Using a graphic organizer, present the historical development of teaching as a
profession in the Philippines.
No established formal schooling, so no formal
preparation for teachers as well.
Pre-Colonial Period Mothers, fathers and tribal leaders serve as
teachers.
Education was oral, practical, and hands on
Formal schooling started in parochial schools
Religious congregations built schools
Spanish Period Emphasis on christian doctrines, promotion of
Spanish language and imposition of Spanish
culture.
Educational Decree of 1863- This established
free public school system. 1 school for boys
and 1 school for girls in every municipality.
Spanish missionaries served as teachers.
Educational Decree of 1863- The decree also
provided for normal school run by the Jesuits to
educate male teachers or maestros.
In 1875, normal schools for women or maestras
were established. It was the Spaniards who
started teacher training in normal schools.
At the end of Spanish Rule, schools maintained
by Spain for more than 3 decades were closed
briefly, but were reopened on August 29, 1898.
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.
The Americans considered their primary goal to
educate and to train in the science of self-
government.
American Period English as a medium of instruction.
The American soldiers were the first teachers of
the Filipinos.
Education Act of 1901 or Act of 74- A highly
centralized public school system was installed.
The implementation of this Act created a heavy
shortage of teachers so the Philippine
Commission authorized the Secretary of Public
Instruction to bring to the Philippines 600
teachers from the U.S.A. They were the
Thomasites.
Act No. 477 of 1902- Change the Bureau of
Public Instruction to Bureau of Education.
Philippine Commission- The high school
system supported by provincial governments,
special educational institutions, school of arts
and trades, an agricultural school, and
commerce and marine institutes were
established.
The Philippine Legislature approved Act No.
1870 created the University of the Philippines.
The Reorganization of 1916- the Filipinization
of all department secretaries except the
Secretary of Public Instruction.
In 1936, President Quezon created the National
Council of Education as an advisory body on
educational matters. The council made
Commonwealth important recommendations to further improve
Period the educational system in the Philippines. Most
of these recommendations were accepted and
carried out by the government.
EO No. 134- President Quezon designated
Tagalog as basis of a national language. 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.
Education Act of 1940- Under this law, the
elementary course was reduced from 7 to 6
years. School entrance age was 7 years old.
The school calendar was also changed so
instead of the school year from June to March,
it was changed to July to April.
Order No. 2 of the Japanese Imperial Forces
set up the war time educational aims in Phils:
fostering a new culture based on
Japanese Period
consciousness of the people as Orientals;
elevating the morals of the people over
materialism; diffusion of elem. educ. and
promotion of vocational educ.; diffusion of
Japanese language and termination of use of
English in schools.
establishment of vocational, agricultural and
technical schools; teaching P.E. and Japanese
songs.
Order No. 2 of the Japanese Imperial Forces
was established to set up war time educational
objectives.
In 1947, under Executive Order No. 94, the
Department of Instruction was changed to the
Third Republic Department of Education. During this period,
the regulation and supervision of public and
private schools belonged to the Bureau of
Public and Private Schools.
RA No. 139- Provides the basics for the
selection and adoption of textbooks.
RA 1079- pursuant to RA 1079, teachers are
required to take civil service exam to be eligible
to teach in public schools.
RA 1265- Making flag ceremony compulsory in
all educational institutions.
RA 1425 or Rizal Law- Directs all public and
private schools, colleges and universities to
include in their curricula courses or subject on
the life, work and writings of Dr. Jose Rizal.
In 1966, RA 4650, The Magna Carta for Public
School Teachers was enacted focusing on the
Fourth Republic
recruitment qualification of teachers, Code of
Professional Conduct, teaching load and
overtime, GSIS benefits, leaves and salary
increase.
In 1972, the Department of Education became
the Department of Education and Culture under
Proclamation 1081.
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.
In 1976, PD No. 1006 or Professionalization of
teachers and teaching was enacted (now LET).
As per PD 1006, teachers are given
professional status upon passing the board
exam (PBET). Currently, RA 7836 mandates
that teachers should pass the LET as
administered by the PRC.
In 1978, by the Presidential Decree No. 1397,
the Department of Education and Culture
became the Ministry of Education and Culture.
In 1982, BP Blg 232 was enacted for the
following: voluntary accreditation for schools,
colleges or universities; obligations and
qualifications of teachers and administrators;
government financial assistance to private
schools and established integrated systems of
education.
On February 2, 1987, a new Constitution for the
Philippines was ratified. Section 3, Article XIV
Fifth Republic
of the 1987 Constitution contains the ten
fundamental aims of education in the
Philippines. It is also seen that under the 1987
Constitution (under Section 2 (2), Article XIV),
only elementary school was made compulsory.
In 1987, the Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sports became the Department of Education,
Culture and Sports under Executive Order No.
117. 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 and
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-- with
60% of the wage paid by the employer and
40% by the government.
The Congressional Commission on Education
(EDCOM) report of 1991 recommended the
division of DECS into three parts. 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 supervised 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), which
absorbed the Bureau of Technical-Vocational
Education as well as the National Manpower
and Youth Council, and began to supervise
non-degree technical-vocational programs.
DECS retained responsibility for all elementary
and secondary education. This threefold
division became known as the "trifocal system
of education in the Philippines".
In 1994 the following laws were enacted: RA
No. 7836 or the Philippine Teachers
Professionalization Act (LET); RA No. 7784 or
In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise
called the Governance of Basic Education Act,
was passed. This act changed the name of the
2000’s
Department of Education, Culture and Sports
(DECS) to the Department of Education and
redefined the role of field offices (regional
offices, division offices, district offices and
schools).
During the time of President Arroyo, the
following programs were established: Thinking
Skills Development for Maximized Cognitive
Development, Teacher Training Program, Child
Friendly School System, Every Child A Reader
Program, Brigada Eskwela, School First
Initiative and School-Based Management.
In 2010, President Benigno Aquino III desires
for the implementation of the K-12 Basic
2010’s education cycle.
In 2011, the Department of Education started to
implement the new K-12 educational system,
which also included a new curriculum for all
schools nationwide. The K-12 program has a
so-called "phased implementation", which
started in S.Y 2011-2012.
The following laws were enacted: RA No. 9155
or the Governance of Basic Education Act and
RA No. 9163 or the National Service Training
Program Act.
In 2016, RA No 10912 or the Continuing
Professional Development Act was passed
which requires CPD as the mandatory
requirement for the renewal of Professional
Identification Card for Professionals.
In 2019, RA 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act or
the Anti-Bastos Law was enacted.
References:
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-education-in-the-philippines
https://www.slideshare.net/JbTrongco777/history-of-e#:~:text=Third
%20Republic%20%EF%82%97%20In%201947,of%20Public%20and
%20Private%20Schools.
https://kathleenkayebiay.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/timeline-of-philippine-
education.pdf
https://www.slideshare.net/marzelle31/teaching-profession-historical-
perspective-of-philippine-educational-system
https://www.teacherph.com/legal-bases-of-philippine-educational-system/
https://www.teacherph.com/history-system-education-philippines/#:~:text=The
%20American%20soldiers%20were%20the,of%20trained%20teachers%20in
%20America.&text=Hundreds%20of%20Filipino%20pensionados%20were,in
%20the%20US%20until%201928.
https://www.coursehero.com/file/55184216/21-History-of-Teaching-in-the-
Philippines-copy-for-Studentspptx/
https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-11313/
