CLASSICAL PERIOD (400 BC-AD 200)

The great minds of Ancient Greece were concerned about raising children effectively. Infancy was "a
process of becoming human," and education targeted the refinement of "the baser elements of human
nature."

Athens

In ancient Athens, only (wealthy) boys went to schools to prepare for "life in the public sphere" (because
only men could be citizens); whereas girls' education, if any, was demoted to the private sphere, often at
home and often arbitrary and informal. Greek rhetorician Socrates's teaching, known by Greeks as
"paideia," which is a term derived from the Greek Word for child "pais" was not for female children,
even the wealthy ones (Lopez, 2019).

In the later fifth century BC, there was no gender segregation earlier in a child's life. Both daughters and
sons (of wealthy Athenian families) spent their early years at home, cared for by female relatives
(perhaps grandparents) or slaves. Six- or seven-year-old children begin training for their future
occupation, which was usually the same as their parents', and based on gender and social standing. Boys
would leave home for school where they received training "on the forming of citizens" and in subjects
such as grammar, music, and physical education. Note that schools in Athens were not state-funded or
organized; families sent and paid for their sons' education (Lopez, 2019).

Historians say that girls were taught literature, math, dancing, and gymnastics; but no documents could
be found regarding this, except for a few artworks that depict female students (Kye, 2011).

Sparta

Unlike Athens, Sparta's school (agoge) hada rigid system and was organized by the state. Spartan
education was aimed to produce and maintain a powerful army. Both Spartan boys and girls trained
together in athletics and competed against each other. At 7, male Spartans received military education
focused on survival. "They were beaten, taught to steal, and learned to withstand cold and hunger"
(Lopez, 2019). Girls went to school to become warriors. All Spartan girls were taught to wrestle, fist
fight, handle a weapon, and kill (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https://greece.mrdonn.orgleducation.html).

Plato (c. 428-348 BC)

Well-known Greek philosopher Plato may be the first to recognize the educational value of play and
advocate play as a teaching method. Play is where education should begin, suggests Socrates in Book Vil
of Plato's Republic: "Don’t use force in training the children in the studies, but rather play. In that way
you can better discern what each is naturally directed towards" (537a). This natural direction is thought
to be a child's future occupation and Plato viewed play as "rehearsaľ' 1or what they would become,
which psychology calls anticipatory socialization. For example, if a boy is to be a good farmer or a good
builder, he should play at building toy houses or at farming and be provided by his tutor with miniature
tools modeieu on real ones. One should see games asa means of directing children's tastes and
inclinations to the role they will fulfill as aduts" (Laws by Plato, Book 1; Alekso 2018).
The Platonic theory of education states that education is a means to achieve individual justice, when
"each individual develops his or her ability to the fullest" and social justice, when "all social classes in a
society, workers, warriors, and rulers, are in a harmonious relationship" (Lee, 1994). He therefore
scorned the idea that education is only for males.

The Father of ldealism in Philosophy believed that "all children were born with a defined amount of
knowledge, and that education served to remind them of this inherent understanding of the world, and
help them use it in their everyday lives." (Feeny, et al., 2010).

Plato's famous Academy may be considered as the first basic "school" where people gathered under the
trees to listen, discuss, and learn. Plato even recommended the establishment of nurseries in the
community where children would be taught the values to become good citizen’s in a productive society
with games, music, drama, and storytelling (Feeny, et al., 2010),

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BC)

Like his teacher Plato, Aristotle also recognized the importance of early childhood as the formative
period of human development. He believed that early education must develop the mind and body and
establish good habits (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https:/leducationalroots.weebly.com/aristotle.html). For Aristotle,

Socrates and Plato, education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body' and the aim of education
was two-fold: the attainment of knowledge and the attainment of happiness or goodness in life
(Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from http:// studylecturenotes.com/aristotle-theory-view-aim-curriculum-
method-of-education/).

