Understanding Culture, Society & Politics

Module 8: Functions and Importance of

Education in the Society

Jumpstart

What I Know Assessment.

I. Read and analyze the concepts below. Write the word Correct if the idea of the
statement is true and write the word Incorrect if otherwise. Write your answer
in a separate sheet of paper.

1. Education is also a form of socialization according to sociologists.

2. The American colonization in the Philippines lasted for forty-eight years
and had brought a big influence in our education system today.
3. The education during the Spanish time was open for all indios.
4. Formal education follows indefinite system of learning process.
5. Tertiary education is regulated by the Department of Education.
6. Elementary education is a formal type of education.
7. Elementary education in the country is compulsory thus all Filipino
children are enrolled in elementary school.
8. SPED school aims to develop the potentials of the child with special needs.
9. High school has a total of six years under the new school curriculum.
10. Education reflects a classless society.

II. Identification. Identify what is being asked.

11. He proposed the theory of hierarchy of needs.

12. What is the letter E in the acronym of UNESCO stands for?
13. What is the starting level under K to 12 the basic education?
14. Primary education is considered a human .
15. Type of education that enables a student to learn skills and knowledge
through structured learning experiences.

Discover

Definition of Education
Education is the social institution through which society provides its
members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural
norms and values (Macionis, 2012). Education is the acquisition of knowledge,
habits, skills, and abilities through instruction and training or through self-activity.
It is systematic training of the moral and intellectual faculties of the mind. It is the
process of transmitting to the young, the vital cultural heritage of a group.
Education in the Philippines
Education in the Philippines is managed and regulated by the Department
of Education, commonly referred to as the DepEd. It controls the Philippine
educational system, including the creation and implementation of the curriculum
and the utilization of funds allotted by the national government. It also manages
the construction of schools, acquisition of books and other school materials, and
the recruitment of teachers and staff.
Before the Philippines attained independence in 1946, the country’s
education system was patterned after the educational systems of Spain and the
United States. The Philippines, with exemption to other parts of the country, were
under Spanish rule for more than three hundred years while the Americans stayed
for twenty two years.
Spanish and the United States brought educational practices, which
reflected their culture and ideologies. During the Spanish time, the function of
education was inculcated moral and religious values. Religion was the core
curriculum, and the schools were used to spread Christianity. It mainly served the
upper classes; thus, education symbolized “social standing and prestige.” The
educated class consisted mostly of ilustrados. When the Americans came,
education was focused on the development of new social patterns that would
prepare the nation for a self-governing democracy. Public institution was
institutionalized to give every person the education needed to participate in a self-
governing democracy. The medium of instruction was English. However, after
independence, the country’s educational system changed radically.
Today, the government of the Philippines has been very active in tapping
the educational system for the country’s development efforts. With the adaptation
of the K to 12 programs, it is hoped that Philippine Educational System is now
responding to the demands of the economy for national development.

Types of Education
In general, there are three types of education, these are:
1. Formal education
This refers to the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded
educational system from primary school to the university, including
programs and institutions for full time technical and vocational training.
At the end of each level, the learners must obtain certification in order to
enter or advance to the next level. Formal education shall correspond to
the following levels in basic education:

a. Elementary Education
Elementary education involves compulsory, formal education
primarily concerned with providing basic education, and usually
corresponds to a traditional six grades or seven grades, and in
addition, to preschool programs. Such preschool education normally
consists of kindergarten schooling but may cover other preparatory
 courses as well. At the basic education level, the Department of
Education (DepEd) sets overall educational standards and
mandates standardized tests for the K to 12 basic education system,
although private schools are generally free to determine their own
curriculum in accordance with existing laws and Department
regulations.

b. Secondary Education
Secondary education, public schools and private schools, is
concerned primarily with continuing basic education of the
elementary level and expanding it to include the learning of
employable, gainful skills, usually corresponding to four years of
junior high school and two years of senior high school.

c. Tertiary Education
Institutions of higher education may be classified as either
public or private college or university, and public institutions of
higher education may further be subdivided into two types: state
universities and colleges and local colleges and universities.
Most institutions of higher learning are regulated by the
Commission of Higher Education (CHED). Colleges typically offer 1 or
more specialized programs while universities must offer at least 8 or
more different undergraduate degree programs in a wide array of
subjects and at least 2 or more graduate programs.
Public universities are all non-sectarian and offer a wide-range
of programs, with English as medium of instruction. Public
universities are government funded, with the largest, the University
of the Philippines, receiving a substantial amount from the annual
budget. There are also several private tertiary institutions, sectarian
or non-sectarian as well as for profit or not-for-profit.

2. Non-formal education
It refers to any organized educational activity outside the
established formal system to provide selected types of learning to a
segment of the population.
As a concept, non-formal education emerged in response to the
world crisis in education identified by Philip H. Coombs in 1967, who
argued that the formal education system have failed to address the
changing dynamics of the environment and the societies. The skills that
are needed to foster economic development are lacking due to untrained
labor force that is not able to access formal education. Non-formal
education enables a student to learn skills and knowledge through
structured learning experiences. A student learns his/her values,
principles, and beliefs and undergoes lifelong learning.

