GRADUATE SCHOOL

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ALDERSGATE COLLEGE

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SOLANO, NUEVA VIZCAYA, PHILIPPINES 3709 Telefax: (63-78) 326-5085/5390/5645

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GR
A DUATE SCHOO
L e-mail: cie@aldersgate-college.com website: www.aldersgate-college.com

MODULE 01: ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

Prerequisite Skills:
Instructor: Daton Jonathan B. Palitayan, Jr.
Level: MAED 1
Allotted Time: One Hour

Overview: This module delves with topics from both physical or biological and cultural or social anthropology that
shed light to how humans acquire their knowledge and learning through their environment and utilize their highly
developed brain and assimilated experience. It begins with this introductory lesson which provides the learner
etymological and real meaning of anthropology and followed by six lessons with the following headings: Historical
Development; Culture; Language and Writing; Kinship, Descent and Marriage; Arts; and Religion and Supernatural
that revolve around the learning process of an individual.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. understand the meaning of anthropology;
2. explain the essential fields of anthropology that contribute to better understanding of the learning process of
man; and
3. comprehend the function of anthropology as one of the foundations of education.

Pretest:

Discuss concisely the following:

1. Give the etymological and real meaning of anthropology.
2. Discuss the correlation of physical/biological and cultural/social fields of anthropology to the learning
process of man.

Learning Focus:

“Glory to Man in the Highest! For the Man is the master of things”
Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)

Man is a complex creature that possesses higher level intelligence compared to other creatures in the animal
kingdom.
The origin and the continuity of man's existence are always debatable in several areas of discipline like
anthropology, philosophy, theology, psychology, and the like. Each camp of interest has its own biases, explanations,
and doctrines concerning the matter.
In the course of time, man evolved inevitably based on his surrounding, necessity, and perfection that cannot be
controlled by science, faith, and reason. Man is a composite being in his own unique and complicated existence that
populated the earth in a mysterious beginning for nobody knows the exact time and place of the first man's advent.
The anthropological foundation of education aims mainly to deal with some selected topics from both - physical
or biological and cultural or social anthropology - that has something to do with the learning process of man.
The learner, at the end of this subject, would understand that the educational process and learning ability of an
individual is closely associated with the size of his brain, inherited genes from his parents, way of life, and the
constant alterations of the environment.
Etymologically, the word anthropology is taken from the two Greek words anthropos and logos, which literally
means man and scientific study. Hence, anthropology is the scientific study of man's physical (genetic) and cultural
(environment) aspects. Keep in mind that this topic will not discuss the origin, nature, and destiny of man in the realm
of Theological Anthropology, instead it limits to the evolutionary process of man's genes and his environment.
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In order to have a clear idea concerning this subject matter let us discuss briefly the two essential fields of
anthropology, namely, physical/biological and cultural/social that cannot be separated in dealing with man's
existence and survival.
Physical anthropology, also known as biological study of man focuses mainly on the evolutionary process in the
domain of human anatomy and physiology instead of culture. This field of interest deals with the evolution of the
human brain associated with thought and language, erect posture, and the capability of hands to make tools and
utilize it for daily living (like hunting, fishing, planting, and other earliest human livelihood) rather than the evolution of
modern man from the lowest primate - chimpanzee or gorilla - to homo sapiens.
On the other hand, cultural anthropology, also known as social anthropology gives emphasis on the origins and
history of man's societies and cultures. It has something to do with the evolution and development of culture from the
remote past to the present-day societies. The post-modern culture is deeply rooted from its ancient origin. Cultural
alterations occur due to social mobility and the changing environment and situation that can never be controlled by
man.
Anthropological foundation of education, then, will enlighten the learner, concerning on how humans acquire
their knowledge and learning through their environment and utilize their highly developed brain and assimilated
experiences.

Learning Activity/ies:

Activity: Panel Discussion

Topic: How does anthropology contribute to the growth and development of education?

Post Test:

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