John Locke's views on education are based on his empirical theory of human knowledge in his

famous work “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”. When born, the mind of the child
is like a blank slate — “tabula rasa”, to be filled later with the data derived from sensory
experience. It logically ensues that education plays a crucial role in the moral development and
social integration of any human being. Education means shaping according to each individual's
temperament and skills, exercised without brutality, but in a rigorous and pragmatic manner.

John Dewey (1859-1952) believed that learning was active and schooling unnecessarily long and
restrictive. His idea was that children came to school to do things and live in a community which
gave them real, guided experiences which fostered their capacity to contribute to society.

Counts's educational philosophy was also an outgrowth of John Dewey's philosophy. Both men
believed in the enormous potential of education to improve society and that schools should
reflect life rather than be isolated from it.

Brameld founded the educational philosophy of Social Reconstructionism which emphasized the
addressing of social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy
(Philosophical Perspectives). Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that emphasizes
social reform as the aim of education.

Freire believed that "education makes sense because women and men learn that through learning
they can make and remake themselves, because women and men are able to take responsibility
for themselves as beings capable of knowing—of knowing that they know and knowing that they
don't".
Mmmm

What does it mean to be a professional teacher?

print Print document PDF list Cite
Expert Answers info
HARRISON MURRAY, M.A. eNotes educator | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

The idea of being a "professional" teacher reaches into so many different aspects of this diverse
career. Here are some things for you to consider in this descriptor.

First, professional teachers maintain the confidence of their students and parents. Legally,
teachers are forbidden from disclosing anything related to the performance of their students. This
sounds simple in theory but can prove tricky in implementation. Should teachers praise the
students who made an A grade on the last test? Should they note the student who gained 25
points on the last quarterly standardized test? Should the students with an A average be able to
choose preferential seating? There are no concrete answers for these situations, so teachers need
to assess each class of learners individually to determine possible benefits or any harm that could
come from divulging such vague references to how some students have performed (and,
therefore, how some students have not performed).

Second, professional teachers maintain a sense of authority and composure in all educational
settings. They look, act, and interact with respect and the ultimate sense of purpose. They know
when it is okay to conduct class more informally and can then reign students in. They do not
waste class time and do not allow students to take control of the class and waste class time,
either.
Third, professional teachers know their students well enough to be able to modify content when
needed. These teachers are connected to their students—not just the content. They are aware, for
example, that a student's brother has just been shot to death and quickly adjust the planned
curriculum for reading Lord of the Flies in that class period. They are aware of the accident
involving friends of a student and do not show the planned video on World War II. They know
that a student in an elementary class hasn't quite grasped the permanence of numbers and provide
that student with a different math activity than the rest of the class. They are able to adjust based
on their students' needs.

Fourth, professional teachers know their content well. This doesn't mean that they know all the
answers, and they are also willing to admit that and seek out additional resources when needed.
But in class, they are most often a competent resource, filling instructional time with engaging
content that engages everyone from visual to kinesthetic learners. Students know that their
teacher is capable of delivering the instruction well. Professional teachers take complicated
subjects and make them seem easy.

Fifth, professional teachers build authentic relationships with their students and students' parents.
They spend time getting to know what motivates their students—far beyond the interest surveys
at the beginning of the year. They build the curriculum around this knowledge and allow students
to make some of their own choices about how and what they want to learn. Teachers help
students to feel valued in their own educational process and engage in meaningful conversations
about things that motivate them outside the classroom. They appreciate the diversity created by
each student in the class and tap into that knowledge to create an environment of respect and
group support.

Sixth, professional teachers are discerning toward the pedagogy that comes their way. They learn
that there are statistics to back up any opinion and that, truly, educational philosophies swing far
left and then back right again if they stay in the profession long enough. With this knowledge,
they begin to rely on their own sense of pedagogy. They rely on the successful experiences they
have built with former students as they shape their views. This doesn't mean that they never
listen to new ideas and thoughts, but they do learn that every new idea isn't credible or based in
experience of that particular school with those particular students in that particular social context.

Seventh, professional teachers openly appreciate diversity. They build it into their...

5 Professional Attributes
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. I believe that integrity
is an attribute of a profession because it is important for teachers to uphold moral values as their
behavior influences the children they teach. Having good/strong moral values is important in my
eyes as you have the ability to teach what is right or wrong. As a teacher our behavior directly
influences children so therefore being honest could also be regarded as key. We need to be
honest in the way we teach, learn and reflect. A sense of honesty is needed for self-reflection and
self-criticism in order to improve. Integrity is also in the GTCS standards for registration.

Another attribute a professional requires is a sense of fairness. Fairness is defined as the state,
condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or injustice; evenhandedness. This is
important to being professional as showing signs of preference towards one person over the
other, or perhaps letting one child behave in a certain way that others would not get away with
can create tension and animosity. Being fair is also a crucial way to build trust, respect and good
relationships. Fairness could also mean equality. I think that being professional means you must
treat everyone equally. Discrimination for any reason would simply be unacceptable in any work
place, and especially in a classroom.

