenians believed they posed grave threats
to Athenian society for they led their students to deviate from their moral,
ethical, social, political, and religious traditions.
3. Because the Sophists’ strong emphasis on individualism, the Athenians
were fearful that they may be tempted to put self-aggrandizement and
personal glory above love for fellowmen and country, leading to the
downfall of the very foundation of Athenian society.
The Three Great Educational Theorists
- Due to the multifarious scope of the Sophists’ teachings, the Athenians were
confronted with the problem of reconciling individual liberty with social
stability.
- The greatest among the philosophers who focused much of their time and
attention in resolving the above-mentioned dilemma were Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle.
SOCRATES
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Socrates (c. 470-c. 399 B.C.), Greek philosopher, who shaped
Western philosophy, although he left no writings of his own his pupil
Plato wrote dialogues purporting to describe Socrates’ views and
actions.
Born in Athens, the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete,
a midwife, Socrates was reportedly short and unattractive, but
extremely hardy and self-controlled.
He received a typical education in literature, music, and gymnastics,
and later familiarized himself with the rhetoric and dialectics of the
sophists, the speculations of the Ionian philosophers, and the general
culture of Periclean Athens.
He married Xanthippe, an Athenian woman, with whom he had three children.
Though he accepted the fundamental principle of the chief of the sophists’,
Protagoras, that man is the measure of all things he declared that before using a
measure of any kind, one must fully understand it. He postulated the concept Gnothi
Seauton or “Know thyself”.
To him knowledge is a virtue and all virtuous actions are based on one’s knowledge.
Likewise, whoever is enlightened must be virtuous.
The aims of Socratic education were to show that knowledge is the basis of
all right actions, including the art of living, and develop the power of correct
thinking in the individual.
- His method of teaching was known as ironic (destructive element) and
maieutic (constructive element).
*Ironic- after posing a thought-provoking question to his students, which are at
times unanswerable he would ask series of questions if the opinion given was
against his own leading the individual to think critically about his original
statement to the point that he finally contradicts it.
*Maieutic- the first set of questions would be reinforced by another series of
questions in the mind of the student that would lead him to conceive the correct
idea concerning the arguments.
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Plato (427-348/347 b. c.) was born to an aristocratic family in the Athenian
democracy. His father, Ariston, was believed to be descended from the early
kings of Athens. Perictione, his mother, was distantly related to the 6thcentury B.C. lawmaker Solon.
Advocated aristocratic socialism form of government wherein the state
controls everything, even in determining who can get married. A person with
a handicap or disability was not allowed to procreate to prevent his/her kind
from being replicated. In here family life would be abolished and the state
PLATO would decide whether a child should live or not. A child was nursed
not necessarily by his/her own mother.
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According to his beliefs educational system should be designed to
accommodate both sexes and should be used as a determiner of an
individual’s social class.
Three Distinct Classes that Should Composed Society According to Plato’s Belief
1. Philosophical class
2. Warrior class
3. Artisan or industrial class
* Membership in a class would be determined by intelligence, virtues and
abilities. Plato believed that if these classes performed their duties and
obligations religiously and faithfully, social justice would be attained.
Plato’s Educational System
Children should be physically trained by their guardians through play form
birth until age seven. They were also required to have lessons on morals and
religion.
- From seven to sixteen children should be sent to a state school to be given
humanistic training (literature, music, gymnastics)
- When they turned sixteen those who had shown that they were chiefly govern
by their passions were drafted into the artisan class. The rest could continue
their education in physical training and military discipline until the age of 20.
- The second classification should consist of those who showed their ability in
warfare. The rest of the students should continue their education in science,
arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, and rhetorics, among others.
- At the age 30 the students should be reclassified depending upon their
intellectual ability. Those who would fail to show extraordinary talents would
be given subordinate positions in society. On the other hand, those who
excelled were given the highest level of education or philosophical training;
they will continue their education for five more years in philosophy, law, logic,
and dialectics as well as in the art of leadership.
- When they reach 35 years of age these students will enter public service as
administrators of the state, they will hold the position until they reach 50.
- After retirement from active service, they should devote their time to study
and reflection, and in teaching the younger generation.
*Though not directly mentioned, only those who have reached the highest level
of education would be permitted to teach.
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ARISTOTLE
(384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with
Plato and Socrates the distinction of being the most famous of the
ancient philosophers.
Born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal
court, Aristotle moved at the age of 17 to Athens to study at Plato’s
Academy. He remained there for about 20 years (from age 17 –
37), first as a student and then as a teacher.
- While he argued that monarchy is the best form of government, he
advocated democracy as the form of government that would lead
to the promotion and protection of the general welfare of the
citizens.
Also, he stated that one of the responsibilities of a democratic state is to provide
quality education to the citizenry, which in return is the chief means of securing the
welfare of the state.
Unlike Plato, he believed that the family should be strengthened as it is the basic
foundation of the state and provides the first educational experience of the individual.
Man according to him is composed of two distinct but united entities- soul and body.
The soul is made up of irrational elements (appetites, desires, passion) and a
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rational element (intellect). Thus for him educational of the individual should
therefore attend to the development of the physical, moral, and intellectual aspects of
his/her life.
He denied Plato and Socrates’ basic tenet that knowledge is virtue insisting that
virtue is brought about by doing and not by knowing.
He further advocated that man is a social animal who must use and live according to
his reason to attain his ultimate end: the summum bonum or the supreme good.
Although he shared his teacher’s reverence for human knowledge he revised many
of Plato’s ideas by emphasizing methods rooted in observation and experience.
Aristotle surveyed and systematized nearly all the extant branches of knowledge and
provided the first ordered accounts of biology, psychology, physics, and literary
theory.
In addition, Aristotle invented the field known as formal logic, pioneered zoology, and
addressed virtually every major philosophical problem known during his time.
Known to medieval intellectuals simply as “the Philosopher”, Aristotle is possibly the
greatest thinker in Western history, and, historically, had perhaps the single greatest
influence on Western intellectual development.
He is considered as the Father of Modern Sciences due to his ideas and countless
contributions to the field of science.
Aristotle’s Educational System
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The individual must be given basic education at home from birth up to seven
years of age, in preparation for formal schooling.
At seven he/she should started formal schooling which was devoted primarily
to the training of the rational and irrational aspects of the soul. This should
continue until he reaches 21 years of age. At this point, attention should be to
the development of the body and self-restraint. Moral education, or the
training of the soul’s irrational element, was primarily attained through music
and literature.
For students 21 years old and above, the emphasis of education should be on
scientific and philosophical
training.
ROMAN
EDUCATION
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Ancient Rome, the homeland of Roman civilization, which, from its beginnings
as a settlement of Latin peasants on the banks of the River Tiber around
1000 B.C., grew to be the center of the greatest empire of the ancient world.
From about 500 to 300 B.C., Roman ways quickly began to dominate the
whole of Italy and the Mediterranean fringe and, from about 200 B.C. to the
late 5th century A.D., Rome controlled vast territories in Europe, Africa, and
Asia.
The economic prosperity of Rome, coupled with military successes that led to
the formation of the Roman Empire, created a fertile seedbed for the
development of Roman culture and allowed the development of specialist
artists, craftsmen, lawyers, and administrators as well as providing the
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financial resources to support what was, for many, a rich and diverse way of
life.
About the time the Roman Republic was getting to be known as a mighty
empire dominating the known world, the Roman educational system become
more organized and complete.
The Romans were practical, pragmatic people who absorbed themselves in
the successful management of their everyday affairs.
Their language become the instrument of commerce, the coins were
circulated far and near, their civil service was honorable and the law elevated
to the dignity of science.
Before Rome’s decline, women were admitted to all schools in all levels and
were allowed to function in some of the professions.
Five Great Periods in the History of Roman Education
1. From 753 B.C. (traditional founding of the city) to 275 B.C. Children were
taught principally at home by their parents and servants (usually educated
captured slaves). Entry to public life was by participation in civic, religious
and military affairs. Schools were only on the elementary level.
2. From 275 B.C. until 132 B.C. the Romans developed a literary culture and
a system of higher education patterned after the Greeks.
3. From 132 B.C. to 100 A.D. Latin literature and grammar were perfected.
Medicine and law were taught on a systematic basis. Roman treatises on
architecture and oratory were produced. Schools were private but a
beginning was made of public subsidies to education. The government
became an empire. Jesus Christ was born, lived and was crucified, and
Christian Church was established.
4. From 100 A.D. to 275 A.D. law became a university subject. Medicine
took form and it kept this for 1 400 years. Government increased its
subsidy for learning.
5. From 275 A.D. to 529 A.D. The government established a monopoly of
education. Teachers were required to be licensed. Christianity became
first tolerated, then it became official religion of the Empire. Textbooks
were written. The ancient world went to pieces and the Middle Ages were
ushered in.
Roman Traits
1. First among the traits of their moral ideals was manliness, and its
prominent component were courage and strength.
2. Reverential regard for one’s ancestors, for the divine powers, and for
sacred customs.
* The Roman character expressed itself to advantage in the sense of
professional, family, and
public responsibility.
Division of Roman’s Social Class
1. Patricians - members of landed families who were citizens of Rome;
noble class
2. Equestrians - drawn from the lower echelons of the Roman nobility/
constituted the lower
ranks of the aristocracy.
3. Plebeians- common people of ancient Rome, including the poor and
landless.
4. Liberti - or freedmen, shared most of the rights of the freeborn citizen
(though there was often considerable prejudice against them).
The children of a freedman were equal with all freeborn citizens.
5. Slaves- they provided the workforce in mines and quarries, on large
farming estates, and in industrial factories and workshops. Many,
also, were household or domestic slaves; depending upon the
virtues of their owners, they could be treated with brutality or as
trusted servants. The more fortunate slaves were able to buy, or
be given, their freedom; they joined a class of liberti, whereas the
offspring of a slave who was not able to buy his freedom inherited
his servitude.
* Access to the more important posts in the army, the judiciary, and the
administration was usually confined to the patricians or to the equestrian; over
time, these restrictions and distinctions were gradually eroded so that public
affairs, which under the early Republic tended to be the preserve of the upper
classes, became by the time of the empire increasingly influenced by talented
and vigorous members of lower orders, as more and more opportunities were
opened up to the plebeians. Patrician birth remained an important matter of
family pride, but made increasingly little difference to a career.
*With the shift towards political absolutism under the empire, considerable restrictions
over the rights of the free poor, and even of the artisan class, developed and particularly
under the later Empire when, in order to maintain essential but unattractive trades, many
occupations were by law made hereditary.
Roman Centurion and Legionary
An efficient and disciplined army was
essential to the control and maintenance
of the Roman Empire. In each cohort of
the Roman army, there were six
centurions, each of whom commanded a
company that originally consisted of 100
legionaries (a century).
Aims
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The development of vir bonus- the good citizen, the good soldier, the good
worker. The vir bonus was the man possessed of all the virtues essential for
the exercise of his rights and the discharge of his duties and obligations.
Romans judged everything y its serviceability and effectiveness.
In the later period of the Roman Empire, Roman education aimed for
linguistic facility and perfection in public speaking and debate.
The orator, who was considered the ideally educated man, was to be the first
vir bonus. The true orator used his learning by putting it to practical use in
public service.
*Three Educational Levels Under the Greco-Roman Schools*
1. Elementary level- reading and writing were taught by the ludi
magister/litterator (teacher of letters) to children when they reached seven
years of age until they turned to ten years old.
2. Grammar school
- students entered this school when they are ten years of age and
have finished elementary level; they stayed until they were at the
age of 16.
- The grammar school became a definite educational institution with
well-defined methods of teaching, a fixed curriculum, and public
support.
- Grammar was the chief subject of study, but other subjects were
literature, language, oration, and declamation.
- The two types of this school are: the one that teaches Greek while
the other was that for Latin instruction.
The aim of grammar schools was to equip students with mastery of
expression in reading, writing, and speaking, and prepare them for
work in the rhetorical school.
- The teacher, called grammaticus/literatus, not only gave lectures;
he also imposed severe discipline on errant and nonconformist
students (this discipline included flogging with a whip made of
leather tongs).
3. Rhetoric school
- Unless a young boy belonged to a patrician or wealthy family or
was destined for a career in government, his education was
considered finished upon his completion of grammar school.
Otherwise, a boy of 16 years of age entered the rhetorical school
and stay there for two or three years depending upon his ability,
intelligence, and interests.
- This school prepared young boys for public service.
- It was a predecessor of our modern colleges and universities.
- The training under the teacher rhetor was rigorous and effective.
- To be a good orator the students exercised oratory, declamation,
and debate. He also practiced posturing and pronunciation.
- To add melody to their voice, students studied music.
- To prepare for debate they studied logic, law, and literary criticism
and to defend the right, they tackled ethics.
- To equip them with general knowledge, they reviewed grammar
and literature, arithmetic and geometry, philosophy, and astronomy.
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 At first, there was no institution beyond the schools of the rhetor and, for a
Roman to obtain university education, he had to study abroad at Athens,
Alexandria, or Rhodes.
 Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus also known as Vespasian/Vespasia (A.D.
9-79), Roman emperor (A.D. 69-79), born in Sabine Reate, near Rome, who
put up a library and developed a school of learning called Athenaeum which
would constitute higher education.
 (Latin, Marcus Ulpius Trajanus) Emperor Trajan (c. 53-117), Roman emperor
(A.D. 98-117) who awarded scholarship to poor but deserving youth.
