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Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Learning Module: Week 12
I. TITLE OF THE LESSON

Educational Institutions
II. INTRODUCTION OR THE OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON
One of the social institutions that influence the development of the minds of a human is through education. In
this module you will appreciate the interaction between education and the social system and understand how
education helps in reproducing social inequalities.
III. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1.identify what are the social functions of education is in society.

2.Promote primary education as a human right.

3.conduct participant observation (e.g., attend, describe, and reflect on a religious ritual of a different group; observe
elections practices)

IV. PRE-TEST

Direction: Write the complete names of the notable person that are related or associated
to the terminologies below.

Education

Religion
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V. DISCUSSION

Education
Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and beliefs. There are many competing ideas about education as
an institution. For some, it is viewed as a socializing process while others view education as a status competition. Finally,
education can also be seen as a system of legitimation, where it restructures entire populations, creating elites and
redefining the rights and duties of its members (Meyer 1977).

Educational institutions are created to give young people formal training in the skills that they will need later in life.
While the Ancient Greeks coined the word “school” to mean “leisure” in the cultivation of the mind and the propagation
of wisdom, pre-modern societies equate education with its holistic and non- fragmentary nature-learning as a life-long
and continuous process. (Santarita & Madrid, 2016).

As societies progress and become more complex, so does the schooling system: primary,secondary,tertiary, graduate,
post-graduate , or vocational training . Education equips people with knowledge and skills that will position each
member (niche-making) for a specific place in a society (Newman, 2012:30) In short, education functions as a
“systematic, formalized transmission of knowledge, skills, and values (Robertson,1987:576)

Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In this
sense, it is equivalent to what social scientists term socialization or enculturation. As societies grow more
complex, however, the quantity of knowledge to be passed on from one generation to the next becomes more
than any one person can know, and, hence, there must evolve more selective and efficient means of cultural
transmission. The outcome is formal education—the school and the specialist called the teacher.
( https://www.britannica.com/topic/education)
As society becomes ever more complex and schools become ever more institutionalized, educational
experience becomes less directly related to daily life, less a matter of showing and learning in the context of
the workaday world, and more abstracted from practice, more a matter of distilling, telling, and learning
things out of context. This concentration of learning in a formal atmosphere allows children to learn far more
of their culture than they are able to do by merely observing and imitating. As society gradually attaches more
and more importance to education, it also tries to formulate the overall objectives, content, organization, and
strategies of education. ( https://www.britannica.com/topic/education)

Primary Functions of Education

1. Develop a productive citizenry- Its through schools that individuals are politically socialized through a
curriculum designed by the state. Through education, people are taught to develop positive outlooks toward
concepts like liberty and democracy, as well as to view the government as an organization of authority
(Magstadt, 2013). For instance, civil society organizations in the Philippines, frequently affiliated to educated
and learned technocrats, non-government organizations, and business sectors are recognized for their
significant contributions in upholding democratic processes in the country’s politics and economy. (Santarita &
Madrid, p.93).
2. Promote self-actualization- Educators should aim to let students discover personal meaning and develop
their own perceptions about themselves and their environment (Kellough, 1968).

Education as a Basic Human Right

The importance attached by many societies to education is connected to the idea that it is basic human right,
which everyone in the planet is entitled. This is not, however, the case to some countries where children are
exposed to conflicts and wars; whereby instead of holding a pencil and paper to write, they pick guns to fight.
(Santarita & Madrid, p.94).
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that education is a fundamental human right for everyone.
Why is education a fundamental human right?
The right to education is a human right and indispensable for the exercise of other human rights.

 Quality education aims to ensure the development of a fully-rounded human being.

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  It is one of the most powerful tools in lifting socially excluded children and adults out of poverty and
into society. UNESCO data shows that if all adults completed secondary education, globally the number
of poor people could be reduced by more than half.
 It narrows the gender gap for girls and women. A UN study showed that each year of schooling reduces
the probability of infant mortality by 5 to 10 per cent.
 For this human right to work there must be equality of opportunity, universal access, and enforceable
and monitored quality standards.

What does the right to education entail?

 Primary education that is free, compulsory and universal

 Secondary education, including technical and vocational, that is generally available, accessible to all
and progressively free
 Higher education, accessible to all on the basis of individual capacity and progressively free
 Fundamental education for individuals who have not completed education
 Professional training opportunities
 Equal quality of education through minimum standards
 Quality teaching and supplies for teachers
 Adequate fellowship system and material condition for teaching staff
 Freedom of choice

Religion and Belief Systems

Religion. Giddens and Duneier (2013) cite Durkheim’s definition of religion as involving a set of symbols that invoke
feelings of reverence or awe, which are linked to rituals practiced by a community of believers.

Religion may be defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of
gods” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2014). The Latin word religio refers to “something done with overanxious or
scrupulous attention to detail” (Bowker 1997). This term may have probably been derived from the Latin verb religare
which means “to tie together, to bind fast.”

In its original sense, the word refers to expression of proper piety, that is, binding to god (Grassie 2010). Quite later,
religion was used to designate formal belief systems and tenets. The term was eventually applied to what we now call as
religion because of the manner in which people performed rituals during those days. While religion may be universal in
all stages of human history, it does not follow that all individuals are religious or even religious to some degree
(Parrinder 1971).

