History of Preschool Education in Philippines
SPANISH REGIME Started formally in grade one with Christian
Doctrine Predominantly religious utilized certain textbooks as
cartilla and pagina de la Infancia ( contains alphabet and prayers)
Young Filipinos mostly coming from the bourgeois illustrado
classPre-schooling was unorganized The more educated adults in the
community became lawful preschool teachers Usually handled on one
to one basis and lasting for no less than 30 minutes per session
(Estolaz & Nunez,1974)
The regular schooling in the cartilla lasted for 3 to 6 months
depending upon the childs capacity to learn This particular
schooling facilitated the entry of the child into grade one
although it was not necessarily a requirementIn 1924, the opening
of kindergarten education at Harris Memorial School Manila ( Harris
Memorial College) pioneered preschool education Under directorship
of Miss Mary A. Evans INITIAL ATTEMPTS
A class was established by Mrs. Brigida Fernando after her
training at Columbia University Teachers CollegeInterest in
kindergarten movement was picked up by other private schools and
grew succeedingly well among the religious schools both Catholic
and Protestant Similar interest motivated civic groups to help
childrenIn 1935 The NATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMENS CLUB( NFWC)
became the forerunner of nursery education The process of getting
government recognition didnt come after 16 years.
. In 1940, The Bureau of Private Schools had authorized 129
kindergarten classes getting an enrolment of 6,449. The World War
II disrupted the growth of the program to the point of closing
almost all schools.
The year immediately ensuing liberation had demonstrated a
renewed interest in preschool education Out 129 government
recognized kindergarten schools in 1940, a total of 61 schools with
3,172 enrolment started in operation in 1945-1946 POSTWAR
INTERESTSPrivate individuals had shortly joined this bold start The
NFWC continued to have its nursery classes one in Sampaloc and in
Tondo Manila
In 1948, HARRIS MEMORIAL SCHOOL initiated another big step by
obtaining a government recognition to confer the degree of JUNIOR
TEACHERS CERTIFICATE to Graduate in kindergarten educationThis was
the first recognized course in kindergarten education offered in
the Philippines Other colleges and universities attempt to
emphasize kindergarten teaching by giving special training on the
area, either part and parcel of B.S in Education or in Home
Economics
Preschool education in the country has almost remained to be
associated with Bureau of Private Schools, specially with the
religious groups.1950s through the effort of Dr. Miguela M. Solis,
then the Superintendent of Teacher education in Bureau of Public
Schools, preschool education started in the government regional
training schools Pangasinan Normal School was the first to take
advantage BREAKTHROUGH IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Followed by Zamboanga Normal School In 1964, a year after
establishment of National Coordinating Center for the Study and
Development of Filipino Children and Youth ( NCCSDFCY) which Dr.
Solis was the director, the Childrens Village was opened to admit
kindergarten children, marking another milestone in the public
sector.The growth of Philippine preschool education had been so
slow when this is compared to those of the other countries Though
slow, the regular yearly increment in kindergarten enrolment in
both private and public schools had increased EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION: A JOINT CONCERN
The major portion of preschool children were consistently in the
private schools with its yearly increase remaining constant Until
that there are too many children for every teacher. Sending
pre-school aged children to private kindergarten is expensive The
need for nursery schools that could cater to the lower income
families was then feltA number of national offices and civic
organizations have responded to the need to extend appropriate
education The NFWC who has started only with two schools has
expanded to 251 classes mostly located in the less chance areas
like Tondo, Sampaloc, Paco and others
In 1956, the Manila Health Department introduced the concept of
modern preschool play centers in Manila It was Dr, Demetrio
Belmonte the assistant city health officer who had a trip from
different countries like Europe and USA and observed the operation
of modern and scientific preschool
With the assistance of Dr. Evangeline G. Suva, returning grantee
on programming preschool play centers and Mrs.Isabel Santos, a
social worker of the Ladies Association worked hand in hand to put
up the first modern fully equipped play centers at the KAPITAN
ISIDRO MENDOZA HEALTH CENTER
Meanwhile various civic organization have similarly taken bold
steps in support of the program. Some of them are Young Ladies
Association of Charity, The Rural Improvement Clubs, The Philippine
Womens Medical Association In mid 1960s the Department of Social
Welfare had started the inclusion of nursery and kindergarten
education in its program.
