TEACHER TRAINING AND THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Moje Ramos-Aquino of the Manila Times wrote about the

development of Special Education in its March 1, 2008 issue. She claimed that "special education [as an academic discipline] was authored" by Dr. Matilde M. Valdes, her high-school schoolmate from Mapa High School. She added that:
Dr. Valdes single-handedly designed the curricula, syllabi and bibliographies for 40 SPED courses including those on giftedness and creativity at the masters and certificate degree levels and the organization, administration and supervision of SPED programs. She was instrumental in the enactment of R.A. 5250 passed in 1968 which provided for a 10-year scholarship program for SPED teachers and administrators all over the country. Her pioneering efforts resulted in the organization of SPED programs and services including those for the gifted and the mentally challenged in Asia.239

Dr. Valdes, accepted Ms. Ramos-Aquino's statement and added that others call her the mother of Special Education. during a personal interview with her last July 21, 2008. She also reminisced about her work, motivation and experiences.240

239 Moje Ramos-Aquino, "Learning and Innovation - OFWs: Are They Really Our Heroes?" Manila Times (Manila), 1 March 2008.

240 Although she already turned 95 two days before the July 21, 2008 interview, she was very sharp and can recall a lot of names and events. She maintained her independence and lived alone in a two-storey house with two helpers. One of her daughters lives a few houses from her and is available when needed. She remodeled her house to facilitate easy movement and maintained a library upstairs where she allowed this writer, Dr. Camara and Prof. Rodas to interview her about her work in special education.

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A. Dr. Matilde Valdes' Unheralded Work in Special Education

The University of the Philippines led by Dr. Matilde Valdes was instrumental in the enactment and implementation of RA 5250. Dr. Valdes was a public school teacher in Manila from 1932 to 1945. When the Japanese left the country in the 1940s, she recognized the need to teach children who live near her residence in Makati. Through her own initiative, she started a oneroom, multi-grade classroom. The number of students increased so she employed and trained teachers to assist her. Early on, she fought for what was right. When she noticed that squatters' shanties were interfering with the school, she contracted a number of bulldozer operators and asked each of her teachers to ride with them. Together, they demolished the shanties to make way for the school. No one complained. A public school now exists on that site.241 Dr. Valdes continued to be an educator and was head teacher and principal from 1946 to 1948. She earned her Masters in Education, Major in Psychology from UP in 1951 and became a faculty member of the UP College of Education (UPCOE) after earning her Masters at the urging of UPCOE Dean Benitez. She finished her Doctorate in Education in 1954 from the University of New York in Buffalo, New York as a Fulbright scholar. She also received the Smith-Mundt Scholarship and the University of Buffalo Scholarship while in New York. After a series of international and local education-related work, she
241

Personal interview with Dr. Valdes, July 21, 2008.

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became a full-time faculty of the UP Graduate College of Education in 1965 where she became instrumental in training numerous SPED teachers through RA 5250.242 Dr. Valdes interest in special education was ignited whey she was inadvertently hospitalized at the National Orthopedic Hospital in 1955 due to a fractured leg.243 She associated with Lita Servando and Dr. Fernando P. Hofilea of the Special Child Study Center244, the first center solely for children with mental retardation.245 In August 1966, Dr. Valdes shared her thoughts on the exceptional child and her work with the Diliman Chats which was aired over DZUP. The host asked why should the University be concerned with students with special needs. Dr. Valdes answered, Democracy advocates equality of rights. Every child has the right to be given equal opportunity to develop according to his abilities. Dr. Valdes still believes in giving opportunities to all children. She recalled that before the UP-BPS teacher training, parents hid their exceptional

Based on Dr. Valdes resume found among her unsorted files which as of this writing are in the Special Collections area of the UP Main Library. More details about this in Appendix I.
242 243 Dr. Valdes to Dr. Romulo, UP President; undated letter among her usorted files which are now in the Special Collections area of the UP Main Library.

244

Personal interview with Dr. Valdes, July 21, 2008. See page 93.

245

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children at home. She counselled parents and convinced them to accept and cherish their children.246 Besides teaching in the UP College of Education, Dr. Valdes also taught at the Philippine Women's University, Manuel L. Quezon Graduate College of Education, Arellano University and Far Eastern University. She also developed a 30-unit Masters Program in SPED for La Salle. In addition, she was resource speaker at the First Training Institute for Mental Retardation as well as the First National Seminar on Special Education.247 Although she was already working unofficially in the courses and syllabi formulation of SPED courses in the UP College of Education since 1965 or even earlier248, she was officially recommended as Chairman of the Special Education Department only on September 10, 1969 by the faculty committee. They listed six reasons why she should be appointed by the UP President in their letter in addition to being the SPED Project Committee Chairman :

She has undertaken individual research in curriculum making and teacher training, specifically in SPED. She has been involved as an officer and board member in many local organizations concerned with SPED. Her long years of experience both as teacher and as principal in the public schools have given her first-hand knowledge of our educational system and practices.