Justice helps create a safe-environment for us to work and live in and therefore could be seen as
a vital attribute of being a professional. Justice is the punishment of the wrong and the upholding
of the good. Through justice we can improve our morals. I believe that justice creates a better
sense of togetherness and can improve people’s self-discipline. Justice in the workplace is
important as it shows unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated and anyone who has felt a
victim (through actions such as bullying) can gain more self-esteem knowing that justice has
worked in their favour. I believe justice is important in the classroom as it can stop unruly
behaviour and teach children that certain behaviour won’t be tolerated.
In my eyes respect is treating others how you would like to be treated. The dictionary defines
respect as a due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others. Respect in a profession can
help create strong working relationships. Having mutual respect shows that you acknowledge
someone’s talents, skills or attributes. This can be helpful as it can broaden opportunities. By
showing you respect someone’s skills they will be more willing to show or demonstrate how to
do certain things you may be struggling with. Lack of respect creates workplace tension and an
atmosphere that can be hard to work or learn in. Respect towards pupils in the classroom is
important not only because pupils will then begin to respect you back, but it shows them that
they must respect each other and understand the consequences of showing no respect.

Patience is an important aspect in any profession. Having patience means you are less likely to
make unrational decisions. Patience is important in building relationships as it provides us time
to process other people’s views, tolerate any behaviours we do not agree with and allow us to
stay calm in situations. Patient is important for overcoming anger and frustration. Professionals
deal with many frustrating situations on a day-to-day basis and through patience we no only
tolerate them more, but we can make them more enjoyable. Children can sometimes be
unpredictable and behave in ways in which we do not agree with. Patience is key in all
classrooms, not all children will understand your explanation the first, second or maybe even
third time. Through patience and by keeping calm we can enhance children’s learning
experience, being able to repeat ourselves and tolerate persistent mischief is part of the job and
without patience frustration would set in much quicker and the learning environment would
subsequently suffer.

Personal attributes
Employers are interested to know more about who you are. These characteristics are often just as
important to an employer as skills - and they are much harder to teach to people. If you believe
that you have all of these characteristics, are you able to provide an example which backs up
your assertion? If not, the activities below will help you demonstrate these characteristics.

Drive
Also known as tenacity, ambition

Examples: being able to consistently keep in focus and deliver on (over a long period of time) a
series of smaller activities that contribute to the success of a larger goal (e.g launching your own
business, or a volunteering / environmental project).

Commitment
Also known as stickability
Ddd
Examples: Demonstrating where you have put the needs of the customer / business before your
own needs (e.g staying late to finish a key piece of work, seeing through a long-term activity
with regular attendance), not giving up when things get difficult.

Enthusiasm
Also known as passion

Examples: demonstrate the things you love to do in a work setting and why, campaign or
volunteer for a charity or cause you believe in.

Motivation
Also known as cause, related to self-awareness

Example: understanding what you enjoy, what you are good at and what interests you and
articulating how you've brought all three together through an activity you have participated in.

A learning environment is a diverse platform where users engage and interact to learn new skills.
While learners can learn in an array of settings, the term refers to the more preferred and accurate
alternative to the traditional classroom. The term does not pass on a traditional or limited
connotation such as a room full of desks and a chalkboard.

Components and Importance of an Effective Learning Environment

Developing an engaging and positive learning environment for learners, especially in a particular
course, is one of the most creative aspects of teaching. Typically, the focus is either on the
physical learning environments (institutional) like lecture theaters, classrooms, or labs; or on
different technologies that are used to develop online learning environments.

However, the learning environment is an expression that is a lot broader than these components.
The term comprises of:

Learners’ characteristics;

Learning and teaching goals;

Activities that support learning;

Assessment strategies that drive and measure learning;

A culture that directly infuses a learning environment.

Typically, social, physical, psychological or cultural factors involved in a learning environment

deeply affect the learners’ learning capabilities. If the learning atmosphere is not conducive to
gaining new knowledge or skills, it will be hard for learners to remain engrossed or interested.

For example, stress significantly affect the cognitive functioning. When you combine stress with
learning processes, the negative thoughts outweighs the positive ones. Such learners find the
learning environment more like a threat to their self-esteem than a platform to improve or learn
new skills. To overcome this, the instructors hold the responsibility to incorporate an arsenal of
strategies that would inoculate learners against the negative attitude by providing enough
positive experiences.

This integration of strategies in the learning/teaching approach will counteract the negative and
help students in getting out of the negative spiral. When a learner feels appreciated, accepted and
see him/her as an important and contributing part of a learning environment only then he/she can
improve, learn with an open mind, accept and appreciate viewpoints and solve problems
earnestly.

Nevertheless, a learning environment is a great attribute to the success of the learner. It offers a
positive ambiance to feel motivated and engaged. An ideal learning setting encourages the
interaction with learners/instructors and eventually establishes a sense of support.

What Are The Factors That Make A Positive Learning Environment?

Following are the prime factors that contribute to establishing an effective and positive learning
environment. Let’s discuss some of the most important factors.

Establish a supportive learning culture

Each member of the learning community should have the feeling of connectedness. They must
feel that they are contributing to the overall environment while being a bigger and important part
of a supportive learning culture.

For this, a proper support system or mentorship program should be developed that would provide
them the required assistance whenever needed. The idea can also be supported by creating online
discussion forums or online platforms where learners can gather and discuss various topics.

