HISTORY OF EDUCATION

First Known School | Approx. 2000 BC

Cuneiform mathematics textbooks from this time period have been discovered. This suggests that some form of
schooling may have existed in Sumer during that time. Formal schools are also known to have existed in China
during this time period.
Age of Pericles | 0455 BC - 431 BC
Most Greek city-states have adopted a formal educational system. Sparta used their educational system to train
their children for effective military support. Athens, however, stressed more intellectual and aesthetic lessons.
Development of Roman Schools | 50 BC - 200 AD
The Romans were heavily influenced by the Greek education system. Many children, after learning to read and
write, attended a school to study Latin, literature, history, math, music, and dialectics. These Latin schools are
very similar to secondary schools in the 20th century.
The Dark Ages | 400 - 1000
During this period, the common people were politically and religiously oppressed, which stunted the ability for
the population to grow and innovate intellectually as the Greeks and Romans previously had. Although formal
education was not an option for most people, certain people in the church and in wealthy families were able to
receive education and make small advances.
Thomas Aquinas | 1225 - 1274
During the medieval times, most people were taught by Catholic priests, many of whom were corrupt. Through
his works as a theologian, Thomas Aquinas helped to change the churches view on how commoners should
learn and grow in knowledge. Thomas Aquinas helped pave the way for the creation of medieval universities.
The Renaissance | Approx. 1350 - 1700
The Renaissance, which started in Italy, was a rebirth of the people's thirst for new knowledge. The Renaissance
slowly spread throughout Europe, which led to a revival of classical learning known as "humanism."
Earliest American Colleges Established | Approx. 1630 - Approx. 1640
The first colonial college, Harvard, was established in 1636 to prepare ministers. A few years later, other
schools such as Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Brown are established.
John Locke | 1632 - 1704
John Locke was one of the most influential Enlightenment philosophers. In 1678, he wrote an essay titled
"Concerning Human Understanding." In this essay, he discusses his belief that at birth, our minds are a blank
slate, and that we gain knowledge through experience. His views of the mind and how people learn were greatly
influential to the US educational system.
Old Deluder Satan Act | 1647
This act decreed that every town of 50 families or more needs to hire a schoolmaster who would teach the
town's children to read and write and that all towns of at least 100 families need to have a Latin grammar school
teacher who would prepare students to attend Harvard.
American Academy | 1751
In 1751, Benjamin Franklin founded the American Academy, an educational institution. Its curriculum was both
classical and modern, which included lessons in history, geography, navigation, surveying, and languages. This
went on to become the University of Pennsylvania.
State Control of Education | 1791
When the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution is passed, the individual states gain the right to
control education.
Invention of the Blackboard | 1801
In 1801, James Pillans invented the blackboard when he hung a large slate on the classroom wall.
Compulsory Education | 1852
In 1524, during the Reformation, Martin Luther had advocated for compulsory schooling so that all parishioners
would be able to read the Bible. In 1852, Massachusetts passed a law making education mandatory. This spread
throughout the country, and the final state to adopt it was Mississippi in 1917.
Invention of the Typewriter | 1867
In 1867, Christopher Sholes invented the modern typewriter. This was later manufactured by E. Remington &
Sons in 1873.
Dewey Decimal System | 1876
In 1873, the Dewey Decimal System, developed by Melvil Dewey, was patented and published. This became
the world's most used library organization/classification system.
High School Curriculum | 1892
A standardized high school curriculum was formed by the National Education Association to establish a
standard secondary school curriculum, the Committee of Ten, recommended a curriculum that was college
oriented, which laid the foundation to high schools today.
Pencils and Paper | 1900
Mass produced pencils and paper are starting to become more accessible, which eventually replaced the school
slate, and made writing easier.
First Community College | 1901
In 1901, Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, opened, and became the first community college in America.
SAT | 1926
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was first administered in 1926. The SAT is owned, published, and
developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. The test was developed to assess
a student's readiness for college.
IQ Testing | 1939
In 1939, David Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. This introduced "deviation IQ,"
which calculates scores based on how far from the average subject's score another subject's score is. These tests
are still used widely in schools to determine students needing special needs.
First Computer | Approx. 1946 - Approx. 1956
The Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), the first vacuum-tube computer, was built for the
U.S. military by Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in the 1950s. This marked the beginning of the computer
age.
Brown v. Board of Education | 1954
The United States Supreme Court passes the case, Brown v. Board of Education, which makes segregated
schools illegal.

