UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
MODULE 1: EDUCATION AND
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT –
PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE
A requirement in
EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (EDAD 202)
Third Trimester, 2022-2023
Submitted to:
AILEEN CHONG
Assistant Professor
Submitted by:
Hernando Engada, Jr.
Rizel A. Malanday
September 1, 2023
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Introduction
Hello there, classmates! Welcome to our EDAD 202 Module! This module discusses
education and national development from a Philippine perspective. Lesson 1 discusses education
and national development from a Philippine perspective. Lesson 2 discusses educational reform
initiatives as human capital investments. Have fun learning!
Objectives
At the end of this module, we are expected to:
1. define and explain the concepts education and national development from Philippine
perspective; and
2. examine educational reform initiatives as human capital investment.
Activity 1: Unscrambled Letters
Directions: Based on the definition, unscramble the letter to form a word. Write your
answers on the space provided.
___________ 1. L I L I E T A R E T
Having little or no education.
___________ 2. N E R O L L E M T N
The number of individuals registered in a school.
___________ 3. H S C O O S L
An organization that provides instruction.
___________ 4. M A E R I N A C
Colonizers who contributed a lot to the education of
the Philippines
___________ 5. E T A H C E R
One that educates
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Discussion
Lesson 1: Concept of Education and National Development from Philippine Perspectives
Education and Social Progress in the Philippines (Barrows, 1907)
In the Philippines, the primary goal of the educational system is to effect social
transformation in the people. Beginning with the Spanish regime and continuing through
American colonization, the educational system has undergone numerous changes. Given that the
Philippines is an archipelago, it has faced numerous challenges in improving its educational
system, particularly during the early Spanish colonization. Filipinos were dispersed across
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and there were 1,1600 pueblos or towns to manage during the
Spanish occupation.
During the Spanish colonization, education was only available to those well-off Filipinos
who owned extensive rice haciendas in the pueblo, studied in Spain, and traveled in Europe.
They represent the highest social class among Filipinos, known as "gente illustrada" locally.
The "gente baja" are the illiterate social class. Gente Illustrada is estimated to number 12
families among the pueblo's 26,000 residents, the majority of whom are gente baja. Many of
these illiterate Filipinos owe their lives to their "amo," the owner of the estate where they have
lived since infancy. The debtor may not be aware of the origin of the obligation, and because he
is unfamiliar with mathematical calculations, he is always unsure of its amount, as well as how it
may increase or decrease. The lives of ignorant Filipinos at the time were generally poor and
cruel. When the Spanish government established public schools, the instruction, while widely
distributed, was limited to a small number of upper-class students. As a result, many Filipinos
are still ignorant. In general, education during the Spanish colonization falls short of its
objectives.
Many schools were built during the American colonization, which did not occur during
the Spanish colonization. Despite Filipinos' multilingualism, Americans were able to overcome
these challenges by using English as a medium of instruction.
Contributions of American Colonization in Education (Barrows, 1907)

A three-year primary course of instruction was planned, including three years of English,
two years of elementary arithmetic, and one year of geography.
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines






Each district in each province was assigned to an American teacher. They were in charge
of curriculum implementation and resource management.
There is an increase in the number of children attending school, particularly those of
peasants. Enrollment was around I82,000 in September of I903; by the end of the school
year in March of the following year, it had risen to 227,600.
Enrollment reaches half a million children in the school year 1904-1905.
An intermediate school was also established, which provides three years of additional
instruction.
This instruction includes English, arithmetic, geography, a year of Philippine history and
government, three years of science (studies of plants, animals, and human physiology),
and three years of agriculture or shop work.
When they enter high school, they choose one of four special courses: a general course in
literature, science, and history, a teaching course, an agriculture course, or a commerce
course.
Can the Filipino be made a teacher of his own people?
There are 6,224 Filipino teachers, including 4,395 municipal teachers appointed
by superintendents and paid from town revenues, 1,442 "aspirantes," or apprentice
teachers, who work without pay but do the regular work of a teacher and receive the same
instruction, and a small number, 324, who are paid by the insular government.
