The Characteristics of American Colonization in the Philippine Education and Society

초록

The Philippines' colonial history has profound influence on Filipino culture and way of life. Most significantly, education is responsible for the transformation and emergence of Filipino ideals and purposes as a nation. In this essay, we try to describe the characteristics of American colonization as reflected in Philippine education and society. The first characteristic was the introduction of modern educational system achieved through the advent of Thomasites and English language which the latter posed a challenge to Filipino language. The second characteristic features---that education could serve as means in achieving political independence and social mobility, yet poses struggles of political instability and social imbalance. Thirdly, Camilo Osias, a pensionado whose writings were influenced of Dewey's pedagogical works on social growth and progress has led to the prominence of John Dewey's thoughts in the landscape of Philippine education. Finally, this paper concludes how the features of American colonial history and Dewey's thoughts are imprinted in Philippine education demonstrating its influence to the lives of Filipino people in their quest to live in a society where growth, progress, and independence are highly valued and pursued.

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