Example: Vocational Education

 Accredited private institutions offer technical and vocational
education. Programs offered vary in duration from a few weeks to two
years. On completion students may take centrally-administered
examinations to obtain their diploma or certificate.
Vocational colleges do not usually require an entrance examination.
Only a record of high school educational and an enrolment fee are
required.

3. Informal education
It is a lifelong process whereby every individual acquires from daily
experiences, attitudes, values, facts, skills, and knowledge or motor skill
from resources in his or her higher environment.
It offers alternative learning opportunities for the out of school
youth and adults specifically those who are 15 years old and above and
unable to avail themselves of the educational services and programs of
formal education. It reaches out to citizens of varied interests,
demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic origins and status. Its
primary objective is to provide literacy programs to eradicate illiteracy.

*Special Education
Special Education refers to the education of persons who are
physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, or culturally different from so-
called “normal” individuals, such that they require modification of school
practices to develop their potential. Special education provides distinct
services, curricula, and instructional materials geared to pupils or
students who are significantly higher or lower than the average or norm.
SPED aims to develop the maximums potential of the child with the
special needs to enable him/her to become self-reliant and take
advantage of the opportunities for a full and happy life.

Functions of Education in the Society

As British sociologist Herbert Spencer explains, functions are important to
be performed as they make the society whole. If each function is working well,
society attains progress. He lays down the functions of education as follows:

1. Productive Citizenry
Education systems enable citizens to be productive members of a
society, as they are equipped with knowledge and skills that could
contribute to the development of their society’s systems and institutions.
This highlights the importance of formal and non-formal education in the
development of oneself and the society. Consequentially, it is crucial for
educational systems to adapt to the changing demands of the
environment to efficiently capacitate individuals.
Being a productive citizen requires critical thinking. One must have
the ability to understand his or her duties and be able to respond to
them by making decisions. Through education, individuals are
 introduced to concepts concerning democracy, power, inequality, and
the like. This promotes greater awareness in his or her society. It
encourages vigilance and participation. Educational attainment does not
only contribute to the individual’s success but also to the betterment of
his or her environment.

2. Self-actualization
Education develops one’s sense of self. As a huge part of the
discovery process of oneself, education encourages having the vision to
become self-actualized. Moreover, it enables one to see your strengths
and maintain them. It enables one to determine weakness and adjust to
them. This helps one reach full potential and establish oneself as a
whole.
According to Abraham Maslow, self-actualization is the highest
form of human need. It was defined as “to become more and more what
one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”
The concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is once that level is
fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on.

Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

1. Physiological needs - these are biological requirements for human

survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. If
these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot function
optimally.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law,
stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs -the need for interpersonal
relationships motivates behaviour Examples include friendship,
intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and
love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two categories: (i)
esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, and independence)
and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status,
prestige). Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is
 most important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-
esteem or dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-
fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

However, through education, humans are empowered to experience and

learn their true capacities that lead to self-actualization. Humans also tend to find
boundless enthusiasm in learning outside the classroom, which is basically
through experience. With this, it becomes easier for them to socialize, to identify a
career path, to create self-identity, and the like. They will tend to have the ability to
analyze, evaluate, and decide on their own.
To others, education takes place both in and outside schools. It functions
to preserve and transmit the culture. It is, as Durkheim wrote: “the means by
which society perpetually recreates the conditions of its very existence.” Defined in
the most general sense, education can occur anywhere, in any setting, through any
experience. Thus broadly conceived, education has the same meaning as
socialization, the internalization of culture, and learning human behavior.
Whether it takes place in or outside of the school system, education is of
two kinds, formal and informal. Formal education is imparted by direct instruction.
Informal education comes about indirectly, the learner often unaware that he is
having a learning experience.
The primary function of education is the socialization of the new members
of the society. The late president Ramon Magsaysay aptly observed that “education
is the greatest equalizer of opportunities” for everybody. Other most important
objectives of education are:
1) Teaching basic skills, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
2) Helping children develop skills in abstracting thinking and problem
solving.
3) Transmitting the cultural heritage, from which individual may develop
an appreciation of their society.
4) Communicating to children the basic value of the society.
5) Teaching the special aspects of the culture, such as art, music,
literature, drama, science, technology, and sports.
6) Teaching vocational skills that help individuals enter the job market.
7) Training citizens for life within the political system of their society.
8) Preparing children to live long and form meaningful relationship with
other human beings.

Primary Education as a Human Right

Primary education is essential in the early stages of human life. Humans
need education to enable them to adapt to the dictates of their society. The United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declare that
education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other
human rights. It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields
important development benefits. Yet millions of children and adults remain
deprived of educational opportunities, many as a result of poverty.”
 Normative instruments of the United Nations and UNESCO lay down
international legal obligations for the right to education. These instruments
promote and develop the right of every person to enjoy access to education of good
quality, without discrimination or exclusion. These instruments bear witness to the
great importance that Member States and the international community attach to
normative action for realizing the right to education. It is for government to fulfil
their obligations both legal and political in regard to providing education for all of
good quality and to implement and monitor more effectively strategies.
Education is a powerful tool by which economically and socially
marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and participate
fully as citizens.
Although the UN is such powerful global actor that can mandate its
member to follow its structure, education deprivation still persists in most
societies. This exclusion is socially constructed in unequal settings.
Formal education suggests studying in a school or university where
everything is systematic. A teacher or professor explains, while a student listens
and understands. For that, the student pays the teacher. The last relates primarily
to the struggles between social classes. Formal education, in particular tries to
keep pace with the changes in the economy, as can be observed in the constant
tuition fee increases in institutions of higher learning.
The issue on education taps economical aspect of the society, as classism
stands as a barrier to the social development of humans. This also digs on the
impact of social inequality, as a systematic oppression lies especially on the lower
class. They experience discrepancies in educational opportunities due to financial
problems.