 (Latin, Publius Aelius Hadrianus) Hadrian (A.D. 76-138), an emperor of Rome
(A.D. 117-138) who provided retired teachers with pensions and gave more
attention law and medicine than philosophy.
 Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus/Antoninus Pius (86-161), Roman emperor
(A.D. 138-161), born in Lanuvium (now Lanuvio, Italy), of a distinguished
Roman family. He exempted all Roman teachers from taxation and military
services to allow them to devote more time and attention to education.
 Constantine the Great (c. A.D. 274-337), Roman emperor (A.D. 306-337) who
continued to give teachers the privileges that were awarded by his
predecessors and with the legalization of Christianity in 313 A.D. he extended
these privileges to the clergy. He was also the first Roman ruler to be
converted to Christianity.
 Flavius Claudius Julianus/Julian the Apostate (c. 331-363) was the first
Roman emperor (A.D. 361-363) who required teachers to be licensed or
certified.
 Emperor Flavius Gratianus/Gratian (359-383) he gave subsidy to all schools
from the public funds. Also, he created salary scale or schedule for teachers
throughout the empire.
 Flavius Theodosius called Theodosius the Great (c. 346-395), Roman
emperor of the East (379-395) and of the West (394-395), the last ruler of a
united Roman Empire. He considered the establishment of private schools a
grave crime punishable by law.
Methods
 Elementary level - memorization and imitation
- Pupils sat on the floor and school hours were form sunrise to
sunset.
- Writing was done with a stylus on a wax tablet.
- Punishment was severe.
 Secondary level – exercise in good literary discourse and moral habits
 Rhetoric/Rhetorical school – emphasized declamation and all types of public
speaking were perfected (eulogies, exhortations, funeral orations and
lectures).
The Most Influential Teachers and Thinkers in Roman Education
1. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.),
- Born in Arpinum (now Arpino, Italy), as a youth he was also known
as Tully.
- Rome's greatest orator and man of letters (writer).
- His writings provided the ideal for the education of the Middle ages.
- His educational ideas were put in his The Orator
- According to him the ability to speak and to persuade people was of
greatest importance in professional and public life.
- For him an orator should have a well-rounded education and be
exposed to a wide practical experience in order to have a sound
basis for his philosophy.
- To him the whole focus of education was on the art of leadership in
public life.
2. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (c. 35-c. 95)
- Roman rhetorician, born in Calagurris (now Calahorra), Spain.
- He was educated in Rome, where he at first practiced law, but he
was more distinguished as a teacher of rhetoric. He was appointed
public professor of the subject, with his salary paid by state funds
- After 20 years as an advocate and a teacher, he retired to
concentrate on writing.
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He wrote Institution Oratoria (Institutes of Oratory), a book which
combines discussions on education with a study on the principles,
scope, and style of oratory.
Also, he advocated that an orator must be a well-rounded man of
affairs coupled with integrity and good memory and should know
the practical application of his arguments.
Furthermore, he recommended the use of games and play in
learning as well as in considering individual differences.
In addition, he suggested competition and awards as basis for
motivation in place of corporal punishment. He also felt that group
instruction was preferable to individual tutoring.
MEDIEVAL
EDUCATION
FACTORS THAT CAUSED ROME’S RISE AND FALL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Birth of Christianity
Barbarian infiltration
Failing appreciation of the vir bonus
Moral decay
Lack of an orderly law of succession
Transfer of the seat of government from Rome to Constantinople (Istanbul
Turkey)
7. Defeat of Romulus Augustus by the Gothic chief Odoacer in 476 A.D. (this
marked the end of the Roman Empire in the West and consequently the
passage from ancient to medieval time).
EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDES AND
PRACTICES OF JESUS CHRIST
 Jesus Christ (between 8 and 4 B.C.-c 29 A.D.), the central figure of
Christianity, born in Bethlehem in Judaea.
 The chronology of the Christian era is reckoned from a 6th-century dating of
the year of his birth, which is now recognized as being from four to eight
years in error. Jesus is believed by the great majority of Christians to be the
incarnate Son of God, and to have been divinely conceived by Mary, the wife
of Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth.
 The name Jesus is derived from a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name
Joshua, or in full Yehoshuah (“Jehovah is deliverance”). The title Christ is
derived from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh
(“anointed one”), or Messiah. “Christ” was used by Jesus' early followers, who
regarded him as the promised deliverer of Israel and later was made part of
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Jesus' proper name by the Church, which regards him as the redeemer of all
humanity.
Christianity came from Christ, which was derived from the Greek word
christos.
Christianity tried to harmonize individual freedom, the personal desires and
aspirations of pagan civilization, with social stability to preserve the nation.
Christianity offered new hope, new ethical force- humanitarianism- that
provided the basis for the education of all
After the death of Christ his disciples teach the Gospels to the world. As a
result, the entire Roman kingdom and the rest of the world heard the Gospels,
many were converted to Christian faith.
Christians suffered all kinds of persecution in the hands of Roman emperors
such as Nero, Vespasian, and Julian the Apostate as well as the religious
leaders of both Jews and pagan religions (St. Paul was beheaded during
Nero’s reign; Peter was crucified upside down; and John the beloved was
submerged in boiling oil).
Aims
- Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things
shall be added unto you.
- Christ aimed at the highest type of ethical education
- Jesus taught His followers to renounce the personal privileges and
advantages that come from riches and selfishness of private ambition
- Christ taught not only a moral revolution in the individual but also a revolution
in society as well
- Christ was also concerned with religious training- the development of the right
relationship between man and his God
Resemblance of Jesus and Socrates’ Teaching Style
1. Simple and direct
2. Their use of ordinary situations to explain their ideas
3. Their aim: to lift man’s way of living and thinking
4. Their practice of teaching something new.
Marked Differences of Jesus and Socrates’ Teaching Style
Socrates
- Always critical and analytic; he sued the dialectic (by which the
truth of a theory or opinion is arrived at logically; art or practice of
debate or conversation) and inductive methods of research.
- He promoted independent thought by arousing intellectual curiosity
and critical judgment.
Jesus Christ
- His appeal was to the heart, the conscience, the will, and to the
spiritual center of man. He sought to quicken man’s ethical
sensibilities.
Old St. Peter's, Rome
Constantine the Great (306-337) commissioned
the construction of St. Peter’s as a church and
public hall after he made Christianity the official
religion of the Roman Empire. It was begun in
AD 333 and destroyed by fire in the 16th century.
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Constantine I
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Also known as Constantine the Great
Constantine I was the first emperor of Rome to convert to Christianity.
He converted to Christianity because he attributed his victory over the eastern
emperor Maxentius to his dream. In 312, on the eve of a battle against
Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamt that Christ
appeared to him and told him to inscribe the first two letters of His name (“XP”
in Greek) on the shields of his troops. The next day he is said to have seen a
cross superimposed on the Sun with the words “in this sign you will be the
victor /in this
sign conquer” (usually given in Latin, In hoc signo vinces).
He proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire and
called it as Roman Catholic. The word “catholic” came from Greek word
“katholikos” which means “universal”.
During his reign, Christians, previously persecuted, gained freedom of
worship and was given equal rights with the citizen of Rome due to the Edict
of Milan that he issued in 313 A.D.
He gave huge estates and other gifts to the Christian church, which gave way
to the establishment of Christian based schools.
Aim
Moral regeneration of the individual
Agencies and Organization
 By the Virtue of Constantine’s Support to the Roman Catholic Church the
Following Schools were Established:
1. Catechumenal or Neophyte Schools
– for the new convert; it teaches religious discipline, moral values,
and Christian doctrine to prepare them for baptism
– probationers were called catechumens
– boys and girls were admitted and was given the sacrament of
baptism and communion after several years of training
2. Catechetical or Question-and-Answer Schools
- for leadership training
3. Episcopal or Cathedral Schools
- for clergy and priests
- usually located in cathedrals
- under the direct supervision of the bishop
- the only educational institution after the collapse of the Roman
Empire
Note: The home is second only to the church; the church was the sole
dominant agency of education.
Pope- universal head of the Roman Catholic Churches
- the word Pope came from the Latin word Papa which means “father”
- known as the Vicarius Filii Dei or the representative of Christ here on earth
 Under the Pope were the:
Archbishops – the one who supervised provinces or archdioceses
Bishops – the one who oversaw dioceses and nearby areas
Priests – the one who took care of parishes in town and cities
MONASTICISM
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Church adherents believed that perfection was necessary for the salvation of
the soul. Also, they claimed that denying oneself of worldly pleasures and
activities, contemplating on and studying the word of God, and living an
ascetic life and thus becoming “hermits”, could secure perfection.
While the pagans beautified the body yet neglected the soul, the Christians
beautified and exalted the soul by neglecting the body and denying it its
worldly appetites.
The practices mentioned above gave birth to a movement called
Monasticism, from the Latin word mono, which means “alone”.
Monks
- Regular member of the clergy who had taken vows of poverty (renunciation of
material and worldly interests), chastity (abstinence from sexual relation), and
obedience (deference to one’s superior)
- They completely renounced three great aspects of social life: 1. domestic
home/family, 2. political state, and 3.economic structure/industrial or economic
organizations.
- Their life was entirely governed by the Rule of Benedict. In accordance with
this rule they devoted two hours each day in reading the Bible and the
writings of early church leaders known as the Fathers. Also, they engaged in
manual labor for seven hours each day.
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They introduced new processes to be used in producing craft articles from
wood, metal, leader, and cloth.
A monk’s virtue was measured by his originality in devising ways to mortify
the flesh. It could be in the form of fasting, getting by with little sleep, wearing
insufficient or uncomfortable clothing, assuming painful and extremely
uncomfortable bodily postures, keeping the body unclean, binding the limbs,
and loading the body with chains and weights, so as to reduce and even
destroy the natural and worldly desires of the body (The monks did not know
that these practices could weaken and even destroy the mind).
Monte Cassino
The monastery of Monte Cassino in Latium, central
Italy, was founded by St. Benedict of Nursia around
529, and became one of the most important centers
of Christian teaching in the world.
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Rule of Benedict
Advocated by the known Father of Western Monasticism, St. Benedict of
Nursia, Italy (c.480-c.547), a Roman patrician who fled from the corruption of
Rome and founded a monastery in Monte Casino/Cassino , southern Italy
around 529 A.D.
It consists of 73 articles, dealt with how monastic life should be led.
It also prescribed how a monastery should serve as an asylum to the poor,
injured, sick, and distressed.
Charlemagne (742-814), or Charles the Great (Latin Carolus
Magnus), King of the Franks (768-814) and Emperor of the
Romans (800-814), was among the greatest of military
leaders in the Middle Ages. He conquered much of western
and central Europe. As king, Charlemagne revived the
political and cultural life that had disappeared with the fall of
the Holy Roman Empire four centuries before.
- He was the best-known and most influential king in Europe
in the Middle Ages.
- During his reign monastic education reached its pinnacle of
efficiency.
- He wanted to unite all sectors and ethnic groups in his
empire, but could not do so in the absence of a common
language, culture, and ideals.
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Charlemagne
For this reason he established a school at his palace at Aachen (now city in
the North Western Germany) to carry out his reforms and further the
education of the nobles and the members of the royal family.
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He also brought foreign teachers not only for his “palace schools” but also for
the institution of higher learning throughout England. Alcuin or Albinus (735804), a scholar and a school master at York /Yorkshire, England was brought
to supervise the palace school)
Bringing in foreign educators was done in the hope to produce intelligent state
and church administrators
In order to enforce his decrees and educational programs he bestowed upon
his missi dominici (official messengers) the power and authority to enter
monasteries to observe whether his order were carried out
Aim -The salvation of individual soul
SCHOLASTICISM
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A purely intellectual discipline which was developed during the start of 11 th
century
This movement rationalize the doctrine of the church
Its chief concern was to integrate the knowledge already acquired separately
by Greek reasoning and Christian revelation
Its most striking characteristics were the narrowness of its field of thought and
the thoroughness of its method
Aim
- To support the doctrine of the church by rational argument
Two Camps of Scholasticism
1. Scholastic Realism
– Headed by bishop Anselm of Canterbury (1034-1102?/10331109?), who is known as the father of scholasticism.
– Anselm advocated “Credo ut intellegram” (I believe in order that I
may understand)
– Members of this camp believed that ideas and concept were the
only real entities, and objects known through the senses were only
copies of these ideas
2. Scholastic Conceptualism
- Lead by Peter Abelard (1079-1142) who advanced
the idea “Intellego ut credam” (I understand in
order that I may believe)
- Scholastic conceptualists believed that a universal
was only a concept until it was expressed in the
individual; then it became real.
St. Thomas Aquinas
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During the 13th century, St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) sought to reconcile
Aristotelian philosophy with Augustinian theology. Aquinas employed both
reason and faith in the study of metaphysics, moral philosophy, and religion.
Known as one of the greatest among those who tried to reconcile human
reason with Christian faith.
He wrote Summa Theologicae / Theologiae, which became the official
doctrine of the Catholic Church by Papal decree in 1879
- Because of his great contributions to Catholic theology he
was canonized and became a saint in 1323.
Suit of Armor
A complete suit of armor would nearly
encase a medieval soldier; however, due to
its extremely flexible joints, a great range of
movement was still possible. The armor was
quite flexible but extremely heavy, and a
soldier in a suit of armor usually needed
help to mount a horse.
CHIVALRY
Chivalry was an education ideal only for
the noble
- Beginning of the 9th - 11th centuries
The order of knighthood and, especially, the code of knightly behavior
practiced in the Middle Ages by the mounted soldier, or knight.