Two Other Types of Schools that Have Been Developed
1. Intermediate school
 Offers a boy or girl three further years of instruction.
 Focuses on English, arithmetic, geography, a year of Philippine history
and government, three years of science (studies of plants, animals and
human physi-ology)
 Each boy has three years of instruction in agriculture or in shop work, or
divides his time between these two branches.
 The girls on the other hand receive three years of domestic science
instruction, which embraces the care of the house, cleaning, sanitation,
etc., cooking, and the care of the sick and of infants.
2. High School
 Offers four special courses: a general course in literature; sciences and
history; a course in teaching; a course in agriculture, or a course in
commerce.
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Activity 2: Fact or Bluff
Directions: Read the following statement and analyze. Write fact if the statement tells the
truth, otherwise write bluff. Write your answers on the space provided.
___________ 1. There were many schools built during the American colonization.
___________ 2. Intermediate school was established, which provides five years of additional
instruction.
___________ 3. During the intermediate school, the girls receive three years of domestic science
instruction, which embraces the care of the house, cleaning, sanitation, etc.,
cooking, and the care of the sick and of infants.
___________ 4. During the intermediate school, each boy has three years of instruction in
agriculture or in shop work, or divides his time between these two branches.
___________ 5. High School offers four special courses: a general course in literature; sciences
and history; a course in teaching; a course in agriculture, or a course in commerce.
Congratulations! You have finished Lesson 1 of this module. Next lesson is all about the
educational reforms as a human capital. Enjoy and have fun!
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Discussion
Lesson 2: Educational Reform Initiatives as Human Capital Investment
Philippine Educational System has passed through different stages of development and undergone
dramatic changes depicted in the various epochs of educational revolution. Its long exposure and contact
with the Spaniards, Americans and Japanese have created a vast change and educational variations to the
educational system of the country. Despite the challenges faced by the system, it is still receptive to the
different changes and reforms. In addition, through the Education for all policy of the country, it was
reported as one of the largest of the world with 19,138,635 combined enrollment size for SY 2000- 2001.
Bases of Curriculum Reforms in the Philippines
 External Enablers include legislation, public opinion, education studies, technological advances,
societal demands, and industry demands.
 Internal Enablers, on other hand, refer to research findings, national testing, new leadership,
accreditation, cross-country evaluation and available funds.
Source: Allan Guzman (2003). The Dynamics of Educational Reforms in the Philippine Basic and Higher Education
Sectors. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776349.pdf
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Source: Allan Guzman (2003). The Dynamics of Educational Reforms in the Philippine Basic and Higher Education
Sectors. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776349.pdf
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Source: Allan Guzman (2003). The Dynamics of Educational Reforms in the Philippine Basic and Higher Education
Sectors. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776349.pdf
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Current Reforms at the Basic and Higher Education levels
Below is a table showing the four quality measurement views based Nebres, et al.,
(1998).
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
The table above shows the four quality measurement views based on Nebres (1998). The
reputational view assumes that quality cannot be measured and is best inferred through the
judgement of experts from the field. The resources view focuses more on the human, financial
and physical assets available to the program. The outcome views focuses more on the quality of
outputs like the quality of graduates as feedback from employers. The value-added view looks at
the contribution of the institution to student’s education.
Quality Reforms in Higher Education
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
The Philippine Commission on Higher Education ensures the achievement of empowered
and globally competitive Filipinos by (a) providing undergraduate education that is competitive
with international standards of quality and excellence; (b) generating and disseminating
knowledge in a broader range of disciplines that are relevant and responsive to the dynamically
changing domestic and international environment; and (c) expanding access for deserving and
qualified Filipinos to higher education.
