LEGAL BASIS FOR VALUES EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

By: Greg Tabios Pawilen, M. A.

College of Education, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, DISP 2009

 Article XIV Sec. 3 (2)

They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect
for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical
development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen
ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline,
encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological
knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.

 Article XIV Sec. 3 (3)

At the option expressed in witting by the parents or guardians, religion shall be
allowed to be taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high
schools within the regular class hours by instructors designated or approved by the
religious authorities of the religion to which the children or wards belong, without
additional cost to the Government.

Objectives of Elementary Education

 Article III, Sec.21 of the Education Act of 1982 states the objectives of Elementary
Education. These are to :
1. provide the knowledge and develop the skills, attitudes, and values essential to
personal development and necessary for living in and contributing to a developing
and changing social milieu;
2. provide learning experiences which increase the child’s awareness of and
responsiveness to the changes in and just demands of society; and to prepare him
for constructive and effective involvement;
3. promote and intensify the child’s knowledge of identification with, and love for the
nation and the people to which he belongs; and
4. promote work experiences which develop the child’s orientation to the world of
work and creativity and prepare himself to engage in honest and gainful work.

Objectives of the Elementary Education Curriculum

 Elementary Education shall aim to develop the spiritual, moral, mental and
physical capabilities of the child, provide him with experiences in the democratic
way of life, and inculcate ideas and attitudes necessary for enlightened, patriotic,
upright and useful citizenship.

Article XIV Sections 1

 Section 1. The state shall protect and promote the right of all the citizens to quality education
at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.
  Section 3.
1. All educational institutions shall include the study of the Constitution as part of the
curricula.
2. They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for
human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of
the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual
values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative
thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge and promote efficiency.
3. At the option expressed in writing by the parent or guardians, religion shall be allowed to
be taught to their children or wards in the public elementary and high schools within the
regular class hours by instructors designated or approved by the religious authorities of
the religion to which the children or wards belong, additional cost to the Government.
4. The State shall promote the right of every individual to relevant quality education,
regardless of sex, age, creed socio- economic status, physical and mental conditions, racial
or ethnic origin, political or other affiliation. The State shall therefore promote and
maintain equality of access to education as well as the benefits of education by all its
citizens.

The Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) provides and promotes values education at all
three levels of the educational system for the development of the human person committed to the building
"of a just and humane society" and an independent and democratic nation.

VALUE
A thing has valued when it is perceived as good and desirable. Food, money, and housing have a value
because they are perceived as good and the desire to acquire them influences attitudes and behavior.

Not only material goods but also ideals and concepts are valuable, such as truth, honesty, and justice. For
instance, if truth is a value for one, it commands in one an inner commitment which in turn translates
itself into one’s daily speech and action. Truth is good and desirable; it influences attitudes and behavior.

Values are the bases of judging what attitudes and behavior are correct and desirable and what are not. It
is therefore of crucial importance that there be an appropriate framework as well as strategy for providing
the context and operational guidelines for implementing a values education program. The values
education framework hereby suggested is designed to translate values from the abstract into the practical.
The importance of this is underscored by the fact that values, when defined in a book or in the classroom
or discussed at the family table, tend to be abstract. Values such as discipline and concern for the poor
are ineffective unless they are internalized and translated into action. Therefore, there is need for values
education that is meaningful and effective.

VALUES EDUCATION
Values Education as a part of the school curriculum is the process by which values are formed in the
learner under the guidance of the teacher and as he interacts with this environment. But it involves not
just any kind of teaching-learning process.

First of all, the subject matter itself, values, has direct and immediate relevance to the personal life of the
learner.

Second, the process is not just cognitive but involves all the faculties of the learner. The teacher must
appeal not only to the mind but the hearts as weell, in fact, the total human person.

Third, one learns values the way children learn many things from their parents. Children identify with
parents, and this identification becomes the vehicle for the transmission of learning, be it language or the
values of thrift and hard work. Hence, the teacher’s personal values play an important role in values
learning.

VALUES CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Values Education Framework, herein described, is intended as a guide and form of teaching aid in the
implementation of the Values Education Program.
 WHAT IT IS NOT
 It is not prescriptive: values cannot be imposed.
 It is not exhaustive; it does not purport to be a complete list of human values.
 It makes no statement on regional, local, and institutional needs and priorities.

WHAT IT IS
 It is descriptive: it is an attempt at an orderly description of a desirable value system on the a
basis of an understanding of the human person.
 It is conceptual: it lists ideals which have to be internalized in the educational process.
 It is intended to be applicable in varying degrees to all three levels of the educational system.
 It is broad and flexible enough for adaptation to specific contexts.

ITS USES
It is desirable that regions, localities, and institutions construct their own values map, with clearly defined
priorities, suited to their peculiar context and needs, This DECS framework should be of help in such a
task.

Classroom teachers, syllabi constructors, and curriculum planners may use it to identify which values are
to be targeted in specific courses and programs.