The Germanic warriors who overran Europe in the early Middle Ages
fought on foot, but in the period between 700 and 1000 ad cavalry forces
were created to oppose invading Muslims, Vikings (one of the daring
Scandinavian pirates who raided the coasts of Europe during the 8 th, 9th,
and 10th, century A.D.), and Magyars (chief race living in Hungary).
In the 11th century the aristocracy of the lands between the Loire and the
Rhine generally adopted cavalry training and tactics as they did the fief
and vassalage of feudalism.
In the 12th century, the term chevalier (French, “horseman”) acquired a
connotation of honour, and the English knight (derived from the AngloSaxon word cnight meaning servant) came to have the same meaning.
The ethos and ideals of knighthood and chivalry acquired a mystique that
combined aristocratic qualities, Christian virtues, and the courtly love of
women.
The ideal knight should be a man of prowess, loyalty, and generosity like
the heroes of epic poetry. In the eyes of the Church, he should put his
sword at the service of the poor and needy, and especially of the
Crusades to the Holy Land.
From southern France came the idea that a knight should serve a lady
(often promised or married to another) whom he loved passionately, if
hopelessly.
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Crusades, military expeditions undertaken by Western European Christians
beginning in 1095, usually at the request of the pope, to recover
Jerusalem and the other places of pilgrimage in Palestine (now in
Israel and Palestine) known to Christians as the Holy Land from
Muslim control. The name crusade (from Latin, “cross”, the emblem
of the Crusaders) was also applied, especially in the 13 th century, to
wars against pagan peoples, Christian heretics, and political foes of
the papacy. By extension, the term is used to describe any religious
war or political or moral movement.
Courtly Love, code of behavior that defined the relationship between
aristocratic lovers in Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
According to these conventions, a nobleman, usually a knight, in love
with a married woman of equally high, or often, higher birth had to
prove his devotion by heroic deeds and by amorous writings
presented anonymously to his beloved. Once the lovers had pledged
themselves to each other and consummated their passion, complete
secrecy had to be maintained. Since most noble marriages in the
Middle Ages were little more than business contracts, courtly love
was a form of sanctioned adultery, sanctioned because it threatened
neither the contract nor the religious sacrament of marriage. In fact,
faithlessness between lovers was considered more sinful than the
adultery of this extramarital relationship
Aims
1. As a system of education for the nobility, chivalry aimed to teach the
best ideals
2. It provides a system of training to indicate gallantry toward women,
protection of the weak, honesty in everything, courage at all times.
Knights Jousting
Tournaments such as this were a favorite recreation
of the medieval aristocracy, whose original role was
as a standing cavalry force to fight for their country
and estates: by jousting, a knight could improve his
prowess in battle and win prestige. Tournaments
began as little more than organized brawls, but as
medieval society grew richer and more settled, they
became more splendid and safer affairs,
opportunities for public display rather than proving
grounds for vitally needed skills.
* In the later Middle Ages chivalry became ever more aristocratic and
exclusive. During the 14th century orders of knighthood were created, such
as the Order of the Garter in England and the Order of the Golden Fleece
in Flanders.
* The title of knight, like baron, count, and duke, became one of hereditary
honor, and fewer and fewer had the right to claim it. Since those few,
however, were powerful and prominent people, the ideas and ideals of
chivalry continued to have a strong appeal.
Weapons of Medieval Warfare
During the Middle Ages,
European society developed
into a political and military
system known as feudalism.
Living under the threat of
invasions from outsiders, the
people
of
Europe
also
developed a different kind of
weaponry. Mounted warriors,
known as knights, could move
quickly and strike hard with
axes, pikes, lances, and twoedged swords longer than
those used by men on foot.
Feudalism
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As the nobility in the 11th century adopted chivalric ideas so as
they did the fief and vassalage of feudalism
It was a contractual system of political and military relationships
existing among members of the nobility in Western Europe
during the High Middle Ages.
It was characterized by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form
of land and labor, in return for political and military services—a
contract sealed by oaths of homage and fealty (fidelity).
Serfs were free men who became legally bound to live and work
in one place in servitude to wealthy landowners. In return for
working the land of the owner, known as the lord, these
peasants, called serfs, received a crude house, a small
adjoining plot of ground, a share of the surrounding fields, some
farm animals, and protection from outlaws and other lords. The
serf gave part of his own crop to the lord as payment of rent and
was subject to many other payment obligations and taxes.
Serfdom differed from slavery because serfs had the right to
own property, could not be sold, and could theoretically
purchase their freedom from their lords.
Estates farmed by dependent laborers, which was taken from
the Church was called benefices were given for the duration of
the soldiers' service. The soldiers were called vassals (from a
Gaelic word meaning servant).
GUILD SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
Guild
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association of people who have similar interests in craft,
business, or profession
development of transportation, trading and banking took place
there was a rise of new social class the burgher / bourgeise /
bourgeoise (middle class who accumulated wealth from
crusades and caravans)
Its purpose was to provide mutual aid and protection among its
members
Crusade - the meaning of crusade in the guild system was different from
those of chivalric movement. In here laborers or journeymen who
stand in protest for their mistreatment usually joined crusade
wherein they vigil, hunger strike, or march in protest in a number of
days to put pressure on the government or concerned authorities.
Caravan- merchants organized for mutual help and protection against the
hazards of travel, particularly on the deserts of Asia and Africa. On
these journeys, many of which cover long distances, the beasts of
burden most frequently used are the camel, donkey, and, in South
America, the llama. The animals are traditionally arranged in a
single file, which in larger caravans may extend for almost 10 km (6
mi).
Two Types of Guild
1. Merchant guild/ guild merchant – (wholesaler and retailer of all the
goods manufactured in the city)
2. Craft guild/ trade guild / trade corporation – (skilled workers and
manufacturers)
Aim
- To give the middle class the kind of education that they need (practical
and vocational) to prepare them for the requisites of commerce and
industry.
SARACENIC/MUSLIM APPROACH TO EDUCATION
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Mohammed (c. 570-632), chief prophet of Islam founded Islam, a religion
which rose six hundred years after the birth of Christ. Its followers were
called Muslims or Moslems
Islam is understood by Muslims as the original pure monotheism which
Allah (God) has made known to mankind since the Creation and which
was revealed through many prophets before Muhammad.
Mohammed died without an appointed heir, from then on Moslems would
elect a leader whom they called caliph or successor of Mohammed
After the death of Mohammed, Caliph Uthman consolidated Mohammed’s
teachings and published the Qur’an (Koran) the Muslims sacred
scriptures.
The western world indebted to the Saracens the creation of the scientific
spirit of investigation and experimentation and for the invention and
improvement of the tools of science.
Aim - To search for knowledge and an application of scientific facts to the affairs
of daily life
RENAISSANCE TO THE AGE OF NATURALISM IN EDUCATION
The General Historical Background of The Renaissance (16th Century)
a. European politics were dominated by Charles the V and Philip II of the
Holy Roman Empire
b. The predominant philosophy of the period was Humanism, a philosophy
away from the medieval theology and towards man’s interest on earth
c. The Renaissance spirit is clearly manifest in the arts and in literature
d. In painting some of the greatest artist belong to this century Leonardo da
Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), Titian (c. 14851576), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), and Hans Holbein (the Younger/Jr.) (c.
1497-1543)
e. Literature claims the following great names: Niccolò Machiavelli (14691527) in Italy, François Rabelais (c. 1493-1553), Michel Eyquem de
Montaigne (1533-1592), and Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) in France,
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) in Spain, and William
Shakespeare (1564-1616), Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), Francis Bacon 1st Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans- (1561-1626), and Samuel
Johnson (1709-1784) in England
f. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) lead the
field of Science
g. Religion was dominated by Martin Luther (1483-1546), the Protestant
Reformation and the Catholic Center
Humanism
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derived from studia humanitatis which means “study of humanity”
a movement started in the early part of the 14 th century during the
Renaissance
- aimed for the development of the intellectual, spiritual and physical
capacities of a person through education
- content of education includes the 7 liberal arts (trivium -grammar,
rhetoric, and logic- and the quadrivium -arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and
music-), History, physical games and exercises, and Greek language.
two types of humanism were 1. Italian/Individualistic Humanism and 2.
Northern/Social Humanism
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ITALIAN/INDIVIDUALISTIC HUMANISM
- stressed personal culture, individual freedom and development toward full
and rich lives
- for them education was to be happy, exciting, and fun experience
- produced a revival of learning and paganism
- essentially autocratic and was limited to few elite
- characterized by freedom of thought, self-expression and creative activity
- patterned after the Greek ideal of liberal education, the harmonious
development of mind and morals
Aims
1. To develop individual personality through nature, art, music, literature, and
architecture
2. To get the most possible out of life; to live a full, excellent, and rich existence
NORTHERN/SOCIAL HUMANISM
- Hieronymians or Brethren of the Common Life was an organization of pious
and socially minded men who facilitated the spread of humanistic spirit in
northern Europe
- Hieronymians aimed at combating ignorance, especially of the lower class,
by instruction in the Scriptures
- Social humanism’s proponents attempted to establish an educational system
based on democratic principles. They believed that this would be possible if
all levels of education would undergo reforms and be made available not only
to the elite but to the masses as well
Aim
- Education aimed at social reform and improvement of human relationships. It
aimed at eliminating ignorance of the common people and hypocrisy of social
leaders
*Well Known Humanists and Their Methods
1. Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466-1536)
- a Dutch scholar, was one of the greatest humanists of
his age, and a figure of major importance in the
northern European Renaissance.
- born on October 26 or 27, in about 1466, in Rotterdam,
the illegitimate son of a priest, Roger Gerard, and a
doctor's daughter.
- He went to strict monastic schools in Deventer and 'sHertogenbosch and, after his father's death, became an
Augustinian canon at Steyn.
- He was ordained a priest in 1492 and, while
employed by the Bishop of Cambrai, studied Scholastic philosophy
and Greek at the University of Paris.
- Finding religious life uncongenial, he sought secular employment,
and later received papal dispensation to live and dress as a secular
scholar.
- He believed that women should enjoy the same educational rights
enjoyed by men
- Edited many of the Greek and Latin authors including the New
Testament which he also translated in Greek and later in Latin (his
translation of the new Testament became the basis of the King
James version in English)
- Denounced Ciceronianism (a narrow and formal practice of putting
emphasis upon style and construction of Latin grammar rather than
ideas) and wanted the study of the classics for the purpose of
broadening knowledge and refining taste, and for gaining ability to
make decisions
- He expounded the following:
a. the need to study the child carefully for individualized instruction
b. the importance of game and exercise in education
c. keeping education in close touch with the social needs and life
of the times
d. value of repetition and mastery of small units of work art at time
e. motivation and the use of praises and rewards
f. emphasis on gentleness as opposed to physical punishment
2. Johann/Johannes Strum/Sturm (1507-1589)
- a German scholar and educator who founded a gymnasium, a
school attended by a large number of students, mostly from the
noble families
- his influence spread rapidly in Germany as an outcome of his
published textbooks and method of training teachers in the
gymnasium
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His methods involved the following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
stressed imitation and memorization
the use of vernacular in the lower grade
the use of pupil monitors
careful grading of instruction
3. Roger Ascham (1515-1568)
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Born in Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire, and educated at St John’s College,
University of Cambridge.
English scholar and author, a major intellectual figure in Tudor
England,
In 1540 he became the first Professor of Greek at Cambridge.
English humanist who became the private tutor of Queen Elizabeth
He wrote the book The Schoolmaster which was published in 1571
after his death. In this book he condemned brutal corporal
punishment and other “inhuman” practices prevalent in English
schools during his time
Known for his double translation method, where a pupils is required
to translate a passage into English and then retranslate it into the
original
He was the first Englishman who write educational treatises in the
vernacular
4. Juan Luis Vives
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a humanist and philosopher, who interpreted new ideas on
education and, in particular, advocated the education of women
as part of his methods he emphasized the following:
a. the use of vernacular
b. broadening of curriculum and the education of women
REFORMATION
Protestants
- a term used to refer to those who made protest against the Roman
Catholic Church (Calvinists, Presbyterians, Baptist, etc.,)
- now one of the leading Christian Churches which was separated from the
Roman Catholic Church
*Protestants During Renaissance Agreed on the Following Fundamental
Concepts:
1. The interpretation of the Bible was substituted for the authority of the church
as basis of faith
2. Individual responsibility for salvation was substituted for collective
responsibility.
3. God’s mercy was the means of salvation.
4. Penance and works of charity as deliverance’s from sin could be dispensed
with.
Aim
- living a worthy life on earth will guarantee a glorious life hereafter
* therefore education must provide adequate training in the duties of the home,
occupation, church and state
Well Known Reformists:
1. Martin Luther (1483-1546)
a German member of the Catholic clergy and a
university professor
- tried several times to achieve reform from within the
church but was not successful
- in October 31, 1517 he nailed on the doors of the All
Saints Church Wittenberg a set of Ninety-Five Theses
denouncing the malpractice’s of the church
(concentration of wealth in the churches, monastic,
and ecclesiastical courts- based on a doctrine that
salvation came from good works, donations, and sale
of indulgences)
was threaten to be excommunicated by the Pope if he did not withdraw his
attacks ; he did not and he left the Catholic Church
-
-
2.
Philip Melanchton (1497-1560)
- German scholar and religious reformer
- he wrote “Book of Visitation” or “The Report” which was regarded as the
first school survey report in the history
3.