Functional Roles of Religion in Society

In general, however, religion plays functional roles in society. For its individual members, religion is a source of
an elderly model of the universe. It provides explanations of things and experiences that cannot be grasped by
human senses (e.g. death and suffering). With a more organized understanding of the world and the various
forces around it, people are able to move freely, more purposefully, and which less anxiety (Haviland, Prins,
Walrath, and McBride, 2008).
Secondly, religions provide their believers with sets of guidelines of what is right and what is wrong (moral
norms to live up by). Christians acknowledge the significance of the Ten Commandments as a Decalogue of
moral conduct. Similarly, Buddhist believers in Japan recognize the bushido as a code of ethics. Moreover,
religion also reminds individuals to reflect on their thoughts and behaviors, which is helpful to the
maintenance of social order as the individual keeps himself or herself in check (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and
McBride, 2008).
Table 1.1 enumerates the different kinds of belief systems or worldviews.
Kinds Description
Monism there is no real distinction between god and the universe
Polytheism the belief and worship of many gods
Monotheism the doctrine or belief in one supreme god
Atheism disbelief in or denial of the existence of a personal god
Agnosticism god cannot be known
Derived from http://www.newadvent.org/

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Theism, often used as a synonym to monotheism, is defined as “a belief in the existence of one god viewed as the
creative source of the human race and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world” (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary 2014). Monotheistic religions claim that there is only one God who could have designed and created the
universe or may have directed all events that led to the creation of everything. There is one supreme God who is both
personal and moral, and who seeks a total and unqualified response from humans (Hick 1990). Modern-day examples of
monotheistic religions include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. On the other hand, polytheistic religions that are
common among early people recognize many principal gods among whom no one is supreme. These include the ancient
religions of Egypt, Greece, and Rome wherein people worship a multitude of personal gods. (Jose & Ong 2016)

Meanwhile, monism asserts that there is no genuine distinction between God and the universe. Two implications arise
from this belief. Firstly, it contends that God is dwelling in the universe as part of it. Secondly, the universe does not
exist at all as a reality but only as a manifestation of God. Furthermore, while atheists deny the existence of God,
agnostics deny the possibility for man to acquire knowledge of the existence of God. (Jose & Ong 2016)

Religion as a Social Institution

In capsule, religion as a social institution is characterized by the following features:
1.Organized religion or processing a religious organization-Each religion has a set of moral codes which are
repetitively taught to its believers until they internalize and accept it as truth. These moral codes guide
people’s thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, such as guilt, shame, happiness, etc. There are four basic types of
religious organizations: ecclesia, church or denomination, sect, and cult.
2. Separation of Church and State- The right of a man to worship God in his own view is guaranteed by the Bill
of Rights under Article III, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines which states that:

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or
preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political
rights.
Simply, the Philippine state is not allowed to establish its national religion and it cannot interfere in the free
exercise of religious beliefs of its citizens. This principle is based on the idea that an individual is made up of
body and soul. The constitution acknowledges this spiritual orientation of man, mandating that the State
should not violate the religious belief of its citizens. Religious belief is part of an individual’s perception of his
well-being (Imbong).
3. Dualism to unity- Because of the idea that people were created with two natures, the body and the soul, it
was thought that the organization of society should be parallel to this dualism so that the needs of an
individual’s dual nature could be fulfilled by society (Lipson, 1997).
4. Uniformity of Tolerance- Whether people’s religious beliefs are relevant to citizenship and their allegiance
to the sovereign is an important issue that needs to be tackled. From the very beginning, it was evident that it
did matter to the sovereign what his or her people’s religious belief were. This is illustrated by the different
efforts the English monarchy exerted to achieve uniformity. However, after much blood had been spilt and
wars fought, England started to “safely permit its subjects to profess different religious beliefs- always
provided that this concession did not diminish their political allegiance (Lipson, 1997:154).

Sources:
 Santarita &Madrid. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics. Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc.
 Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride, 2008. Anthropology: The Human Challenge (12thed). USA: Thomson
Wadsworth.
 Magstadt, T.M. 2013. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, Issues (10thed). USA: Wasworth
Cengage Learning.
 Macionis, John (2012). Sociology, 14th Edition. Boston: Pearson
 http://www.newadvent.org/
 Bowker, John. World Religions. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1997

4|Page Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics // Module No. 12

  Grassie, William. The New Sciences of Religion: Exploring Spirituality from the Outside In and Bottom Up. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010
 What you need to know about the right to education. (2019, February 19). Retrieved October 02, 2020,
from https://en.unesco.org/news/what-you-need-know-about-right-education
 Mukerji, S., & Meyer, A. (2020, August 31). Education. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/education
 Parrinder, Geoffrey (ed.). World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present. New York:
 Facts on File, 1971.
 Jose, M.D., & Ong, J.A. (2016). Introduction to World Religion and Belief Systems .Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc.

NAME SECTION
DATE:
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VI. ASSESSMENT
Activity: Part 1
Direction: Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FLASE if it is not.

____________1. Economic institutions are created to give young people formal training in the skills that they will need
later in life.

____________2. The Philippine state is not allowed to establish its national religion and it cannot interfere in the free
exercise of religious beliefs of its citizens.

____________3. Quality education aims to ensure the development of a fully-rounded human being.

____________4. Education may be defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a
god or a group of gods”.

____________5. Religion can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a
society.
____________6. Religion was used to designate formal belief systems and tenets.

____________7. Each religion has a set of moral codes which are repetitively taught to its believers until they
internalize and accept it as truth.
____________8. Polytheistic religions claim that there is only one God who could have designed and created
the universe or may have directed all events that led to the creation of everything.
____________9. Religions provide their believers with sets of guidelines of what is right and what is wrong
(moral norms to live up by)
____________10. Monism asserts that there is no genuine distinction between God and the universe.

Activity: Part 2
Define the following terminologies.
1. Religion
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Education
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Activity: Part 3

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Essay: Is the Philippine educational system responsive to the needs of Filipino students? Explain and limit your
answers in to 5-7 sentences.

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