PRAYER
Dear Lord and Father of all, Thank you for today. Thank you
for the ways in which you provide for us all. For Your
protection and love, we thank you. Help us to focus our
hearts and minds now on what we are about to learn.
Inspire us by Your Holy Spirit as we listen and write. Guide
us by your eternal light as we discover more about the
history of education around us. We ask all this in the name
of Jesus. Amen.
ROMAN
EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
The development of education in Rome was influenced by the different peoples that
occupied the Italian peninsula, including Italians, Etruscans, and Greeks. These
groups contributed to the formation of the roman civilization, which valued practical
and moral education.
Roman education is divided into two periods:
o Early roman education (753 B.C. - 146 B.C.)
o Later roman education (146 B.C. - 529 A.D.)
EARLY ROMAN EDUCATION
- AIMS OF EDUCATION
1. UTILITARIAN – Education was for practical purposes, to produce men who would be
active and efficient in daily life.
2. MORAL – Cultivation of virtues such as obedience, honesty, and courage
3. MILITARY – Training men to be strong soldiers and conquerors in war.
4. CIVIC & POLITICAL – To train men to be participative and wise in politics.
5. RELIGIOUS – To train men to have reverence for the Gods.
TYPES OF EDUCATION
1. PHYSICAL AND MILITARY TRAINING. This was a necessity for the training of good
soldiers who would be conquerors in war.
2. CIVIC TRAINING– To make men know their rights obligations to the state so that they
could participate wisely in politics. The good citizens was obe dient to authority, pious,
frugal, and honest.
3. MORAL TRAINING – This was for the development of moral virtues.
4. RELIGIOUS TRAINING – This was tied up to moral and civic training. Children were
trained in religious ceremonies and usages.
5. VOCATIONAL TRAINING – Training for a livelihood was very important to the romans
CONTENT TO BE STUDIED
1. Ballads and songs glorifying roman virtues
• Romans learned through oral traditions, where ballads and songs
celebrated virtues like bravery, loyalty, discipline, and patriotism.
• These songs often told the stories of great roman heroes, such as horatius
cocles, who defended a bridge alone against invading enemies.
2. The laws of the twelve tables
• Roman youth were required to memorize the twelve tables, the
foundation of roman law.
• These laws defined rights and duties in roman society, ensuring order and
justice.
3. Religious ceremonies and usages
• Religion played a central role in roman life. Every action—from farming to
politics—was blessed by the gods.
• Romans believed in many deities, each governing different aspects of life.
Important Gods and their roles:
• Jupiter – supreme god, protector of Rome
• Juno – guardian of women and marriage
• Janus – two-faced god of beginnings and endings (doors and transitions)
• Minerva – goddess of wisdom and crafts
• Mars – god of war, honored by soldiers
• Venus – goddess of love and beauty
• Lares & penates – spirits that protected households
4. Physical and military exercises
• Boys trained physically and mentally to become strong warriors and
disciplined citizens.
5. Domestic chores taught by mothers to
daughters
• Girls were not sent to formal schools but learned from their
mothers.
6. Vocations and crafts
• Crafts or skills learned by the male children by going
with their fathers in the shop or in the farm.
AGENCIES OF EDUCATION
1. HOME – parents as first teachers.
2. SHOP AND FARM – fathers trained sons in practical work.
3. MILITARY CAMP – boys learned warfare.
4. FORUM – public discussions on governance.
5. PRIVATE SCHOOLS – Greek educators taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
ORGANIZATION OF GRADE LEVELS
1.Early training at home.
2.Boys later trained by fathers in work.
3.Learning about public affairs in the forum.
4.At age 16, boys wore the toga virilis, marking manhood.
5.Military training followed.
Toga Virilis
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
1.DIRECT IMITATION – Learning by example.
2.MEMORIZATION – Strict memorization of Laws and
Ballads.
3.DISCIPLINE – Strict punishment was practiced.
FINANCING
1. Home and military training were free.
2. Private schooling required tuition.
LATER ROMAN `
EDUCATION..
LATER ROMAN EDUCATION
- GREEK INFLUENCE
• The expansion of Rome led to cultural exchanges and influences, particularly
from Greece.
• Educated slaves, such as Livius Andronicus, played a key role in introducing
Greek education to Rome.
• This blending of Greek and roman educational traditions led to the
development of a Greco-roman education system.
• Education was designed to prepare students for public life, ensuring they
could serve Rome as administrators, speakers, and military leaders.
AIMS OF EDUCATION
1. Oratorical training: the primary goal of roman education was to develop
skilled orators who could persuade and influence people in politics, law, and
public life.
2. Civic training: education aimed to produce good citizens who understood
their responsibilities to the state.
• Roman education emphasized moral virtues such as duty, discipline, and
respect for authority.
