Asian Development Foundation College

Tacloban City

COMPREHENSIVE REPORT IN
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

COURSE: Master of Arts in Education-Educational Management

PROFESSOR: Dr. Rogelia K. Firmo

Prepared by:

ARLENE L. RETORION
I. MEANING AND SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY OF
EDUCATION
Meaning and Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy (φιλοσοφία, 'love of wisdom', in Ancient Greek) is a

systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics
like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational
and critical inquiry that reflects on its own methods and assumptions.
Major branches of philosophy are epistemology, ethics, logic,
and metaphysics. Epistemology studies what knowledge is and how to
acquire it. Ethics investigates moral principles and what constitutes right
conduct. Logic is the study of correct reasoning and explores how
good arguments can be distinguished from bad ones. Metaphysics examines
the most general features of reality, existence, objects, and properties. Other
subfields are aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of
mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, philosophy of
mathematics, philosophy of history, and political philosophy. Within each
branch, there are competing schools of philosophy that promote different
principles, theories, or methods.

Aims of Philosophy of Education

The study of philosophy enhances a person's problem-solving

capacities. It helps us to analyze concepts, definitions, arguments, and
problems. It contributes to our capacity to organize ideas and issues, to deal
with questions of value, and to extract what is essential from large quantities
of information. It helps us, on the one hand, to distinguish fine and subtle
differences between views and, on the other hand, to discover common
ground between opposing positions. It also helps us to synthesize a variety
of views or perspectives into one unified whole.

Value of Philosophy of Education

The philosophy of education is important because it provides a basis

for understanding the nature and purpose of education. It allows us to
consider the questions that are at the heart of education, such as: What is the
purpose of education? How should students be taught? What knowledge and
skills should students be taught? How should students be assessed? It also
allows us to examine the impact of different educational theories and
practices on students’ learning. It helps us to consider the ethical and moral
implications of educating students, and to think about the role of technology
in education. By understanding the philosophy of education, teachers can
gain valuable insight into their profession and their students’ learning.
II. PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHTS IN
EDUCATION
Monasticism

Monasticism, an institutionalized religious practice or movement

whose members attempt to live by a rule that requires works that go beyond
those of either the laity or the ordinary spiritual leaders of their religions.
Commonly celibate and universally ascetic, the monastic individual
separates himself or herself from society either by living as a hermit or
anchorite (religious recluse) or by joining a community (coenobium) of
others who profess similar intentions. First applied to Christian groups in
antiquity, the term monasticism is now used to denote similar, though not
identical, practices in religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism,
and Daoism.
The word monasticism is derived from the Greek monachos (“living
alone”), but this etymology highlights only one of the elements of
monasticism and is somewhat misleading, because a large proportion of the
world’s monastics live in cenobitic (common life) communities. The
term monasticism implies celibacy, or living alone in the sense of lacking a
spouse, which became a socially and historically crucial feature of the
monastic life.

Scholasticism

Scholasticism is a Medieval school of philosophy (or, perhaps more

accurately, a method of learning) taught by the academics of medieval
universities and cathedrals in the period from the 12th to 16th Century. It
combined Logic, Metaphysics and semantics into one discipline, and is
generally recognized to have developed our understanding
of Logic [Link] was the primary method of thought used
in universities from 1100-1500. Scholastics believed in empiricism and
supporting Roman Catholic doctrines through secular study, reason, and
logic. Their focus was on finding the answers to the questions. They wanted
to resolve any contradictions they found. They believed that logic could
provide all the answers they sought. Thus, scholastics focused on dialectical
reasoning and logic. Remember, Plato is the original source of the dialectic–
a dialogue between two people with different points of view. Eventually, this
became a process called disputation, which included a very specific process
whose object was to increase knowledge.

Idealism

Idealism is a school of philosophy that emphasizes that “ideas or

concepts are the essence of all that is worth knowing” (Johnson et. al., 2011,
p. 87). In other words, the only true reality is that of ideas. Based on the
writings of Plato, this school of philosophy encourages conscious reasoning
in the mind. Furthermore, idealists look for, and value, universal or absolute
truths and ideas. Consequently, idealists believe that ideas should remain
constant throughout the centuries. Idealism in education is a belief that
knowledge comes from within. For teachers, this implies the need to develop
children to their true potential and guide their minds so that they are living
up to their purpose.

Conceptualism

Philosophical theory in which the universal is found in the particular,

a position between nominalism and realism. It asserts that the mind is the
individual that universalizes by experiencing particulars, finding common
factors in them, and conceptualizing these common factors as universals. It
is a philosophical position on the nature of universals maintaining, against
nominalism, that universal terms signify universal concepts and, against
realism, that concepts, as such, signify nothing actually, potentially, or
virtually universal outside the mind.

Mohammedanism

Mohammedanism. the monotheistic religious system of Muslims

founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of
Muhammad as laid down in the Koran.

Humanism

Humanism is a philosophy that emphasizes seeing the "whole" person

and appreciating the uniqueness of every individual. The primary
assumptions of humanism are that humans are inherently good, have free
will, have the ability and desire to self-actualize, and that the subjective
reality of each individual is valuable. Humanistic teachers believe
that students will be motivated to learn a subject if it's something they need
and want to know. The goal of education should be to foster students' desire
to learn and teach them how to learn. Students should be self-motivated in
their studies and desire to learn on their own.

Disciplinism

Disciplinism was a doctrine advocating the disciplinary theory of

education, which believed that the mind of the child at birth was a tabula
rasa or blank tablet. The purpose of education was to provide exercises and
discipline for physical, moral and mental processes. his theory also known
as formal discipline was based upon Aristotle's "Faculty" psychology which
asserted that the mind is made up of certain faculties such as memory,
reason, will, judgment, etc and -:act; of which needs special activities for its
training and development
This theory maintained that the power developed in any faculty by the
study of a school subject can be used equally well in other subjects or to
meet any other experience in life.
John Locke (1632- 1704) believed that the mind of the child at birth is like a
"tabula rasa", or blank tablet and experiences will be the ones to write on
that tablet
Realism

Realism is a school of philosophy which is as old as that of naturalism

and idealism. It is a revolt against the theory of knowledge and metaphysics
of the idealist. It holds that the world around us is a real world and does not
depend on any mind, finite or infinite for its existence. It starts with a thing
for it believes that being is prior to thought. This philosophy of realism is
traced from the ideas of Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hernart,
Spinoza, James, Kant and Comenius. Realism is defined as the type of
education in which natural phenomena and social institutions rather than
languages and literature are made the chief subjects of study. It arose as a
reaction opposing narrow humanism and religious formalism that held
education captive for nearly three centuries 1300's to 1600's). It is also
considered as an educational philosophy, which advocates that education
should be concerned with the actualities of life and prepare for its concrete
duties.