Consistent with the traditional Athenian family-based early education, Aristotle believed that early
childhood education is the parents' responsibility. And even while further education is the state's
responsibility, parents are still responsible for the moral education of their children.

Learning gymnastics," music, and literature was important for Aristotle even at an early age. He believed
that gymnastics develops the spirit of sportsmanship and good habits "for the control of passions and
appetites," while music and literature are useful for moral and intellectual development (Retrieved on
May 30, 2020

Trom http://studylecturenotes.com/aristotle-theory-view-aim-curriculum-method-ot- education/).

Aristotle's student Alexander the Great would spread these teachings throughout his empire until its
collapse.

Quintilian (AD 35-95) empire, Quintilian observed that the years

An educator in the new Roman before the age of 7 are the formative years and were an impressionable
time period. From birth, everyone who has any type of contact w with the child impacts his or her
education; he or she learns from his or her family, nurses, slaves responsible for early training and
behavior called "paedagogi," and peers, through imitation rather unidation. Therefore parents must
carefully choose the tutors and nurses
l Chldren. He said that children vounger than 7 did not profit from traditional dvalOnal practices and
technigues. He was also an advocate for play.

QUintilian also believed that memory is in its most retentive state during

Giano0d, and that reading and writing ate a matter of memory (Russell, 2001), therefore, children must
beain to learn to read and write at an early age.

When a male child turns7. he must attend school where the teachers are also all males and have
"impeccable character." Quintilian promoteda small class size, a "fresh curriculum," and a multitude of
subjects to learn" (Russell, 2001).

THE MIDDLE AGES

Often considered the "Dark Ages," this period saw severe wars and plagues, religious persecution, and a
relative lack of learning (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from https://www.biographyonline.net/different-
periods-in-history/). At the beginning of this 1,000-year period after the fall of the Roman Empire,
illiteracy was common as books were scant. It waś only the monks in monasteries who conscientiously
reproduced written materials by hand. These same monks chose fortunate children, called "oblates," to
teach in local cathedral school or in the monastery. Many parents bring and leave their children to
monasteries or convents as a spiritual commitment-offering them to God. Boys were mentored to
become members of the clergy. Girls who were given to convents lived in seclusion (Retrieved on
May30, 2020 from https://www.medievalists.net/2018/11/childhood-middle-ages/). The monks did not
use physical punishment, rather, fostered in the children the love of learning and encouraged them to
sing, laugh, and play at the monastery. A sense of beauty and aesthetics was also developed in them as
the monks exposed them to manuscripts with bright colors. Both girls and boys received the same
education in grammar and the liberal arts, but they were taught separately.

Later on, the monks started going out of the monasteries and lived among the villagers, usually in poor
areas. They cared for and educated orphans and abandoned children.

Outside the monasteries, young children were trained to help out at home- "caring for animals and
siblings, fetching and carrying, cooking, and even helping out in the family business." Beating children to
correct their behavior was encouraged (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https://www.medievalists.net/2018/11/childhood- middle-ages).

Seven-year-old boys from wealthy and/or noble families were commonly sent away from home to be
trained in another household as knights or pages (attendant to a nobleman, knight, or governor of a
castle). They not only trained physically, but also learned to read and sometimes write in their native
tongue and in Latin. Als stayed home to learn to run the household.

Durng the Middle Ages, children were encouraged to play. Artifacts from this period included medieval
toys, such as "toy knights and horses, cooking pots and pans." Children were said to play "ball games,
stick games, sports, and even board games like backgammon and chess" (Orme, 2003).

RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION

A rebirth of culture, arts, science, and learning marked the late Middle Ages (1350s--1650s).Cities
became hubs not only for trade, but also for artistic expression.
With the invention of the Gutenberg press, literature was given more value, and with it, education of
both adults and children.

