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Towards Practical Civics: Assessments and Recommendations for the Philippines


The quality of education is often blamed for many of the Philippines' problems, including the lackluster quality of voters and citizens. During election periods, the word "bobotante" would often be thrown by the frustrated upper and middle classes towards the poor and uneducated voters who allegedly engage in vote-buying and other undesirable voting behavior. As a result, there have been many programs providing voter education to address this perceived deficiency among Filipino citizens. Despite the abundance of critique on the general direction and quality of the education system, the discussion on the specifics of civic education has been scarce. How well does the education system prepare students to become citizens? How much do students learn in terms of skills and knowledge pertinent to citizenship and civic participation? What needs to be improved? This policy brief consolidates the insights of Filipinos concerning the current civic education system. The revision and development of our country's civic education have hardly involved the citizenry and this research is a step toward a more citizen-oriented civic education.


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