VALUES EDUCATION

By: Michael Arthus G. Muega , Ph. D.

College of Education, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, DISP 2009
Values are our means of earning, maintaining, or increasing something or certain
things.
Education means knowledge, values, skills, critical thinking, problem solving and
creativity.
Val ues Education is a product of human activity that involves teaching and
learning. This does not mean that there should always be an encounter between
two or more persons. Values education, that is to say, does not require the presence
of at least one teacher and at least another one pupil. For anyone can be his/her
own teacher and his/her own pupil. Values education, in one of its broad senses,
could be said to be a human activity whose chief aims include turning out people:
(1) who could tell right from wrong,
(2) who know why something is right or otherwise, and
(3) who would do the right thing.
In its formal education sense, it is a human encounter that involves a teacher
and at least one pupil, and in their interaction, the teacher is aiming to get the pupil
to become a person who could do 1, 2, and 3. This of course is not to suggest that
success is guaranteed when a teacher is teaching values education to the pupils.
Some Theories of Morality
INSTRUMENTALISM is a suggestion that right and wrong are determined
with reference to the consequences of a certain belief and its application.
FUNCTIONALISM suggests that everything, including human beings is
defined by a certain inherent function or purpose. According to this view,
right and wrong are determined by asking whether ones behavior is
consistent with his/her natural purpose or function. Under this view, if it is
true that human beings are naturally defined by rationality, one cannot be
doing the right thing by being irrational.
Historical Foundations of Values Education in the Philippines
RBEC or Revitalized Basic Education Curriculum
1. Makabayan
2. Makatao
3. Makakalikasan
4. Maka-Diyos
Values Education
1. Pre-Spanish Era
2. Spanish Era
3. American Era
4. Japanese Era
5. Post-Japanese & American Era
6. Martial Law Period
7. Post-Martial Law Period
Social Values evolve according to the demands and requirements or dictates of
forces that are also changing together with the environment through the passage of
time.
What sort of things do you think could be affected by a change in societal
values?
What are the implications of changing societal values?
Change in the components of the educational system

- School curriculum
- Instructional materials
- Training of teachers
- Instructional processes
- Educational administration
- Assessment procedures
- Etc.
Can you think of things that may have been of high value as far back as the
time before Magellan came into the picture?
Family itself
Family values
1. Pre-Spanish Philippines
- no formal politics
- no religious or formal educational institutions
- no formal laws
- better trading
some valued things during this time:
- survival skills (e.g. hunting skills)
- diplomatic skills to maintain peace co-existence with other
communities
2. Spanish Era (1521-1898)
- churches
- Parochial schools
- Political and economic institutions
valued things during this time:
- Moral and spiritual values according to a religious system
- Submissive reverence to accepted authority figures
- Refusal to submit to colonizers and autonomy
3. American Occupation (1898-1946)
- New political structures and socioeconomic ideologies
- Citizenship
- Civics, character education, good manners and right conduct were included
in the
educational program
- Religious instruction became optional
valued things during this time:
- Freedom to choose religion
- Submissive reverence to accepted authorities
- Patriotism, loyalty, values of self-reliance, national unity (Phil.
Commonwealth;
Quezon introduced code of ethics for Filipinos; 1935-1946)
- Refusal to submit to colonizers and autonomy
4. Japanese Occupation (1942-1945)
- Japanese government introduced the Far East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
valued things during this time:
- submissive reverence to accepted authorities
- refusal to submit to foreign power and autonomy
5. Post-Japanese & American Era (Liberation Period)
- Character and moral education were introduced for the purpose of moral
reconstruction
6. Martial Law Period
- Educational Development Act of 1972 required maximum contribution
toward the attainment of national goals, some of which is advancement of

Philippine economy, moral progress, heightened national consciousness, and

promotion of desirable cultural values
- Refusal to submit to the claimed authority of the authoritarian
7. Post-Martial Law Period
- EDSA Revolution I inspired many Filipinos to place a premium on justice,
liberty, peace, and respect for human rights.
1987 Constitution
All schools should inculcate patriotism and nationalism; foster love of
humanity; respect for human rights; appreciation of the role of national
heroes in the historical development of the country; teacher the rights and
duties of citizenship; strengthen ethnic and spiritual values; develop moral
character and personal discipline; encourage critical and creative thinking;
broaden scientific and technological knowledge and promote vocational
efficiency.
Values Education at the Elementary School Level
Reinforcement of desirable Philippine traditional values and
reinforcement of values which bind Filipinos together into one nation
that is strong and indivisible
- Such values were classified based on the Filipinos perceived
relation (1) to their country, (2) to their individual selves, (3) to
other people, and (4) to God.
- Values development was taught in Civics and Culture,
Geography/History/ Civics, and the period for character building
activities for all grades every morning.

Strategies which are intended to give rise to learned behavior are the
following:
1. inculcation
2. moral development
3. values clarification
4. evocation
5. action learning approach, and
6. problem-solving approaches (e.g. role playing, simulation, games,
speaker-audience techniques)

Values Education at the Secondary School Level

The 7 basic subjects of the curriculum are Communication Arts in
English, Communication Arts in Filipino, Social Studies, Science, Math,
Practical Arts, and Youth Development Training. All of these are
instruments to teach values.
Strategies and approaches include:
1. values integration approach
2. direct teaching
3. indirect approach
4. values clarification
5. modular approach, and
6. other approaches employed in elementary
Values Education at the Tertiary Level of Formal Education
No prescribed values education for college students, except in the
Bachelor for Secondary Education curriculum. Here Values Education is
a major field of specialization where the following are taught:
1. Philippines value system
2. preferred and desirable values/beliefs, and
3. values modification/adoption/orientation towards development
Teaching strategies here are similar to the ones that are used in
elementary and secondary schools. But at this level, Values Education
may include studies on Filipino values. Such studies may be conducted
using different methods (e.g. case studies, observation, analysis of
language form)

Facts within the past few years:

School Year 2005-2006
12,913,845 pupils
were in primary schools
schools
6,267,015 students
were in secondary schools
13 million students
were in primary schools
6.3 million students
were in secondary schools
schools

931,383 pupils
were in private
1,287,985 students
were in private schools
1 million of them
were in private schools
1.3 million of them
were in private

Almost half of the primary school students were not be able to proceed to the
secondary school
A significant majority of secondary school students were not able to proceed
to the tertiary level of schooling
Fifty-one (51%) of Filipinos have only had elementary education, and only
14.3 percent of rural poor Filipinos graduate from high school or have higher
educational attainment.
In addition, results of the nationally administered National Elementary
Achievement Test 3 years ago showed that students gave correct answers to
less 50 percent of the questions.