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

"Children are gifts from God," Thomas More believed. In his Utopia, more developed the view that
children must be trained well and raised not only by their parents, but also the State and the church. It is
the church's duty to provide the children with "an adequate supply of well-qualified teachers," a
problem in the early sixteenth century. He said that it is the State's moral responsibility to provide
adequate teacher training and the school system itself (Boyd, 1947). His version of the "Academy" was
his own household, which he turned into an educational experiment. The More household, described by
his friend Desiderius Erasmus, was where domestic virtues were taught instead of geometry and figures,
where all members find occupation and nobody is idle, where no harsh word is uttered, but discipline is
maintained by courtesy and kindness (Allen, 1906). These personal beliefs of More were practiced at his
"Academy," a place where he held laidback discussions with his wife, children, and friends about the arts
and literature, reliajon, and values. It is said that he himself taught his family "how to sing and play
musical instruments, how to read and discuss philosophical and theological issues in both Latin and
English, and occasionally in Greek" (Bindof, 1952).

Having daughters of his own, more advocated for the higher education of women, especially in the
classics and philosophy. He also promoted the use of the vernacular in teaching children and held that
education must have a strong moral element because moral ideas "are thoroughly absorbed in
childhood." And he believed that individuals will carry these morals throughout adulthood and will
greatly affect the safety of the State (Turner, 2003).

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Reading, particularly the Bible, was the primary role of education for Martin Luther. Education was
necessary for Christians to be able to personally read and understand the Bible, which has always been
retold to them verbally by religious authorities. Luther said that literacy y advances freedom and
independence. However, ne study of Scripture takes place both at home and in school.

In sixteenth century reformer was a staunch advocate of universal of puisory education-that education is
for both boys and girls-because every individual is valuable before God. During his time, schools are
reserved for the en and elite, and girls received little or no education at all. He recommended to urn
monasteries into schools. and even after his death, his followers worked to guarantee that every parish
had its own school.

For Luther, schools must educate the intellectual, religious, physical, emotional, and social aspects of
children, in partnership with the family and communities. Education, Luther said, is a community
endeavor (Harran, 2004).

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

Educated in a Latin school, which he called "the terror of boys and the slaughter- houses of minds;
places where a hatred of literature and books is contracted.., where what ought to be poured in gently is
violently forced in and beaten in" (Laurie, 1884), John Amos Comenius advocated for a
school.environment where "learning is a delight," knowledge js presented based on the child's readiness
and taught from simple to complex by level or grade, all subjects are integrated, the curriculum focuses
on key principles, teaching methods appeal to the whole person, and education uses the senses and the
child's native language.

His general theory of education is based on the idea that children learn at a natural pace and must be
taught from simple concepts to challenging theories.

Comenius even suggested school levels: nursery school up to the age of 6, vernacular school from ages 6
to 12, Latin school for ages 12 to 18, and university education. He was one of the first to recognize the
importance of educating very young children, evidenced in his text, for mothers, "The School of
Infancy."

He is also considered to be the first to publish a picture book for young children. Orbis Sensualium Pictus
(The Visible World in Pictures) was published in 1658 and contained 150 pictures showing daily
activities, such as tending gardens, baking bread, and brewing beer. For the phonetic system for reading,
there were pictures of animals and the sounds they make. Comenius' picture book had Biblical themes
and chapters on science, astronomy, music, and recreational activities. This very first picture book would
be translated into most European and several Oriental languages, and would become Europe's standard
textbook for 200 years- (Sadler, 2016 and McNamara, 2016).

Like Luther, Comenius advocated for education for all (Froebel Web, 2016) because all people were
equal before God, and that all individuals, rich, poor, male, or female, should be entitled to the same
education.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

During the Age of Reason or The Enlightenment (1650s-1780s), individualism and intellectual reason
grew tremendously. The worldview was that humans have the power to understand the universe and
improve their own condition (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https:I/www.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European- history). There were revolutionary
developments in art, philosophy, and politics, and a deliberate effort to limit the power of religious
authority. The goals of rational humanity at this age were knowledge, freedom, and happiness.

