Between 1901 and 1902, more than 1,000 American teachers, known as "Thomasites" for the S.S. Thomas, which transported the original groups to the Philippines, fanned out across the archipelago to open barangay schools. They taught in English and, although they did not completely succeed in Americanizing their wards, instilled in the Filipinos a deep faith in the general value of education. Almost immediately, enrollments began to mushroom from a total of only 150,000 in 1900-1901 to just under 1 million in elementary schools two decades later. After independence in 1946, the government picked up this emphasis on education and opened schools in even the remotest areas of the archipelago during the 1950s and the 1960s.

During the 1960s, students from grade school through university-level began studying old subjects in new ways. One of the offshoots of the civil rights movement was a change in the approach to teaching American history. The "basics" were the focus.

-as recommended by Congress, DECS was subdivided into 3 depts.: Dept. of Basic Education (BSE); TESDA; and CHED.
-establishment of Teacher Education Centers of Excellence

-aka RA 7323, it allows students aged 15-25 to be employed during summer or Christmas vacations with a salary not lower than the minimum wage where 60% paid by employer and 40% shouldered by the govt.