Rationalism

Rationalism was the educational philosophy prevalent in Europe in

the latter part of the seventeenth century. It took its roots during the period
known as the age of reason or age of enlightenment.
This philosophy claimed that human reason was the sole source of
knowledge and the sole determiner whether things or actions were
acceptable or not. Anything that did not conform to human reasoning should
be blatantly rejected. The rationalists upheld the right of a person to expose
his own ideas and opinions, liberty of conscience and freedom of thought
and expression. This philosophy aimed at the development of the individual
by means of restraints based upon his reasons. By these, man can develop
his lot and can contribute to the common good and welfare of his institutions
and society.

Naturalism

Naturalism in education is grounded in the belief that children should

be allowed to explore and learn in a natural setting, rather than being
confined to a traditional classroom. This means that outdoor activities and
experiential learning are prioritized over traditional lecture-based
instruction. Naturalism is the educational philosophy, which adamantly
opposed formalism. This advocated that education should be in accordance
with the nature of the child. All educational practices should be focused
towards the natural development of all the innate talents and abilities of the
child
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712- 1778). He believed that man, by nature is
basically good and the influences of the society are the things that drive man
to do evil acts. He also believed that the stronger the body, the more it
obeys: the weaker the body, the more it commands.
Nationalism

Nationalism, ideology based on the premise that the individual’s

loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group
interests. Nationalism is a modern movement. Throughout history people
have been attached to their native soil, to the traditions of their parents, and
to established territorial authorities, but it was not until the end of the 18th
century that nationalism began to be a generally
recognized sentiment molding public and private life and one of the great, if
not the greatest, single determining factors of modern history. Nationalistic
education, which refers to educational programmes/curricula for and about
nationalism, aiming at cultivating people's knowledge about the nation state
and instilling a sense of national identity, patriotism and loyalty to the nation
state

Developmentalism

Developmentalism traces its roots from the term development which

has been used to denote developmentally informed educational practice.
A similar term philosophic-developmentalist was used by Lawrence
Kohlberg and Rochelle Mayer in reference to the views of John Dewey and
Jean Piaget. It discourages teachers and parents from asserting, themselves
with children. It served as a basis for rejecting harsh and inhumane teaching
methods. Developmentalist's guidance has encouraged parents and teachers
to be less assertive and to afford children greater freedom. It has encouraged
lessened parent insistence on study and effort in school and on mature and
responsible behavior generally; frustration and delayed gratification are to be
minimized while immediate success and satisfaction are' to be maximized.

Existentialism

Existentialism advocates an education that helps the individual living

an existential life. Existentialistic aims of education include development of
authenticity, self realization, choice making power, responsibility, ability to
face tragic situations, social adjustability and uniqueness in child. It is a
philosophical approach that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and
choice. It is a school of thought that is concerned with the meaning of human
existence, and the experience of the individual in the [Link] education,
existentialism is a philosophy that places the individual learner at the center
of the learning experience, and emphasizes personal choice, responsibility,
and meaning-making.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is an educational philosophy that says that education

should be about life and growth. Two important elements of pragmatism
include practical learning, which focuses on the real-world applications of
lessons, and experiential learning, which involves learning through
experience, not through simple ideas.
Progressivism

Progressivism is a student centered philosophy that believes that ideas

should be tested by experimentation, and learning comes from finding
answers from questions. This philosophy values the scientific method of
teaching, allows individuals to have their own beliefs, and promotes the
interaction of students as valuable to the learning process. According to
progressivists, students should be actively involved in their own learning
process and should be encouraged to think critically and creatively.
Progressivist believe that education should be based on the needs and
interests of students and should be designed to help them become
responsible and active members of society.

Communism

Communist ideology advocates universal education with a focus on

developing the proletariat with knowledge, class consciousness, and
historical understanding. A communist society would entail the absence of
private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state (or
nation state). Communists often seek a voluntary state of self-governance
but disagree on the means to this end. Communists often seek a voluntary
state of self-governance but disagree on the means to this end. This reflects a
distinction between a more libertarian socialist approach
of communization, revolutionary spontaneity, and workers' self-
management, and a more authoritarian vanguardist or communist party-
driven approach through the development of a socialist state, followed by
the withering away of the state. As one of the main ideologies on
the political spectrum, communism is placed on the left-
wing alongside socialism, and communist parties and movements have been
described as radical left or far-left.

Fascism

Fascism is an authoritarian Nationalist political ideology that

exalts nation (and often race) above the individual, and that stands for
a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe
economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. It
often claims to be concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence,
and seeks to achieve a national rebirth by suppressing the interests of
the individual, and instead promoting cults of unity, energy and purity. It is
a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,
characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism,
forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,
subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or
race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy

Maoism
 Maoism, doctrine composed of the ideology and methodology for
revolution developed by Mao Zedong and his associates in the Chinese
Communist Party from the 1920s until Mao’s death in 1976. Maoism has
clearly represented a revolutionary method based on a distinct revolutionary
outlook not necessarily dependent on a Chinese or Marxist-Leninist context.
Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a
doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency,
mass mobilization and strategic alliances. The Maoists also use propaganda
and disinformation against State institutions as other components of their
insurgency doctrine.
III. PHILOSOPHICAL MOVEMENTS THAT
INFLUENCED IN SHAPING PHILIPPINE
EDUCATION
Pre-Filipino Philosophy

During the pre-colonial period, education was still decentralized.

Children were provided with more vocational training but fewer academics.
Philippine schools were headed by parents or by their tribal tutors. They
employed a unique writing system known as baybayin.

Spanish Style Philosophy

When the Spanish first arrived in Manila, they were surprised to find a
population with a literacy rate higher than that of Madrid.
1. During the early Spanish period, most education was conducted by
religious orders.
2. The church and the school both worked together. All Christian villages
had schools for students to attend.
3. Spanish missionaries established schools immediately after reaching the
islands.
4. There was a separate school for boys and girls. The wealthy Filipinos or
the Ilustrados were accommodated in the school.
5. The Educational Decree of 1863 created a free public education system in
the Philippines, run by the government. It was the first such education
system in Asia.

Philosophy Under Revolutionary Republic

The Malolos Republic: Also called The First Philippine Republic

 Because of the destruction of many schools and to the peace and order
condition, all the schools were closed for the time being.
1. Aguinaldo decreed that all diplomas awarded by UST after 1898 be
considered null and void
2. Article 23 of the Malolos Constitution mandated that public education
would be free and obligatory in all schools of the nation under the First
Philippine Republic
3. Aguinaldo included an item for public instruction amounting P35, 000 in
the budget for 1899.
4. August 29, 1898, the Secretary of the Interior ordered the provincial
governors to reestablish the schools that had been abandoned before.