Sturm of Strassberg
-
proposed a 10-class organization- a class year plan
which has become the pattern of a graded system of
school organization
John Calvin (1509-1564)
-
French theologian, Church reformer, humanist, and
pastor, who said that the state should be considered the
political and social arm of the church and should carry out
-
-
its injunctions.
the statement above was based in a theory called Theocracy which says that
“since God cannot be present to rule on earth, the church must rule according
to the God’s laws
in practice of the said theory the church strictly control all the affairs of man –
economic, political, social, religious, and educational.
in Geneva he head a school with seven classes under the supervision of the
city; but finance by tuition fees
Methods
1. Reading (routine pronunciation of voice)
2. Memorization of answers to questions from the gospels, hymns, and psalms
- in secondary, students had to learn rules and passages by memory
3. Religious indoctrination (chief method)
* Methods of teaching were rigid and discipline was strict
CATHOLIC COUNTER-REFORMATION
-
-
-
-
movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries
that sought to revitalize the Church and to oppose Protestantism
if most of the countries in Northern Europe adhered to Protestantinism, the
Southern European countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal and France remained
loyal to the Roman Catholic Church
Under Pope Paul III the Roman Catholic Church convened the Council of
Trent for the purpose of instituting reforms in the church thereby preventing
breakaways like the one initiated by Martin Luther
realizing that the Protestants are using education to further their ends, the
Catholics used education to win back dissenters. Thus, teaching orders and
teaching congregations were founded, parish schools were reorganized and
seminaries were opened to train church leaders
in order to carry out reforms, the church authorized the establishments of
several priestly orders
The Most Important Priestly/Teaching Orders/Congregations
1. Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
- established by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), a Spanish noble soldier in
1540/1534
- this teaching order abolished corporal punishment
- designated to train church leaders
- concentrate on tertiary education fro the rigid training of the leaders of
both the church and the state
Aims
- its aim was expressed in its motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (Everything for
the Greater Glory of God)
- to fulfill whatever is judged the most urgent need of the Church at the time.
Contributions
- doing a small amount of work at a time, doing it well and making sure it is
retained
- two steps in the teaching method- prelection and repetition
- adapting the lesson to the interest and abilities of students
- participation by question and answer
- repetition for mastery
- review
- motivation by rivalry and emulation
Ratio Studiorum – published by the Jesuits that contain the plan for the
administration of schools, the program and courses of study,
selection and training of teachers, methods of teaching, and
supervision of instruction and methods of discipline.
2. Jansenites/Jansenists
- founded by Cornelius Jansen in 1598, a Flemish theologian and bishop of
Ypres
- the Jansenites of Port-Royal was founded in 1635/1637 by Jansen’s friend,
Jean Duvergier de Hauranne/Jean Duvegier de Haurame more popularly
known as Abbe de Saint-Cyran/ Abbé of St-Cyran
- these groups (the one lead by Jansen and that of Haurame) emphasized
French language, logic, and the study of other foreign languages
Aim
- to develop the moral and religious character of the child in line with the
philosophy of Rene Descartes that human nature is essentially bad.
3. Christian Brothers
- Institute of the Brethren of Christian Schools (De La Salle Schools) was
established in 1684 by Jean Baptiste dela/De La Salle (1651-1719)
- teachers were known as the Christian Brothers
- teachers enforced complete silence and used signals to communicate instead
of commands
- used corporal punishment
Aim
- to teach the poor
Realistic
Movement
-
in line with Realism, a philosophy which holds that education should be
concerned with the actualities of life.
While the realist agreed that anew type of education should be developed to
prepare the youth for the concrete duties or practical living, they differ as to
the methods by which such could be achieved. This gave rise to realists
groups.
3 Groups of Realists with Different Methods
1. Humanistic/Literary/Verbal Realists
2. Social Realists
3. Sense Realists
Literary Realism
- earliest realists
- they agreed with the humanist that classical language and literature were the
ideal means to liberal education
Aim
- To secure a knowledge of human society and its institutions of nature and
man’s reactions to nature, chiefly through a study of the content and not
the form of the classics
3 Verbal Realists
1. Juan Luis Vives (Spanish)
- aim: education should develop personality
- the teacher should study each pupil individually
- adapt school work to the abilities and interests of pupils
- quarterly conferences with teachers to assess the pupil’s progress
2. Francois Rabelais
- a French who lived from 1483-1553
- education should AIM at the development of a whole man
- all learning is to be made pleasant
- learning should be facilitated through natural activities
- reasoning substituted for rote learning
- make use of reference books
3. John Milton (1608-1674)
-
English educator and poet who believed that the AIM of
education was to prepare the youth for actual living
reading is done for content and not for syntax (patterns/rules
for the formation of grammatical sentence)
use of resource person in the classroom
discussions and lectures by academic authorities
Sense Realism
- knowledge comes primarily through the senses
- education is founded on the training of sense perception rather than on pure
memory activities
- condemns the use of excessive and harsh discipline
- introduced a new teaching method – inductive
- comprehensive curriculum for all levels are based on their tenet: Know all
things, do all things, say all things
- organized school system for both boys and girls regardless of economic
status
Aim
- to develop harmonious society, working in accordance with natural and
universal laws.
Sense Realists’ Methods and Principles
1. John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
- Latin name for Jan Komensky, Czech educational reformer and religious
leader, born in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic), and educated at
the University of Heidelberg.
- Moravian bishop who became a teacher and rector in the Moravian towns
of Prerov and Fulnek
- considered as the first educator who advocated the use of visual aids
- author of the Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Visible World in Pictures), the
first illustrated book for children
- his AIM was to achieve eternal happiness with God, and for him education
should prepare for the activities of life through knowledge
- His methods and principles are:
a. education should appeal to the child’s natural interest
b. learning starts from the senses
c. whatever learned must be of practical value
d. general principles, first, then details follow (deductive method)
e. things should be taught in succession and one at a time
f. subject must not be left unless thoroughly mastered
g. learning should proceed from the known to the unknown (Principle of
Apperception)
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
children learn to do by doing
words must not be repeated
instruction should be fitted to the child’s understanding
learning to be effective must be first in vernacular
sense, memory, imagination, and understanding should be excised
daily
m. Comenius recognized the value of textbook, and the uniformity of texts
n. Recognize the importance of the teacher who had to be properly
trained
In the Internal School Organization, Comenius Made the Following
Recommendations:
1. All schools should begin the same date each year and students should not
be admitted except on the opening date.
2. There should be a systematic organization of the schedule of class work.
3. Each class should have a separate room, a separate teacher with
separate tests.
4. School day should be organized in agreement with the child’s nature.
Older children should stay about 6 hours in school while younger ones
should study only 4 hours a day.
5. There was to be no homework.
6. A half hour relaxation should follow each study period.
7. Morning hours to be devoted to intellectual subjects and the afternoon to
physical and aesthetic subjects.
2. Wolfgang Ratke(1571-1635)
- German
- His contributions are the following:
a. all learning should follow the course of nature
b. learning should only be one thing at a time
c. repetition must be done as often as possible
d. everything must be learned first in the mother tongue
e. learning must be without compulsion
f. nothing is to be learned by rote
g. similar subjects must be taught in the same way
h. learning by sense, first, then, learning by exploration
i. learning should be through induction and experimentation
3. Richard Mulcaster (1531-1611)
- school head of Merchant Taylor’s School and St. Paul’s School (Two of
the famous excellent humanistic schools in England)
- author of Elementaries and Positions (contains his view that education
must be in accordance with nature)
- AIM : to secure the expression and development of childish tendencies
and not suppress them. For him education should not repress the natural
tendencies of man but help “nature to her perfection”.
-
Type and Content learning should be adapted to the needs of the
students and should include reading and writing
Agencies and Organizations 6 year elementary school for boys and
girls; and training colleges for teachers (Later known as Normal Colleges)
Methods included the following:
a. children must be studied thoroughly and their innate abilities respected
b. make use of games, play, and exercise for learning purposes
c. vernacular should be used to instruct pupils aged 6-12
4. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
- English statesman, philosopher, and educator
- the most influential and versatile English writer of the 17th
century
- author of “New Atlantis” (contains description of his ideal
society)
- wrote on a broad range of topics, including ethics,
philosophy, science, law, history, and politics
- the AIM of education was to give man dominance over
things, to utilize knowledge for a practical and useful life
- Type and Content he stressed the study of nature and was more
interested in content than in method
- helped usher in the era of modern scientific thought by developing a
reasoning process called induction. Induction is the process by which
general
conclusions
are
drawn
from
particular
situations.
(Methodinductive)
Disciplinism
-
this philosophy is known as Formal Discipline
maintained that it was not the thing learned but the process of learning that
was important in education
adherents to the theory of Locke that mathematics (because of the
universality of its principles) and linguistics (because of the orderly
arrangement of its parts) should be given emphasis. These subjects are
considered well adapted to the training of all the powers of the mind like
memory and reasoning.
Aims
- formation of character
- to promote exercises of mind, body and self-control
- to increase the powers of the mind and not to accumulate knowledge
John Locke (1632-1704)
-
thought that our knowledge of the world should rely on
everyday experience, scientific observation, and common
sense.
-
-
-
-
his Essay Concerning Human Understanding portrays each individual as a
blank slate, similarly in his book Some Thoughts Concerning Education he
stressed that at birth a child’s mind can be compared to a tabula rasa, or a
blank tablet. Each person’s experiences become notations on the slate and
make him or her distinct from other people.
for him education was a discipline
he believed that the aim of intellectual endeavor was truth but the attainment
of truth in every human activity should be guided by reason and the mind is
only capable of obtaining and formulating reason if it is educated to this end.
education should follow rigid discipline for the mind to attain its goal
moral development and the formation of desirable habits should be the chief
aims of education. To realize this, education should be composed of three
separate but equally important components: 1.physical education, 2.moral
education, and 3.intellectual education.
He believed in the use of praise and censure (a comment expressing fault);
corporal punishment was to be used in case of obstinacy (hardheadedness)
Rationalism
-
-
educational philosophy prevalent in Europe in the latter part of the 17 th
century
took its roots during the period known as the Age of Reason/Enlightenment
claimed that human reason was the sole source of knowledge and the sole
determiner of whether a thing or action is acceptable or not. Anything that did
not conform to human reasoning was to be rejected
The aim of the movement was to develop the individual by means of
restraints based upon reason.
Rationalism lead to the creation of the enlightened class among the
aristocrats known as the illuminati. The illuminati formulated the so-called
natural religion based on skepticism (the philosophical doctrine that the truth
of all knowledge must be always question and that inquiry must be a process
of doubting) and atheism. This class, represented by a French philosopher
named Francois Marie Arouet, popularly known as Voltaire.
Voltaire (1694-1778)
- French writer and philosopher Voltaire is considered one of
the central figures of the Age of Enlightenment of the 1700s,
a period which emphasized the power of human reason,
science, and respect for humanity.
- believed that literature should serve as a vehicle for social
change. His biting satires and philosophical writings
demonstrated his aversion to intolerance, tyranny, and the
hypocrisy of Christianity, and brought him into frequent conflict with the
religious and political communities.
-
-
The expression captured in this portrait of Voltaire in 1718 hints at the sharp
sense of humor with which he won the favor of 18th-century French and
English society.
His ideas about education are the following:
a. education should be free from religiosity
b. stressed the creation of a polished intellectual society with strict
implementation of laws- no rights and sympathy should be given to the
populace.
NATURALISM TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Naturalism
-
-
the most influential movement of the 18th century
advocated that education should be in accordance with the nature of the
child. This means that all educational practices are focused toward the natural
development of the innate talents and abilities of the child
one should understand the nature of growth if one is to teach effectively
Aim
-
to preserve the natural goodness and virtue of the individual and the
formation of a society based upon the recognition of the natural
individual rights.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Swiss-born French philosopher, social and political
theorist, musician, botanist, and one of the most eloquent
writers of the Age of Enlightenment.
- He took the view that man, as he came from nature, was
good but he became evil through contact with society
- believed that educators should concern themselves
primarily with the mental and physical development of their
pupils and only secondarily with subject matter.
- His educational aim was to free man from the artificialities
and restraints of human society
his educational views were contained in his book Emile which became an
educational classic
despite Rousseau’s great influence, his works-particularly Social Contract and
Emile- were burned by both Catholic Paris and Protestant Geneva
he was compelled to leave Paris in 1755 . However he managed to return in
1770 staying there until his death
finished his final work “Confessions”, while leading a half-insane and morbid
life
-
-
established the three modern principles of teaching:
1. Principle of Growth
2. Principle of Pupil Activity
3. Principle of Individualization
Emile
- it is not about the schooling but about the upbringing of a rich man’s son
by a tutor who is given unlimited authority over him.
- his education consisted of for periods starting from birth and ending at the
age 20 ( Infancy, Childhood, Age/Stage of Reason, and Social Stage)
- the last part of this book was devoted to the education of Sophie whom
Emile married. In it Rousseau showed how Sophie was trained physically
in order to bear strong children; how to sing, dance, and embroider, and
design in order to please men; and also receive an early education in
morals and religion in order to provide a good home for her family.
* Women had inferior education. Rousseau’s model Sophie had no
individuality and was trained never to think for herself.
-
Nationalism
-
-
this movement stimulated the development of the state-controlled and state
supported public school systems. The aim of nationalism – preservation and
glorification of the state.
National sovereignty was the central focus of the nationalism ideology
The aim of education was to develop responsible citizenship and national
feeling
Nationalists systems emphasized secular and civic instruction. These types
developed loyalty and patriotism.