Learners can use these platforms to provide support to fellow members, to address concerns, and
to express their ideas and opinions about some topic. Nevertheless, the modern learning
platforms offer online training and ongoing education through resources that can be accessed and
used by the learners on their own time.

Address Learners’ Needs

Just like adults, learners also have some psychological needs for order and security, love and
belonging, competence and personal power, novelty and freedom and even fun. It is important to
meet these needs at all times and to help learners progress and be taught with a positive attitude.
Any learning environment, where instructors accommodate these intrinsic needs, learners tend to
be happier and more engaging. There are less behavioral incidences than otherwise and this
fulfilling learning atmosphere help learners in developing the right learning attitude while
establishing positive relationships with peers.

Keep it Positive
Learners respond far better to praise than punitive measures. Appreciation is the key to
motivation, unlike humiliation, that is highly discouraging. Learners appreciate the freedom to
express their opinions; similarly, the opinions of their peers also play a crucial role in defining
their learning attitude.

That is exactly why actions like harassment or teasing are the number one cause for learners to
drop out from the course rather than labeled as ‘dull’ or ‘stupid’ in front of others. While it is
important to express opinions, it is also vital to remain positive rather than assault.

However, the best way to cut down this negative behavior, in a professional learning
environment, is to start correcting the behavior without highlighting the names of the ones
making mistakes.

Provide Feedback
Feedback is the great way to connect with learners and to set their learning efforts in the right
direction. Feedback is vital for learners as it helps them in tracking their progress and in
changing their learning strategy accordingly. It helps them recognize their weak areas while
improving the developed skills.

A feedback informs the learners where they are missing the mark and what is needed to be done.
A feedback is not only a key to motivate the learner but this timely and consistent feedback
ensures an interactive learning environment. It keeps learners involved and allows them to keep
going while mounting a feeling of purpose and belonging.

Celebrate Success
In addition to feedback and appreciation, another way to establish a positive and effective
learning environment is to celebrate the learners’ success. This could be anything from a shout
out to a big reward. When learners’ achievements are recognized and shared by the instructors
with other learners, it creates a sense of achievement and fosters healthy learning behavior.

Instructors can easily take out some time on a weekly basis to recognize each student for any of
the specific accomplishment. This could also be done in the form of group activities or
collective assignments or projects. In addition to the celebration, it is also important to discuss
the processes or strategies used by the learner to achieve the objective. This will also act as a
guide for others to use the same learning strategy and to improve their performance in the same
manner.

Safety
A good learning environment offers a safe platform for learners. Before you can expect learners
to succeed academically, they should also feel safe both mentally and physically. While most of
the schools take physical safety measures, not many learning platforms consider the mental
safety of the learners.

Safety in a learning environment goes beyond physical well-being. In order to maintain a safe
learning environment, learners must feel supported, welcomed, and respected.

But many learning platforms and their codes of conduct don’t always consider or support the
positive climate. For instance, strict disciplinary practices like suspensions negatively impact the
morale of the learners and hamper their performance or likelihood of improvement.

Hence, building a positive learning environment is more about maintaining a healthy culture
where the expectations are well communicated and learners are fully aware of the code of
conduct.

Employ Interactive Games and Activities

An effective learning platform is the one that establishes strong interactions and promotes
collaborative learning culture. This means that it is imperative for instructors to maintain positive
relationships with the learners while also ensuring healthy association among the learners.

This can be done by using the best way of encouraging group activities. Introduction of non-
competitive games and activities break down the cliques within a learning environment. This
also assists the new and shy students to have a sense of belonging.

Such activities promote communication and collaborative working environment and establish
cooperative learning structures.

There are hundreds of proven group activities and games that can be introduced as classroom
activities. These fun activities make learners interested in attending the class and help them learn
and progress in a friendlier environment.

The Final Words

When you establish a learning environment, keeping these important factors in mind, it helps in
developing a thriving learning culture. A positive learning environment is the one where learners
feel involved and responsible for their learning while being comfortable enough to fully
participate in group and individual activities.

Needless to say, when educators foster positive learning culture, learners are more likely to have
the higher motivation that leads to better and more promising learning outcomes.

Physical condition of the classroom

The physical environment of a classroom should be fostering as it plays a major role in moulding
students’ behaviour and creating a happy learning atmosphere.A conducive learning environment
provides conditions that make a student easy to do their work along with promoting their social,
mental, physical and emotional well-being. This study was conducted with an objective to
understand the importance of physical environment of a classroom and its relationship to mental
well-being of the students. The study mainly focussed on the physical conditions (temperature,
hygiene, air circulation, lighting, acoustics, interior design, etc). The results showed that almost
all the schools were not having proper physical conditions in and around the classrooms. This
strongly showed an indication that the designers should take proper care while designing
physical conditions of any learning environment as these play a major role in moulding the
student’s behaviour and learning capacity, mainly the mental health.

Facilitative learning environment

Environment

by Terry Heick

For in-person professional development from TeachThought on how to create an effective

learning environment in your classroom or school, contact us today.

