SHS

Group 6

Functions and Importance of Education

in the Society

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
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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 t h e b a s i c e d u c a t i o n l e v e l , t h e Department o f
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
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 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 has 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

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 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.”

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 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 behavior 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 really 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.

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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

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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.