246

Personal interview with Dr. Valdes, July 21, 2008.

Based on Dr. Valdes resume and meeting notes found among her unsorted files which as of this writing are in the Special Collections area of the UP Main Library. More details about this in Appendix I.
247 248 Based on the dates of the Minutes of Meeting on SPED in UP found in the unsorted Valdes Files.

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Her extensive travels abroad have exposed her to different practices and programs in SPED. Her many years of community service are an indication of her dedication to the cause of SPED. Her previous experience and contacts with the field people facilitate the practicum and professional laboratory in SPED. 249

Dr. Valdes influence in training SPED teachers was not limited to UP nor in other higher institutions where she taught or consulted. In 1962, she found through a survey that most teachers have no background on special education. As a result, she worked tirelessly to train teachers and was instrumental in the enactment of RA 5250 and its implementation. During the 6th National Conference on the Gifted, Dr. Valdes recalled her pivotal in SPED role:
I took the first step in 1960 when I prepared the SPED curricula for training teachers of special children. I presented these to the College curriculum committee for approval and implementation. In 1966, I became the UP-DECS SPED Scholarship Program Director until I retired in 1978. Your speakers and facilitators in this conference trained under that program. While I was training teachers for exceptional children specially for the gifted for the different regions of our country, I was also spotting those I would use as SPED faculty in the college and those who could assume leadership in DECS for this program.250

Dr. Valdes expected her students to work as hard as she worked. Her father was a Spaniard and her mother was a Filipino. Her father used to repeatedly remind her to do the best that she can be. He demanded perfection

The said letter was also found in Dr. Valdes unsorted files. Matilde M. Valdes, "Response: Most Outstanding Achievement Award," paper presented at the Sixth National Conference on the Gifted, May Quezon City, Philippines, 1999.
249 250

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and in turn she demanded perfection from herself and her students.251 She shared how she drove and molded her students to be her "duplicates":
I rode them hard. I remember chiding Dr. Erlinda Camara for having a grade lower than 1.0. She had a 1.25 grade in one course. I told her that I was disappointed in her as a scholar. I followed the performances of Dr. Trinidad Baldo, Dr. Eddie Dizon, Dr. Mercedes Adorio, [and] Dr. Teresita Inciong among those I had my eye on. I demanded their best achievement as SPED scholars. I remember how they almost shed tears in the Dynamics of Learning course, a behavior laboratory course where they had to know and face themselves to bring about their transformation into SPED teachers. While in the first few weeks of the course they almost hated me, by the end of the semester they had revised their personality that according to then Dean Ramos, they had became duplicates of Dr. Valdes in their dedication to the gifted and other exceptional children.252

Dr. Valdes' teaching style bore bountiful fruits. Three of her students who continued her work in the University of the Philippines, including herself, were recognized as Pillars of Special Education during the centennial celebration of Special Education last December 2007.

B. Pillars of Special Education

The Pillars of Special Education from the University of the Philippines are Drs. Erlinda F. Camara, Trinidad C. Baldo and Edilberto I. Dizon. Besides teaching graduate students of Special Education in UP Diliman, they have been contributing in different areas in SPED.

251

Personal interview with Dr. Valdes, July 21, 2008.

252 Matilde M. Valdes, "Response: Most Outstanding Achievement Award," paper presented at the Sixth National Conference on the Gifted, May Quezon City, Philippines, 1999.

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Prolific Author, Researcher and Specialist in Giftedness and Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (Dr. Camara) Dr. Valdes, in her speech during the 6th National Conference on the Gifted, lovingly revealed how she chided Dr. Erlinda Camara when she got a grade lower than 1.0. She wanted the best for her and Dr. Camara complied. Now, Dr. Camara is a prolific author, researcher and specialist in Giftedness and Rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, besides being a noted professor in the University of the Philippines. She was Chairman: Education Sector of the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP), now called National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), which drafted the implementing rules and regulations of the Magna Carta for persons with disabilities. She was also 2001 Outstanding Achievement Awardee of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and organization of scientists in the country. She was NCDA nominee for the Apolinario Mabini Award.253 But among her numerous accomplishments, she is well known in her work on Giftedness. She organized nine national conference on the Gifted and has been the President of Gifted Philippines Inc. Moreover, she presented a reconceptualized definition of Giftedness for Filipino children which was discussed in Chapter V.254

253

Personal interview with Dr. Camara, July 17 and 18, 2008. Ibid.

