Revamping the Philippine Educational System: A Guide to a Decolonized Approach
The Philippine education system, shaped by over a century of colonial influence, is undergoing a significant transformation as the nation seeks to decolonize its educational framework.
The Americanization of the Philippine educational curriculum, a calculated strategy of military conquest and cultural assimilation known as "Benevolent Assimilation," deeply impacted the country's social structures, language policies, and economic orientations. The introduction of American teachers, the Thomasites, in 1901 and the education policies under U.S. colonial rule institutionalized English as the language of instruction. This legacy persists today, with English remaining dominant in education, government, and business, creating stratification between those fluent and those less proficient.
The American strategies in the Cordilleras involved not just education but also the reconfiguration of local customs and community structures to foster a pan-Cordilleran identity. This transformation introduced American cultural symbols and English as a prominent language, impacting local identities to this day.
The DepEd's Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) policy, institutionalized in 2009 and implemented in 2012, mandates the use of learners' first languages for instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3. However, the implementation of MTB-MLE has faced practical difficulties, such as a lack of adequate resources and training for teachers to effectively deliver instruction in multiple languages.
The road to decolonizing scholarship is complex and ongoing, requiring a commitment to building capacity and empowerment within marginalized communities. Capacity-building involves creating robust infrastructures that support indigenous research methodologies and voices, ensuring these communities have the power to define their research agendas and interpret their findings. True decolonization begins with empowering communities to reclaim their narratives, investing in local scholars, providing resources for research, and nurturing environments where non-Western epistemologies can thrive.
Understanding the historical roots of the Philippine educational crisis, including the Americanization of the system, is essential to addressing current shortcomings and forging a path toward true educational reform and decolonization. The system's emphasis on producing workers for global markets, such as nursing and technical fields, traces back to American colonial goals of preparing Filipinos for roles beneficial to both the colonial economy and later the global economy. This focus persists today, with Filipino students often ranking at the bottom in tests measuring reading comprehension and other academic skills.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has recently ordered the incoming education secretary to strengthen subjects on Philippine history, acknowledging the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the nation's past to inform its future. This move reflects a growing awareness of the importance of decolonizing the education system and fostering a sense of national pride and identity.
In the face of these challenges, scholars like Stephen Acabado, professor of anthropology at the University of California-Los Angeles, are working to engage community stakeholders in research programs that aim to empower local voices and reclaim historical narratives. Acabado, who grew up in Tinambac, Camarines Sur, directs the Ifugao and Bicol Archaeological Projects, which seek to promote a more inclusive and culturally sensitive approach to research and education.
The path to decolonizing scholarship in the Philippines is about reclaiming and empowering local voices, recognizing the historical roots of the current educational system, and making deliberate efforts to build capacity and foster agency within local communities. Decolonization is intrinsically linked to historical justice, requiring the acknowledgement and rectification of historical wrongs and the contributions of marginalized communities.
The 40th anniversary of Philippine-American Friendship Day, celebrated on July 4, 2024, serves as a reminder of the complex history that shaped the Philippine education system. As the nation continues to grapple with the ongoing challenges of decolonization, it is essential to remember that true educational reform and national empowerment lie in the reclamation of local voices and the fostering of a more inclusive, culturally sensitive, and empowering education system.
- The impact of American education policies and strategies during the colonial period extended beyond the classroom, shaping politics, policy-and-legislation, and general-news through the institutionalization of English and the introduction of American cultural symbols.
- Decolonizing scholarship in the Philippines necessitates not only understanding the historical roots of the current educational system but also actively engaging community stakeholders in research programs focused on reclaiming local voices and narratives, as exemplified by the work of scholars like Stephen Acabado.
