UCSP - EDUCATION
Education cultivates a country’s economy and society; therefore, it is
the milestone of a nation’s progress. Education provides knowledge
and skills to the population, as well as shaping the personality of the
youth of a nation. Nevertheless, can education really shape the
nation’s advancement? What can it do and what is its role in the
society?
Education is the most crucial aspect of society. Why? It is for the
reason that when it given great attention it will become the powerful
tool to make every individual the catalyst of change, a change than
can make the society progressive and functional. Society and every
individual should work hand in hand so that no one would be set
aside and become outdated knowing that we are now living in a highly
modernized society. In order to achieve that, everyone should be
aware on the functions of education in the society.
In the previous lesson, you were able to explain the forms and functions
of state and non-state institution wherein in gives a leeway in
providing our society the necessary needs and support to be able to
cope with this vast changing world that we are living. It also employs
how state and non-state institutions are put to work to further human
security, state and non-state institutions help people cope with and
reduce the multiple insecurities in our lives.
In this module, you are going also to look into how education
functions in our society, thus, after going through this module you are
expected to examine the functions and importance of education in the
society.
Specific learning Objectives:
1. define education;
2. trace and describe the educational system of the
Philippines;
3. give the functions and importance of education in the
society; and
4. evaluate how education functions and affects
society.
Definition of Education
Education is the social institution through which society provides its
members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills,
and cultural norms and values (Macionis, 2012). Education is the
acquisition of knowledge, habits, skills, and abilities through
instruction and training or through self-activity. It is systematic
training of the moral and intellectual faculties of the mind. It is the
process of transmitting to the young, the vital cultural heritage of a
group.
Education in the Philippines
Education in the Philippines is managed and regulated by the
Department of Education, commonly referred to as the DepEd. It
controls the Philippine educational system, including the creation and
implementation of the curriculum and the utilization of funds
allotted by the national government. It also manages the
construction of schools, acquisition of books and other school
materials, and the recruitment of teachers and staff.
Before the Philippines attained independence in 1946, the country’s
education system was patterned after the educational systems of
Spain and the United States. The Philippines, with exemption to other
parts of the country, were under Spanish rule for more than three
hundred years while the Americans stayed for twenty two years.
Spanish and the United States brought educational practices, which
reflected their culture and ideologies. During the Spanish time, the
function of education was inculcated moral and religious values.
Religion was the core curriculum, and the schools were used to spread
Christianity. It mainly served the upper classes; thus, education
symbolized “social standing and prestige.” The educated class
consisted mostly of ilustrados. When the Americans came, education
was focused on the development of new social patterns that would
prepare the nation for a self-governing democracy. Public institution
was institutionalized to give every person the education needed to
participate in a self- governing democracy. The medium of instruction
was English. However, after independence, the country’s educational
system changed radically.
Today, the government of the Philippines has been very active in
tapping the educational system for the country’s development efforts.
With the adaptation of the K to 12 programs, it is hoped that Philippine
Educational System is now responding to the demands of the economy
for national development.
Types of Education
In general, there are three types of education, these are:
1. Formal education
This refers to the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded
educational system from primary school to the university, including
programs and institutions for full time technical and vocational
training. At the end of each level, the learners must obtain certification
in order to enter or advance to the next level. Formal education shall
correspond to the following levels in basic education:
a. Elementary Education
Elementary education involves compulsory, formal education primarily
concerned with providing basic education, and usually corresponds to a
traditional six grades or seven grades, and in addition, to preschool
programs. Such preschool education normally consists of kindergarten
schooling but may cover other preparatory courses as well.
At the basic education level, the Department of Education
(DepEd) sets overall educational standards and mandates
standardized tests for the K to 12 basic education system, although
private schools are generally free to determine their own curriculum in
accordance with existing laws and Department regulations.
b. Secondary Education
Secondary education, public schools and private schools, is concerned
primarily with continuing basic education of the elementary level and
expanding it to include the learning of employable, gainful skills,
usually corresponding to four years of junior high school and two
years of senior high school.
c. Tertiary Education
Institutions of higher education may be classified as either public or
private college or university, and public institutions of higher
education may further be subdivided into two types: state universities
and colleges and local colleges and universities.
Most institutions of higher learning are regulated by the Commission of
Higher Education (CHED). Colleges typically offer 1 or more specialized
programs while universities must offer at least 8 or more different
undergraduate degree programs in a wide array of subjects and at
least 2 or more graduate programs.
Public universities are all non-sectarian and offer a wide-range of
programs, with English as medium of instruction. Public universities
are government funded, with the largest, the University of the
Philippines, receiving a substantial amount from the annual budget.
There are also several private tertiary institutions, sectarian or non-
sectarian as well as for profit or not-for-profit.
2. Non-formal education
It refers to any organized educational activity outside the established
formal system to provide selected types of learning to a segment of the
population.
As a concept, non-formal education emerged in response to the world
crisis in education identified by Philip H. Coombs in 1967, who
argued that the formal education system have failed to address the
changing dynamics of the environment and the societies. The skills
that are needed to foster economic development are lacking due to
untrained labor force that is not able to access formal education.
Non-formal education enables a student to learn skills and
knowledge through structured learning experiences. A student
learns his/her values, principles, and beliefs and undergoes lifelong
learning.
Example: Vocational Education
Accredited private institutions offer technical and vocational education.
Programs offered vary in duration from a few weeks to two years. On
completion students may take centrally-administered examinations to
obtain their diploma or certificate.
Vocational colleges do not usually require an entrance examination.
Only a record of high school educational and an enrolment fee are
required.