ACT | 1959
In November of 1959, Everett Franklin Lindquist administered the first ACT test as as direct competition to the
SAT. The ACT has usually consisted of 4 different tests: English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning.
Although the SAT is the standard, the ACT is still very popular, and is used exclusively in certain districts.
First Computer Used in School | 1959
Computers were first used in New York elementary schools to teach arithmetic. This was the beginning of a
major technological revolution in education.
First African American Child to Attend All White Elementary | 1960
At William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Ruby Bridges, a first grader, was the first African
American child to attend. She eventually became the only child in the class, because all the white parents pulled
their students out of the class.
Tinker v. Des Moines | 1969
During the Vietnam War, students in the Des Moines wore black armbands in protest. The district passed a rule
prohibiting the bands, but the students argued it infringed on their First Amendment rights. The court agreed
with the students and struck down the ban.
Handheld Calculator | 1970
Serving as the predecessor to the TI-83, this first calculator was originally concerning to teachers, as they feared
it would undermine students' learning.
Scantron Grading System | 1972
In 1972, the Scantron Corporation removed the need to grade multiple choice tests by hand. The machines were
free to use, but the company charged for the grading forms.
Whiteboard | 1990
Although the inventor of the whiteboard has been heavily debated, they first started to gain popularity in the
90's, partly due to students having allergic reactions to the chalkboard dust.
Higher Education Act | 1998
This act was amended and reauthorized, and required institutions and states to produce report cards about
teacher education performance. This was another attempt to unify the educational experience in the USA.
No Child Left Behind Act | 2001
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was approved by Congress and signed into law by President George W.
Bush in January of 2002. This law mandates high-stakes student testing, holds schools accountable for the
students' achievement levels, and punishes schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting
the goals of NCLB.
Common Core | 2009
The Common Core State Standards Initiatives is launched which details what K-12 students should know at the
end of the year.