John Locke (1632-1704)

The Enlightenment produced the first modern nonreligious theories of ethics psychology. John Locke's
1689 "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" is said to have provided the philosophical toolkit for the
Enlightenment's major advances (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https://www.history.comtopics/british- history/enlightenment).

John Locke is known for his conception of the human mind as a blank slate, tabula rasa, at birth.
Children are born with an empty mind, and they acquire knowledge and build their character through
their individual experience. There were no innate qualities such as goodness or original sin (Retrieved on
May 30, 2020 from htps://www.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European-history).

Locke, therefore, believed in "nurture" over "nature," which cemented his ideas of early childhood care
and education. He said that parents must allow young children to explore their world physically without
restraint and use gentle forms of discipline. He emphasized that learning should be fun and not an
imposing task. He underscored the importance of respectful, loving relationships as the best way for
adults to inspire the child to behave well.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)"

..the history of child-centred educational theory is a series of footnotes to Rousseau,' points out Darling
(1994) in Child-Centred Education and its Critics. While Locke believed that at birth, a child is a blank
slate, French writer, philosopher, and social theorist Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that children are
born innately good and this original nature can be preserved by carefully controlling their education and
environment based on physical and psychological stages (Stewart & McCann, 1967). In his work Émile,
Rousseau divides development into five stages: infancy, the age of nature, preadolescence, puberty, and
adulthood.

During infancy (birth to 2), Rousseau said that children must be given "more real liberty and less power,
to let them do more for themselves and demand less of others" (Everyman edn: 35). During the age of
nature (2 to 12), children's education is focused on the development of physical qualities, particularly
the five senses, but not minds; no moral instruction and verbal learning (Everyman edn.: 57; Boyd: 41).

Rousseau advocated for child-centered education. He believed that children learn best by experiencing
and exploring their environment (Retrieved on May 30. 2020 from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau) by a process of autonomous discovery, as opposed to
having the teacher as a figure of authority and following a predetermined curriculum. A tutor teaches
the child, and this tutor does not tell the child what to do or think but leads him or her to draw his or her
own conclusions based from his or her own explorations (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from https://
infed.org/mobiljean-jacques-rousseau-on-nature-wholeness-and-education).

ROMANTIC PERIOD

In the late 1700s-1800s, a movement known as Romanticism flourished from the wealth, stability, and
sense of progress brought about by the Enlightenment.

Sometimes called "The Age of Revolution," it was a period of "liberating changes in the arts and
profound social and cultural changes that radically transformed everyday life." During this time,
childhood was idealized and there was a strong belief in children's innocence and wisdom (Retrieved on
May 30, 2020 from http:// coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSHWhitec/terms/R/Romanticism.htm).

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

Called the "Foster Father of Early Childhood Education," Pestalozzi educated no less than the founder of
Kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel. In his work How Gertrude Teaches Her Children (1801), Pestalozzi
described his vision of a school: homelike centers with teachers actively engaging students through
sensory experiences.

The most widely adopted element of Pestalozzianism was "object teaching," where children were
guided by teachers in examining the form (shape) and number (quantity and weight) of objects, and
naming these objects after direct experience with them.
Criticizing conventional schooling and prescribing educational reforms that corporal punishment, rote
memorization, and bookishness, Pestalozzi envisioned schools to educate individuals intellectually,
morally, and physically. To learn successfully, children need an emotionally secure environment and
instruction must follow the generalized process of human conceptualization. Highlighting sensory
learning, Pestalozzi used the Anschauung principle, which involved forming clear concepts from sense
impressions. Children examined minerals, plants, animals, and human-made artifacts in their
environment. Teachers followed Pestalozzi's intricate series of graded object lessons and a sequence of
instruction that moved from the simple to the complex, the easy to the difficult, and the concrete to the
abstract (Gutek, 1999).