Formal education is no longer a preparation for a life in which the linear paradigm is to
study, work, and retire. A paradigm shift is urgently required (Cheong, 2000). Today, education
is more than just a way of life. It is, more importantly, an investment in human capital. Any
systemic reform in education necessitates a high level of proactivity, which defines the system's
quality. Quality education is a process that focuses on meeting and exceeding customer
expectations, improving continuously, sharing responsibilities with employees, and reducing
scrap and rework (Schargel, 1991).
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Activity 3: Essay
Directions: Answer the question below in 4-5 sentences. Write your answer on the
space provided. Refer to the rubrics for grading.
How do educational reforms serve as human capital investments? Explain.
Rubrics in Rating the Essay
S
Criteria
5
c
oKnowledge
Very good
rabout the topic
knowledge
e
about the
topic
Presented clear
examples about
the topic
discussed
Submitted on
time
Presented 3
examples
about the
topic
Submitted on
time
TOTAL
15
Score
13-15
10-12
7-9
4
3
2
Good
knowledge
about the
topic
Fair
knowledge
about the
topic
Poor
knowledge
about the
topic
Presented 2
Presented 1
No example
examples
example
about the
about the
about the
topic
topic
topic
Submitted late Submitted late Submitted
5 minutes
10 minutes
late
15
minutes
12
9
6
Interpretation
Excellent
Good
Needs Improvement
Congratulations! You have finished Lesson 2 of this module. Be ready for a more exciting and
challenging lessons for this module! Happy Learning!
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Lesson 3: When Reforms Don’t Transform
Objectives:
1. Examine institutional reforms in the Department of Education and determine why some
reform initiatives don’t transform.
2. Investigate issues related to education and development while looking into the interplay of
structure and agency in the process of one’s inquiry.
3. Draw conclusions on how social structures have been enabling-constraining the education
sector in fulfilling its role towards national development and how has the education sector been
responding to these.
Activity 1: If I will be…
If you will be given the opportunity to become the Secretary of Education in the country, what
changes/ reforms in the system would you like to introduce? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Discussion
In the 2020 Human Capital Index released by the World Bank, the Philippines got a score
of 0.52 (World Bank 2020a). The index, which ranges from 0 to 1 with 1 indicating highest
human capital potential, measures the amount of human capital that children born today can
expect to attain by age 18 given the health and education risks in the evaluated economy. Given
the World Bank benchmark of complete education and full health, a score of 1 for an economy in
a particular year means that a child born on that year can expect to accumulate full human capital
in terms of complete education and full health by the time he or she becomes part of the next
generation of workers at age 18; a score of less than 1 means expectation of less than full human
capital accumulation by age 18. The Philippines’ score of 0.52 therefore implies that,
approximately, Filipino children born in 2020 are expected to achieve only a little more than half
their potential when they reach 18 years old. The 2020 score of the country is not only low but
also a deterioration from its score of 0.55 in 2018, the first year of publication of the Human
Capital Index.
In the 1960s, the education system of the country was considered one of the most
developed in Asia (Cardozier, 1984; Lande, 1965; Swine ton, 1991 as cited in Morris). As shown
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
in the Table below, the country had one of the highest rates of adult literacy, basic education
completion, secondary education and higher education participation levels in the region.
In addition, from the 1990s to the present, several important broad frameworks for
education reform has been instituted— Education for All: The Philippine Plan of Action 19901999; the 1991 Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM); the 2000 Presidential
Commission on Education Reform (PCER); the 2000 Education for All (EFA) Assessment; the
ADB-WB initiated and funded Philippine Education Sector Study (PESS); the 2006 National
Action Plan for Education for All 2015 (EFA 2015) and the 2006 Basic Education Sector
Reform Agenda (BESRA) all of which were introduced to further improve the quality of
education in the country. However, questions remained why these reforms failed at transforming
education in the country.