EDUCATION IN THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATIONS

The Old World civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North China
The history of civilization started in the Middle East about 3000 BCE, whereas the North China
civilization began about a millennium and a half later. The Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations flourished
almost simultaneously during the first civilizational phase (3000–1500 BCE). Although these civilizations
differed, they shared monumental literary achievements. The need for the perpetuation of these highly developed
civilizations made writing and formal education indispensable.
Egypt
Egyptian culture and education were preserved and controlled chiefly by the priests, a powerful
intellectual elite in the Egyptian theocracy who also served as the political bulwarks by preventing cultural
diversity. The humanities as well as such practical subjects as science, medicine, mathematics, and geometry were
in the hands of the priests, who taught in formal schools. Vocational skills relating to such fields as architecture,
engineering, and sculpture were generally transmitted outside the context of formal schooling.
Egyptians developed two types of formal schools for privileged youth under the supervision of
governmental officials and priests: one for scribes and the other for priest trainees. At the age of 5, pupils entered
the writing school and continued their studies in reading and writing until the age of 16 or 17. At the age of 13 or
14 the schoolboys were also given practical training in offices for which they were being prepared. Priesthood
training began at the temple college, which boys entered at the age of 17; the length of training depending upon
the requirements for various priestly offices. It is not clear whether or not the practical sciences constituted a part
of the systematically organized curriculum of the temple college.
Rigid method and severe discipline were applied to achieve uniformity in cultural transmission, since
deviation from the traditional pattern of thought was strictly prohibited. Drill and memorization were the typical
methods employed. But, as noted, Egyptians also used a work-study method in the final phase of the training for
scribes.
Mesopotamia
As a civilization contemporary with Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamia developed education quite
similar to that of its counterpart with respect to its purpose and training. Formal education was practical and aimed
to train scribes and priests. It was extended from basic reading, writing, and religion to higher learning in law,
medicine, and astrology. Generally, youth of the upper classes were prepared to become scribes, who ranged from
copyists to librarians and teachers. The schools for priests were said to be as numerous as temples. This indicates
not only the thoroughness but also the supremacy of priestly education. Very little is known about higher
education, but the advancement of the priestly work sheds light upon the extensive nature of intellectual pursuit.
As in the case of Egypt, the priests in Mesopotamia dominated the intellectual and educational domain as
well as the applied. The centre of intellectual activity and training was the library, which was usually housed in a
temple under the supervision of influential priests. Methods of teaching and learning were memorization, oral
repetition, copying models, and individual instruction. It is believed that the exact copying of scripts was the
hardest and most strenuous and served as the test of excellence in learning. The period of education was long and
rigorous, and discipline was harsh.
North China
In North China, the civilization of which began with the emergence of the Shang era, complex educational
practices were in effect at a very early date. In fact, every important foundation of the formation of modern
Chinese character was already established, to a great extent, more than 3,000 years ago.
Chinese ancient formal education was distinguished by its markedly secular and moral character. Its
paramount purpose was to develop a sense of moral sensitivity and duty toward people and the state. Even in the
early civilizational stage, harmonious human relations, rituals, and music formed the curriculum.
Formal colleges and schools probably antedate the Zhou dynasty of the 1st millennium BCE, at least in
the imperial capitals. Local states probably had less-organized institutions, such as halls of study, village schools,
and district schools. With regard to actual methods of education, ancient Chinese learned from bamboo books
and obtained moral training and practice in rituals by word of mouth and example. Rigid rote learning, which
typified later Chinese education, seems to have been rather condemned. Education was regarded as the process
of individual development from within.
The New World civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas
The outstanding cultural achievements of the pre-Columbian civilizations are often compared with those
of Old World civilizations. The ancient Mayan calendar, which surpassed Europe’s Julian calendar in accuracy,
was, for example, a great accomplishment demonstrating the extraordinary degree of knowledge of astronomy
and mathematics possessed by the Maya. Equally impressive are the sophistication of the Incas’ calendar and
their highway construction, the development of the Mayan complex writing system, and the magnificent temples
of the Aztecs. It is unfortunate that archaeological findings and written documents hardly shed sufficient light
upon education among the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. But from available documents it is evident that these pre-
Columbian civilizations developed formal education for training the nobility and priests. The major purposes of
education were cultural conservation, vocational training, moral and character training, and control of cultural
deviation.
The Maya
Being a highly religious culture, the Maya regarded the priesthood as one of the most influential factors
in the development of their society. The priest enjoyed high prestige by virtue of his extensive knowledge, literate
skills, and religious and moral leadership, and high priests served as major advisers of the rulers and the nobility.
To obtain a priesthood, which was usually inherited from his father or another close relative, the trainee had to
receive rigorous education in the school where priests taught history, writing, methods of divining, medicine, and
the calendar system.
Character training was one of the salient features of Mayan education. The inculcation of self-restraint,
cooperative work, and moderation was highly emphasized in various stages of socialization as well as on various
occasions of religious festivals. In order to develop self-discipline, the future priest endured a long period of
continence and abstinence and, to develop a sense of loyalty to community, he engaged in group labour.
The Aztecs
Among the Aztecs, cultural preservation relied heavily upon oral transmission and rote memorization of
important events, calendrical information, and religious knowledge. Priests and noble elders, who were called
conservators, were in charge of education. Since one of the important responsibilities of the conservator was to
censor new poems and songs, he took the greatest care in teaching poetry, particularly divine songs.
 At the calmecac, the school for native learning where apprenticeship started at the age of 10, the history
of Mexico and the content of the historical codices were systematically taught. The calmecac played the most
vital role in ensuring oral transmission of history through oratory, poetry, and music, which were employed to
make accurate memorization of events easier and to galvanize remembrance. Visual aids, such as simple graphic
representations, were used to guide recitation phases, to sustain interest, and to increase comprehension of facts
and dates.
The Incas
The Incas did not possess a written or recorded language as far as is known. Like the Aztecs, they also
depended largely on oral transmission as a means of maintaining the preservation of their culture. Inca education
was divided into two distinct categories: vocational education for common Incas and highly formalized training
for the nobility. As the Inca empire was a theocratic, imperial government based upon agrarian collectivism, the
rulers were concerned about the vocational training of men and women in collective agriculture. Personal
freedom, life, and work were subservient to the community. At birth an individual’s place in the society was
strictly ordained, and at five years of age every child was taken over by the government, and his socialization and
vocational training were supervised by government surrogates.
Education for the nobility consisted of a four-year program that was clearly defined in terms of the
curricula and rituals. In the first year the pupils learned Quechua, the language of the nobility. The second year
was devoted to the study of religion and the third year to learning about the quipu (khipu), a complex system of
knotted coloured strings or cords used largely for accounting purposes. In the fourth year major attention was
given to the study of history, with additional instruction in sciences, geometry, geography, and astronomy. The
instructors were highly respected encyclopaedic scholars known as amautas. After the completion of this
education, the pupils were required to pass a series of rigorous examinations in order to attain full status in the
life of the Inca nobility.