There was no time in the American history when the teachers were given a
higher status than during this time. Provisions were made for the careful
training and selection of teachers. Teacher-training institutions were under
state control and a system of examination and certificate of teachers was
developed.
DEVELOPMENTALISTS
-
also known as the Psychological Movement
Education aimed to unfold the natural capacities of the child
DEVELOPMENTALISTS
1. Johan Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
- Swiss educational reformer, whose theories laid the groundwork for
modern elementary education.
- he agreed with Rousseau’s idea that human beings were naturally good
but spoiled by a corrupt society.
- Believed that the aim of education was the social regeneration of
humanity
Characteristics of Pestalozzi’s School
1. the atmosphere was generally permissive
2. the content was made up of physical exercises, play activities, and nature
studies.
3. Learning came through the senses
4. He used the object lesson – a special method consisting of three basic
sorts of learning: form, number, and sound
5. Teaching should proceed from the known to unknown (now called
Principle of Apperception)
6. Teachers should be warm and emotionally secure
7. All learning was based on pupil activity
8. Children should learn in a slow precise manner
9. Home environment was necessary for successful teaching
2. Friedrick /Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)
- German educator, the originator of the kindergarten.
- Believed that the aim of education was the development of the child
Characteristics of Froebel’s Idea
1. Reliance on nature was the chief educator
2. Schools must have a primitive atmosphere
3. The object lesson meant that concrete objects were used to stimulate
recall of a corresponding idea in the child’s mind
4. Children must not be taught what they don’t understand
5. The teacher must be an active instructor instead of hearer of memorized
facts
6. Emphasis was placed on names, play songs, stories and crafts
7. The teacher should be a moral and cultural model worthy of the child’s
love and trust
8. Teacher should be approachable and open person
3. Jonathan Herbart/Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841)
- German philosopher and educator.
- for him the chief aim of education was moral development, to produce a
good person with varied interest.
Herbartian Education was Characterized By:
1. Foundation of moral character
a. The idea of inner freedom meant that actions were based on one’s
personal convictions.
b. The idea of perfection meant harmony and integration of behavior.
c. The idea of benevolence meant a person had to be concerned with the
social welfare of others.
d. The idea of justice meant that a person reconciled his individual
behavior with that of the social group
e. The idea of retribution indicated that reward or punishment accrued
certain kinds of behavior.
2. Herbartian formal steps of instruction:
a. preparation- teacher motivates students
b. presentation- teacher presented the lesson
c. association- new lesson was deliberately related to past lessons
d. generalization- used examples to illustrate principles taken
e. application- tested whether students understood the lesson presented
3. Theories of interest, concentration, apperception were used
4. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
an Italian educator who introduced the method of
Early Childhood Education. In her Casa de Bambini,
students who attend were described as disadvantaged
In 1907 Maria Montessori introduced a method of
teaching children that encouraged their initiative and
sense of self-reliance. Schools dedicated to her teaching
techniques are found throughout the world. (The picture
shows students at a kindergarten in Berlin demonstrate
their dancing skills.)
The Following Concepts Characterized Her Method of Education;
1. Learning was spontaneous
2. Curricula had three types:
a. activities and experiences
b. practical skills- serving a meal; tying buttons; washing dishes
c. formal skills- reading, writing, arithmetic
3. Activities were primarily individualized rather than group centered
4. Method of instruction was carefully pre-planned and followed patterns of
human growth and development
5. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
-
Swiss psychologist who was known for his contribution
to early childhood education in the filed of cognitive
development. His ideas are:
1. Human intelligence developed in sequential manner
a. sensory motor
b. pre-operational
c. concrete operation
d. formal operations
2. A Piagetian school environment stressed the following:
a. teachers encourage children to explore and experiment
b. instruction is individualized
c. children are provided with concrete material to touch, manipulate
and use
6. Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949)
- American psychologist and educator, born in
Williamsburg, Massachusetts, and educated at
Wesleyan, Harvard, and Columbia universities.
- A scientific educator who formulated the following laws:
a. Law of readiness
b. Law of exercise
c. Law of effect
d.
7. John Dewey (1859-1952)
- American philosopher, psychologist, and educator.
Born in Burlington, Vermont
- John Dewey emphasized practical ideas in both his
philosophical and educational theories, always striving
to show how abstract concepts applied to everyday
life.
-
-
He emphasized “hands-on” learning, and opposed authoritarian teaching
methods. His ideas prompted a drastic change in United States education
beginning in the 20th century.
Well known for his philosophy of pragmatism and his synthesis
of Darwinian evolutionary theory.
Contributions:
1. Children are socially active human beings and they wanted to explore their
environment and gain control over it
2. Children used their collective knowledge to solve problems both personal
and social
3. Education is a process by which the young were introduced to their
cultural heritage
4. Dewey believed in democratic education- learners must be free to test all
ideas, beliefs and values
Sociological Movement
-
This movement is attributed to John Dewey. He focused on the contributions
of education to the preservation and progress of society
In the discussions of social implications of education, there are two points of
view:
Social Traditionalism
 Aim- gives pupils an insight into their traditions, arousing interest and
sympathy toward social service, and developing efficiency in adapting
the individual to society
Social Experimentation
 Aim- the school should direct pupils in learning to meet the needs of a
changing society, not only for immediate needs, but also for future
needs under changing social conditions
Module 5
Philosophical Foundations of Education
What is Philosophy?
Etymologically speaking, philosophy is derived from the Greek word philo
meaning “love” and sophos or sophia meaning “wise” or “wisdom”. Philosophy
therefore is a love for wisdom. For our purpose, we shall define philosophy as
the quest for truth based on logical reasoning and factual observation of
nature’s multifarious phenomena. Its purpose is to seek and prove the ultimate
and absolute truth. For this, it is considered the mother of all sciences.
Branches of Philosophy
The different branches of philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology,
axiology, and logic (the divisions under each branch are illustrated below).
PHILOSOPHY
Metaphysics
Cosmolog
y
Teleology
Ontology
Epistemology
Agnosticism
Skepticism
A Posteriori
A Prioi
Axiology
Ethics
Aesthetics
Logic
Induction
Deduction
Syllogism
Dialectics
Philosophies Related to Education
IDEALISM
Plato
(427-348/347 b. c.)
Plato is the forefather of all Idealists. Plato talked
about ultimate ideas. It is from this concept that we
get the word "Idealism." Technically it should be
"idea-ism." Plato was not talking about ideal in the
sense of valued ends or goals to reach. He referred
only to ideas and to the fact that ideas in their
ultimate form are the "figures" behind us, which cast their
shadows in the form of things; we experience in our
world.
In his book, The Republic, Plato used the allegory of The Cave. He would
have his readers imagine seeing a group of people sitting in a dark cave chained
down in such a way that they can look in only one direction. They look toward the
expanse of wall on one side of the cave.
Behind them is an open fire providing light, and between the fire and
where they are sitting is a raised runway along which figures move, casting their
shadows upon the wall. The individuals, chained so they face the wall, cannot
see the fire or the figures, but only the shadows. If we can imagine them confined
to this position for their entire lives, we must expect them to consider the
shadows as real, genuinely existent beings. Not knowing anything else, having
no three dimensional being to use for comparison, these prisoners in the cave
would come to believe that what they saw before them represented true reality.
Unchain the prisoners and let them turn around to see the fire and the
figures, which have produced the shadows. Plato believed they would re-adjust
their conception of reality, altering it to fit new perceptual data that their eyes are
now able to collect. As they move about the cave they get a sense of the threedimensional character of their environment They conclude they have been fooled
all along. What if they are led from the cave into the blinding brilliance of the
noonday sun. Plato believed they would be struck dumb by the complete
impossibility of it. They would turn away in complete bewilderment, not wishing to
see the real truth of their world.
Plato said that we humans are in our own cave - the world as we see it
with our five senses. It looks real enough - rocks, trees, birds and men. But it is a
world of images, three-dimensional "shadows" of another more genuinely real
world - a world of pure ideas. This realm of pure ideas or pure mind is absolute in
its perfection. It has an intensity that is so far past the human mind that we are
blinded from it. Like the sun that blinds our eyes, the "Absolute Mind" completely
overwhelms our feeble intellects.
We turn our eyes from the brilliance and retreat to a more comfortable
existence, even if less genuinely real. We retreat to our "cave," the world of
sense perception, permitting our intellects an occasion brief or fleeting glimpse of
ultimate reality.
Plato's world was a two-world concept. Everything we see in our
experience - trees, chairs, books, circles, men - is only a limited and imperfect
expression of an underlying idea. Every tree we see is different, but there is an
Idea to tree-ness which all trees share.
Question: What is tree-ness? Trees, whether they be oak or pine, have
trunks, limbs, and either leaves or needles. They do the same job. They take
carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen.
The idea of a tree is different from a bush, which is squatty.
Another Illustration: Chairs we can see and sit in; but what is really real is not this
chair or that one, but the Idea of "chair," the idea which actually supports and
sustains all the individual objects we call chairs; for without this idea no chair
would come into being for us to use.
Another Illustration: Men can draw circles, but only imperfect ones: a perfect
circle is only an idea in our minds which we try to copy. It is the Idea of circularity
which is truly and genuinely real, for it is eternal and unchanging.
The Ontology of Idealism
The real world is a world of "Ideas." The world of experience is just a
transient and fleeting replica or "shadow" of the real world. The real world is
"Ideas" which have an eternal quality. All reality is divided into two major
divisions: the apparent realm and the real world.
1.
The apparent realm
hiTs realm represents the day-to-day experiences of life such as being
born, growing, aging, dying. It is the realm of change, imperfection, irregularity,
disorder, suffering, evil, and sin.
2.
The real world
The real world represents the home of eternal qualities, permanence,
order, absolute truth and value. It is the home of the mind, the realm of ideas. It is
of higher rank than the apparent world because it represents perfection.
The real world is the realm of perfect things and perfect things do not
change - they are eternal. Eternal ideas are in the mind. Ultimate reality is of the
nature of the mind, or "self."
The real world is seen as the manifestation of a super intelligence at work
in the cosmos. This super intelligence represents the universal Self or the
Absolute Mind. The super-intelligence can be thought of as a human mind
infinitely extended in macrocosm across the measureless reaches of all creation.
In its infinite capacity, this Ultimate Mind is capable of thinking ultimate thoughts
and, hence, of authoring final and ultimate truths.
We may generalize by saying that the Universal Mind can be thought of as
the Infinite or Universal Self. However, this does not necessitate a theistic
interpretation but is equivalent to deity.
The Epistemology of Idealism
The epistemology of Idealism would say that truth is idea. Several ideas
help us to understand truth in this view.
1. The Absolute Mind
The Idealism's ontology is composed primarily of "mental stuff."
Epistemology harmonizes in grasping mental ideas and concepts. Men are but
prisoners in a "3" dimension and physical sensation. The dimensional cave; a
world of physical real world lies beyond the physical. Knowing is more than
"sensing" something; knowing is taking hold of the idea of something and
retaining it in the mind.
Illustration: Knowing trees really knows the idea behind trees. A tree
individually and imperfectly expresses the "idea" of trees. We are interested in
"tree-ness." That is what is really true.
If we could conceive the absolute sum of all ideas - treeness, circularity,
man, love, democracy, etc. - we would understand absolute and ultimate reality.
Ideas require a mind to think them. Thus, behind this idea is the Absolute Mind
which is constantly thinking these thoughts and ideas. This thinking is beyond the
sensory and is free of error.
2. Microcosm and Macrocosm
Epistemology is primarily a description of how the human mind, with all its
limitations, can be brought into communication with the Absolute Mind. The
human mind is a microcosm (a little world) of the Absolute Mind (macrocosm).
The qualities are all present but in a limited form. Our limited human minds are
capable of communicating with and sharing in the Absolute Mind. They have a
rapport but the gap between them is wide. Thus, there is a basic compatibility
between a knowable reality and a capable knower.
Note for Christian Education:
In Theology we say that we are created in the image of God. We have
some of the same attributes as God but on a very limited basis. For instance, we
can think as God thinks. We can't quite think on His level. For the Christian, if he
or she were an Idealist, the Ultimate Mind would really be God.
3. The Absolute Self
Self is hard to define, but we think of it as "person." The person is really a
vehicle for what we call personality. This comes closer to the idea of "self."
The Idealist is a self; this is an affirmation of his own selfhood as a real
quality in the world. There is a concentric progression of selfhood. At the center
is a person conscious of himself. As he or she matures, he or she expands his or
her reach of selfhood larger and larger. The person has more experiences, more
feelings, and more understanding. Those who are more mature are known as
"larger selves." If he or she expands far enough, he or she reaches Absolute
Self.
This is just a possibility; not a probability.
4. Minds, Self, and Knowing
The Idealist believes an individual may discover the universal Mind and
Self - in microcosm, to be sure - in his own thoughts and feelings. We can look
within and find a tiny
replica of the Ultimate Mind. Introspection becomes important.
Learning is a process of "remembering," of "recognition." Our senses give
us only the surface of things; we must turn from them to know again what the
mind knows. To remember perfectly, the intellect must rigorously close the
windows of the body to the external world and open only the windows of the
intellect, so that it may look upon and contemplate eternal truth.
We never know the world directly. We must have a theory of knowledge
which explains how it is that we achieve true knowledge through a more
dependable means than sensation. The Idealists calls this the "Consistency
Theory of Knowledge." Our observations must be consistent with our thoughts.