Explore

Enrichment Activity 1. Focusing on the roles or functions of education in the

national development, give at least 5 specific ways on how education can provide
quality life to an individual and to the society as a whole.

INDIVIDUAL SOCIETY
1
2

5
Enrichment Activity 2. Give specific scenarios/examples/ways on how education
helps an individual to attain its need on each hierarchy given below. You will be
guided by answering the questions below. Write your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.

How education
helps in
attaining self-
actualization?

How education helps in

establishing self-
esteem?

How education helps to feel

love and belongingness?

How can education helps in

attaining
safety and security?

How can education helps in sustaining

physiological needs?
.

Deepen

From all your answers in the activities and your new acquired knowledge
about education, think on how education create barriers or inequalities among the
members of the society making it difficult for the others to attain a quality state of
living. From that, make a slogan that promotes quality primary education for all.
Use any writing and coloring materials available.
 RUBRIC for the Slogan
Category 4 3 2 1
The slogan is The slogan is
The slogan is The slogan is
acceptably distractingly
exceptionally attractive in
attractive messy or very
Creativity attractive in terms terms of design,
though it may poorly
of design, layout, layout and
be a bit designed. It is
and neatness. neatness.
messy. not attractive.
3 accurate 2 accurate 1 accurate
Inaccurate
Content - reasons are reasons are reason is
reason(s) are
Accuracy displayed on the displayed on the displayed on
used.
slogan. slogan. the poster.
Slogan's
Slogan is
meaning isn't
Slogan is catchy Slogan is weak catchy but
clear and
and supports the but supports the doesn't
doesn't
Slogan idea of the idea of the support the
support the
importance of importance of idea of the
idea of the
education. education. importance of
importance of
education.
our education.

Gauge

A. Multiple Choice: Carefully read every question below and choose the letter
that corresponds to your answer. Write your answers in a separate sheet of
paper.

For items 1-4

A. Family B. Education C. Government D. Religion

1. The institution that administers the regulatory functions of law and order,
and maintains security in society.

2. The process of socialization, which begins informally at home and then

formally in educational institutions.

3. The most basic social institution and is a system of organized relationship

involving workable and dependable ways of meeting basic social needs.

4. Constitutes a set of beliefs regarding the ultimate power in the universe, the
ideal and proper pattern of behavior, and ceremonial ways to expressing
these beliefs.
For Items 5-8
A. Formal Education C. Non-Formal Education
B. Informal Education D. Special Education

5. It provides distinct services, facilities, curricula, and instructional materials

geared to pupils or students who are significantly higher or lower than the
average or norm.

6. Refers to the systematic and deliberate process of hierarchically structured

and sequential learning.

7. They are organized systematic education that provides selected types of

learning to a segment of the population.

8. It is a lifelong process of learning. What other function or purpose of

education it is referring to?

For Items 9-12

A. Education is Self-Empowerment
B. Fosters Participant Democracy
C. Financial stability
D. To complete the socialization process

9. Education helps you gain sufficient academic qualification, knowledge and

skills to get a suitable employment with proper remuneration or salary.
10. Literacy, which is the product of education, allows full participation of the
people in democratic process and effective voting.

11. Receiving a good education helps empower you, thus making you strong
enough to look after yourself in any given situation or conditions.

12. The main social objective of education which involves the family and school
as agents of socialization.

B. Define the following important terms.

1. School

2. Education

3. Self-actualization

4. Citizens
ANSWER KEY
References:
Printed:

Alejandria-Gonzalez, Maria Carinnes P., Understanding Society, Culture and

Politics Makati City: Diwa Learning Systems Inc., 2016, p.148-155.
Marquez-Alimbuyuguen, Marivic, Guiang-Franco, Weena, Cruz-Sa-ao, Beverly,
Sagandoy, Tecah C., Lumidao, Cherry L., Understanding Society, Culture
and Politics Bulacan: IPM Publishing, 2017, p.147-151.
Baleῆa, Ederlina D., Lucero, Dolores M., Peralta, Arnel M., Understanding Society,
Culture and Politics Quezon City: Educational Resources Corporation,
2016, p.106-112.
Arcilla-Serapio, Ma. Perpetua Understanding Society, Culture and Politics Manila:
Mindshapers Co., Inc. 2016, p.193-203.

Link:

https://www.wowcordillera.com/2017/08/list-of-state-colleges-and-
universities.html. Accessed June 25, 2020 8:00 AM.