Educational Philosophy During the American Regime

American Expeditionary forces were sent to Philippines with a

mission to destroy the Spanish Armanda in Manila Bay as part of the
strategy to defeat the Spaniards in the Spanish-American War ranging at that
time in Cuba.
1. Americans won, and on the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, the
Philippines was ceded to the United State by the Spanish for the paltry sum
of US $20 Million.
2. 1898, American occupied Manila. Reopened schools where in the
American Soldiers were the first teachers.
3. Education should be universal and free for all regardless of sex, age,
religion and socio-economic status of the individual.
4. Act No. 74, established the public primary school in 1901 and
intermediate school in 1904 which provides free public education.
5. Thomasites – group of professionals sent by the United State Government
who where assigned to teach English language.
6. Act No. 372, required all provinces to maintain a provincial high school.
7. 1901 – Philippine Normal School was founded to train teachers.
8. 1908 – University of the Philippines was established.
9. Education was the means of giving people and orientation towards a
democratic way of life.

Philosophy of Education During the Commonwealth

Philosophy of Education under the Commonwealth Education

continued to receive from the Commonwealth government the same
attention that the Americans gave it. President Quezon created the National
Council of Education in 1936 as an advisory body on educational matters.
The council made important recommendations to further improve the
educational system in the Philippines. Most of these recommendations were
accepted and carried out by the government.
Under the Commonwealth, vocational and adult education were given
emphasis.
It was also during the Commonwealth regime that an organized effort
to develop a common national language was started in compliance with the
mandate of the 1935 constitution. To help counteract the American cultural
influence among the Filipinos, President Quezon greatly encouraged the
revival of native culture as well as desirable Filipino values. And to help
strengthen the moral fibers of the Filipinos and to foster a love of the
country especially among the youth, President Quezon issued his famous
Code of Ethics which was required to be taught in all schools

Philosophy of Education During the Japanese Occupation

1941- the Pacific War broke out and the Philippines came under the
Japanese occupation.
 Department of Education, Health and Public Welfare – its function is to
reopen schools and to make reports to the Japanese Administration.
 Military order no. 2 in 1942 – Japanese educational policies were
embodied in the Military Order No. 2. The Philippines Executive
Commission established. Schools were reopened in June 1942 with 300,000
students. Tagalog, Philippine History, and Character Education were the
focus. Love for work and dignity for labor was emphasized. There was the
spread elementary and vocational education.
 Nippongo was used and the Japanese tried to stop the Filipino people
from using the English Language. School calendar became longer and no
summer vacation for students

Philosophy of Education Under the Third Republic

During the period from the proclamation of the Third Philippine

Republic on July 4, 1946, under the administration of President Manuel
Roxas until the pre-martial law days of the Marcos regime, the country's
educational philosophy was in accordance with the provisions of Article
XIV, section 5 of the 1935 Constitution which provides that:
1. All educational institution is under the supervision of and subject to
regulation of the State
2. The government shall provide at least free primary instruction and
citizenship training to adults.
3. The educational aims are to develop moral character, personal discipline,
civic consciousness, and vocational efficiency and teach the duties of
citizenship
4. Religious education is optional
5. Universities enjoy academic freedom
7. The State shall create scholarships for gifted citizens.

Educational Philosophy of the New Society

The emphasis of the New Society is on moral values, relevance,

proper methods of teaching, retraining of teachers, vocational and technical
education, bilingualism, national consciousness and cultural values. To
guarantee that the educational system would be relevant and responsive to
the challenges and requirements of national, provincial and local
development.
In 1972, the Department of Education became the Department of
Education and Culture by the virtue of Proclamation 1081 which was signed
by President Ferdinand Marcos.
 on January 17, 1973, President Marcos ratified the 1973 Constitution by
Proclamation 1102. The 1973 Constitution set out the three fundamental
aims of education in the Philippines, to:
◦ Foster love of country;
◦ teach the duties of citizenship; and
◦ develop moral character, self-discipline, and scientific, technological and
vocational efficiency.
 On September 24, 1972, by Presidential Decree No. 1, the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports was decentralized with decision-making
shared among thirteen regional offices.

Educational Philosophy Under the 1987 Constitution

On February 2, 1987, a new Constitution for the Philippines was

ratified. Section 3, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution contains the ten
fundamental aims of education in the Philippines. It is also seen that under
the 1987 Constitution, only elementary school is compulsory.
 In 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117, the Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sports, became the Department of Education, Culture and
Sports. The structure of DECS as embodied in the order remained practically
unchanged until 1994.
 On May 26, 1988, the Congress of the Philippines enacted the Republic
Act 6655, the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988, which
mandated free public secondary education commencing in the school year
1988–1989.
 On February 3, 1992, the Congress enacted Republic Act 7323, which
provided that students aged 15 to 25 may be employed during Christmas and
summer vacation with a salary not lower than the minimum wage. 60% of
the wage is to be paid by the employer and 40% is by the government.
On May 18, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7722, the Higher
Education Act of 1994, creating the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED), which assumed the functions of the Bureau of Higher Education,
and supervises tertiary degree programs.
 On August 25, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7796, the
Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994, creating the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

The Emerging Educational Philosophy

 In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of

Basic Education Act, was passed transforming the name of the Department
of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education
(DepEd)
 The goal of basic education is to provide the school age population and
young adults with skills, knowledge and values to become caring, self-
reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.
2010s and the K-12 Program
 The start of this century's second decade saw a major improvement in the
Philippine education system.
 In 2011, DepEd started to implement the new K-12 educational system,
which includes the new curricula for all schools. In this system, education is
now compulsory. The implementation of the K-12 program is "phased".
The K-12 Program means Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and
secondary education, which is part of the Educational Program of President
Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III.
IV. CONTRIBUTIONS AND INFLUENCES OF
FOREIGN PHILOSOPHERS
 I. FOREIGN PHILOSOPHERS

Confucius

Confucius is known as the first teacher in China who wanted to make

education broadly available and who was instrumental in establishing the art
of teaching as a vocation. He also established ethical, moral, and social
standards that formed the basis of a way of life known as Confucianism.
Confucianism is a philosophy or way of life which is named after its
father and founder, Confucius. Also known as Ruism, Confucianism can be
regarded as a religion, tradition, teaching or an ideology. It first emerged as
an inspiration from Buddhism and later developed as an individual
philosophy which had an impact on the lives of many people. Confucianism
includes many philosophies that not only teach us how to live a moral life,
but also how to efficiently run a fair government.
In many ways, Confucianism carries the essence of the belief in a
divine presence as many of his teachings talk about how a human must
travel the lawful path to heaven. It treads a path somewhere between
humanity and religion.