Illustration: Immanuel Kant, an Idealist, saw a connection between
percepts (the data we receive through the senses) and concepts (the ideas which
arise in our minds). "Concepts depend upon percepts for the raw data of thought;
percepts must terminate in concepts. Concept without percept is empty, percept
without concept is blind."
Idealists presuppose the existence of mind itself. The mind is not
dependent for its existence on sense data. The mind is preexistent to all sensing,
all experiencing. It is the ultimate explainer of what happens to it and hence the
ultimate explainer of the world.
The mind's task is to receive data from many sources, to associate the
data with other sense data received earlier or in other circumstances and finally
to locate consistencies among them. When this point is reached, the mind can be
said to have attained truth.
Illustration: What is duty? How do I determine duty? I read the stories of
men and women who have been involved in serving their country in perilous
times under all sorts of circumstances. It then dawns upon me that there is one
big idea trying to express itself in the lives of these people. I say I have my hand
(my mind) on the idea of Duty. This idea is revealed in my perceptions as I study
the data. Finally I take hold of the idea and it is mine, not in tiny pieces, like my
perceptions, but whole and complete in my mind.
The mind is the organizer and systematizer of sense data. Sense data
provides the "food for thought," the stimulus to conceptualization, but it is the
mind that does the knowing.
Axiology and Idealism: The Imitation of the Absolute Self
Individual selfhoods participate in an Ultimate Selfhood. We perceive
order in the cosmos. This is an extension of the Absolute Self. Values fall in with
order; moral and otherwise.
Axiology is rooted in existence. Values are what they are because there
are individuals who possess and enjoy them. Yet values become more
meaningful when seen in their wholeness.
1. Ethics
An example of Idealist ethics is seen in the teachings of Immanuel Kant. In
regards to persons, men and women are ends not means. Persons are minds
with potentiality.
The moral imperative: In every person there is an imperative to "do good."
This imperative is innate. It is a part of every person just as are sensation,
perception and thought. Reason tells us there are certain universal binding laws.
Other values include:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Obedience to universal moral laws
The good will - right is necessary
The society of ends - the blessed community
Immortality - eternal life begins now. The only way to attain complete Idea
is by obtaining eternal life.
Kant taught that one should obey the moral law. "Act so that in your own
person as well as in the person of every other, you are treating mankind as an
end, never merely as a means."
2. Aesthetics
The beauty of an object is judged by the extent to which it penetrates
through the crudity and ugliness of everyday experience to those symmetrical,
harmonious patterns of nature that resemble the worship of the logical.
The function of the artist is not to represent, literally "re-present," the world
to our sensibilities, but to portray the world as the infinite Person sees it, that is,
in its perfect form.
3. Religious Value
William Hocking, an Idealist, in presenting his Theology said that there is a
God-idea. This is a function of our thinking. The idea of God becomes the hub of
all value experience. This leads to an enrichment of self and others.
The Educative Process of Idealism
1.
The Learner
The learner is a microcosm of the Ultimate or Absolute Mind. Learning is
the process of the learner gradually becoming aware of larger and larger
expressions of mental awareness, and this is done through books.
The learner's ultimate aim is not just a mastery of factual content, but a
broad understanding of the world in which he or she lives. The learner is
attempting to expand, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to imitate the fullness
of the absolute and Universal Mind as much as his or her mental capacity
permits.
The learner will respond to his or her world as well as learn about it. He or
she will be involved in expansion of his microcosmic selfhood in imitation of the
macrocosmic Absolute Self, attempting to approximate the fullness of the
Universal Person.
One of the ways to expand one's self is to attach oneself to other "selves"
and to identify with a self larger than one's own - to join a club, some group. An
emphasis is placed upon the group spirit – the "communion-of-selves," the
psychological climate, etc.
2. The Teacher
The teacher is central in the educative process because he or she is the
key to that process. The teacher is in the position of determining what the
student's opportunities for learning and growing shall be. He or she sets the
character of the environment in which learning takes place. The following
characteristics of the teacher are necessary:
a. The teacher is the personification of reality for the child. It is in the
teacher the universe
is made personal.
b. The teacher should be a specialist in the knowledge of pupils. He or she
must know his
or her pupils.
c. The teacher should be an excellent technician.
d. The teacher should be the kind of person who commands the respect of
the pupil by
virtue of what he or she is. The teacher wins respect.
e. The teacher should be a personal friend of the individual student.
f. The teacher should be a person who awakens in the pupil the desire to
learn. He or she does this by making learning attractive. The teacher
evokes enthusiasm, enlists pupil affection and is a life sharer who enters
into and takes upon him/her self the lives of pupils that they may become
one with the teacher.
g. The teacher should be a master of the art of living. This is the result of
greater maturity
and wider experience.
h. The teacher should be a co-worker with God in perfecting man. The
teacher becomes the father or mother of the pupil's soul. He or she is
concerned in developing his or her students.
i. The teacher should be one who capably communicates his or her
subject. He or she must know his or her subject and his or her students.
j. The teacher must be one who appreciates the subject he or she teaches.
k. The teacher who really teaches is always learning at the same time that
he or she teaches.
l. The teacher is an apostle of progress. He or she is giving birth to a new
generation.
m. The teacher should also be a maker of democracies. Dictatorships tend
to suppress learning.
n. The teacher ought to be a study in self-elimination. He or she must lose
him or her self in his or her students. His or her purpose is not to glorify
him or her self.
Another way of describing the teacher in Idealism is by "What the Teacher
Is," and by "What the Teacher Does."
What the Teacher Is:
An interactor
A worker with God
A sacrificer
A submissive being
A determiner
A specialist
A model
A completer
What a Teacher Does:
Communicates between minds and nature
Controller of the environment
Considers techniques and orderliness
Concerned with relationships that develop the spiritual life of
the learner
3. The Curriculum
Children must be given something positive. They must conceive early the
ideal character of man and the characteristics of an ideal society. The classroom
must include the equivalents of the three aspects of human achievement:
intellect, emotion, and will. There must be some science, some art, and some
volition.
The curriculum must not just be limited to content of instruction, but must
include: occupations, productions, achievements, exercise, and activity. The
curriculum must include whatever helps us to understand life. Information
becomes knowledge, books become tools, and the best ideas will become ideals.
According to Bogoslovsky, the four divisions of an Idealist curriculum are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Universe division (science)
Civilization division (social sciences, how do we obtain our humanity)
Culture division (philosophy, art, literature, religious interpretation)
Personality division (physical, physiological, emotional, and intellectual
factors)
Where these four divisions cross is the personality building, the coordination
of all four.
Civilization
Culture
Personality
Universe
Building
Personality
4. The Educative Method
Idealists claim to be creators of methods, not wed to any one method.
They believe in experimentation, activity, and project, but not these as the
method.
Informal dialectic must be in progress at all times in the classroom. The
student must be constantly confronted by decision and selection. Some methods
used:
a. Thought provoking questions
Questions that suggest alternatives which provoke judgment are used.
The teacher does not use questions to find out what the pupil knows but to
cultivate the student's judgment. Students will create their own dialectic and the
teacher will let the conflict of their thinking have free course. The pooling of
ignorance is a danger, but it is up to the skilled teacher to keep the discussion
moving toward the truth.
b. Lecture
Lecture is also a method used by the teacher. The danger is that the
lecture can become a phonographic recitation of facts or ideas as an autocratic
institution rather than that which stimulates student questioning and response.
c. The Project
Excursions and projects beyond the walls to supplement book learning is a
good method of Idealism. It must stimulate thinking.
d. Symbolism
Whatever else education is, it must be first of all a symbolic activity.
Symbols take on a higher rank than mere tools of learning - they are the
instruments of the mind itself, the medium through which the mind operates.
Symbols furnish a medium for access to reality. Ideas have no existential
expression except through symbols. The Idealist makes symbols the very
medium of the pupil's educational life. Learning is primarily a continuous activity
in symbols - primarily reading books, listening to the teacher, but also writing and
reciting. It is a systematic introduction to the life of words; for words are the keys
to truth and reality.
5.
The Social Outcome
The moral problem in education is met by the Idealist by viewing the
ethical conduct of men growing out of a social tradition. The ethical and moral
conduct is stressed through examples from our moral tradition. The emphasis is
upon preserving the traditions of society.
Ancient Philosophers of Idealism
1. Plato
The world is a mere shadow of the real existence with objects merely
representing the realness of the world in the mind.
2. Descartes
Dealt with the self as prime reality and the existence of God indicating
that the self is an imperfection of God.
Contemporary Philosophers of Idealism
1. Emerson
2. Mann
3. Hocking
4. Horne
Other Philosophers of Idealism
1. Spinoza
2. Kant
3. Hegel
4. Frobel
Contribution of Idealism to Christian Education
The real contribution of Idealism to Christian Education is that Idealism
recognizes an ultimate being and an immutable eternal existence. Christian
Education teaches belief in the true God and an eternal existence.
EXISTENTIALISM
The 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Aabye Kierkegaard played
a major role in the development of existential thought. Kierkegaard
criticized the absurdity inherent in human life and questioned how any
systematic philosophy could apply to the ambiguous human condition.
In Kierkegaard’s deliberately unsystematic works, he explained that
each individual should attempt an intense examination of his or her
own existence. He also wrote of the paradoxes of Christianity and the
faith required to reconcile them.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
(1813-1855)
Existentialism is a way of viewing and thinking about life in the world so
that priority is given to individualism and subjectivity. Existentialism is a
philosophical doctrine which emphasizes the freedom of human beings to make
choices in a world where there are no absolute values outside the individual,
existentialism is a doctrine primarily attributed to Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, who
adamantly argued that human existence was marked off from all other kinds by a
person’s power to choose.
The decisions that a person makes will enable him to realize what kind of
person he will be and will make him distinct from other people. And if a person
has developed and is aware of his own identity, he will be able to find meaning
and purpose for existence.
For these and other arguments, existentialists have no concrete concept
to support the existence of God or any absolute value. They believed that one
molds his own destiny. For them, truth is never absolute but always relative to
each individual who is the sole determiner of the truth for himself, and every
value is always dependent upon the free choice of a person. They advocated that
the existence is the basic value for every person and the significance of every
vale lies upon the circumstances pertaining to this person’s existence.
Other Features of Existentialism
1. Each individual is viewed as being unique and solely responsible for his
fate
2. Human being is the creator of his own values; the creator of his own
essence through freedom of choice or individual preference
3. Aim of Education- Education should cultivate and intensify the
awareness and responsibility of the learner. The goal of education cannot
be specified in advance nor can they be imposed by the teacher of the
school system. Each man has the responsibility of his own education.
Students should learn to recognize that as individuals they are constantly,
freely, baselessly and creatively choosing.
Education to the existentialists should enable a person to make
choices for his life. It should be a means to open his very eyes to the
naked truth of existence and make him aware of his decisions and wise
actions.
4. Curriculum and Method- There is no generally prescribed curriculum, but
literature, humanities and arts are important subjects for introspection and
reflection. History is important in finding out how men in the past have
faced and answered recurrent human questions. Humanistic studies are
rich sources of ethical values. These subjects stimulate aesthetic
expression and imitate styles of selected models.
5. Role of the Teacher
a. to guide the questions
b. he submits the subject for discussion
c. existentialists insists not that the teacher to be successful but that
the teacher be honest
d. the teacher has the right to teach his students how to think but not
what to think
6. Role of the School- The existentialists believed that the classroom
should be a market of free ideas that would guarantee complete individual
freedom. The students must be allowed to decide for themselves and
undertake activities which they believe are significant and beneficial to
their lives, whereas the teacher should only act as a guide, and must not
interfere in the decisions of the students. School, therefore is a place
where teachers and learners discuss human life and where they are given
opportunities to choose solutions.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
- an existentialists who believed that the central problem humanity is facing
is the ability to cope with its own existence. He further argued that human
existence was marked off from all other kinds by a person’s power to
choose. That decisions that a person makes will make him distinct from
other people.
Other Existentialists
1. Martin Heidegger
- German philosopher Martin Heidegger greatly influenced
the modern philosophy movements of phenomenology and
existentialism. According to Heidegger, humankind has
fallen into a crisis by taking a narrow, technological
approach to the world and by ignoring the larger question
of existence. People, if they wish to live authentically, must
broaden their perspectives. Instead of taking their
existence for granted, people should view themselves as
part of being (Heidegger’s term for that which underlies all
existence).
2. Jean-Paul Sartre
-
The 20th-century French intellectual Jean-Paul Sartre
expounded existentialist philosophy in his writings, novels,
and plays. His works focused on the dilemma of choice
faced by free individuals and on the challenge of creating
meaning by acting responsibly in an indifferent world. In
Sartre’s view, “man is condemned to be free”.
PRAGMATISM
Pragmatism, philosophical doctrine, developed by the 19th-century
American philosophers Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and others,
according to which the test of the truth of a proposition is its practical utility; the
purpose of thought is to guide action; and the effect of an idea is more important
than its origin. Pragmatism was the first independently developed American
philosophy. It opposes speculation on questions that have no practical
application. It asserts that truth is relative to the time, place, and purpose of
investigation and that value is as inherent in means as in ends. Pragmatism was
the dominant approach to philosophy in the United States during the first quarter
of the 20th century.
Charles Sanders Pierce -According to his pragmatic philosophy, no object or
concept possesses inherent validity or importance. Its
significance lies only in the practical effects resulting from
its use or application. The “truth” of an idea or object,
therefore, can be measured by empirical investigation of its
usefulness.
