CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to

another.” ― G.K. Chesterton. The US colonialism has a big influence in the Philippines,

largely in the process of growing educational system of the Philippines. In fact, the biggest

contribution of America is the English language and it’s not only taught to every Filipino

school students but was adopted as a medium of instructions in all public schools in the

Philippines and it also become the second language and Filipino as national language.

Filipinos well-knowledge in the English language could be a global tool in personal

economic growth, specifically if you think about the business process to send away

industry in the global landscape. Regardless of this, Filipinos are still dependent on

accomplishing college degrees in terms of having the professional ladder, as a college

diploma is still a very basic requirement or qualification in financially fulfilling jobs. This

point in time, luckily a lot of advancements have happened in the modern Philippine

education system that aimed to accredit Filipinos personally and professionally (Plaza,

2018).
 In his 2015 article, Dacumos stated that Filipinos were among the most educated

people in all of Asia by the time of American occupancy in 1898. Some scholars claiming

that the average Filipino that time was even more educated than the average American. It

also proclaimed the use of English language as the official medium of instruction in all

public schools. Filipinos’ continued English language proficiency and their undying

support for democracy. In effect, the lasting legacy of American educational reforms in the

Philippines would later on be felt until today.

The main purpose of education is to educate individuals within the society, to

prepare and qualify them for work in economy as well as to integrate people into society

and teach them values and morals of society. The education system of the Philippines has

been highly influenced by the country’s colonial history, particularly America. In the

present day, the United States continues to influence the Philippine education system. The

study aimed to know the significance of American occupation to the educational system in

the Philippines. It is relevant to the school community and to the government who is

responsible of implementing educational policies. The researchers seek to answer the

question, how American occupation helped to improve the quality of education in the

Philippines since then?

In Accordance to Sajid Musa (2012), the Americans brought many cultural and

traditional changes to the country during their 45 years of colonization (1898-1946). United

States used Philippines as a tool to fulfill their visions. During American Occupancy, levels

of education were divided into three; The “Elementary”, “Secondary” and the “College”,

also this Period introduced new subjects such as: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Language,

GMRC, Civics and Hygiene and Citations.

According to B.A Aggabao (2018), the American education model was introduced

to the Philippines after the Spanish era. This is era considered to be the “Golden Years” of

Philippine education system because the medium of instruction English was used and

academic curriculum was patterned in their system. These substantial change helped

Philippine education to be more idealistic and think liberal. The American teaching method

introduced class recitation, participation, debate, role playing and active class involvement.

Thus this Period became questionable to Filipinos because the Filipino Language

was barely used in the teaching and learning process, Filipino students felt handicapped

not only because of the language barrier, but also because the system was originally

designed for American Students.

History of Barangay Caniogan

This study will be conducted in Caniogan, Pasig City, Philippines (Figure

1). Barangay Caniogan is one of the biggest barangay in Pasig City. During early Spanish

period, the place was ordered to have coconut planted trees. That time, there was an

abundance of coconut in the whole area. That’s why the place was called "niyugan". The

residence verbally called Kaniyugan. They didn't used the Tagalog alphabet "K and Y

"during the Spanish Era. Barangay Caniogan is located on the northern part of Pasig City

(https://www.zamboanga.com).
 Figure 1

Map of Brgy. Caniogan

History of Pasig City

According to Philippines Cities (2017), at about 1450 A.D. Pasig was peaceful

kingdom. The source of living of the people at that time is the river. They getting their

food, washing their clothes and also for taking a bath. Pasig is part of Rizal Province before.

In 1975 it was carved out of Rizal and became part of Metro Manila.

Pasig City (Figure 2) is a city found in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located 14.59

latitude and 121.06 longitude and it is situated at elevation 63 above sea level. It is the 3 rd

biggest city in Metro Manila and it has a population of 617 301.