Robert Owen (1771-1858)

Robert Owen is credited 'with the creation of the first workplace-based early childhood care program.
His New Institution for the Formation of Character included an infant school for children from the age of
18 months to 2 years old (though children often stayed until they were 10). Upon its establishment in
1816, 80 children enrolled in the infant school, which had both a male and a female teacher who were
trained to never beat or threaten the children in any manner, and to not use formal instruction, rather,
to teach "the uses and nature of qualities of the common things around them by familiar conversation,
when the children's curiosity was excited so as to induce them to ask questions respecting them" (Rusk,
1933).

Respect and kindness were values that Owen emphasized. He believed children would flourish if the
adults model respect and kindness as they nurture, raise, and educate children. The children were also
encouraged to always be kind to and respect others.

In the school, children enjoyed the outdoors, with a playground and a garden for growing plants which is
important in the curriculum. Owen promoted interaction with the environment for children's health and
well-being. The outdoor setting also provided challenges, sparked curiosity, and enabled children to
interact with others.

The children investigated natural materials and objects using their senses; they were tree to move
between the indoors and outdoors, and play was dominant in their day. There were physical activities,
singing, and dancing (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
htps:/www.earlyyearseducator.co.uk/teatures/article/pioneers-robert- owen-and-friedrich-froebel).

Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)

Kindergarten has become synonymous with early childhood education, and we have Friedrich Froebel to
thank for creating these "children's garden' in Germany in 1837, which spread throughout Europe and
America in the 1850s and 1860s, and soon became an international movement. Froebel was the pioneer
of the unique approach of providing children with real and meaningful experiences so they would be
aware of themselves and the world around them.

Froebel said that these experiences must be play-based, free play being a serious and deeply significant
activity for children (Bruce, 1997). Play is voluntary and self-initiațed, and Froebel opposed pressuring
children into producing particular outcomes or developing certain skills when they play. His emphasis on
play conflicted with the traditional view of the nineteenth century that play is a form of idleness and
disorder.

Another important, aspect of Froebel's Kindergarten are the adults who interact with children. Teachers
must be properly trained in talking with children, in participating in their play and activities, and in
supporting their mental, spiritual, and emotional development (Liebschner, 1985, cited in Bruce, 1991).
Parents must be involved with their children in play. Both teachers and parents will understand the
children's interests and learning by playing with them, rather than directing their play.

Froebel also believed that children pass through developmental stages and teachers must observe and
respond appropriately to the individual child's level. Children need time to experience their. current
stage and not "prematurely moved forward to the next stage." The starting point in a child's education is
what he or she can do, rather than what he or she cannot do. Froebel developed play objects that he
called "gifts" and materials for practice called "occupations" (Retrieved on May 30, 2020 from
https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1999/Froebel- Friedrich-1782-1852.html).

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

The first female doctor in Italy was an adherent of Froebelian tradition. Like Froebel, Maria Montessori
believed in the value of play in teaching children, in stages of development, and in the use of
developmentally appropriate materials. She first worked with children with mental disabilities at the
Orthophrenic School in 1900, where she employed the methods that she learned from French physicians
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard who was known for his work with the deaf-mutes, and Edouard Séguin who
worked with cognitively impaired children in France and the United States. Montessori trained these
children to do physical, activities and use their senses in exploring and experiencing the sights, smells,
and tactile experiences of the world around them. Montessori was the pioneer of letters in tactile form
(Kramer, 1976). From these activities, Montessori developed her sensorial materials (Lillard, 1996).

"Casa dei Bambini" or The Children's House was Montessori's first school. It was in a residential building
in Rome and was meant for urban poor children. In the Children's House, the children's education,
health, and physical and moral development are attended to. As she observed these underprivileged
children of illiterate parents, she found out that they are able to learn effortlessly when given the
freedom to act in an environment prepared to meet their needs (Montessori, 1938). The school had
child-sized equipment, practical life activities, and sensorial materials developed by Montessori herself.
Children freely chose and carried out their own activities at their own pace. Montessori observed the
children's extraordinary concentration, their spontaneous repetition of chosen activities, and their
tendency to order their own environment. Montessori further refined the materials she offered to them.