William James- He maintained that the meaning of ideas is found only in terms of
their possible consequences. If consequences are lacking, ideas
are meaningless. James contended that this is the method used
by scientists to define their terms and to test their hypotheses,
which, if meaningful, entail predictions. The hypotheses can be
considered true if the predicted events take place. On the other
hand, most metaphysical theories are meaningless, because they
entail no testable predictions. Meaningful theories, James argued,
are instruments for dealing with problems that arise in experience.
According to James's pragmatism, then, truth is that which
works. One determines what works by testing propositions in
experience. In so doing, one finds that certain propositions
become true. As James put it, “truth is something that happens to
an idea” in the process of its verification; it is not a static property.
This does not mean, however, that anything can be true. “The
true is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as 'the
right' is only the expedient in the way of our behaving”, James
maintained. One cannot believe whatever one wants to believe,
because such self-centered beliefs would not work out.
Other Features of Pragmatism
1. Education has been in vain if it does not perform the social functions
assigned to it, and unless it is considered as a social institution in itself
2. Society cannot fulfill an educational task without an institution designed for
this purpose
3. The learner must be made the center of all educative processes
4. Aim of Education- The total development of the child either through
experience, self-activity, or learning by doing
5. Curriculum and Method- The curriculum must offer subjects that will
provide opportunities for various projects and activities that are relevant to
the needs, abilities, and interests as well as the socio-economic conditions
of the learners
6. Role of the School- The school must maintain intimate relations with
society if its role is to be played well
The school should aim to be a specialized institution with three features:
a. designed to present a society to the child in simplified forms
b. selective in a qualitative, if not ethical, manner as it represents the
society to the young
c. responsible in giving the child a balanced and genuinely representative
acquaintance with the society
PROGRESSIVISM
This movement often associated with John Dewey’s pragmatism or
experimentalism, stressed the view that all learning should center on the child’s
interests and needs rather than on the subject matter. Dewey expounded that a
truly progressive education needed a philosophy based upon experience, the
interaction of the person with his environment. Such an experiential philosophy
should have no set of external aims, but, rather, the end product of education
was growth- an ongoing experience which led to the direction and control of
subsequent experience. Truly progressive education should not ignore the past
but use it to direct future experiences.
Other Features of Progressivism
1. Thinking and reasoning should be emphasized
2. Recognizes the principle of individual differences
3. Aim- To meet the needs of a growing child and to make the school a
pleasant place for learning.
Though progressivists different in many of their theories and
practices, they were united in their opposition to the following:
a. Extreme reliance on bookish methods of instruction
b. Obtaining learning by memorization of factual data
c. The use of fear as a from of discipline
d. The four–walled philosophy of education that isolated the school
from the realities of life
4. Curriculum- Progressivists generally were not interested in prepared,
prescribed curriculum to transmit knowledge to students. Rather, the
curriculum was to come from the child so that learning would be active,
exciting and varied. The content of subject matter was done by the
teacher and the students as a group project or cooperative effort.
Student’s projects were based on their common shared experiences
therefore rejecting barriers of class, race, or creed. The teacher served as
a facilitator while the students worked on their projects and suggested
other ways of pursuing the project.
Module 6
Legal Bases of Philippine Education
Historical Influences on Philippine Education
Education
in
the
Philippines
has
undergone
several
stages
of
development from the pre-Spanish times to the present. In meeting the needs of
the society, education serves as focus of emphases/priorities of the leadership of
certain periods/epochs in our national struggle as a race.
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 R’s) 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 Spanish
Missionaries. Education was religion oriented. It was for the elite, especially in
the early years of Spanish colonization. Access to education by the Filipinos was
later liberalized through the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863 which
provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in
each town under the responsibility of the municipal government; and the
establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the
Jesuits. Primary instruction was free and the teaching of Spanish was
compulsory. Education during that period was inadequate, suppressed, and
controlled.
The defeat of Spain by American forces paved the way for Aguinaldo’s
Republic under a Revolutionary Government. The schools maintained by Spain
for more than three centuries were closed for the time being but were reopened
on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of Interior. The Burgos Institute in Malolos,
the Military Academy of Malolos, and the Literary University of the Philippines
were established. A system of free and compulsory elementary education was
established by the Malolos Constitution.
An adequate secularized and free public school system during the first
decade of American rule was established upon the recommendation of the
Schurman Commission. Free primary instruction that trained the people for the
duties of citizenship and avocation was enforced by the Taft Commission per
instructions of President McKinley. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers
were assigned to teach using English as the medium of instruction.
A highly centralized public school system was installed in 1901 by the
Philippine Commission by the virtue of Act No. 74. the implementation of this Act
created a heavy shortage of teachers so the Philippine Commission authorized
the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring to the Philippines 600 teachers from
the U.S.A. They were the Thomasites.
YEAR
OFFICIAL NAME OF DECS
Superior Commission of
Primary Instruction
Department of Public
1901-1916
Instruction
Department of Public
1916-1942
Instruction
1863
OFFICIAL
LEGAL BASES
TITULAR HEAD
Chairman
Educational Decree of 1863
General
Superintendent
Act. No. 74 of the Philippine
Commission, Jan. 21, 1901
Organic Act Law of 1916
(Jones Law)
Renamed by the Japanese
Executive Commission,
June 11, 1942
Renamed by Japanese
Sponsored Philippine
Republic
Renamed by Japanese
Sponsored Philippine
Republic
Renamed by the
Commonwealth
Government
Renamed by the
Commonwealth
Government
E.O. No.94 October 1947
(Reorganization Act of
1947)
Proc. No. 1081, September
24, 1972
Secretary
1942-1944
Department of Education,
Health and Public Welfare
Commissioner
1944
Department of Education,
Health and Public Welfare
Minister
1944
Department of Public
Instruction
Secretary
1945-1946
Department of Public
Instruction and Information
Secretary
1946-1947 Department of Instruction
Secretary
1947-1975 Department of Education
Secretary
1975-1978
Department of Education and
Secretary
Culture
Ministry of Education and
Minister
Culture
Ministry of Education, Culture
1984-1986
Minister
and Sports
Department of Education,
1987-1994
Secretary
Culture and Sports
1978-1984
1994-2001
Department of Education,
Culture and Sports
Secretary
1994-2001
Department of Education,
Culture and Sports
Secretary
2001present
Department of Education
Secretary
P.D. No. 1397, June 2, 1978
Education Act of 1982
E.O. No. 117, January 30,
1987
R.A. 7722 and R.A. 7796,
1994 Trifocalization of
Education Management
R.A. 7722 and R.A. 7796,
1994 Trifocalization of
Education Management
R.A. 9155, August 2001
(Governance
of
Basic
Education Act)
Article XIV of The 1987 Constitution
- is on Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports
Section 1
- ensures the rights of all citizens to quality education at al levels. The state
shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all
Section 2
- this section of the Article XIV stipulates the following:
Section 2 A (Complete, Adequate, and Integrated System)
The Constitution mandates that the State shall establish, maintain, and
support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the
needs of the people and society.
This includes early instruction for young children-nursery and
kindergarten, elementary and secondary education, and higher education in the
arts, sciences, and the professions.
Section 2 B (Free Public Elementary and Secondary Education)
The Constitution obligates the State to establish and maintain a system of
free public education in the elementary and high school levels without limiting the
natural right and duty of parents to rear their children for civic efficiency and the
development of moral character. Elementary education is compulsory for all
children of school age.
Section 2 C (Scholarship Grants and Incentives)
A system of scholarship grants, student loan program, subsidies, and
other incentives shall be established and maintained. These are to be available
to deserving students in both public and private schools, especially to
underprivileged.
Section 2 D (Non-formal, Informal and Indigenous Learning Systems)
The Constitution encourages non-formal, informal and indigenous learning
systems as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs,
especially those that respond to community needs
Training in civics, vocational efficiency and other skills is to be provided to
adult citizens, disabled, and out-of-school youth.
Section 3
- General curricular provisions are stated in this section of Article XIV
- This section also states that all educational institutions shall include the
study of the Constitution as part of the curricula.
- Optional Religious Instruction shall be allowed to be taught to children
in the public elementary and high school within the regular class hours by
instructors designated by religious authorities of the religion to which the
children or wards belong, without additional cost to the Government.
Section 4
Complementary Roles of Public and Private Institutions
- It states that the State recognizes the complementary roles of public and
private institutions in the educational system and the exercise of
reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions.
Ownership, Control and Administration of Educational Institutions
Educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups
and mission boards, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or
corporations or association of which at least sixty percent (60%) of the capital is
owned by such citizens.
The control and the administration of educational institutions shall be
vested in the citizens of the Philippines.
No educational institution shall be established exclusively for aliens and
no groups shall comprise more than one third of the enrollment in any school.
This provision does not apply to schools established for foreign diplomatic
personnel and their dependents unless otherwise provided by law.
All assets of non-stock, non-profit educational institutions used actually,
directly and exclusively for education purposes shall be exempt form taxes and
duties.
Proprietory educational institutions, including those cooperatively owned
may likewise be entitled to such exemptions subject to the limitations provided by
law.
Section 5, Article XIV states the following provisions:
Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.
Every citizen has a right to select a profession or course of study,
subject to fair, reasonable and equitable admission and academic
requirements.
Budgetary Priority –The highest budgetary priority shall be assigned by
the State to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its
rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration
(compensation) and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.
Section 6 (National Language)
The National Language of the Philippines is Filipino and shall be the
medium of communication and language of instruction in the educational system.
Section 10 (research and Development)
The State shall give priority to research and development, invention,
innovation, and their utilization and to science and technology education, training
and services.
Section 14 (Free Artistic and Intellectual Expression)
The State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution
of a Filipino culture based on the principle of unity in a climate of free artistic and
intellectual expression.
Section 17 and 18 (Cultural Opportunities)
The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities to preserve and develop their culture, traditions and
institutions.
The State shall ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the
educational system, public or private cultural entities, scholarship grants and
other incentives, and through community cultural centers and other public
venues.
Section 19 (Physical Education)
The State shall promote Physical Education and encourage sports
program, league competitions and amateur sports, including training for
international competition, to foster discipline, teamwork and excellence for the
development of a healthy and alert citizenry. All educational institutions shall
undertake regular sports activities throughout the country.
Educational Act of 1982
(Natural Rights and Duties of Parents in the Education of Children)
Section 5
The State shall aid and support the natural right and duty of parents in the
rearing of the youth through the educational system.
Section 11
Additional Compensation to Teachers. The Act prohibits the giving of
compulsory assignments not related to teacher duties as defined in employment
contracts without the teachers being paid additional compensation under existing
laws. It also prohibits involuntary contributions except those imposed by their
own organizations.
Government Financial Support. The Act also specifies government
commitment to extend financial support and assistance to public and private
schools.
Section 11 and 12 (Special Rights of Teachers)
Teachers and school administrators shall be deemed persons in authority
while in the discharge of lawful duties and responsibilities and shall, therefore, be
accorded due respect and protection.
Section 13 (Rights of School)
In addition to other rights provided for by law, institutions of the higher
learning have been granted by the Act (of 1982) to determine on academic
grounds who shall be admitted to study, who may teach and what the subjects of
the study and research shall be.
Section 16 and 17
Another safe guard to maintain quality education is the report mechanism
which the Act requires of teachers (Section 16) and administrators (Section 17).
These reports provide a basis for assessment of performance.
The Act also guarantees free legal assistance in the event that teachers
are charged with civil, criminal, or administrative cases for actions committed
directly in the lawful discharge of professional duties.
Section 29 (Maintenance of Quality Education)
The Act has provided alternatives to maintain quality education. One of
them is voluntary
accreditation for those institutions desiring to meet standards of quality over and
above the minimum required for state recognition.
Other Legal Bases
Philippine Commission Act No. 74
This Act laid the foundations of the Philippine public school system and
English the language of instruction. It also established the present organization of
public schools into school divisions and school districts. Section 16 of the Act
laid the legal basis for optional religious instruction in public schools and set the
limitations on the teachers’ religious activities.
(Philippine Normal School and Trade School) Act No. 74 also provided the
legal basis for the establishment of the Philippine Normal School and Trade
School in Manila, and an Agricultural School in Negros.
Republic Act No. 416 which was approved on June 18, 1949 converted the
Philippine Normal School into a teachers college which would offer courses
leading to Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Master of Arts in
Education. This act also served as the Charter of the College. The Philippine
Normal College since then has been governed by a Board of Trustees which is
responsible directly to the President of the Philippines.
Republic Act No. 7168 which was approved on Dec. 26, 1991, converted the
Philippine Normal College into a University.
Act No. 1870 enacted by the Philippine Assembly and the Philippine
Commission in 1908 founded the University of the Philippines. The university is
governed by a Charter.
Commonwealth Act No. 1is the basis of compulsory military training in the
school (PMT & ROTC).
Commonwealth Act No. 586 also known as the Educational Act of 1940
provides the legal basis for the present six-year elementary course, the doublesingle session, the school-entrance age, and the national support for elementary
education.
Commonwealth Act No. 80 provides the legal basis for adult education. This
law implements the constitutional provision on the citizenship training of adult
citizens.
Act No. 3377 (Vocational Act of 1927) amended by Act No. 3740 and R.A. No.
175 and other acts, laid the basis for vocational education in the public schools
and made provision for its support.
MECS Order No. 84 calls for the recognition of academic programs for each
private school in order to entitle it to give the students who have completed the
course, a certificate, title, or diploma.