Wherever we are, we’d all like to think our classrooms are “intellectually active” places.
Progressive learning (like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Highly-effective
and conducive to student-centered learning.

But what does that mean?

The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider
as single events or individual “things.” This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white
coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity,
self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down.

So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. They can act
as a kind of criteria to measure your own against–see if you notice a pattern.

10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment

1. The students ask the questions—good questions

This is not a feel-good implication, but really crucial for the whole learning process to work.

The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but
suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity,
prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak. (Interested in
how to kill learner curiosity in 12 easy steps?)

Many teachers force students (proverbial gun to head) to ask questions at the outset of units or
lessons, often to no avail. Cliché questions that reflect little understanding of the content can
discourage teachers from “allowing” them. But the fact remains—if students can’t ask great
questions—even as young as elementary school—something, somewhere is unplugged.

2. Questions are valued over answers

Questions are more important than answers. So it makes sense that if good questions should lead
the learning, there would be value placed on these questions. And that means adding currency
whenever possible—grades (questions as assessment!), credit (give them points—they love
points), creative curation (writing as a kind of graffiti on large post-it pages on the classroom
walls), or simply praise and honest respect. See if you don’t notice a change.

3. Ideas come from a divergent sources

Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects—the fiber of formal learning—should come from a
variety of sources. If they all come from narrow slivers of resources, you’re at risk of being
pulled way off in one direction (that may or may not be good). An alternative? Consider sources
like professional and cultural mentors, the community, content experts outside of education, and
even the students themselves. Huge shift in credibility.

And when these sources disagree with one another, use that as an endlessly “teachable moment,”
because that’s what the real world is like.

4. A variety of learning models are used

Inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, school-

to-school, eLearning, Mobile learning, the flipped classroom, and on and on—the possibilities
are endless. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and
learner diversity in your classroom. A characteristic of a highly-effective classroom, then, is
diversity here, which also has the side-effect of improving your long-term capacity as an
educator.

5. Classroom learning “empties” into a connected community

In a highly-effective learning environment, learning doesn’t need to be radically repackaged to

make sense in the “real world,” but starts and ends there.

As great as it sounds for learners to reflect on Shakespeare to better understand their Uncle
Eddie—and they might—depending on that kind of radical transfer to happen entirely in the
minds of the learners by design may not be the best idea. Plan on this kind of transfer from the
beginning.

It has to leave the classroom because they do.

6. Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria

Personalized learning is likely the future, but for now the onus for routing students is almost
entirely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. This makes personalization—and even
consistent differentiation—a challenge. One response is to personalize learning—to whatever
extent you plan for—by a variety of criteria—not just assessment results or reading level, but
interest, readiness-for-content, and others as well.

Then, as you adjust pace, entry points, and rigor accordingly, you’ll have a better chance of
having uncovered what the learners truly “need”.

7. Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive

Assessment is just an (often ham-fisted) attempt to get at what a learner understands. The more
infrequent, clinical, murky, or threatening it is, the more you’re going to separate the “good
students” from the “good thinkers.” And the “clinical” idea has less to do with the format of the
test, and more to do with the tone and emotion of the classroom in general. Why are students
being tested? What’s in it for them, and their future opportunities to improve?

And feedback is quick even when the “grading” may not be.

8. Criteria for success is balanced and transparent.

Students should not have to guess what “success” in a highly-effective classroom looks like. It
should also not be entirely weighted on “participation,” assessment results, attitude, or other
individual factors, but rather meaningfully melted into a cohesive framework that makes sense—
not to you, your colleagues, or the expert book on your shelf, but the students themselves.

9. Learning habits are constantly modeled

Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral “good stuff” is constantly modeled. Curiosity,

persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of
Mind are all great places to start. So often what students learn from those around them is less
directly didactic, and more indirect and observational.

Monkey see, monkey do.

10. There are constant opportunities for practice

Old thinking is revisited. Old errors are reflected on. Complex ideas are re-approached from new
angles. Divergent concepts are contrasted. Bloom’s taxonomy is constantly traveled up and
down, from the simple to the complex in an effort to maximize a student’s opportunities to
learn—and demonstrate understanding—of content.

Education In Primitive And Early Civilized Cultures

Prehistoric and primitive cultures
The term education can be applied to primitive cultures only in the sense of enculturation, which
is the process of cultural transmission. A primitive person, whose culture is the totality of his
universe, has a relatively fixed sense of cultural continuity and timelessness. The model of life is
relatively static and absolute, and it is transmitted from one generation to another with little
deviation. As for prehistoric education, it can only be inferred from educational practices in
surviving primitive cultures.

ADVERTISEMENT

The purpose of primitive education is thus to guide children to becoming good members of their
tribe or band. There is a marked emphasis upon training for citizenship, because primitive people
are highly concerned with the growth of individuals as tribal members and the thorough
comprehension of their way of life during passage from prepuberty to postpuberty.

Because of the variety in the countless thousands of primitive cultures, it is difficult to describe
any standard and uniform characteristics of prepuberty education. Nevertheless, certain things
are practiced commonly within cultures. Children actually participate in the social processes of
adult activities, and their participatory learning is based upon what the American anthropologist
Margaret Mead called empathy, identification, and imitation. Primitive children, before reaching
puberty, learn by doing and observing basic technical practices. Their teachers are not strangers
but rather their immediate community.

Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Cornell Capa/Magnum

In contrast to the spontaneous and rather unregulated imitations in prepuberty education,

postpuberty education in some cultures is strictly standardized and regulated. The teaching
personnel may consist of fully initiated men, often unknown to the initiate though they are his
relatives in other clans. The initiation may begin with the initiate being abruptly separated from
his familial group and sent to a secluded camp where he joins other initiates. The purpose of this
separation is to deflect the initiate’s deep attachment away from his family and to establish his
emotional and social anchorage in the wider web of his culture.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

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 at 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 Rs) 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 the 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 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 Department Official Titular Head Legal Bases

1863 Superior Commission of Primary Instruction Chairman Educational Decree of 1863
1901-1916 Department of Public Instruction General Superintendent Act. No. 74 of
the Philippine Commission, Jan. 21, 1901
1916-1942 Department of Public Instruction Secretary Organic Act Law of 1916
(Jones Law)
1942-1944 Department of Education, Health and Public Welfare Commissioner
Renamed by the Japanese Executive Commission, June 11, 1942
1944 Department of Education, Health and Public Welfare Minister Renamed by
Japanese Sponsored Philippine Republic
1944 Department of Public Instruction Secretary Renamed by Japanese Sponsored
Philippine Republic
1945-1946 Department of Public Instruction and Information Secretary Renamed by
the Commonwealth Government
1946-1947 Department of Instruction Secretary Renamed by the Commonwealth
Government
1947-1975 Department of Education Secretary E.O. No. 94 October 1947
(Reorganization Act of 1947)
1975-1978 Department of Education and Culture Secretary Proc. No. 1081,
September 24, 1972
1978-1984 Ministry of Education and Culture Minister P.D. No. 1397, June 2, 1978
1984-1986 Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports Minister Education Act of
1982
1987-1994 Department of Education, Culture and Sports Secretary E.O. No. 117.
January 30, 1987
1994-2001 Department of Education, Culture and Sports Secretary RA 7722 and
RA 7796, 1994 Trifocalization of Education Management
2001 – present Department of Education Secretary RA 9155, August 2001 (Governance
of Basic Education Act)
The high school system supported by provincial governments, special educational institutions,
school of arts and trades, an agricultural school, and commerce and marine institutes were
established in 1902 by the Philippine Commission. In 1908, the Philippine Legislature approved
Act No. 1870 which created the University of the Philippines.

The Reorganization Act of 1916 provided the Filipinization of all department secretaries except
the Secretary of Public Instruction.

Japanese educational policies were embodied in Military Order No. 2 in 1942. The Philippine
Executive Commission established the Commission of Education, Health and Public Welfare and
schools were reopened in June 1942. On October 14, 1943, the Japanese – sponsored Republic
created the Ministry of Education. Under the Japanese regime, the teaching of Tagalog,
Philippine History, and Character Education was reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and
dignity of labor was emphasized. On February 27, 1945, the Department of Instruction was made
part of the Department of Public Instruction.

In 1947, by virtue of Executive Order No. 94, the Department of Instruction was changed to
Department of Education. During this period, the regulation and supervision of public and
private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.

In 1972, it became the Department of Education and Culture by virtue of Proclamation 1081 and
the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1978 y virtue of P.D. No. 1397. Thirteen regional
offices were created and major organizational changes were implemented in the educational
system.

The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports which later
became the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order
No. 117. The structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 has practically remained unchanged
until 1994 when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and 1995 when the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) were established to supervise tertiary
degree programs and non-degree technical-vocational programs, respectively.

The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) report provided the impetus for
Congress to pass RA 7722 and RA 7796 in 1994 creating the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), respectively.

The trifocal education system refocused DECS’ mandate to basic education which covers
elementary, secondary and nonformal education, including culture and sports. TESDA now
administers the post-secondary, middle-level manpower training and development while CHED
is responsible for higher education.
In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic Education Act,
was passed transforming the name of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
to the Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field offices (regional offices,
division offices, district offices and schools). RA 9155 provides the overall framework for (i)
school head empowerment by strengthening their leadership roles and (ii) school-based
management within the context of transparency and local accountability. The goal of basic
education is to provide the school age population and young adults with skills, knowledge, and
values to become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.

DEPED MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

To carry out its mandates and objectives, the Department is organized into two major structural
components. The Central Office maintains the overall administration of basic education at the
national level. The Field Offices are responsible for the regional and local coordination and
administration of the Department’s mandate. RA 9155 provides that the Department should have
no more than four (4) Undersecretaries and four (4) Assistant Secretaries with at least one
Undersecretary and one Assistant Secretary who are career service officers chosen among the
staff of the Department.

In 2015, the Department underwent a restructuring of its office functions and staffing. The result
of which was the Rationalization Plan for the new organizational structure. Details of the new
structure are further explained in DO Series 2015 No. 52, also known as the New Organizational
Structures of the Central, Regional, and Schools Division Offices of the Department of
Education.