Maria Montessori developed the method named after her which centered on the natural development
of children in prepared environments. A Montessori classroom has mixed-age groupings in periods of
three years to promote spontaneous

Cooperation, respect, and peer teaching; scientifically designed didactic materials that are aesthetic and
self-correcting; an integrated curriculum; and adults who observe, guide, help, and stimulate the
children (Montessori, 1912).
PRECOLONIAL PERIOD

There were no formal educational system nor schools during this period. Children received merely
vocational training with their parents, tribal tutors, or people with specialized roles in the community
like the babaylan (Philippine shamans).

Oral tradition was the means of passing on the community's stories, songs, poems, dances, and others
from generation to generation. Our ancestors used a writing system called baybayin (Francia, 2010).

SPANISH OCCUPATION

The Spaniards brought formal education to the Philippines, though primary education would come later
in the period. In fact. Spanish missionaries' first order of business immediately after arriving at our
shores was to establish schools. Religious orders, such as the Augustinians, Franciscans, Jessuits, and
Dominicans taught the locals Christianity, the Spanish language, and the Spanish culture (Estioko, 1994).

The Spanish introduced printing presses and printed books in Spanish and Tagalog, sometimes using
baybayin (Woods, 2006).

Studying before Grade 1 was not yet organized. Educated adults in the Community served as preschool
teachers, teaching children the cartilla (primer/ leaflet with prayers and the alphabet) for three to six
months. Cartilla schooling was not a requirement for Grade 1, but it eased a child's entry into formal
education, Formal education started in first grade with students mostly from "bourgeois" families or the
illustrados. Education was mostly religious and used the cartilla and Pagina de la Infancia.

In 1863, the government started providing free public education, with the Educational Decree of 1863.
Under the responsibility of the municipal government, at least one primary school for boys and one for
girls must be established in each town. Primary education was free and available to every Filipino,
regardless of race or social class.

AMERICAN PERIOD

The United States highly valued education as a means of spreading to the Filipinos the American culture,
values, and especially the English language (Kamow, 1990).

From 7 years old, every child was required to register in a school located in their own town or province.
The students received free school materials. The levels of education were elementary (four primary
years and three intermediate years), secondary or high school (four years), and college or tertiary.
Unlike during the Spanish period, religion was not part of the curriculum. Elementary and high schools
were recycled from the Spanish period and new schools were also opened, even in remote areas.

In 1901,Act No. 74 ratified the establishment of a highly centralized, experimental public school system.
The enrollment figures were huge and the teachers were not enough, so the Secretary of Public
Instruction under the authorization of the Philippine Commission brought from the United States 1,000
teachers, called the Thomasites, in 1901 to 1902. The Thomasites were dispersed throughout the islands
to put up schools in the barangays. The same act established the Philippine Normal School now the
Philippine Normal University) to train aspiring Filipino teachers (Retrieved June 15, 2020 from
httpllcountrystudies.us/Philippines/53.htm).

The pioneer of preschool education in the Philippines was Harris Memorial School Manila (now Harris
Memorial College), the first school to open a kindergarten in 1924 (Retrieved on June 15, 2020 from
www.entranceuniversity.com/city/harris- memorial-college/). The kindęrgarten movement grew
particularly among Catholic and Protestant schools; it also sparked an interest among civic groups to
help children. In 1935, the National Federation of Women's Club (NFWC) opened the first nursery
school, which would only get government recognition after 16 years.

In 1940, The Bureau of Private Schools listed 129 kindergarten classes with a total enrollment of 6,449.