WHAT HAVE KEPT REFORM INITIATIVES IN DEPED FROM TRANSFORMING
BASIC EDUCATION
Externally Induced Reform
DepEd’s almost absolute dependence on the implementation of foreign-assisted programs
that have reform activities built into pilot-project components is clearly discernable in the last 20
years. As observed, most of DepEd’s concrete efforts involving curricular reform among others,
were almost exclusively pursued under the auspices of foreign-assisted programs. Donor
agencies (AusAID, JBIC, WB, ADB, etc.) did not only fund these projects, they also initiated,
nurtured, monitored and saw them through their completion. Externally driven, the reform
projects raise concern over DepEd’s institutional capacity to eventually initiate and sustain them.
Furthermore, donor-initiated and externally induced reform projects have been about the only
means in the last two decades to introduce new educational reform ideas into DepEd. Therefore,
project consultants and staff of donor agencies were actually the one’s considered to be the
bearers of new discourses.
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
The Pilot Project Mindset
DepEd’s manner of undertaking reform is to projectize it and the Department’s idea of
projectization is to pilot test the efficacy of reformist interventions on a limited scale so as not to
risk failure in large-scale implementation. This involves the introduction of an intervention or set
of interventions into an existing system, without attempting to fully control the range of other
variables operating within the context (e.g., variations in teacher background, size of school,
profile of students, etc.), then observing whether significant improvements can be measured soon
after the intervention is completed. The pervasiveness of this activity is underscored by the
taken-for-granted assumption the need to deliver a uniform or one-size-fits-all education to
Filipino learners across the archipelago, regardless of differences in their socio-cultural and
political economic environments. Uniformity from this viewpoint is conflated with maintaining
academic standards.
One important institutional consequence of this practice is the privileged role of the
DepEd central office in defining the curriculum standards—common curriculum, pedagogy,
textbooks, learning materials, and system of quality assurance and assessment—and transmitting
them to the schools through the regional, school’s division and district offices. Culturallysensitive curricula, pedagogical approaches and learning materials that deviate from the standard
would be discouraged in theory even if they enhance the acquisition of learning competencies,
unless the Central office stamps its approval on their quality and usefulness.
Bureaucratic Constraints
Although DepEd had been the main agency tasked with education in the country, Congress and
the Office of the President, and other agencies like the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM), the Commission on Audit (COA) and local government units (LGUs) have also affected
the education reform process as well. Former Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz argued that
DBM’s annual budgeting cycle has not addressed the problems of education for the most part.
He cites two reasons for this: First, that the annual budget allocates funds for identified
deliverables but pays no attention to whether deliverables from the previous year(s) have been
delivered or not. Second, the education budget cycle and the national budget cycle do not
coincide as the latter is based on the calendar year; the former starts with the commencement of
the school-year in June. The mismatch between the DBM and DepEd budget cycles results in
delayed releases of DepEd allocations, adversely affecting reform-oriented projects.
Cultural Barriers
Aside from structural and leadership issues, informal constraints also exacerbate DepEd’s
difficulty to pursue and sustain education reform. These constraints include the “extensions,
elaborations and modifications of formal rules, socially sanctioned norms of behavior, and
internally enforced standards of conduct.
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Typical of any bureaucratic agency, DepEd is also subjected to problems of inertia and
general resistance to change apparent in its unwillingness to adopt approaches, processes, and
procedures that worked effectively in reform projects. The inertia of such resistance is rooted in
the bureaucracy’s prevailing power structure. The division superintendents’ decision, for
instance illustrates the very real problem of devolving the power of the purse. The same struggle
to let go of traditional power manifests in the regional directors’ reaction to the drilling down of
funds to the divisions and in the district supervisors lobby for the restoration of their prerogatives
through the amendment of RA 9155. At the end of the day, the resistance of DepEd officials at
the central, regional, division, and district levels to the devolution of specific powers to the
offices directly under them, and, eventually to the schools they serve, taps into the fear of losing
control when the hierachical culture of DepEd is undermined by the decentralization reform
thrust.