At present, the Department operates with four (4) Undersecretaries in the following areas:

Curriculum and Instruction

Finance and Administration
Governance and Operations
Legal and Legislative Affairs
Four (4) Assistant Secretaries are assigned in the following areas:

Curriculum and Instruction

Finance and Administration
Governance and Operations
Legal and Legislative Affairs
Supporting the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) at the Central Office are the different strands,
services, bureaus, and divisions.
There are five (5) strands under OSEC:
Curriculum and Instruction
Finance and Administration
Governance and Operations
Legal and Legislative Affairs
Strategic Management
Five (5) attached agencies:
Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council
National Book Development Board (NBDB)
National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT)
National Museum
Philippine High School for the Arts
Three (3) coordinating councils:
Adopt-a-School Program (ASP) Coordinating Council
Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC)
Teacher Education Council (TEC)
At the sub-national level, the Field Offices consist of the following:

Seventeen (17) Regional Offices, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM*),
each headed by a Regional Director (a Regional Secretary in the case of ARMM).
Two hundred twenty-one (221) Provincial and City Schools Divisions, each headed by a Schools
Division Superintendent. Assisting the Schools Division Offices are 2,602 School Districts, each
headed by a District Supervisor.
Under the supervision of the Schools Division Offices are 62,605 schools, broken down as
follows:

49,209 elementary schools (38,648 public and 10,561 private)

13,396 secondary schools (7,976 public and 5,420 private)
*ARMM is included in the budget of the Department on the following:
Creation of teaching and non-teaching positions;
Funding for newly-legislated high schools;
Regular School Building Program; and
Certain foreign-assisted and locally-funded programs and projects.

During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines (1521–1898), the different cultures of the
archipelago experienced a gradual unification from a variety of native Asian and Islamic customs
and traditions, including animist religious practices, to what is known today as Filipino culture, a
unique hybrid of Southeast Asian and Western culture, namely Spanish, including the Spanish
language and the Catholic faith.

Spanish education played a major role in that transformation. The oldest universities, colleges,
and vocational schools, dating as far back as the late 16th century were created during the
colonial period, as well as the first modern public education system in Asia, established in 1863.
By the time Spain was replaced by the United States as the colonial power, Filipinos were among
the most educated peoples in all of Asia, boasting one of the highest literacy rates in that
continent. Simultaneously, the knowledge of Filipinos about neighboring cultures receded.[1]

Japanese occupation of the Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa

Pilipinas; Japanese: 日本のフィリピン占領; Hepburn: Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between
1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World
War II.
The invasion of the Philippines started on 8 December 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl
Harbor. As at Pearl Harbor, American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack.
Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on 12 December
1941. General Douglas MacArthur was ordered out, leaving his men at Corregidor on the night of 11
March 1942 for Australia, 4,000 km away. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino
defenders in Bataan surrendered on 9 April 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan
Death March on which 7,000–10,000 died or were murdered. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor
surrendered on 6 May.
Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan. A highly effective
guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly
jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and
officers. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of
independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work
details and even put young Filipino women into brothels.[1]
General MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines on 20 October 1944. The landings
on the island of Leyte were accompanied by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. Through
December 1944, the islands of Leyte and Mindoro were cleared of Japanese soldiers. During the
campaign, the Imperial Japanese Army conducted a suicidal defense of the islands. Cities such
as Manila were reduced to rubble. Around 500,000 Filipinos died during the Japanese Occupation
Period.[2]

Japan launched an attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after their attack
on Pearl Harbor.[3] Initial aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops both north
and south of Manila.[4] The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the command
of General Douglas MacArthur, who had been recalled to active duty in the United States
Army earlier in the year and was designated commander of the United States Armed Forces in the
Asia-Pacific region.[5] The aircraft of his command were destroyed; the naval forces were ordered to
leave; and because of the circumstances in the Pacific region, reinforcement and resupply of his
ground forces were impossible.[6] Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces
withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila
Bay.[7] Manila, declared an open city to prevent its destruction,[8] was occupied by the Japanese on 2
January 1942.[9]
The Philippine defense continued until the final surrender of U.S.-Philippine forces on the Bataan
Peninsula in April 1942 and on Corregidor in May.[10] Most of the 80,000 prisoners of war captured by
the Japanese at Bataan were forced to undertake the infamous "Bataan Death March" to a prison
camp 105 kilometers to the north.[10] Thousands of men, weakened by disease and malnutrition and
treated harshly by their captors, died before reaching their destination.[11] Quezon and Osmeña had
accompanied the troops to Corregidor and later left for the United States, where they set up
a government-in-exile.[12] MacArthur was ordered to Australia, where he started to plan for a return to
the Philippines.[13]

The occupation[edit]

Warning for local residents to keep their premises sanitary or face punishment.

A 100-peso note made by the Japanese during the occupation.