JAPANESE PERIOD AND POSTWAR

The Second World War unsettled education in the Philippines, so much so that almost all schools closed.
On February 17, 1942, the Japanese Military Administration's Order No. 2 was set forth, with Japan's
educational policies laid out. The Commission of Education, Health and Public Welfare was established
and schools reopened in June 1942.

The Ministry of Education was created on October 14, 1943, and schools reserved the teaching of
Tagalog, Philippine history, and character education for Filipinos. The schools' emphasis was love for
work and dignity of labor. After the war, there was a revival in preschool education, starting with the
opening of 61 schools out of the 129 government-recognized kindergartens. Private individuals also
started to put up preschools and the NFWC managed its nursery classes in Sampaloc and in Tondo,
Manila. Soon, the NFWO will expand to 251 classes located mostly in Manila.

In 1948, the first recognized course in kindergarten education was offered in the Philippines by Harris
Memorial School. It obtained government recognition to confer the degree of Junior Teacher's
Certificate to graduates of Kindergarten Education. Other colleges and universities followed suit, offering
special training on early childhood education, under Bachelor of Science programs in Education or in

Home Economics.

Ever since, preschool education in the country has always associated with the Bureau of Private Schools.
But in the 1950s, the Superintendent of Teacher Education in the Bureau of Public Schools, Dr. Miguela
M. Solis, pushed for government-run preschools, starting in Pangasinan Normal School followed by
Zamboanga Normal School. Dr. Solis would be the director of the National Coordinating Center for the
Study and Development of Filipino Children and Youth (NCCSDFCY) in 1945, and a year later, she would
open the Children's Village to accept kindergarten-aged children.

The Assistant City Health Officer of the Manila Health Department Dr. Demetrio

Belmonte, introduced modern 'play centers" in Manila in 1956, inspired by his trips in Europe and the Us
where he observed modern and scientific preschools. Dr. Evangeline G. Suva, who was a returning
grantee on programming preschool play centers, and Mrs. Isabel Santos, a social worker of the Ladies'
Association, put up the first modern fully-equipped play centers at the Kapitan Isidro Mendoza

Health Center. Civic organizations, such as the Young Ladies Association of Charity. The Rural
Improvement Clubs, and The Philippine Women's Medical Association supported the program.
The Department of Social Welfare included nursery and kindergarten education in its program for
children in the mid-1960s.

THIRD TO FIFTH REPUBLIC

The United States relinquished its authority over the Philippines in 1947, and education saw dynamic
changes through the years that followed (mostly reflected through laws and discussed in the unit on the
Legal Foundations of Early Childhood Education in the Philippines).

The Department of Education

Today's Department of Education (DepEd) has evolved through the years-in name, structure, mandate,
programs, and others. A table showing its history is taken from the official website of the Department of
Education (Retrieved on May June 15, 2020 from https://www.deped.gov.ph/about-deped/history/).

The ECCD Council

In 2009, EO 778 established the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Councij for the 0-6 year-
old children. Republic Act 10410, or the Early Years Act of 2013, mandated the council to act as the
primary agency supporting the government's ECCD programs that covers health, nutrition, early
education, and social services for children ages 0-4 years (age 5 was put under DepEd in the K to 12
education system). It develops policies and programs, provides technical assistance and Support to ECCD
service providers, and monitors ECCD service benefits and outcomes.

The ECCD Council's vision by 2030 is to fully implement a comprehensive, integrative, and sustainable
national system for Early Childhood Care and Development throughout the country (Retrieved on June
15, 2020 from https:// eccdcouncil.gov.ph/about.html).

K to 12 Basic Education

A landmark in education is the implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education pushed by then-Senator

Benigno Aquino IIl in 2010. The K to 12 is seen to give everyone an equal chance to suCceed" and "have
quality education and profitable jobs" (Senate of the Philippines, 2016). When he became the president.
Aquino government formally adopted the K to 12 (or K-64-2) basic education system in school year
2011-2012. Students go through one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years
school, and two years of senior high school. Kindergarten was made compulsory. of junior high