Advancing Vocational Education in Colonial Philippines: The Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País and the Establishment of Escuela Profesional de Artes y Oficios
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32871/rmrj2513.01.01Keywords:
Sociedad Economica de los Amigos de Pais, Escuela Profesional de Artes y Oficios, science, technology, engineering education, Philippine engineering historiographyAbstract
Background: Philippine historiography has not given much attention to the history of engineering education in the country. This study considers vocational and technical education during the Spanish colonial period as a foundation of engineering education. It examines the role of the Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País and, later, the Escuela Profesional de Artes y Oficios in promoting vocational and technical education.
Methods: This study utilizes primary sources, such as laws related to the Sociedad, reports from former directors of the Escuela found in online archival repositories, and secondary sources for contextualization.
Results: Findings reveal that the Escuela, institutionalized vocational and technical education by integrating theoretical and practical training in engineering and industrial skills. Most of the school's faculty were military engineers or officers who shaped students' competencies. Enrollment trends indicate a strong demand for vocational education, although completion rates remained low.
Conclusion: The establishment of the Escuela reflects Spain’s economic motivations and its alignment with global trends in industrial education. It served as a foundational institution bridging traditional apprenticeship and formal technical training.
References
Agoncillo, T. A. (1956). Revolt of the masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan. University of the Philippines Press.
Alvarez, J. R. (1891). Memoria leida por el Director de la escuela practica profesional de artes y oficios .. en la solemne inauguracion del curso de 1891 a 1892 [Report read by the Director of the School of Professional Arts and Trades at the solemn inauguration of the course from 1891 to 1892]. Imprenta de la Escuela de Artes y Oficios.
Alzona, E. (1932). A history of education in the Philippines, 1565-1930. University of the Philippines Press.
ArcillaJ. S. (1998). An introduction to Philippine history (4th ed.). Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Ay-ad, P. V., & Aguilar, F. V. (2021). Escuela Nautica de Manila scientific education in the Spanish Philippines. Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, 69(1), 109–144. https://archium.ateneo.edu/phstudies/vol69/iss1/5/
Barbier, J. A. (1977). The culmination of the Bourbon Reforms, 1787-1792. Hispanic American Historical Review, 57(1), 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-57.1.51
Constantino, R., & Constantino, L. R. (1975). The Philippines: A past revisited. Tala Publishing Services.
Corpuz, O. D. (2005). The roots of the Filipino Nation (Vol. 1). University of the Philippines Press.
Cuello, J. (1988). The economic impact of the Bourbon Reforms and the late colonial crisis of empire at the local level: The case of Saltillo, 1777-1817. The Americas, 44(3), 301–323. https://doi.org/10.2307/1006909
Cushner, N. P. (1971). Spain in the Philippines: From conquest to revolution. Ateneo de Manila University.
De la Costa, H. (1992). Reading in Philippine history : Selected historical texts presented with a commentary. Bookmark.
De Mas, F. (1877). Memoria del Sr. Socio Secretario de la Real Sociedad Economica Filipinas. Establicimiento Tipografico de Plana. https://minerva.usc.es/entities/publication/eb613448-ee5d-48a1-9972-730fffca7ee2
Diaz-Trechuelo, M. L. (1963). The economic development of the Philippines in the second half of the eighteenth century. Philippine Studies, 11(2), 195–231. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42719845
Diebold, J. (1990). The innovators: The discoveries, inventions, and breakthroughs of our time. Truman Talley Books.
Elena, A., & Ordóñez, J. (2000). Science, technology, and the Spanish Colonial experience in the nineteenth century. Osiris, 15(1), 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1086/649319
Estatutos de la Real Sociedad Economica de las islas Filipinas [Statutes of the Royal Economic Society of the Philippine Islands]. (1852). Imprenta delos Amigos del Pais. https://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/2352900?nm
Expediente de la sociedad económica de Filipinas [File of the Economic Society of the Philippines]. (n.d.). Portal de Archivos Españoles; Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. https://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/2352900?nm
Fernandez, L. H. (1932). A brief history of the Philippines. Ginn and Company.
Fernandez, R. G., & Moreno, F. J. Y. (1875). Manual del viajero en Filipinas. Establicimiento Tipografico de Santo Tomas.
Fox, F. (1976). Philippine vocational education: 1860-1898. Philippine Studies, 24(3), 261–287. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42632913
Fox, H. F. (1965). Primary education in the Philippines, 1565-1863. Philippine Studies, 13(2), 207–231. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42720593
Gibson, C. (1966). Spain in America. Harper & Row.