1970s to 1980s The governments intensified interest in the
welfare of the Filipino child resulted in the signing of P.D 603 PD
603- known as CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE in 1974 1979- UNESCO(
United nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization)
declared as the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE CHILD
1977 to 1987 The Philippines declared DECADE OF THE FILIPINO
CHILD This marked the increased of number of preschool children and
also the establishments both in private and public schools
1978 to 1989- DECS encouraged the operation of preschools in
public elementary schools with MEC Order No. 24 s 1978 and DECS
Order No. 107, s.1989 ( Soliven et.al,1997) 1993 to 1994- There
were 1,892 DECS- recognizes and registered private schools in the
country with 416,894 enrolled preschoolers
1995 to 2000- Three reform programs were initiated in response
to the need of rising numbers of preschoolers: EDUCATION FOR ALL
CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION ON EDUCATION Implementation of LOCAL
GOVERNMENT CODE
1. THE HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES EDUCATION 2. CAN ANYONE GIVE
ME A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PHILIPPINES EDUCATION ?
QUESTION 3. PRE-HISPANIC The education of Pre-Hispanic Filipinos
was fit for the needs of their times. There was no formal
schooling. Parents trained their children informally . Mothers
educated their female children in housekeeping, weaving,
basket-making and other agriculture-related activities. Fathers
trained their male children in hunting, carpentry, agriculture,
shipbuilding and mining. Skills taught would vary on their
industries and locations, i.e., whether highland, lowlands or along
seashores. Education was oral, practical and hands-on 4. ALIBATA
Alibata is an ancient writing system that was used in what is now
the Philippines. Although it was all but extinguished by Western
colonization,variants of it are still used in parts of Mindoro and
Palawan, and it is also increasingly used by Filipino youth as a
way to express their identity. 5. While controlled by colonial rule
for several years, once the Philippines gained their independence
they took over control of the educational system and began to move
it in their own direction. Children in the Philippines are educated
in the primary and secondary school systems for about thirteen to
fourteen years, depending on when they start, after which they
complete the College Entrance Examinations, that allow them to
qualify for one of the many institutions of higher learning. There
are both private and public schools in the Philippines, and on the
whole the education provided by the private schools is much more
comprehensive than that provided by the public school system. In
fact, the Philippines was home to the first modern public schooling
system in Asia. It is also home to the oldest universities,
colleges, and vocational schools. Education has been a priority in
the Philippines for decades, and this is evidenced in the fact that
many of the advancements in education in Asia have been pioneered
in the Philippines. 6. During the Pre-Spanish period, education was
still decentralized. Children were provided more vocational
training but lesser academics, which were headed by their parents
or by their tribal tutors. They used a unique system of writing
known as the baybayin. Pre-Spanish Period BAYBAYIN The term Baybay
literally means "to spell in Tagalog. It also known as the alibata,
were in it is the ancient writing system that was used before by
the Filipinos. 7. The pre-Spanish system of education underwent
major changes during the Spanish colonization The tribal tutors
were replaced by the Spanish Missionaries TRIBAL TUTORSTRIBAL
TUTORS Education was informal and unstructured . Children were
provided with vocational training and less academics by parents and
houses of tribal tutors SPANISH MISSIONARIESSPANISH MISSIONARIES
education was religion-centered education for the elite only
Spanish is compulsory Boys and girls school are separated
Inadequate, suppressed and controlled 8. SPANISH When the Spanish
first arrived in the Philippines, education of the indigenous
people was mainly viewed as the duty of religious organizations.