Main articles: Philippine Executive Commission, Second Philippine Republic, Japanese war
crimes, Manila Massacre, Moros during World War II, and Comfort women

The Japanese military authorities immediately began organizing a new government structure in the
Philippines. Although the Japanese had promised independence for the islands after occupation,
they initially organized a Council of State through which they directed civil affairs until October 1943,
when they declared the Philippines an independent republic.[14] Most of the Philippine elite, with a few
notable exceptions, served under the Japanese.[15] The puppet republic was headed by
President José P. Laurel.[16] Philippine collaboration in puppet government began under Jorge B.
Vargas, who was originally appointed by Quezon as the mayor of City of Greater Manila before
Quezon departed Manila.[17] The only political party allowed during the occupation was the Japanese-
organized KALIBAPI.[18] During the occupation, most Filipinos remained loyal to the United
States,[19] and war crimes committed by forces of the Empire of Japan against surrendered Allied
forces[20] and civilians were documented.[21]
Throughout the Philippines more than a thousand women, some being under the age of 18, were
imprisoned as "comfort women", kept in sexual slavery for Japanese military personnel during the
occupation.[22] Each of the Japanese military installations in the Philippines during the occupation had
a location were the women were held, which they called a "comfort station".[23] One such place where
these women were imprisoned is Bahay na Pula.[24]
Resistance[edit]
Main article: Philippine resistance against Japan

Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by active and successful underground and
guerrilla activity that increased over the years and that eventually covered a large portion of the
country. Opposing these guerrillas were a Japanese-formed Bureau of Constabulary (later taking the
name of the old Constabulary during the Second Republic),[25][26] Kempeitai,[25] and
the Makapili.[27] Postwar investigations showed that about 260,000 people were in guerrilla
organizations and that members of the anti-Japanese underground were even more numerous.
Such was their effectiveness that by the end of the war, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-
eight provinces.[28]
The Philippine guerrilla movement continued to grow, in spite of Japanese campaigns against them.
Throughout Luzon and the southern islands, Filipinos joined various groups and vowed to fight the
Japanese. The commanders of these groups made contact with one another, argued about who was
in charge of what territory, and began to formulate plans to assist the return of American forces to
the islands. They gathered important intelligence information and smuggled it out to the U.S. Army, a
process that sometimes took months. General MacArthur formed a clandestine operation to support
the guerrillas. He had Lieutenant Commander Charles "Chick" Parsons smuggle guns, radios and
supplies to them by submarine. The guerrilla forces, in turn, built up their stashes of arms and
explosives and made plans to assist MacArthur's invasion by sabotaging Japanese communications
lines and attacking Japanese forces from the rear.[29]
Various guerrilla forces formed throughout the archipelago, ranging from groups of U.S. Armed
Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) forces who refused to surrender to local militia initially organized to
combat banditry brought about by disorder caused by the invasion.[30] Several islands in
the Visayas region had guerrilla forces led by Filipino officers, such as Colonel Macario
Peralta in Panay,[30][31] Major Ismael Ingeniero in Bohol,[30][32] and Captain Salvador
Abcede in Negros.[30][33]
The island of Mindanao, being farthest from the center of Japanese occupation, had 38,000
guerrillas who were eventually consolidated under the command of American civil engineer
Colonel Wendell Fertig.[30] Fertig's guerrillas included many American and Filipino troops who had
been part of the force on Mindanao under Major General William F. Sharp. When Wainwright had
ordered Sharp's forces to surrender, Sharp considered compelled to obey this order. Many of the
American and Filipino officers refused to surrender, since they reasoned that Wainwright, now a
prisoner who could be considered under duress, had no authority to issue orders to Sharp. For
several reasons it was unknown how many did not surrender, although probably around 100 to 200
Americans ended up with Fertig's guerrillas. The names of new Filipino recruits were purposefully
left off the lists of men to be surrendered. In other cases, documents were fabricated to report fewer
men than were actually under Sharp. Other troops died for various reasons after getting away and
others left Mindanao entirely.[34]
One resistance group in the Central Luzon area was known as the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan
Laban sa Hapon), or the People's Anti-Japanese Army, organized in early 1942 under the leadership
of Luis Taruc, a communist party member since 1939. The Huks armed some 30,000 people and
extended their control over portions of Luzon.[35] However, guerrilla activities on Luzon were
hampered due to the heavy Japanese presence and infighting between the various
groups,[36] including Hukbalahap troops attacking American-led guerrilla units.[37][38]
Lack of equipment, difficult terrain and undeveloped infrastructure made coordination of these
groups nearly impossible, and for several months in 1942, all contact was lost with Philippine
resistance forces. Communications were restored in November 1942 when the reformed
Philippine 61st Division on Panay island, led by Colonel Macario Peralta, was able to establish radio
contact with the USAFFE command in Australia. This enabled the forwarding of intelligence
regarding Japanese forces in the Philippines to SWPA command, as well as consolidating the once
sporadic guerrilla activities and allowing the guerrillas to help in the war effort.[30]
Increasing amounts of supplies and radios were delivered by submarine to aid the guerrilla effort. By
the time of the Leyte invasion, four submarines were dedicated exclusively to the delivery of
supplies.[30]
Other guerrilla units were attached to the SWPA, and were active throughout the archipelago. Some
of these units were organized or directly connected to pre-surrender units ordered to mount guerrilla
actions. An example of this was Troop C, 26th Cavalry.[39][40][41] Other guerrilla units were made up of
former Philippine Army and Philippine Scouts soldiers who had been released from POW camps by
the Japanese.[42][43] Others were combined units of Americans, military and civilian, who had never
surrendered or had escaped after surrendering, and Filipinos, Christians and Moros, who had initially
formed their own small units. Colonel Wendell Fertig organized such a group on Mindanao that not
only effectively resisted the Japanese, but formed a complete government that often operated in the
open throughout the island. Some guerrilla units would later be assisted by American
submarines which delivered supplies,[44] evacuate refugees and injured,[45] as well as inserted
individuals and whole units,[46] such as the 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion,[47] and Alamo Scouts.[47]
By the end of the war, some 277 separate guerrilla units, made up of some 260,715 individuals,
fought in the resistance movement.[48] Select units of the resistance would go on to be reorganized
and equipped as units of the Philippine Army and Constabulary.[49]