3. Informal education
It is a lifelong process whereby every individual acquires from daily
experiences, attitudes, values, facts, skills, and knowledge or motor
skill from resources in his or her higher environment.
It offers alternative learning opportunities for the out of school
youth and adults specifically those who are 15 years old and above and
unable to avail themselves of the educational services and programs of
formal education. It reaches out to citizens of varied interests,
demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic origins and status. Its
primary objective is to provide literacy programs to eradicate illiteracy.
*Special Education
Special Education refers to the education of persons who are physically,
mentally, emotionally, socially, or culturally different from so- called
“normal” individuals, such that they require modification of school
practices to develop their potential. Special education provides distinct
services, curricula, and instructional materials geared to pupils or
students who are significantly higher or lower than the average or
norm.
SPED aims to develop the maximums potential of the child with the
special needs to enable him/her to become self-reliant and take
advantage of the opportunities for a full and happy life.
Functions of Education in the Society
As British sociologist Herbert Spencer explains, functions are
important to be performed as they make the society whole. If each
function is working well, society attains progress. He lays down the
functions of education as follows:
1. Productive Citizenry
Education systems enable citizens to be productive members of a
society, as they are equipped with knowledge and skills that could
contribute to the development of their society’s systems and
institutions. This highlights the importance of formal and non-formal
education in the development of oneself and the society.
Consequentially, it is crucial for educational systems to adapt to the
changing demands of the environment to efficiently capacitate
individuals.
Being a productive citizen requires critical thinking. One must have the
ability to understand his or her duties and be able to respond to
them by making decisions. Through education, individuals
are introduced to concepts concerning democracy, power, inequality,
and the like. This promotes greater awareness in his or her society.
It encourages vigilance and participation. Educational attainment
does not only contribute to the individual’s success but also to the
betterment of his or her environment.
2. Self-actualization
Education develops one’s sense of self. As a huge part of the discovery
process of oneself, education encourages having the vision to
become self-actualized. Moreover, it enables one to see your
strengths and maintain them. It enables one to determine weakness
and adjust to them. This helps one reach full potential and establish
oneself as a whole.
According to Abraham Maslow, self-actualization is the highest form
of human need. It was defined as “to become more and more what
one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”
The concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is once that level is
fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on.
Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
1. Physiological needs - these are biological
requirements for human survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter,
clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. If these needs are not satisfied the
human body cannot function optimally.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements,
security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs -the need for
interpersonal relationships motivates behaviour Examples include
friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving
affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends,
work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into
two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery,
and independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from
others (e.g., status, prestige). Maslow indicated that the need for
respect or reputation is
most important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-
esteem or dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs - realizing
personal potential, self-
fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
However, through education, humans are empowered to experience
and learn their true capacities that lead to self-actualization. Humans
also tend to find boundless enthusiasm in learning outside the
classroom, which is basically through experience. With this, it
becomes easier for them to socialize, to identify a career path, to
create self-identity, and the like. They will tend to have the ability to
analyze, evaluate, and decide on their own.
To others, education takes place both in and outside schools. It
functions to preserve and transmit the culture. It is, as Durkheim
wrote: “the means by which society perpetually recreates the
conditions of its very existence.” Defined in the most general sense,
education can occur anywhere, in any setting, through any experience.
Thus broadly conceived, education has the same meaning as
socialization, the internalization of culture, and learning human
behavior.
Whether it takes place in or outside of the school system, education
is of two kinds, formal and informal. Formal education is imparted
by direct instruction. Informal education comes about indirectly, the
learner often unaware that he is having a learning experience.
The primary function of education is the socialization of the new
members of the society. The late president Ramon Magsaysay aptly
observed that “education is the greatest equalizer of opportunities” for
everybody. Other most important objectives of education are:
1) Teaching basic skills, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
2) Helping children develop skills in abstracting thinking and
problem solving.
3) Transmitting the cultural heritage, from which individual may
develop an appreciation of their society.
4) Communicating to children the basic value of the society.
5) Teaching the special aspects of the culture, such as art,
music, literature, drama, science, technology, and sports.
6) Teaching vocational skills that help individuals enter the job market.
7) Training citizens for life within the political system of their society.
8) Preparing children to live long and form meaningful relationship
with other human beings.
Primary Education as a Human Right
Primary education is essential in the early stages of human life.
Humans need education to enable them to adapt to the dictates of
their society. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) declare that education is a fundamental
human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights.
It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields
important development benefits. Yet millions of children and adults
remain deprived of educational opportunities, many as a result of
poverty.”
Normative instruments of the United Nations and UNESCO lay down
international legal obligations for the right to education. These
instruments promote and develop the right of every person to enjoy
access to education of good quality, without discrimination or exclusion.
These instruments bear witness to the great importance that Member
States and the international community attach to normative action for
realizing the right to education. It is for government to fulfil their
obligations both legal and political in regard to providing education for
all of good quality and to implement and monitor more effectively
strategies.
Education is a powerful tool by which economically and socially
marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and
participate fully as citizens.
Although the UN is such powerful global actor that can mandate its
member to follow its structure, education deprivation still persists in
most societies. This exclusion is socially constructed in unequal
settings.
Formal education suggests studying in a school or university where
everything is systematic. A teacher or professor explains, while a
student listens and understands. For that, the student pays the
teacher. The last relates primarily to the struggles between social
classes. Formal education, in particular tries to keep pace with the
changes in the economy, as can be observed in the constant tuition
fee increases in institutions of higher learning.
The issue on education taps economical aspect of the society, as
classism stands as a barrier to the social development of humans.
This also digs on the impact of social inequality, as a systematic
oppression lies especially on the lower class. They experience
discrepancies in educational opportunities due to financial problems.