Socrates

Socrates of Athens (l. c. 470/469-399 BCE) is among the most famous

figures in world history for his contributions to the development of
ancient Greek philosophy which provided the foundation for all of
Western Philosophy. He is, in fact, known as the "Father of Western
Philosophy" for this reason.
It has been said that Socrates' greatest contribution to philosophy was
to move intellectual pursuits away from the focus on `physical science' (as
pursued by the so-called Pre-Socratic Philosophers such as Thales,
Anaximander, Anaximenes, and others) and into the abstract realm of ethics
and morality.

Plato

Plato (born 428/427 BCE, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens)

ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE), teacher
of Aristotle (384–322 BCE), and founder of the Academy, best known as the
author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence. He is one of the
major figures of Classical antiquity. Plato carved out a subject matter for
philosophy by formulating and discussing a wide range of metaphysical and
ethical questions. To explain the similarities and resemblances among
objects of the physical world, he developed a metaphysics of Forms.
He founded the Academy, an academic program which many consider to be
the first Western university. Plato wrote many philosophical texts—at least
25. He dedicated his life to learning and teaching and is hailed as one of the
founders of Western philosophy. Learn more about Western philosophy.

Aristotle

Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, who made

important contributions to logic, criticism, rhetoric, physics, biology,
psychology, mathematics, metaphysics, ethics, and politics. He was a
student of Plato for twenty years but is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of
forms. He was more empirically minded than both Plato and Plato’s teacher,
Socrates. As the father of western logic, Aristotle was the first to develop a
formal system for reasoning. He observed that the deductive validity of any
argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content, for
example, in the syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore,
Socrates is mortal.

Quintilian

Quintilian is thought to have been born somewhere around 35-40 A. D.

(Kennedy, 1969, p. 15) in Calagurris, now known as Calahorra, Spain. He
studied in Rome, later becoming a teacher of oratory and rhetoric (Mayer,
1967, p. 101). His father had been an orator before him (Russell, 2001, p. 143,
Book IX) but never was as prominent as his son would become. Quintilian's
major work titled Institutio Oratoria (The Orator's Education) was a series of
twelve books containing lessons involved with the form of rhetoric. In Book I
Quintilian recommended that the orator's education in rhetoric begin as a
young boy, in the tradition of the Greeks. Book II then dealt with the
foundations of rhetoric, leading to the next nine books, in which the first five
detailed 'Invention' and ended with "Elocution, with which was associated
Memory and Delivery" (Ibid., p. 63, Book I).
Quintilian believed that knowledge was not inherent and could only
be acquired through proper education; that is, knowledge exists, but must be
attained through proper training and learning. Quintilian believed that the
proper training one must undertake to possess knowledge is the art of
oratory.

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman politician, lawyer, orator, and

philosopher born in 106 BCE. He was killed in 43 BC as a result of the
conflict between the Senate and the Caesarians (primarily Marc Antony and
eventually Octavius). Cicero's Rome was a declining republic. During
Cicero's lifetime, Caesar seized power, and even after his assassination,
Marc Antony and Octavius would carry on a legacy of Caesarism. While the
Roman Republic could be characterized more like an oligarchy than a
democracy, Rome soon became a state with political power concentrated in
the hands of one person. While Cicero was on the losing side in the conflict
over the Roman Republic, Cicero's meaning and works outlived the Roman
Empire.
In addition to his career in politics, Cicero was also a notable
philosopher. His most notable contribution was transmitting ancient Greek
ideas to Rome and (through Roman traditions) later Medieval Europe.
Cicero's translation of ancient Greek ideas led him to invent several Latin
terms. The greatest legacy of Cicero is his formulation of the idea of Natural
Law. He agreed with Plato in believing that the principles of rights and
justice were eternal. Again he agreed with the stoics that a supreme universal
law existed in nature. To him morality dominates politics.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican priest and Scriptural

theologian. He took seriously the medieval maxim that “grace perfects and
builds on nature; it does not set it aside or destroy it.” Therefore, insofar as
Thomas thought about philosophy as the discipline that investigates what we
can know naturally about God and human beings, he thought that good
Scriptural theology, since it treats those same topics, presupposes good
philosophical analysis and argumentation. Although Thomas authored some
works of pure philosophy, most of his philosophizing is found in the context
of his doing Scriptural theology. Indeed, one finds Thomas engaging in the
work of philosophy even in his Biblical commentaries and sermons.
Thomas’ most influential contribution to theology and philosophy,
however, is his model for the correct relationship between these two
disciplines, a model which has it that neither theology nor philosophy is
reduced one to the other, where each of these two disciplines is allowed its
own proper scope, and each discipline is allowed to perfect the other, if not
in content, then at least by inspiring those who practice that discipline to
reach ever new intellectual heights.

Petrarch

Francesco Petrarch is chiefly known as the father of both Humanism

and the Renaissance, as well as being the poet laureate of Rome and a
diplomat and ambassador to the surrounding areas. He was an internationally
famous poet, and his work is still known to this day. Francesco Petrarch is
considered the father of the Renaissance because his Humanist philosophy
led to the intellectual thinking that created the Renaissance. He was also a
believer that ancient texts are not meant to be read passively, which
contributed to the idea of rebirth in the Renaissance.
Petrarch also led the charge on collecting ancient texts which was the
origin of Humanism, and used his work as an ambassador to travel all over
Europe to accomplish this goal. He encouraged the active study of these
texts, which diverged him from other scholars of the day, and was the birth
of the humanist philosophy.

Jesus Christ
 Jesus was a teacher of ethics and moral philosophy in Israel. Ethics
dealt with the self (starting with those actions that provided security and
safety through prudent behavior for the individual) while moral behavior
concentrated on the interactions between one’s self and other selves
(benevolence). JJesus's main philosophical concern was teaching, applying,
and living virtue ethics. Jesus's main teaching tool was the parable, which
was usually a short, fictitious story that made a clear cut ethical or moral
point. Jesus's version of virtue ethics was very concise, brief, and to the
point. Jesus’s version of virtue ethics was very concise, brief, and to the
point. Jesus taught that there were only two laws or rules, not many laws or
rules that had to be practiced in order to obtain salvation. These two laws
were to a)love your God and b) love your neighbor as yourself or as you
love yourself. Either law implies the other either directly or indirectly. If you
love yourself as you love your neighbor, then you are also loving God. If
you love your God, then you will love others as you love yourself. The
crucial word here, that is reflected in all of his teachings, is Jesus Christ’s
emphasis on the word love, although sometimes what is required is “tough
love”. Christian love is benevolence from those who have to those who do
not have, where we are dealing with needs, not wants. Needs must be
fulfilled or the person in need will be unable to have a fulfilling life.