End of the occupation[edit]

Main article: Philippines campaign (1944–1945)

When General MacArthur returned to the Philippines with his army in late 1944, he was well-
supplied with information; it is said that by the time MacArthur returned, he knew what every
Japanese lieutenant ate for breakfast and where he had his haircut. But the return was not easy.
The Japanese Imperial General Staff decided to make the Philippines their final line of defense, and
to stop the American advance towards Japan. They sent every available soldier, airplane and naval
vessel to the defense of the Philippines. The kamikaze corps was created specifically to defend the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines. The Battle of Leyte Gulf ended in disaster for the Japanese
and was the biggest naval battle of World War II. The campaign to liberate the Philippines was the
bloodiest campaign of the Pacific War. Intelligence information gathered by the guerrillas averted a
disaster—they revealed the plans of Japanese General Yamashita to trap MacArthur's army, and
they led the liberating soldiers to the Japanese fortifications.[29]
MacArthur's Allied forces landed on the island of Leyte on 20 October 1944, accompanied
by Osmeña, who had succeeded to the commonwealth presidency upon the death of Quezon on 1
August 1944. Landings then followed on the island of Mindoro and around Lingayen Gulf on the west
side of Luzon, and the push toward Manila was initiated. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was
restored. Fighting was fierce, particularly in the mountains of northern Luzon, where Japanese
troops had retreated, and in Manila, where they put up a last-ditch resistance. The Philippine
Commonwealth troops and the recognized guerrilla fighter units rose up everywhere for the final
offensive.[50] Filipino guerrillas also played a large role during the liberation. One guerrilla unit came
to substitute for a regularly constituted American division, and other guerrilla forces
of battalion and regimental size supplemented the efforts of the U.S. Army units. Moreover, the
cooperative Filipino population eased the problems of supply, construction and civil administration
and furthermore eased the task of Allied forces in recapturing the country.[51][52]
Fighting continued until Japan's formal surrender on 2 September 1945. The Philippines had
suffered great loss of life and tremendous physical destruction by the time the war was over. An
estimated 527,000 Filipinos, both military and civilians, had been killed from all causes; of these
between 131,000 and 164,000 were killed in seventy-two war crime events.[53][2] According to a
United States analysis released years after the war, U.S. casualties were 10,380 dead and 36,550
wounded; Japanese dead were 255,795. Filipino deaths during the occupations, on the other hand,
are estimated to be more be around 527,000 (27,000 military dead, 141,000 massacred, 22,500
forced labor deaths and 336,500 deaths due war related famine).[2] The Philippine population
decreased continuously for the next five years due to the spread of diseases and the lack of basic
needs, far from the Filipino lifestyle prior to the war when the country had been the second richest in
Asia after Japan.[53]

Postcolonial Philippines and the Third Republic (1946–

1965)[edit]
Main article: History of the Philippines (1946–1965)

The return of the Americans in spring 1945 was welcomed by nearly all the Filipinos, in sharp
contrast to the situation in nearby Dutch East Indies. The collaborationist "Philippine Republic" set up
by the Japanese under Jose P. Laurel, was highly unpopular, and the extreme destructiveness of
the Japanese Army in Manila in its last days solidified Japan's image as a permanent target of hate.
The pre-war Commonwealth system was reestablished under Sergio Osmeña, who became
president in exile after President Quezon died in 1944. Osmeña was little-known and
his Nacionalista Party was no longer such a dominant force. Osmeña supporters challenged the
legitimacy of Manuel Roxas who had served as secretary to Laurel. MacArthur testified to Roxas'
patriotism and the collaborationist issue disappeared after Roxas was elected in 1946 on a platform
calling for closer ties with the United States; adherence to the new United Nations; national
reconstruction; relief for the masses; social justice for the working class; the maintenance of peace
and order; the preservation of individual rights and liberties of the citizenry; and honesty and
efficiency of government.[231] The United States Congress passed a series of programs to help
rehabilitation, including $2 billion over five years for war damages and rehabilitation, and a new tariff
law that provided for a 20-year transition from free trade to a low tariff with the United States.
Washington also demanded that Americans would have equal rights with Filipinos in business
activities, a special treatment that was resented. In 1947 the United States secured an agreement
that it would keep its major military and naval bases. On the whole the transition to independence,
achieved in 1946, was mostly peaceful and highly successful, despite the extreme difficulties caused
by massive war damages.[232] The special relationship with the United States remained the dominant
feature until sharp criticism arose in the 1960s.[233]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines