Sociology is concerned with social facts: this means more specifically that it is the province of sociology to examine both the structural aspects of human society and every type of social relationship that occurs within those structures.

EARLY FILIPINOS

THE FILIPINO CULTURE IN THE PAST WAS VALUED AND DEVELOPED EVEN BEFORE THE COLONIZERS. THE RICH CULTURE OF PHILIPPINE FOREFATHERS IS EVIDENT IN THEIR SOCIAL CLASSES, HOME, MANNER OF DRESSING, BODY ACCESSORIES, EDUCATION, MUSIC AND DANCE, SCIENCE, ARTS AND LITERATURE, EVEN THEIR WAY TO COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE, BURIAL AND MOURNING. FILIPINO FOREFATHERS VALUED EDUCATION. THE EARLY FILIPINOS IN THE PAST HAD THEIR OWN BELIEFS AND WAYS OF BURYING THE DEAD, MOURNING AND GETTING MARRIED.

Early Filipinos were hospitable. This was shown in situations like receiving guests and strangers. They offered the visitors food an entertainment. They were also conscious of cleanliness. They took a bath daily in the river. They cleaned their teeth with fruits. They used perfumes for their bodies. They put "gugo" in their hair. Even their houses were kept clean and orderly.

Early Filipinos were trustworthy and honest. They paid their debts on time. Likewise, they kept their promises.

Filipinos also extend the circle of social alliances with friendship. Friendship often is placed on a par with kinship as the most central of Filipino relationships. Here, as in other categories, a willingness to help one another provides the prime rationale for the relationship. These categories--real kinship, ritual kinship, utang na loob relationships, suki relationships, patron-client bonds, and friendship--are not exclusive. Thus two individuals may be cousins, become friends, and then cement their friendship through godparenthood. Utang na loob may infuse any or all of these relationships.

CULTUREIs usually considered to include the common aspects of the behavior of people who live together in a specific society.

1. Culture is universal in man’s experience, yet each local or regional manifestation of it is unique.

2. Culture is stable, yet culture is also dynamic, and manifesis continues and constant change.

3. Culture fills and largely determines the course of our lives, yet rarely intrudes into conscious thought.

SOCIAL VALUES AND ORGANIZATION The great majority of the Philippine population is bound together by common values and a common religion. Philippine society is characterized by many positive traits. Among these are strong religious faith, respect for authority, and high regard for amor proprio (self-esteem) and smooth interpersonal relationships. Philippine respect for authority is based on the special honor paid to elder members of the family and, by extension, to anyone in a position of power.

Social organization generally follows a single pattern, although variations do occur, reflecting the influence of local traditions. Among lowland Christian Filipinos, social organization continues to be marked primarily by personal alliance systems, that is, groupings composed of kin (real and ritual), grantors and recipients of favors, friends, and partners in commercial exchanges.

SOCIAL ORIGINS AND SEX DIFFERENCE

Differential schooling in the Philippines. Economic change involves transformations at

both the individual and societal levels. Notable among these are changes in the

process of social stratification and in the distribution of the most important status characteristics – education, occupations, and income.

Factors that Influence to Good Education

Parental Influence A commonly used phrase, but one that has the ring of

substantial truth, is that parents are their children's first teachers. The home environment shapes a child's initial views of learning. Parents' beliefs, expectations, and attitudes about education and their children's achievement have a profound early impact on students' conceptions of the place of education in their lives. A study by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company found that nearly all students (97%) who earned mostly A's and B's on their report cards reported that their parents encouraged them to do well in school. Among students who earned mostly C's, nearly half (49%) said they received little parental encouragement.

Family Economic Status Many children grow up in homes with an

abundance of fiscal and material resources. But not all do. As of 1998, 13 million children in the United States (19% of children age eighteen or younger) lived below the federally established poverty line. Children eighteen and under make up just 26 percent of the total U.S. population, but they represent 40 percent of the population living in poverty.

Preparing for School Children begin learning from the time they are born. Where children spend their time before they enter kindergarten has an effect on both their readiness for school and their chances for good long-term achievement results.

HEALTH–BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING

–has obvious links to students' prospects for doing well in school. Children who are physically ill fail to attend school regularly, and when they do attend they are often unable to focus on their schoolwork. Children with untreated mental health problems experience a range of school-related difficulties, from acting-out behavior in the classroom to an inability to make friends and develop collegial attachments.

RECREATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Research has shown that the amount of time a student works is a factor in determining employment's impact on educational performance. For students working twenty or fewer hours per week, few problems seem to arise. But for students working more than twenty hours per week, work can present education-related problems where the job takes precedence over school.

Families Connecting Schools and Neighborhoods

For most students, school creates an important community setting–a safe place where time is structured (which children and teens do crave, even if they do not always appreciate it) and friends are present. Families and neighborhoods complete a student's community, and consciously connecting schools, families, and neighborhoods offers significant advantages for students, particularly those at academic risk.

CONCLUSION

Schools do not exist in a vacuum. A host of factors contribute to students' prospects for academic success. Some students come to school with all they need: stable and supportive families, adequate financial resources, and good health. For students who do not enjoy these advantages, making provision to help them meet outside-of-school challenges can provide just the boost they need to succeed in school.

INHERITANCE OF STATUS

1. Occupational inheritance diminishes.

2. Educational attainment grows in importance as a factor in the allocation of occupational roles.

3. The occupational persistence that remains is achieved indirectly, through the education of offspring.

4. The influence of parental characteristics on educational attainment diminishes.

* IN MOST MODERN SOCIETIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

ARE CONSIDERED KEY INSTRUMENTS OF SOCIAL PURPOSE. GOVERNMENTS

FORMULATE EXPLICIT EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND

FINANCE.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF EDUC. TO SOCIALSTABILITY:

THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE HIGHLY CONSERVATIVE. THIS IS BECAUSE, CULTURAL REPRODUCTION IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY EFFECTS OF FORMAL SYSTEMS OF EDUCATION. SCHOOLS ARE ALWAYS AT LEAST PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRANSFER FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT OF THE SOCIETY’S BELIEFS, VALUES, SENTIMENTS, KNOWLEDGE AND PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR. THIS PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION IS CONSERVATIVES IN THAT IT PERPETUATES CURRENT CULTURAL PATTERNS AND DISCOURAGES DEVIATION FROM THEN.

EDUCATION AS A CONSERVATIVE INSTITUTION:1.EVERYTHING THAT IS LEARNED IS USEFUL AND TIED DIRECTLY TO DAILY LIFE. BUT THIS POSSIBLE ONLY AS LONG AS A CULTURE IS RELATIVELY UNDIFFERENTIATED AND STATIC. WITH MODERNIZATION, CULTURE BECOMES MORE COMPLEX AND DIFFERENTIATED. SOCIAL CHANGE IS RAPID.

2. BASIC TO THE PROCESS OF CULTURAL REPRODUCTION IS TEACHING YOUTH TO LOVE AND REVERE THE ESTABLISHED AND TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF SOCIETY.

3.ASSIMILATION OF SUBGROUPS—ANOTHER WAY OF PROMOTING SOCIAL ORDER AND CONTROLS.

EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL CHANGE. IT CAN BE USED TO PREPARE POPULATION TO MODERNIZATION. IT ALSO USED TO CREATE NEW ELITE STRATA OR PROMOTE GREATER SOCIAL EQUALITY.

POLITICS OF EDUCATIONTOPIC: SOCIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON THE CURRENT STATUS OF PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

REPORTER: THELMA A. DELOS SANTOS WAMALAIDA T. FERNANDEZ

ENGR. ENRIQUE S. GUEVARRA PROFESSOR