Da Feltre

Vittorino da Feltre (born 1378, Feltre [Italy]—died February 2, 1446,

Mantua) Italian educator who is frequently considered the greatest humanist
schoolmaster of the Renaissance. ittorino not only educated future Italian
rulers and professional men but also taught many Latin and Greek scholars
who came to him from the East—thus fostering the translation of the Greek
manuscripts that served to inspire the Renaissance.
The central features of the curriculum were the languages and
literature of Rome and Greece. Other subjects included arithmetic,
geometry, and music, as well as games and physical exercises, for the school
followed the Greek ideal of development of the body as well as the mind.
Vittorino saw education, however, as a pathway to the Christian life. His
pupils pictured him as a successful teacher who loved them, cared for their
health and character, and adapted his methods to their abilities. Further, he
used no corporal punishment. La Giocosa was possibly Europe’s
first boarding school for younger students.

Erasmus

Although Erasmus was not a systematic philosopher, he gave a

philosophical cast to many of his writings. He believed in the human
capacity for self-improvement through education and in the relative
preponderance of nurture over nature. Ideally, education promoted docta
pietas, a combination of piety and learning. Erasmus’ political thought is
dominated by his vision of universal peace and the notions of consensus and
consent, which he sees as the basis of the state. At the same time he upholds
the ideal of the patriarchal prince, a godlike figure to his people, but
accountable to God in turn. Erasmus’ epistemology is characterized by
scepticism. He advocates collating arguments on both sides of a question but
suspending judgment. His scepticism does not extend to articles of faith,
however. He believes in absolute knowledge through revelation and reserves
calculations of probability for cases that are not settled by the authority of
Scripture or the doctrinal pronouncements of the Church, the conduit of
divine revelation. Erasmus’ pioneering efforts as a textual critic of the Bible
and his call for a reformation of the Church in its head and members brought
him into conflict with conservative Catholic theologians. His support for the
Reformation movement was equivocal, however. He refused to endorse the
radical methods of the reformers and engaged in a polemic with Luther over
the question of free will. On the whole, Erasmus was more interested in the
moral and spiritual than in the doctrinal aspects of the Reformation. He
promoted inner piety over the observance of rites, and disparaged scholastic
speculations in favour of the philosophia Christi taught in the gospel. The
term ‘Christian humanism’ best describes Erasmus’ philosophy, which
successfully combined Christian thought with the classical tradition revived
by Renaissance humanists.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German monk and priest. He was a devout

Christian. In 1507, he was ordained as a priest and in 1508 he began to teach
theology. During his lifetime, the Western Church was raising money to
rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. That in itself was a pretty well thought
out plan. However, the methods by which they collected money were
intolerable to Martin Luther. He advocated for a universal education. The
aim of Christian education was to grow the mind as well as the heart and
public behavior. For Luther, education should engage and inspire learners to
a genuine love of learning in multiple forms and should be devoid of
coercion. Finally, the overall implications for religious education in Nigerian
context are explored and highlights of some limitations in Luther’s view on
education examined.
Martin Luther made significant contributions to education during the
Protestant Reformation. He believed that all people should have access to
education, not just the clergy. Luther advocated for compulsory education
for boys and girls, and he established schools to provide this education. He
also promoted the use of vernacular languages in education, rather than
solely relying on Latin. Luther's ideas about education helped lay the
groundwork for the development of public education systems in many parts
of the world.

John Locke

The writings of the late 17th-century empiricist John

Locke on philosophy, government, and education were especially influential
during the Enlightenment. In the field of education, Locke is significant both
for his general theory of knowledge and for his ideas on the education of
youth. Locke's empiricism, expressed in his notion that ideas originate in
experience, was used to attack the doctrine that principles of reason are
innate in the human mind. For education, Locke’s empiricism meant
that learning comes about only through experience. Education, which Locke
felt should address both character and intellect, is therefore best achieved by
providing the pupil with examples of proper thought and behaviour, by
training the child to witness and share in the habits of virtue that are part of
the conventional wisdom of the rational and practical man. Virtue should
be cultivated through proper upbringing, preparatory to “studies” in the strict
sense.

Comenius

John Amos Comenius was

a Moravian philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considered the
father of modern education. He served as the last bishop of the Unity of the
Brethren before becoming a religious refugee and one of the earliest
champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his
book Didactica Magna. As an educator and theologian, he led schools and
advised governments across Protestant Europe through the middle of the
seventeenth century.
Comenius introduced a number of educational concepts and
innovations including pictorial textbooks written in native languages instead
of Latin, teaching based in gradual development from simple to more
comprehensive concepts, lifelong learning with a focus on logical thinking
over dull memorization, equal opportunity for impoverished children,
education for women, and universal and practical instruction. He also
believed heavily in the connection between nature, religion, and knowledge,
in which he stated that knowledge is born from nature and nature from God.
[5] Besides his native Moravia, he lived and worked in other regions of
the Holy Roman Empire, and other countries: Sweden, the Polish–
Lithuanian Commonwealth, Transylvania, England,
the Netherlands and Hungary.

Mulcaster

Richard Mulcaster (born c. 1531, Cumberland, England—died April

15, 1611, Stamford Rivers, Essex) English schoolmaster, many of
whose pedagogical theories were not generally accepted until at least 250
years after his death. He was educated at Eton, Cambridge, and Oxford. In
1561 he became the first headmaster of the Merchant-Taylors’ School, and,
after teaching in his own private schools, he became high master at St.
Paul’s (1596–1608).
Mulcaster’s fame rests mainly upon his two books Positions
Concerning the Training Up of Children (1581) and The First Part of the
Elementarie (1582). He recommended special university training for
teachers, comparable to that for doctors or lawyers, careful selection of
teachers and adequate salaries, assignment of the best teachers to the lowest
grades, and close association between teachers and parents.
He emphasized the importance of individual differences in children, the
adjustment of the curriculum to these differences, and the use of readiness
rather than age in determining progress. Unlike Thomas Elyot and Roger
Ascham, Mulcaster was not specifically concerned with the education of
gentlemen.

Jean Jacques-Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is considered as one of the most leading

thinkers of the eighteenth century Europe. He lived during the period of
Enlightenment and his ideas were instrumental to shaping the course of
French Enlightenment. His political philosophy majorly influenced the
development of the political, educational as well as sociological thoughts of
the modern era. Apart from being a philosopher and thinker, Rousseau was
also famous as a successful composer. During the time of French Revolution
he was the most noted philosophers among the members of the Jacobin
Club.
At the core of Rousseau's philosophy lies the concept of the state of
nature and the social contract. Rousseau believed that in the state of nature,
human beings were born free and equal, with inherent natural rights.
However, the advent of society introduced inequality, private property, and
oppression. Rousseau argued that a social contract, an agreement between
citizens and the state, was necessary to establish a just and harmonious
society. Rousseau advocated for a child-centered education that respected
the child's autonomy, curiosity, and unique interests. He believed that
education should foster moral and emotional development, enabling
individuals to become responsible and virtuous citizens. Rousseau's ideas on
education continue to influence educational philosophies and pedagogical
practices.