Some Legal Bases of Philippine Education

EDUCATIONAL DECREE OF 1863: The decree provided for the establishment of primary school for boys
and girls in each town of the country.

ACT NO. 74 OF 1901: Enacted into law by the Philippine Commission, the Act created the Department of
Public Instruction, laid the foundations of the public school system in the Philippines, provided for the
establishment of the Philippine Normal School in Manila and made English as the medium of instruction. (In
1949, the Philippine Normal School was made a teachers' college by virtue of RA 416 and, in 1991, it became
a full-pledge university by virtue of RA 7168.)

ACT NO. 1870 OF 1908: The law served as the legal basis for the creation of the University of the Philippines.

VOCATIONAL ACT OF1927: Also known as Act No. 3377, the Vocational Act as amended by other acts laid
the foundations of vocational education in public schools and made provisions for its support.

EDUCATION ACT OF 1940: Also known as Commonwealth Act No. 586, the Education Act laid the
foundations for the present six-year elementary course and made provisions for its support.

REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1947: The Act placed public and private schools under the supervision and
control of the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.

REPUBLIC ACT 5250 OF 1966: The Act provided the legal basis for the implementation of a ten-year teacher
education program in special education.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 25 OF 1974: Popularly
known as the Bilingual Education Program of 1974, the Order required the use of English as medium of
instruction for science and mathematics subjects and the use of Filipino as medium of instruction for all other
subjects in the elementary and high school levels.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1006 OF 1976: The Decree was a legal and formal recognition of teachers as
professionals and teaching as a profession.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5698: The Act created the Legal Education Board whose task was to regulate and
improve the quality of law schools in the Philippines in order to stop the increasing number of examinees who
fail to pass the bar examinations given every year.

REPUBLIC ACT 6655 OF 1988: Popularly known as the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988, the
Act created a system of free education in public high schools.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 49 OF 1992: This Order
serves as the guideline for the selection of honor students in all public and private high schools. All these
schools were required to choose one (1) "valedictorian" and one (1) "salutatorian," and to set the limit of the
number of "honorable mention" to one percent of the graduating students. The "eligibility requirements" for
becoming an honor student are the following: 1) No grade below 80 in any subject and no failing grade in any
subject in the first two curriculum years; 2) Completed third and fourth year studies in the same secondary
school; 3) Completed the high school curriculum within the prescribed year; 4) Active membership in two
clubs during the third and fourth years in high school; and 5) Conformed to school rules and policies.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 1 OF 1994: This Order
increased the number of school days to 200 days (42 calendar weeks) inclusive of examination days for public
and private schools. (This department order is similar to RA 7791 which increased the number of school days
from 185 to 200 days.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 37 OF 1994: The Order
required all grade VI elementary students to take the National Elementary Assessment Test (NEAT) that is
given on the 13th Tuesday following the opening of the school year. The assessment test consists of a battery of
tests of the multiple choice type. There are four subject areas: English, mathematics, science and
heograpiya/kasaysayan/sibika (geography/history/civics).

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 38 OF 1994: The Order
required all senior high school students to take the National Secondary Assessment Test (NSAT) that is given
on the 13th Friday following the opening of the school year, or three days after the NEAT has been given. The
assessment test consists of a battery of tests and there are four subject areas: English and Filipino proficiencies,
mathematics, vocational aptitude and science & technology. (The test is not a requirement for college
admission.)

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7731: The Act abolished the National College Entrance Examinations or NCEE to give
the marginalized students a greater chance to gain access to college education.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7722: Also known as the Higher Education Act of 1994, the Act created the Commission
on Higher Education (CHED) whose main task is to regulate and develop tertiary education in the Philippines.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7796: Also known as the Technical Education and Skills Development Act (TESDA) of
1994, the Act's objective was to provide relevant and quality technical education that is accessible to all and to
create the agency that will manage technical education and skills development in the Philippines.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836 OF 1994: Known as the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994, the
Act made it mandatory for people pursuing a career in teaching to take the licensure examinations that are
administered and regulated by the Professional Regulatory Commission.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED) ORDER NO. 34 OF 2001: The Order required all public
elementary and high school students to read at least one book in the vernacular and one book in English per year
before they can be promoted to the next higher level.