The DECS framework may also serve as a frame fo reference in the reform and revision of operative
Filipino values. For instance, against the background of the framework, pakikisama should be seen as
something to be prized but not at the expense of personal integrity, likewise, as a Filipino value, it should
be compatible with the much-needed productivity and should even become a bridge to national solidarity.
Similarly, utang na loob should have wider applications in society so that it can propel other values such
as concern for the common good and social justice.

VALUES & MORAL EDUCATION: AIMS, CONTENT, & PEDAGOGY

(Part 4)
It's been over a year since I promised to post this final part of my thoughts on values and moral
education.

Aims and content

My idea of the aim of Values and Moral Education is nothing earth-shaking. It should be aimed at
getting the students to acquire the knowledge and intellectual skills that will enable them to address
moral or evaluative issues effectively. But what exactly should be taught in Values and Moral
Education? Well, one is, how to think and communicate in clear and precise terms. Another is, how to
detect good and bad reasoning. Another is, how to argue correctly. Another is, how to evaluate one’s
own or another person’s reasoning correctly. We could add many more in the list for as long as it is in
keeping with the goal of developing highly rational problem solvers in the area of values and morality.

Clear and precise thoughts and language

Since Values and Moral Education should aim to sharpen higher order thinking skills, it is important
that students learn first how to think and express themselves effectively. This is not the be all and end
all of Values and Moral Education, but this will make a good starting point. Having the ability to think
clearly is a necessary condition to solve difficult moral or evaluative problems effectively. Lucid
thinking enables us to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant matters. And should we commit
some errors in reasoning out our positions, the detection of which, either by us or by our critics,
becomes faster and easier owing to the clarity with which we expressed ourselves. Having such
ability thus will enable the problem solver to save more time, energy, and other resources, which
could be used to consider other options.

Ability to detect fallacies

It is always a good thing for valuers to be familiar with fallacies as having knowledge of such errors is
in itself a reminder that there are certain forms of reasoning that we should not commit and refuse to
accept. For example, appeals to popularity, emotion, and false authorities, which many politicians and
commercial advertisements find highly effective, are some of the many ways of conning a gullible
public. If only we could show that we deserve something better, we could expect to hear political
speeches and witness advertisements that intelligent minds rightfully deserve.

But why do rotten political speeches and commercial advertisements continue to proliferate when
they don't reason at all? Think about these. Aga Mulach and Caridad Sanchez endorsing some
medicines. What do they know about medicines? Manny Pacquiao endorsing a political
administration. How many people allow themselves to be persuaded by a boxer who do not have the
required competence to tell whether a political figure is shortchanging her own people? And how
many people thought that Joseph Estrada and Fernando Poe Jr. will make good presidents of this
country? Let us not be lost in examples because I think you already know what I mean.

Ability to argue soundly

What could happen to a country whose population is incapable of making sound arguments,
especially in highly important issues, is not difficult to picture. In matters involving national interests,
we decide who should represent us in law making, policy making, and in maintaining peace and
order. It's ideal, of course, to think that a very poor country like the Philippines, whose government is
generally run by corrupt politicians, should assume the attitude of not having the luxury of time for a
gradual change. On this, much of the job rest on the teachers themselves. One of the things that we
could do is to teach our young people to value good thinking, and not some noble-sounding moral
doctrinal vagueness. Good thinking here means sound reasoning.

We could say that a valuer is capable of advancing a sound argument if he/she offers a set of strong
reason to support his/her moral or evaluative belief. For example, it is highly problematic for a valuer
to believe that death penalty is wrong by appeal to emotion and pity as these are fallacious ways of
thinking. Good thinking here requires the production of strong evidence to support a certain moral or
evaluative proposition.

Ability to evaluate and revise one’s own reasoning

The ability to assess and revise one’s own thinking is equally an important element of good thinking
or sound reasoning. If this develops into a habit, we could categorize the valuer as a disciplined
arguer in that he/she would not advance an evaluative or moral belief without first subjecting his/her
own arguments to rigorous questioning.

Pedagogy
I should like to address this question now: How should Values and Moral Education, in its reasoning
sense, be taught? My answer to this question is brief. The teacher should employ techniques that will
encourage the students to reason out their individual moral or evaluative convictions or beliefs.
Teaching here may come in the form of Socratic Dialogue, facilitating group discussion or debate, and
assisting individual students in solving moral or evaluative issues. There are of course other forms of
teaching and they may be considered valid so long as they emphasize reasoning and they refrain
from imposing anyone’s moral values on the students.

So, should we not transmit any one form of value in Values and Moral Education?

The answer is NO. There is one form of value that we could not avoid transmitting in Values and
Moral Education in its reasoning sense. And that is the intellectual form of values. Again, some of
these intellectual values are the following: clear thinking, sound reasoning, and consistency of
thoughts. These are all important requirements for living a good and genuinely HUMAN life. I am
placing emphasis on the expression “human” as animals could be happy even if they don’t have to
deal with problems using the kind of thinking that we do on issues like abortion, death penalty,
cloning, marriage, divorce, and so on.