Johann Heinrich Peztalozzi

In the history of education, the significant contributions of Johann

Heinrich Pestalozzi are (1) his educational philosophy and instructional
method that encouraged harmonious intellectual, moral, and physical
development; (2) his methodology of empirical sensory learning, especially
through object lessons; and (3) his use of activities, excursions, and nature
studies that anticipated Progressive education.
Johann Pestalozzi believed that the school environment should be as
similar to the home environment as possible because emotional security is
necessary for learning. He also thought that students should be taught in the
same way that they experience new things in life - by moving from familiar
things to new things. Pestalozzi believed that education should develop the
powers of 'Head', 'Heart' and 'Hands'. He believed that this would help create
individuals who are capable of knowing what is right and what is wrong and
of acting according to this knowledge.
Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Froebel (born April 21, 1782, Oberweissbach, Thuringia,
Ernestine Saxony [now in Germany]—died June 21, 1852, Marienthal, near
Bad Liebenstein, Thuringia) was a German educator who was the founder of
the kindergarten and one of the most influential educational reformers of the
19th century.
Froebel was influenced by the outstanding German idealist
philosophers of his time and by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Pestalozzi. He
was a sincerely religious man who, because of his belief in
the underlying unity of all things, tended toward pantheism and has been
called a nature mystic. His most important contribution to educational theory
was his belief in “self-activity” and play as essential factors in child
education. The teacher’s role was not to drill or indoctrinate the children but
rather to encourage their self-expression through play, both individually and
in group activities. Froebel devised circles, spheres, and other toys—all of
which he referred to as “gifts” or “occupations”—that were designed to
stimulate learning through play activities accompanied by songs and music.
Modern educational techniques in kindergarten and preschool are much
indebted to him.

Johann Friedrich Herbart

Johann Friedrich Herbart (May 1776 – 14 August 1841) was a

German philosopher, psychologist and founder of pedagogy as an academic
discipline. Herbart is now remembered amongst the post-
Kantian philosophers mostly as making the greatest contrast to Hegel—in
particular in relation to aesthetics. His educational philosophy is known
as Herbartianism.
Philosophy, according to Herbart, begins with reflection upon
our empirical conceptions, and consists in the reformation and elaboration of
these, its three primary divisions being determined by as many distinct forms
of elaboration. Logic, which stands first, has to render our conceptions and
the judgments and reasonings arising from them clear and distinct. But some
conceptions are such that the more distinct they are made the more
contradictory their elements become; so to change and supplement these as
to make them at length thinkable is the problem of the second part of
philosophy, or metaphysics. There is still a class of conceptions requiring
more than a logical treatment, but differing from the last in not involving
latent contradictions, and in being independent of the reality of their objects,
the conceptions that embody our judgments of approval and disapproval; the
philosophic treatment of these conceptions falls under [Link]'s
pedagogy emphasised the connection between individual development and
the resulting societal contribution. In Platonic tradition, Herbart espoused
that only by becoming productive citizens could people fulfill their true
purpose: "He believed that every child is born with a unique potential, his
Individuality, but that this potential remained unfulfilled until it was
analysed and transformed by education in accordance with what he regarded
as the accumulated values of civilisation". Only formalised, rigorous
education could, he believed, provide the framework for moral and
intellectual development. The five key ideas which composed his concept of
individual maturation were Inner Freedom, Perfection, Benevolence, Justice
and Equity or Recompense.
John Dewey

John Dewey was the most significant educational thinker of his era
and, many would argue, of the 20th century. As a philosopher, social
reformer and educator, he changed fundamental approaches to teaching and
learning. His ideas about education sprang from a philosophy of pragmatism
and were central to the Progressive Movement in schooling. In light of his
importance, it is ironic that many of his theories have been relatively poorly
understood and haphazardly applied over the past hundred years.
Dewey's concept of education put a premium on meaningful activity
in learning and participation in classroom democracy. Unlike earlier models
of teaching, which relied on authoritarianism and rote learning, progressive
education asserted that students must be invested in what they were learning.
Dewey argued that curriculum should be relevant to students' lives. He saw
learning by doing and development of practical life skills as crucial to
children's education. Some critics assumed that, under Dewey's system,
students would fail to acquire basic academic skills and knowledge. Others
believed that classroom order and the teacher's authority would disappear.

Soren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard is an outsider in the history of philosophy. His

peculiar authorship comprises a baffling array of different narrative points of
view and disciplinary subject matter, including aesthetic novels, works of
psychology and Christian dogmatics, satirical prefaces, philosophical
“scraps” and “postscripts,” literary reviews, edifying discourses, Christian
polemics, and retrospective self-interpretations. His arsenal of rhetoric
includes irony, satire, parody, humor, polemic and a dialectical method of
“indirect communication” – all designed to deepen the reader’s subjective
passionate engagement with ultimate existential issues.
Kierkegaard's educational philosophy, stated succinctly, is that doing
is qualitatively different than knowing. In short, educators must realize
should is practiced by a subjective agent. And it not transmitted to a pupil
who is a neutral vessel lacking vicarious or personal experience and
subjectivity. In addition to being dubbed “the father of existentialism,
Kierkegaard is best known as a trenchant critic of Hegel and Hegelianism
and for his invention or elaboration of a host of philosophical,
psychological, literary and theological categories, including: anxiety,
despair, melancholy, repetition, inwardness, irony, existential stages,
inherited sin, teleological suspension of the ethical, Christian paradox, the
absurd, reduplication, universal/exception, sacrifice, love as a duty,
seduction, the demonic, and indirect communication.

Jean Paul Sarte

 Jean-Paul Sartre was a novelist, playwright, and philosopher. His
major contribution to twentieth-century thinking was his system of
existentialism, an ensemble of ideas describing humans' freedom and
responsibilities within a framework of human dignity. That is, he evolved a
philosophy which concerned itself with existence in all its forms: social,
political, religious, and philosophical.

All of Sartre's works, whether they be novels, plays, essays, or major

philosophical treatises, are media through which he presented his ideas.
Sartre was not a stylist, and aesthetics were of limited interest to him. His
plays have even been called "black and white." More important to him than
aesthetics was the thinking behind the works; he shifted back and forth
between literary genres more to suit his ideological needs than to satisfy any
aesthetic purpose.

Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx was the oldest surviving boy of nine children. His
father, Heinrich, a successful lawyer, was a man of the Enlightenment,
devoted to Kant and Voltaire, who took part in agitations for a constitution
in Prussia. His mother, born Henrietta Pressburg, was from Holland. Both
parents were Jewish and were descended from a long line of rabbis, but, a
year or so before Karl was born, his father—probably because his
professional career required it—was baptized in the Evangelical Established
Church. Karl was baptized when he was six years old. Although as a youth
Karl was influenced less by religion than by the critical,
sometimes radical social policies of the Enlightenment, his Jewish
background exposed him to prejudice and discrimination that may have led
him to question the role of religion in society and contributed to his desire
for social change.
The Marxist approach to education is broadly constructivist, and
emphasises activity, collaboration and critique, rather than passive
absorption of knowledge, emulation of elders and conformism; it is student-
centred rather than teacher centred, but recognises that education cannot
transcend the problems and capabilities of the society in which it is
[Link] Marx stressed economic issues in his writings, his major
impact has been in the fields of sociology and history. Marx’s most
important contribution to sociological theory was his general mode of
analysis, the “dialectical” model, which regards every social system as
having within it immanent forces that give rise to “contradictions”
(disequilibria) that can be resolved only by a new social system.

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin (born April 10 [April 22, New Style], 1870, Simbirsk,
Russia—died January 21, 1924, Gorki [later Gorki Leninskiye], near
Moscow) founder of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), inspirer
and leader of the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), and the architect, builder,
and first head (1917–24) of the Soviet state. He was the founder of the
organization known as Comintern (Communist International) and
the posthumous source of “Leninism,” the doctrine codified and conjoined
with Karl Marx’s works by Lenin’s successors to form Marxism-Leninism,
which became the Communist worldview.
He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet
Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924, and of the Soviet Union from 1922
to 1924. Under his administration, Russia, and later the Soviet Union,
became a one-party socialist state governed by the Communist Party.
Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary
Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the
proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to
the establishment of communism.

George Hegel

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel developed the concept of

institutionalized education, which reflected public schooling and its
legitimacy in the context of rapid transformation of European feudal
societies to modern societies. He developed a philosophy based on freedom
within a wider philosophical system offering novel views on topics ranging
from property and punishment to morality and the state. Hegel's main work
was the Elements of the Philosophy of Right (“PR”) first published in 1821.
Fundamentally, Hegel views education and learning as “experiential”
(see Hegel 1977, p. 55). But to have a philosophy of education or, better, a
science or philosophy that is education, experience has somehow to
experience itself, to recognize the educational development which is taking
place.

Mao Tse-Tsung

Mao Zedong (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese

politician, Marxist theorist, military strategist, poet, and revolutionary who
was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He led the country
from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976, while also serving as
the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party during that time. His theories,
military strategies and policies are known as Maoism.
Mao is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th
century. He has been credited with transforming China from a semi-
colony to a leading world power by advancing literacy, women's rights,
basic healthcare, primary education, and improving life expectancy.
However, Mao's policies were also responsible for a vast number of deaths,
with estimates ranging from 40 to 80 million victims due to starvation,
persecution, prison labour, and mass executions, and his government has
been described as totalitarian. He became an ideological figurehead and a
prominent influence over the international communist movement, being
endowed with remembrance, admiration and cult of personality both during
and after his life. Mao was the second longest non-royal ruler of China,
behind Chiang Kai-shek.
Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini (born July 29, 1883, Predappio, Italy—died April

28, 1945, near Dongo) Italian prime minister (1922–43) and the first of 20th-
century Europe’s fascist dictators. As Mussolini solidified his power in the
1920s, he increasingly placed restrictions on school curricula (and public
discourse) until the regime announced the development of national
textbooks produced by a handful of party faithful. Mussolini denounced the
PSI, his views now centering on Italian nationalism instead of socialism, and
later founded the fascist movement which came to oppose egalitarianism and
class conflict, instead advocating "revolutionary nationalism" transcending
class lines.
But in the world of twentieth century dictators, Benito Mussolini was
a pioneer. He created fascism, a movement that would plunge most of
Europe into darkness. From undermining judges to indoctrinating children,
he pioneered key tactics that other dictators would use to seize power.

Joseph Butler

Bishop Joseph Butler is a well-known religious philosopher of the

eighteenth century. He is still read and discussed among contemporary
philosophers, especially for arguments against some major figures in the
history of philosophy, such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. In
his Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (1729), Butler argues
against Hobbes’s egoism, and in the Analogy of Religion (1736), he argues
against Locke’s memory-based theory of personal identity.
Overall, Butler’s philosophy is largely defensive. His general strategy
is to accept the received systems of morality and religion and, then, defend
them against those who think that such systems can be refuted or
disregarded. Butler ultimately attempts to naturalize morality and religion,
though not in an overly reductive way, by showing that they are essential
components of nature and common life. He argues that nature is a moral
system to which humans are adapted via conscience. Thus, in denying
morality, Butler takes his opponents to be denying our very nature, which is
untenable. Given this conception of nature as a moral system and certain
proofs of God’s existence, Butler is then in a position to defend religion by
addressing objections to it, such as the problem of evil.

Rene Descartes

René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern

Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional
Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his
development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. That is, in
Descartes' conception, education involves certainty, universally valid truth
and indomitability. In other words, to be educated is to cultivate the mind
with power of reason in such a way that the mind is capable of holding
intuition and universal truth that is founded on certainty.

His fundamental break with Scholastic philosophy was twofold. First,

Descartes thought that the Scholastics’ method was prone to doubt given
their reliance on sensation as the source for all knowledge. Second, he
wanted to replace their final causal model of scientific explanation with the
more modern, mechanistic model. His most significant achievement was the
use of algebraic formulas to describe geometric figures, which formed a
branch of mathematics known as analytical geometry. Every high school
student becomes familiar with Descartes' work as it was the foundation of
the Cartesian coordinate system.

St. Augustine

Augustine viewed education as a passion and a process of opening up

the mind to ideas through critical thinking. For Augustine, growth was a
property not just of the body, but of the mind as well. In his view, as the
mind opens itself to critical thinking and new ideas, so it grows. Augustine’s
contribution to philosophical and theological thought is broad and manifold,
from the theory of knowledge and language to the conception of evil and
freedom, from the doctrine of creation and time to the analysis of the mind
and its acts, from the most difficult questions concerning divine grace and
the Trinity to the reading of human history as the interweaving of two
mystical ‘cities’.
In Augustine's view, the teacher was key to effective, formative
education. He argued that the teacher's attitude would determine the
student's enthusiasm for learning, and that good teaching skills were critical.
In fact, he argued that it was better not to teach than to teach ineffectively
and with a poor attitude. Like most ancient philosophers, Augustine thinks
that the human being is a compound of body and soul and that, within this
compound, the soul—conceived as both the life-giving element and the
center of consciousness, perception and thought—is, or ought to be, the
ruling part.
V. FILIPINO THINKERS AND EDUCATORS
Jose Rizal

Jose Rizal's philosophy of education centers on the stipulation of

proper motivation in order to encourage the great social forces that make
education a success, to generate in our youth an intrinsic desire to cultivate
his intelligence. Rizal's guiding political philosophy proved to be the study
and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for
self government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression,
brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love.
Rizal’s concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in
his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools
and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his
country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos’ indifference,
apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the
Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to
elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the people’s
mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for
social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country
be saved from domination.
Rizal’s philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of
proper motivation in order to bolster the great social forces that make
education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his
intelligence and give him life eternal.