“No Memo, No Action” Principle
The governance of DepEd is not only highly centralized, it is also extremely hierarchical. For
instance, no policy or practice in the lower levels of the hierarchy may change or take place
unless there is an explicit DepEd Memo from the central office that allows it. This cultural mindset
is undermining DepEd’s moves towards decentralization. Indeed, despite the success of several
educational reforms and the proven capacity of school heads to supervise classroom construction and
manage funds, they are still constrained by the fear of being sanctioned for instituting necessary changes
in their schools without a corresponding Memo. On the part of the Central office, the “No Memo, No
Action” thinking reflects a general distrust of the school heads and classroom teachers’ ability to think for
themselves and their schools.
Education and Development
Education was a key element in the strategies employed by the developmental state as it
was harnessed to provide the skills the economy required and to create the social cohesion, sense
of national identity and patriotism which the single-minded quest for economic advancement
required. The role of the private sector is greatly valued by the country. Despite the increase in
budget allocation for the education sector, the issue in access to quality education still persists.
Anchored on SDG: Goal 17, it recognizes the fact that it is going to take the whole of society
working together to implement the SDGs. Cross-sectoral coordination and planning are through
existing institutions. (UN, 2019). Public-private partnerships will not only bolster the access to
quality education. for Partnerships for the Goals. Public-private partnerships among Philippine
institutions can address more complex issues through indicators set by Partnership for the Goals
(SDG#17).
However, as was observed, these partnership projects have been mainly geared towards
infrastructural development and economic sustenance. For the last sixty years, the state has
negotiated with powerful interest groups -the Catholic Church, private education providers, and
external institutions such as the World Bank, business groups, and private publishers of
textbooks. In addition, the weakness of the state was reinforced by post -Marcos governments
which sought to limit the role of the state. Thus, the new constitution developed in 1987
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
institutionalized the decentralization of education, which resulted in the dismantling of the
central governance of education. As of 2018, only two of the 109 PPP projects are from the
education sector (Ricote, 2018). On the aspect of accessibility, Infrastructure PPPs are
definitively significant in furnishing facilities for remote areas. This also includes establishment
and maintenance of e-laboratories. Private entities give the government the benefit of efficient
operations and management of projects insofar as the government ensures regular payments
within the contract duration. Likewise, with regards to raising the quality of education, PPP
projects can improve education service delivery through private management of public schools,
government purchase of private education service, and tutoring services (LaRocque, 2008).
These may be manifested through leasing of public schools, private involvement in curriculum
development, and cross-institutional engagements such as the Ateneo BIGKIS Program
respectively.
In conclusion, basic education in the Philippines has suffered a major performance
setback in recent years. This in turn country’s affects chances of fulfilling its commitment to
EFA and relevant MDG goals are unlikely, unless the key determinants of these goals (education
outcomes) are identified, and policies and programs reoriented toward improving the
performance of these key determinants to arrest the declining trends in education outcomes.
DepEd has been implementing many programs to counter the declining trends of key indicators
of education outcomes. These programs vary in complexity, from alternative approaches to
formal education, to augmentation of basic needs of vulnerable families. DepEd has also
introduced interventions that are potentially effective in influencing demand for basic education
among households, particularly poor households. Among these are the conditional school
feeding and the take home food ration (e.g., rice) programs, which studies worldwide have
demonstrated to be effective in both giving assistance to the poor, at the same time ensuring
school attendance among poor children.
Reflect on this!
How does the lack of access to quality education in certain regions or among marginalized
communities contribute to the failure of education reforms?
References:
Allan Guzman. (2003). The Dynamics of Educational Reforms in the Philippine Basic and Higher
Education Sectors. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776349.pdf
Bautista, M.C. R. B., Bernardo, A B.I. & Ocampo, D. (2009). When reforms don’t transform:
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS
College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Professional Education
Iloilo City, Philippines
Reflections on institutional reforms in the department of education. Retrieved from Human
Development Network: https://www.pssc.org.ph/wp-content/psscarchives/Works/Maria%20Cynthia%20Rose%20Bautista/When_Reforms_Don_t_Transfor
m.pdf.
David Barrows. (1907). Education and Social Progress in the Philippines. Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1010635