Education in Pre-colonial and Spanish Era

Education during the Pre-colonial Period

• Education was informal, unstructured, and decentralized, with fathers teaching sons how to find food and means of livelihood, and mothers teaching daughters household chores.
• The goal of education was to prepare children to become good husbands and wives.
• Children received vocational training but little academic education.
• Teachers were tribal tutors, known as Babaylan or Katalonan.

Education during the Spanish Era

• Education was formal and organized, with an authoritarian approach.
• Spanish missionaries replaced tribal tutors, and pupils attended formal schooling in parochial schools.
• The curriculum was religion-oriented, focusing on Christian doctrines, sacred songs, and music, as well as prayers for confession and communion.
• Separate schools were established for boys and girls, with wealthy Filipinos (ilustrados) receiving education.

Educational Decree of 1863

• The law established a complete system of education from elementary to collegiate level.
• Elementary schools were established in all municipalities, with a curriculum including reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and Christian doctrine.
• The law also mandated subjects like Spanish language, vocal music, agriculture for boys, and needlework for girls.
• Attendance was compulsory between ages 7 and 12.

Education during the American Regime (1898-1946)

• The Americans promoted democratic ideals and the democratic way of life.
• The Malolos Constitution of 1899 established a system of free and compulsory elementary education.
• The first American school was established in Corregidor in May 1898, followed by seven schools in Manila in 1899.
• Thomasites, a group of American teachers, arrived in the Philippines in 1901.
• The University of the Philippines was founded in 1908, becoming the first state school with university status.
• The Department of Public Instruction established a three-level school system, with a primary and intermediate curriculum, and a four-year junior college program.

Explore the differences between education systems in the Pre-colonial period, which was informal and decentralized, and the formal, structured approach during the Spanish era. Discover how children were prepared for different roles and the role of tribal tutors in teaching.