Andres Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio is regarded as the Father of the Philippine

Revolution against Spain. He also is known as the Father of the Katipunan, a
secret revolutionary society he founded in 1892 and whose goal was to win
Philippine independence from Spain by means of a revolution. Andres
Bonifacio believes that education is not a necessity to consider someone as
intellectual. Someone could attain all possible educational degrees yet could
still be uneducated. It also does not guarantee that they are more intelligent
than those whose degrees are lower than theirs. His educational philosophies
are rooted from all his experiences since he stood as parents to his younger
siblings. Bonifacio also believed that learning can be done self-paced as long
as dedication and perseverance is present.

Emilio Jacinto

Emilio Jacinto was an eloquent and brave young man, known as both
the soul and the brain of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio's revolutionary
organization. In his short life, Jacinto helped to lead the fight for Filipino
independence from Spain. He laid out principles for the new government
envisioned by Bonifacio; in the end, however, neither man would survive to
see the Spanish overthrown. Jacinto wrote for the official Katipunan
newspaper, the Kalayaan. He also penned the official handbook of the
movement, called the Kartilya ng Katipunan. Despite his young age of just
21, Jacinto became a general in the group's guerrilla army, taking an active
role in the fight against the Spanish near Manila.
Jacinto's idea of liberty is not volitional but intellectual. It is not
freedom of the will, but the freedom to think unrestrictedly and to do what
reason dictates for as long as it does not conflict with the reasons of others.
Intellectual liberty is primary and the foundation of physical and political
liberty.

Apolinario Mabini

Apolinario Mabini was a simple farmer’s son from Tanauan, Batangas

possessed with determination, perseverance and ambition. He proved that
poverty was not an impediment to acquiring an education nor an excuse to
mediocrity by supporting himself through his studies. His mother was a
market vendor while his father is a simple farmer in the province. He
suffered illness (polio) that led to his paralysis. Being a poor is not a
hindrance for him, he earned a degree in teaching in 1887 and finished law
in 1894. He became a full-pledge lawyer in 1895. Despite of his situation, he
never quit school but became persuasive to finish his education. He became
a good writer, lawyer and Filipino patriot. He was also a political
philosopher and revolutionary. He inscribed the constitution for the first
Philippine Republic of 1899-1901 and became the first prime minister in
1899. He has been dubbed as the “Brains of the Revolution.” He was also
named as "the Sublime Paralytic" because he was paralyzed by polio. One of
his famous work is his Decalogue for Filipinos
Apolinario Mabini became one of Aguinaldo’s advisers during the
Filipino American war. He turned out to be an inspiration for Filipinos who
fought the war. He suggested to make renovation of changing the current
form of dictatorial government to revolutionary one. He structured the
political systems, he instituted organizations of barangays, municipalities,
and provinces, and he formed the judiciary and the development of police
forces of the country, and formulated army rules and policies. He is the
prime minister when the revolutionary convened at Malolos, Bulacan.
He drafted decrees and crafted the constitution for the First Philippine
Republic, including the framework of the revolutionary government which
was implemented in Malolos, Bulacan in 1899. Mabini highly regarded
education as path in honing oneself. He believed that education, is
improving a person’s special gift and it should be aligned with a person’s
ability and that true education never leaves the path of righteousness.

Manuel L. Quezon

Quezon's emphasis on education was guided by his belief that a well-

educated citizenry was essential for the progress and advancement of the
nation. He prioritized the expansion of public education, improving access to
schools, and promoting the Filipino language as a medium of instruction.
Quezon's philosophy of education is essentially local or Philippine in
orientation. It is a reflection of the need of a colonial people to upgrade
themselves intellectually, morally, and economically through the process of
education. It is one of the most important Filipino educational philosophies
during the American colonial period. According to Quezon, there are two
objectives of Philip- pine education: (1) education for better citizenship, and
(2) education as means of livelihood. Quezon stressed that the good of the
state is paramount to the good of the individual. The state has the duty to
mold the spirit of the youth in patriotism and self-sacrifice which can be
done through education.

Teodoro M. Kalaw

Wrote the Cinco Reglas de Nuestra Moral Antigua, published in 1935

which prescribed five traits to the traditional Filipino character: courage,
chastity courtesy, self-control, and family unity. It is the duty of schools to
develop these virtues.

Camilo Osias

His philosophy centered on what he called the tayo concept (we) as

distinguished from the ako (individual) kivta (dual) and kami (we exclusive)
concepts. Dr. Osias believes that education must secure for every Filipino
the fullest measure of efficiency, freedom, and happiness. The school
system must contribute its share in achieving the goals of education by
inculcating in the hearts and minds of the young the values of preserving the
patrimony of the nation.
He suggested that all schools must preserve the solidarity of the
Filipinos; work out for proper equilibrium in the economic order; develop
social justice; observe the merit system in government service , promote
peace and national defense; uphold the inalienable rights of life, property,
liberty, and happiness of each citizen; preserve and respect all the
fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the constitution; conserve the principle
of equality; keep over aloft the torch of education; and make democracy a
living reality.

Pedro Orata

The direct aim of education according to Orata is the direct

development of character, all around character and well-adjusted
personality.

Rafael Palma

The primary purpose of education, according to Palma, is to develop

the individual to his highest efficiency so that he can be of use to himself
and to the community. This is in consonance with the philosophy of
altruism and is closely allied to citizenship.
Herman Gregorio

Worked for a learner centered educative process, where the

educational environment applies the theory of self-activity as the basis of all
learning and where the development of whole child is the primary objective
of education. For him the aims of education are formulated in terms of child
growth and development and that the school curriculum is organized in
terms of activities and projects.

Jorge Bocobo

The bases of education in the Philippines, according to Bocobo, are

the Filipino socio-cultural values and traditions. The spirit of nationalism
and love of country must serve as the foundation of education. Further, the
learner must be prepared for a democratic way of life and thinking.

Jose P. Laurel

He declared that a free and sovereign country should provide for an

educational system that is responsive to the needs of the people and adapted
to their idiosyncrasies, customs, traditions, and basic principles.
His concepts heavily influenced the establishment of the board of
national education, later named “national board of education” Of which he
was an ex-officio member as chairman, committee on education of the
senate.