Parish friars put forth great effort to teach the indigenous people
to read believing that literacy was the key to better lifestyles.
EDUCATION DURING THE SPANISH REGIME 9. EDUCATION DURING THE SPANISH
REGIME The Friars establish parochial schools linked with Churches
to teach catechism to the natives. Education was manage,
supervised, and controlled By the friars. Spanish education played
a major role in that transformation. The oldest universities,
colleges, vocational schools and the first modern public education
system in Asia were created during the colonial period The focus of
education during the Spanish Colonization of the Philippines was
mainly religious education. The Catholic doctrine schools that were
set up initially became parochial schools which taught reading and
writing along with catechism 10. The Spanish missionaries
established schools immediately after reaching the islands. The
Augustinians opened a school in Cebu in 1565. The Franciscans, in
1577, immediately took to the task of teaching improving literacy,
aside from the teaching of new industrial and agricultural
techniques. Jesuits followed in 1581 The Dominicans in 1587, which
they started a school in their first mission at Bataan. 11. In
1863, an educational decree mandated the establishment of free
primary schools in each town, one for boys and one for girls, with
the precise number of schools depending on the size of the
population. There were 3 grades: entrada, acenso, and termino. The
curriculum required the study of Christian doctrine, values and
history as well as reading and writing in Spanish, mathematics,
agriculture, etiquette, singing, world geography, and Spanish
history. Girls were also taught sewing. The decree also provided
for a normal school run by the Jesuits to educate male teachers in
Manila. Normal schools for women teachers were not established
until 1875, in Nueva Caceres. Despite the Decree of 1863, basic
education in the Philippines remained inadequate for the rest of
the Spanish period. Often, there were not enough schools built.
Teachers tended to use corporal punishment. 12. After the Spanish
colonial government was overthrown, the schools established during
the Spanish era were closed down for a time by Emilio Aguinaldos
government. The Malolos Constitution made elementary education
compulsory and provided for free schooling. The Universidad
Literaria de Filipinas, which provided courses in law, medicine,
surgery, pharmacy, and notarianship, was established by Aguinaldo
on 19 October 1898. He also set up the Military Academy of Malolos
and decreed that all diplomas awarded by UST after 1898 be
considered null and void. The curricula of schools were not much
different from those under Spanish domination. While Tagalogwas
established as the national language by the Constitution of
Biak-na-Bato, reading, writing and literary studies in Spanish were
still given emphasis. 13. QUESTION WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR US TO GO
BACK AND RECALL AND THE PAST EDUCATION OF THE PHILIPPINES ? It give
us not only a glimpse of the past but also what we could learn from
it. History of Education will help you to understand how the past
events shaped the present education systems, theories and related
phenomenon in the area of teacher education in particular and
education in general. Secondly, it will enable you to appreciate
the importance of education to mankind since time immemorial across
the generations. 14. WHAT COULD BE THE BENEFITS THAT US FUTURE
TEACHER THAT MAY HAVE AFTER STUDYING THE HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES
? QUESTION 15. 1. The study of history of education helps teachers
in training to appreciate the various aspects of their past
educational process so as to link them to the present; 2. It
enables teachers in training to know what type of education we had
and the purpose it served in the past; 3. It gives teachers in
training the opportunity of knowing our past mistakes in our
education with the view to making necessary amends; 4. History of
education gives teachers in training the opportunity of studying
other peoples educational ideas and programmes with the aim of
developing ours; 5. It also gives teachers in training a solid
foundation to plan for our present and future educational
development; 6. History of education guides teachers in training to
proffer some positive solution to our present day educational
problems 7. It helps teachers in training to understand some major
trends and developments in our educational system; 8. It helps
teachers in training to formulate and implement better philosophies
of education; 9. History of education is a good academic exercise
to improve teachers in training knowledge; 10.It widens the scope
and knowledge of the teacher and makes him more comfortable and
competent in his class 16. PREPARED BY: LOREIN MAY F. PABILONA
BTTE-ADT IV-D
