SHS

Understanding Culture, Society & Politics

Module 8:
Functions and Importance of Education in the
Society
 Target

Education cultivates a country’s economy and society; therefore, it is the

milestone of a nation’s progress. Education provides knowledge and skills to the
population, as well as shaping the personality of the youth of a nation. Nevertheless,
can education really shape the nation’s advancement? What can it do and what is its
role in the society?

Education is the most crucial aspect of society. Why? It is for the reason
that when it given great attention it will become the powerful tool to make every
individual the catalyst of change, a change than can make the society progressive
and functional. Society and every individual should work hand in hand so that no
one would be set aside and become outdated knowing that we are now living in a
highly modernized society. In order to achieve that, everyone should be aware on
the functions of education in the society.

In the previous lesson, you were able to explain the forms and functions of
state and non-state institution wherein in gives a leeway in providing our society
the necessary needs and support to be able to cope with this vast changing world
that we are living. It also employs how state and non-state institutions are put to
work to further human security, state and non-state institutions help people cope
with and reduce the multiple insecurities in our lives.

In this module, you are going also to look into how education functions in
our society, thus, after going through this module you are expected to examine the
functions and importance of education in the society.

Specific learning Objectives:

1. define education;
2. trace and describe the educational system of the Philippines;
3. give the functions and importance of education in the society; and
4. evaluate how education functions and affects 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
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.