Goyena, D.R.I. (1895). Memoria leida por el profesor y secretario en la solemne inauguracion del curso 1895-1896 [Report read by the director of the school of practical professional arts and trades at the solemn inauguration of the course from 1892 to 1893]. Imprenta de la Escuela de Artes y Oficios; Biblioteca National se Espana-Biblioteca Digital Hispanica (BDH). https://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000091702
Greinert, W.-D. (2004). European vocational training “systems”--some thoughts on the theoretical context of their historical development. European Journal: Vocational Training, 32, 18–25. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/etv/Upload/Information_resources/Bookshop/399/32_en_greinert.pdf
Hager, P. E. (1959). Nineteenth century experiments with monitorial teaching. The Phi Delta Kappan, 40(4), 164–167. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20342207
Handley, B., Coon, C., & Mashall, D. (2012). Principles of engineering. Cengage Learning.
Hardacker, E. P. (2012). The impact of Spain’s 1863 educational decree on the spread of Philippine public schools and language acquisition. European Education, 44(4), 8–30. https://doi.org/10.2753/eue1056-4934440401
Hornedo, F. H. (2001). Ideas and ideals: Essays in Filipino cognitive history. University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.
Kurtzleben, J. (1997). The economic policies of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Draftings In, 9(3), 20–26. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/draftings/vol9/iss3/4/
Legarda, B. J., Jr. (1999). After the galleons: Foreign trade, economic change and entrepreneurship in the nineteenth-century Philippines. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Lyon, L. S. (1920). Medieval english apprenticeship as business education. The School Review, 28(8), 585–599. https://doi.org/10.1086/437273
Mallat, J. (2012). The Philippines: History, geography, customs, agriculture, industry, and commerce of the Spanish colonies in Oceania (P. S. Castrence & L. S. Castrence, Trans.). National Historical Institute.
Martin, M. W., & Schinzinger, R. (2005). Ethics in engineering (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Marwick, A. (1989). The nature of history (3rd ed.). Macmillan Education.
Ministerio de Ultramar (1883). Asilo para Huerfanos y Escuela de Artes y Oficios. https://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/4053040?nm
Noticia del Origen y Hechos Notables de la Real Sociedad Economica de Filipinas [News of the Origin and Notable Events of the Royal Economic Society of the Philippines]. (1885). Imprenta del Boletin Oficial de Manila. https://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/2352900?nm
Oberholtzer, S. L. (1915). School saving banks. Government Printing Office.
Perona, D. T. T. Y. (1892). Memoria Leida por el Director de la Escuela Practica Profesional de Artes y Oficios .. en la Solemne Inauguracion del Curso de 1892 a 1893 [Report Read by the Director of the School of Practical Professional Arts and Trades at the Solemn Inauguration of the Course from 1892 to 1893]. Imprenta de la Escuela de Artes y Oficios. https://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000074265
Petroski, H. (1992). Engineering: History and Failure. American Scientist, 80(6), 523–526. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29774773
Philippine School of Arts and Trades, Catalogue 1917-18 (1917). Manila: Bureau of Printing.
Picon, A. (2004). Engineers and engineering history: Problems and perspectives. History and Technology, 20(4), 421–436. https://doi.org/10.1080/0734151042000304367
Reader, J. (2006). Globalization, engineering, and creativity. Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
Reglamento de la Caja de Ahorros Escolar de la Escuela Central de Artes y Oficios [Regulations of the School Savings Bank of the Central School of Arts and Trades]. (1892). Imprenta de la Escuela de Artes y Oficios. https://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000088627
Schwartz, K. (1971). Filipino education and Spanish colonialism: Toward an autonomous perspective. Comparative Education Review, 15(2), 202–218. https://doi.org/10.1086/445531
Upton, D. (1996). Lancasterian schools, Republican citizenship, and the spatial imagination in early nineteenth-century America. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 55(3), 238–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/991147
Wollschläger, N., & Reuter-Kumpmann, H. (2004). From divergence to convergence: A history of vocational education and training in Europe. European Journal of Vocational Training, 32, 6–17. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/32-en.pdf
White, H. (1973). Interpretation in history. New Literary History, 4(2), 281-314. https://doi.org/10.2307/468478
Zaide, G. F. (1979). The pageant of Philippine history: Political, economic, and socio-cultural (Vol. 2). Philippine Education Company.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 University of San Jose-Recoletos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of the Journal belongs to the University of San Jose-Recoletos