Presidential Decree No. 1006, considered teachers as professionals and
teaching as a profession.
Teaching as used in this decree, refers to the profession primarily
concerned with classroom instruction at the elementary and secondary levels in
both public and private schools. The term teacher refers to all persons engaged
in teaching at the elementary and secondary levels, whether on full-time or part
time basis, including guidance counselors, school librarians, industrial arts or
vocational teachers and all other persons performing supervisory and/or
administrative functions in the aforesaid school levels.
A person considered as a professional teacher is one who has “permanent
appointment under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers and all others
who may qualify for registration”.
Commonwealth Act No. 177 placed the public school teachers under the Civil
Service rules and regulations with reference to their examination, appointment,
transfer, separation, leave and reinstatement, thus protecting the teachers’
tenure of office.
Commonwealth Act No. 578 (Teachers as Person in Authority) confers the
status of person in authority upon supervisors, principals, teachers, and
professors of public and recognized private schools.
The Act provides as penalty to any person found guilty of assault upon
these teaching personnel imprisonment ranging from six months and one day to
six years and a fine of from P500 to 1,000.
DECS Order No. 65 s. 1993 Order that provides special hardship pay for
elementary teachers in remote schools, encourage acceptance of assignment
and attendance for all school days.
R.A. 1425 The life, works and writings of Jose Rizal shall be included in the
curricula of all school both public and private, from elementary to universities.
R.A. 1265 provides that a daily flag raising ceremony shall be compulsory in all
educational institutions. This also includes the singing of the Philippine National
Anthem
Republic Act No. 4670 (Magna Carta for Public School Teachers)
- declared as its policy the promotion and improvement of the social and
economic status of public school teachers, their living and working conditions,
their terms of employment and their career prospects in order that they may
compare favorably with existing opportunities in other walks of life, attract and
retain in the teaching profession more people with the proper qualifications.
Academic Freedom upholds the teachers’ rights to freely discuss topic s or
issues within their field of expertise. In elementary and secondary education the
classroom teacher’s responsibilities includes the selection of a teaching method,
supplemental materials, assignment of projects, all within minimum requirements
prescribed by law.
Teacher as a Model. In the majority of schools, teachers’ lives are regulated
because the public believes that they should be examples of high moral
standards, impeccable character, conservative dress and grooming and refined
manners. In some schools, teachers may be dismissed for living with members of
the opposite sex, admitted homosexuality, or sexual involvement with students.
The passage of Anti-Harassment Law in 1995 will protect students from
teachers taking advantage of their vulnerability. Other offenses like telling
obscene jokes, taking prohibited drugs, coming to school drunk, wearing
provocative dresses, wearing a beard and sideburns or pigtails for males may be
a cause for non-renewal of appointment since the behavior in question may
seriously impair the teacher’s classroom effectiveness.
Bill # 4288 (Magna Carta for Students)
The Magna Carta for Students provides the following:
a. for a fully independent and autonomous student council and mandates
school owners to provide the necessary funds to sustain their activities;
b. that there should be one student council for each campus which shall
have its own set of officers elected in annual popular elections and a
charter duly ratified;
c. that no student shall be denied admission to any school on account of his
physical handicap, socio-economic status, political or religious beliefs or
membership in a student organization;
d. for the participation of students in the tertiary level in the school’s policy
making process.
In Loco Parentis. The rights of students are to be protected while under the
supervision of the school. There would be no corporal punishment and whatever
disciplining is needed must be done with only their best interests in mind.
Freedom of Expression. Students are entitled to freedom of expression in so
far as these views are consistent with the rules of the school and will not disrupt
school order or transgress the rights of others. In school publications, for
example, students may not write anything, libelous or likely to cause disruption.
Suspension and Expulsion. Guidelines for suspension and expulsion are
contained in the manual of Regulations for Private Schools and School Rules
and Regulations. The general procedure is for a student facing suspension to be
told of what he is accused of and what the basis of accusation is, then he must
be given an opportunity to explain his version of the facts. For expulsion, due
process requirements have to be followed.
Search and Seizure. Searches are usually conducted because school
authorities suspect that illegal or dangerous items are on the students. The rise
of drug use and fraternity squabbles is legitimate reasons for search. Searches
may be done into school entrances and, generally, students do not mind
specially when all others are searched. Lockers which are considered school
property may be searched if reasonable caused exists. Body or strip searches
are unconstitutional and should never be allowed.
Students’ Records. Parents retain rights of access to their children’s school
records until the child reaches the age of eighteen. The student alone possesses
the right to his school records. Parents or other parties may apply for records
only upon written authority of the student.
Department Order No. 25 s. 1974 (Bilingual Education Program) mandates
the use of English and Filipino separately as media of instruction. English
Communication Arts, Mathematics, and Science are to be taught in English
and the rest of the subjects are to be taught in Filipino.
Presidential Decree No. 907 provides that honor graduates (those who finish
the course with at least cum laude honors) from school year1972-73 from
schools, colleges, and universities of good standing as determined by the
Secretary of Education and Culture shall be conferred appropriate civil service
eligibilities. The Decree took effect upon its approval on March 11, 1976.
Republic Act No. 6655 (Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988) provides
a system of free public secondary education commencing in School Year 19881989. Students enrolled in secondary course offerings in national and general
comprehensive high schools, state colleges and universities, specialized schools,
trade, technical, vocational, fishery and agricultural schools, and in school
established, administered, maintained and funded by local government units
including city, provincial, municipal and barangay high schools, and those public
high schools which may be established by law, shall be free from payment of
tuition and other school fees. Fees related to membership in school community
such as identification cards, student organizations and publications may be
collected. The Act also provides that nothing in this Act shall cause or authorize
the reduction or removal of any benefit which the national or local government
may have granted to students, teachers and other school personnel of these
public high schools prior to the enactment of this Act.
The right of the student to avail of free public high school shall terminate if
he fails fro two (2) consecutive school years in the majority of academic subjects
in which he enrolled unless such failure is due to some valid cause.
DECS Order No. 49, 1992 (Selection of Honor Students in the Secondary
Schools) provides the guidelines for the selection of honor students.
Implementation of the guidelines started SY 1992-1993 in all public and
secondary schools.
In designation “valedictorian”, “salutatorian”, and “honorable mention” shall
apply to graduating students in all secondary schools. There shall be one
valedictorian and one salutatorian for all the graduating classes. In case of a tie
between two candidates both may be declared valedictorians or salutatorians.
The number of students to be declared honorable mention in a school shall be
one percent (1%) of the total number of graduating students.
The ranking of students for the selection of those who will be awarded
honors should be based on total weighted rank. Academic excellence shall be
given a weight of 7 while performance in co-curricular activities shall be given a
weight of 3. Academic excellence shall be based on the general average of the
grades of the graduating students in the last two years (third and fourth years) of
schooling.
Performances in co-curricular activities shall cover the achievement of the
candidates for the last two years. The rating shall be based on the combined
assessment of all the third and fourth year teachers of the candidates.
Republic Act No. 7731- abolished the NCEE to give the marginalized sector
greater access to college education.
DECS Order No. 37 s. 1994- A National Assessment Test (NEAT) for all grade
VI elementary pupils will be given every year on the 13 th Tuesday following the
beginning of the school year. The test consists of a battery of achievement tests
of the multiple choice type.
NSAT- A new yet similar, test for high school seniors, the National
secondary Assessment Test or NSAT is scheduled to be given three days after
the NEAT. The NSAT replaces the abolished NCEE but, unlike the NCEE,
passing the new NSAT will not be a prerequisite to entrance to college.
DECS Order No. 1 s.1994 and Republic Act No. 7791- legal bases of
education that increase the number of school days from 185 days to 200 school
days inclusive of examination days for both public and private schools.
Republic Act No. 7686 institutionalized dual training, allowing students of
vocational and technical education to pursue their studies while at the same time
getting paid for on the job training in private industries.
Republic Act No.7687 established a scholarship program for courses that will
encourage the youth to pursue careers in science and technology.
Republic Act No. 7722 puts up the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to
take over from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports the task of over
seeing tertiary education.
Republic Act No. 7743 called for the establishment of city and municipal
libraries.
Republic Act No. 7784 created the Centers for Excellence in Teacher
Education.
Republic Act No. 7796 created the Technical Education Skills Development
Authority (TESDA) which has the function of upgrading voc-tech training.
Republic Act No. 7836 mandated the holding of periodic licensure tests for
would be mentors under the supervision of the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC).
Batas Pambansa Blg. 232/The Education Act of 1982 states the following
objectives of elementary, secondary, and non-formal education:
Provide the pupils with knowledge and develop the skills, attitudes and
values essential for personal development and a productive life
Promote and intensify awareness of, identification with, and love for our
nation and the community in which the learner develops
Promote experiences that develop the learner’s orientation to the world of
work and prepare the learner to engage in honest gainful work.
Article XIV Sec. 1, Batas Pambansa Blg. 232, and 2001 Governance of Basic
Education Act. These are the legal bases of the restructuring of the Basic
Education Curricula also known as the 2002 BEC.
What the 2002 BEC does, among other things, is to 1.streamline the
current subject offerings in order to minimize duplication of topics and objectives,
2.to acknowledge the growing role of information technology in the delivery of
instruction, and 3.to focus on key elements of basic education (functional literacy,
values, patriotism, multiple intelligences, and experiential learning).
Under the Restructured BEC subject offerings were reduced into five:
English
Mathematics tool subjects
Science
Filipino
Makabayan – the discipline within this subject area can be represented by
the acronym SIKAP, where S stands for Sibika, Sining, I for information (and
Communication Technology), K for Kultura, AP for Araling Panlipunan,
Pagpapahalaga,
Pangkatawan,
Pangkalusugan,
Pantahanan,
at
Pangkabuhayan. As a concept and value; (Pagka) Makabayan serves as the
thematical thread for these disciplines.
New Laws Affecting the Philippine Education System
Administrative Order No. 113 - Directing the Department of Education, Culture
and Sports (DECS), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to Formulate and
Implement Policies for the Integration of the Concepts of Quality Improvement
and Productivity Improvement in All Applicable Subjects and Courses and
Programs of All Educational, Technical and Vocational Institutions (Approved:
March 13, 2000, Official Gazette, Vol. 90, No. 25, June 19, 2000). The DECS
and the CHED shall formulate and implement policies for the integration of the
concepts of the quality and productivity improvement in all applicable subjects,
courses and programs of all educational institutions in close coordination with the
private sector and other concerned government agencies. These may include
subjects/courses involving information technology which may be developed in
close coordination with the private sector and other concerned agencies.
Administrative Order No. 116 - Mandating All Concerned Government
Agencies and Local Government Units to Support the Non-formal Education
Accreditation and Equivalency (NFE A&E) System that Provides an Alternative
Means of Certification of Learning to Those Filipinos Aged 15 years and Above
and Who Are Unable to Avail of the Formal School System or Have Dropped Out
of Formal Elementary and Secondary Education. The Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS) through the Bureau of Non-formal Education (BNFE)
is mandated to provide non-formal basic education services on behalf of the
Philippine Government (Approved: April 23, 2000, Official Gazette, Vol. 96, No.
30, July 24, 2000).
Executive Order No. 158 - Amending Executive Order No. 80 dated March 5,
1999 by Reverting the Commission on Filipino Language to the Administrative
Supervision of the Office of the President. Effective October 11, 1999, the
Commission on Filipino Language shall return to the Office of the President for
administrative supervision (Approved: October 11, 2000, Official Gazette, Vol.
96, No. 9, February 28, 2000).
Executive Order No. 252 - Establishing the Inter-Agency Committee on
Philippine Schools Overseas, Defining Its Composition, Structure and Functions.
The DECS shall review and prescribe guidelines to enable Philippine schools
overseas to maintain academic standards, and improve over-all efficiency as well
as enable licensing of foreign-owned schools offering Philippine curriculum; and
develop a system for classifying institutions overseas that provide Philippinebased curriculum and instruction (Approved: May 25, 2000, Official Gazette, Vol.
96, No. 41, October 9, 2000).
Memorandum Circular No. 54 - Directing All Concerned Agencies to
Immediately Implement Educational Modernization Projects and Activities
Through Information Technology (IT) Particularly in the Application of IT-Based
Strategies in Major Phases of Educational Institutions' Operations, Instruction,
Research, Extension, Management and Support (Approved: February 2, 2000,
Vol. 96, No. 16, April 17, 2000). All concerned agencies directly related to
education, including state universities and colleges, are directed to support the
objectives of government towards providing up-to-date educational reforms, as
well as developing IT-related teaching methods and processes at all levels to
improve the effectivity of the national teaching and learning processes, and to
utilize IT-based strategies in the implementation of their educational
modernization projects and activities. Emphasis is placed in the application of
said schemes in the major phases of the educational institution's operations,
instruction, research, extension, management and support.
References
Apolinario, Felomeno O., et al. Social Problems. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc, 1977
Calderon, Jose F. Foundations of Education. 1st edition. Rex Printing Company, Inc.,
2001, Chapters 4, 5 and 6.
Educational Act of 1982 Philippine Constitution of the 1935, 1975 , 1987
San Mateo, Rosalinda A. et al. Foundation of Education II. 3rd Edition. Quezon City:
Katha Publishing Co. Inc.
Lardizabal, Amparo S. Foundations of Education(Psychological, Anthropological and
Sociological)Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc, Revised Edition 1988
www.ched.gov.ph
www.deped.gov.ph