Map of Pasig City

History of Arellano University

Florentino Cayco Sr. The one who created Arellano University. Arellano

University named after Cayetano Arellano, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of

the Philippines. Arellano Law College was established 1938. The Arellano Law of School

was the first ever Law School opened in the Philippines. During the World War II, Japanese

invasion in the Philippines the University on December 1941 to 1945. Arellano University

reopened on April 1945 and renamed it to Arellano Colleges. Suddenly the Arellano

Colleges became Arellano University on February 1947 with the effort of Florentino Cayco
Sr. The University was moved to Plaza Guipit and relocated back to Sampaloc. The

University has expanded it has six branches and named it to several heroes of the

Philippines as follows: Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini , Jose Abad Santos, Jose

Rizal, Juan Marquez-Sumulong, and Marcelo H. Del Pilar (

https://phcollegesuniv.fandom.com ).

Theoretical Framework

The study will be guided by the progressivism educational theory of John Dewey

(1897) emphasizing the importance of democracy in school. Progressivism suggests that

education should constantly reconstruct the experiences of students. "Progressivism

Education Movement" in the United States helped boost American public schools from

budding idea to regular norm started from 1880s. Learning environment should be arranged

according to the needs and interest of the students. Based on social, cultural and

technological developments, the goals of education must be in dynamic change. So,

therefore problem solving is the key concept of education according to Progressivism

(Cevizci, 2016; Ergun, 2013).

Figure no. 3

Progressivism Theory

John Dewey (1897) in figure 3 uses the progressivism ideology as a protection,

defence or shield to the holistic problems of the society. Under the umbrella are the various

economic, political and social problems and reforms that people are dealing with.

The significant role of education is to open the mind of the students about the

reality, to prepare them in the battle of surviving in the real world. Education may be the

key to solve the unending problems in the society.

currently used in classrooms all over the world. Schools should improve the way of life of

the citizens through experiencing freedom and democracy in schools. Shared decision

making, planning of teachers with students, student-selected topics are all aspects. This

theory focus heavily on what should be teach and implement, the curriculum aspect.

Statement of the Problem

The researchers observed that Philippine education system was greatly influenced

by the Western people affecting the school community way of learning and teaching,

government’s decision of implementing educational policies and how society value

education. This research aimed to know the importance of American occupation to the

educational system of the Philippines seek to answer the following questions:

1. What are the contributions of Americans in terms of Learning Environment ?

2. How does the Educational System ( School Management ) in the Philippines work?

3. What are the teaching methods used in school ?

4. How American occupation helped improve the quality of education in the Philippines

using those educational content ?

Significance of the Study

its people and its future. If the government implement good educational system, people

will benefit from them. Education reduces poverty, boosts economic growth and increases

income.

To the Citizen. They will learn to value education since it helps them to acquire new skills

and knowledge that will impact their development in life.

To the Next Generation. They will know the history of Philippines during American

occupation, their contributions to the education system and how education system in the

Philippines work.

Scope and Limitation

The coverage of the study focused only on determining the significance of

American occupation to the educational system of the Philippines as evaluation of how

convenient it is to the educational system of the country. The respondents were determined

by the combined numbers of teachers and students from senior high (HUMSS). Teachers

were chosen to be part of the study because they have large part in the school community

and they knew a lot about educational systems which has been implemented in the school,

so as the students. The study will be conducted within the premises of Arellano University-

Andres Bonifacio Campus, Pasig City (scope).

The researchers did not include the other strands because they are not focused on

studying about government and social firms and issues . The study will investigate only
personal opinions of teachers and students about the significance of American occupancy

in the Philippine educational system (limitation).

Definition of Terms
American Era. This term refers to the Golden years of the Philippines.

American Occupation. This term refers to the growth of Philippine educational system.

The development of new educational system and democracy.

Educational System. This term refers to the traditional and cultural changes in the

Philippines in terms of education.

English Language. This term refers to as global tool for personal economic growth.