TYPES OF EDUCATION
1.Speech training: Students learned public speaking and debate,
essential skills for law and politics.
2.Civic training: Lessons focused on roman laws, customs, and duties to
the state.
3.Literacy training: Students were taught reading and writing, which
were essential for understanding roman literature and laws.
4.Vocational education: Common citizens and lower-class romans
learned practical skills through apprenticeships with their fathers or
tradesmen.
CONTENT TO BE STUDIED (ELEMENTARY LEVEL)
• Basic literacy: children learned to read and write using wax
tablets and styluses.
• Arithmetic: simple calculations using roman numerals were
taught for trade and commerce.
• The laws of the twelve tables: children memorized these
laws, which defined legal rights and responsibilities, ensuring
that every roman understood the foundation of their society.
CONTENT TO BE STUDIED (SECONDARY LEVEL)
• Grammar schools focused on advanced literacy in
latin and Greek literature.
• History, geography, and mythology were taught to
instill roman pride and awareness of the empire.
• Unlike modern education, there was little emphasis on
science.
CONTENT TO BE STUDIED (HIGHER SCHOOLS)
• Rhetoric: the highest level of education, where
students practiced public speaking, debating, and legal
argumentation.
• Advanced subjects: music, arithmetic, astronomy,
geometry, and philosophy were also taught, but with
less emphasis than rhetoric.
CONTENT TO BE STUDIED
(UNIVERSITY)
In the university, applied science and professionals such
as law, medicine, architecture, and mechanics were in
the curriculum.
AGENCIES OF EDUCATION
1. School of litterator (Teacher of letters). This was in the Elementary
level, an outgrowth and successor to the Ludus attended by both boys
and girls.
2. School of grammaticus: This was in the secondary level attended by
boys only. There were two types: Greek grammar school and Latin
grammar school. Grammar and literature were taught in these schools.
3. School of the rhetor (teacher of rhetoric). This was in the higher level.
Athenaeum.
4. Athenaeum: This was in the university level developed as the center of
learning around the library established by emperor Vespasian (9-79) in
75 A.D. E
ORGANIZATION OF GRADE LEVELS
• 7-10 years old: both boys and girls enteredthe school of the
litterator for basic education.
• 10-16 years old: boys entered the school of the grammaticus for
advanced literacy.
• 16+ years old: boys entered the school of rhetor for two or three
years
• Those who hurdled the school of rhetor went the athennaeum for professional
course
METHODS OF
INSTRUCTIONS
• Memorization. This was used in the elementary level. The pupils sat on the floor and
rested their tables on their knees. Class sessions were from sunrise to sunset but no
class was held during summer and holidays were many. Writing and reading were taught
from dictation, and writing was on wax with stylus. Discipline was severe and flogging
was used. Letters of the alphabet were memorized and pronunciation, enunciation,
and self-expression were also taught.
• Drill and writing exercises. This was in the secondary level. There was intensive drill
on grammatical elements such as parts of speech, syntax, pronunciation, and others.
There was so much practice in writing paragraphs, themes, compositions, and poetic ex-
pressions.
• Public speaking practices. In the third level or school of the rhetorics, there was
strong emphasis in all' types of public speaking such as declamations, eulogies, funeral
orations, exhortations, and extemporaneous speeches after lectures on articulation,
modulation, emphasis, and others.
FINANCING OF EDUCATION
• Initially, education was private, and only wealthy
families could afford tuition.
• Later, the state provided scholarships, teacher
salaries, and tax exemptions.
• Emperors Vespasian and Marcus Aurelius played
key roles in funding education.
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO
EDUCATION AND CIVILIZATION
• Structured education system: The ladderized approach
influenced modern school structures.
• Roman organized body of civil law: Became the basis of the
legal systems in many countries including the Philippines.
• Educational thinkers: Figures like Cicero, Tacitus, and
Quintilian contributed to education and philosophy.
THINKERS AND TEACHERS IN
ROMAN EDUCATION
Cicero’s writings provided the ideal for the education of the Middle
Ages. His educational ideas were put in his “THE ORATOR”
Quintillian, in his “INSTITUTE OF ORATORY”, pictured the
orator not only as a well-rounded man of affairs but as a man of
integrity in character. Quintilian stressed a memory and used
moralizing as a main basis for motivation.
Emperor Vespasia ordered the subsidy for teachers.
Emperor Trajan gave scholarship to bright but poor youths.
Hadrian started pensions for retired teachers.
Antonious exempted teachers from taxes and military service.
Gratian established a salary scale for teachers and in
425 A.D the establishment of school became a state
prerogative.
CONCLUSION
• Roman education played a crucial role in shaping
modern education, particularly in law, public
speaking, and civic training.
• The structured education system and emphasis on
rhetoric and civic duty remain relevant in today’s
world.