254

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Leading Research in Special Education (Dr. Camara) Dr. Camara wants others in the academe to follow her lead and produce original scholarly work. She spearheaded a collection of annotated bibliographies of researches in Special Education with the help of Felipe Balingit Jr., Frances Olivia Mijares-Magtoto, Maria Lourdes Pacaldo and Genevieve Rivadelo-Gaw. It is fondly titled Anno B? as a shortened version of "Annotated Bibliographies." They compiled all researches in UP-SPED according to five categories:
1. The Gifted, Talented, Creative; 2. Those with Developmental Delays; 3. With Behavioral Problems, Emotional Disturbance, Social Delinquency, Victims of Substance Abuse, Sex Abuse, Poverty, and in similar circumstance; 4. With Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment or both, Orthopedic Handicap, Severe and Multiple Disabilities, and Chronic Ill Health; and 5. The Broad Category of Special Learners, SPED Teachers, SPED Schools and Programs, and Schooling of Special Children, in general, among others

They are now working on their next annotated bibliography and hope that the development and growth of special education in the Philippines will be documented.

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The National Library also has a number of researches in Special Education in its database. From 1968255 to 2007 the studies focused on the following topics: 1. Education, attitudes, profile, values, motivation and performance of SPED teachers 2. SPED Programs and schools in different localities, most of them were located in Metro Manila and the rest were in provincial cities and selected provinces. 3. Effectiveness of different SPED programs in different localities 4. Mainstreaming and Inclusion in different localities and one in tertiary level 5. Different SPED services for different exceptionalities like those with Metal Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Giftedness, Autism, Learning Disability, Physical Handicap and Down Syndrome 6. Teaching programs for children with mental retardation like music, speech articulation, socialization, vocational and human sexuality 7. Evaluation of different placement and programs for the gifted 8. Case studies, profiles and coping skills of children with autism, their parents and parents of regular children exposed to them
255

The oldest study on Special Education found in the National Library was dated 1968 entitled, Special education program in the Division of Camarines Sur, 1963 to 1968 by Gregoria Rull Israel. There were other references in SPED but they were not studies.

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9. Intervention for children with autism In the 1960s, majority of the studies were about SPED programs in different schools and localities for different exceptionalities. This trend continued to the 2005 but during the 1970s there were additional studies on teachers, and educational services for children with mental retardation. During the 1980s studies on programs for children with giftedness and learning disabilities were done. In the 1990s research on teaching programs and issues on autism were made and this trend continued to 2006. Inclusion and mainstreaming were studied from 1984 to 2004. Meanwhile, there are other areas wherein the the University of the Philippines pioneered.

Pioneer in Psychoeducational Assessment in the Philippines (Dr.Dizon)

Dr. Edilberto I. Dizon is the second Pillar of SPED awardee from the University of the Philippines who was taught by Dr. Valdes. Although he is a noted professor, writer, researcher and speaker of different subjects in SPED, he is best known as the pioneer diagnostician-counselor in the Philippines. When he finished his doctorate in 1982, assessment was done by medical doctors or psychologists which did not provide special education intervention programs covering areas such as placement, curriculum, instruction and facilities. To help a special child develop holistically and

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achieve the best he can, all developmental areas should be assessed, which is the first step in preparing an individualized educational plan. To address the situation, Dr. Dizon started doing holistic psychoeducational assessment and at the same time selflessly taught other SPED teachers how to do it at the University of the Philippines. He also trained public school teachers and spoke in numerous fora about it. He wrote numerous books on special education, two of which were on educational assessment; one was a technical book published in 2002 and the other was a laboratory book published in 2005. His books modify and adapt some foreign intervention practices suitable to the Filipino culture and are therefore very practical and useful not only for teachers but for parents. As a result, trained teachers and parents are now empowered to assess children 's developmental condition and achievement levels.

Known Trainer and Specialist in Giftedness (Dr.Baldo)

Dr. Trinidad C. Baldo was also trained under Dr. Valdes and is recognized as a Pillar of Special Education in the Philippines. Dr. Baldo is one of the beloved professors in UP-SPED who is sorely missed because she retired few years ago. However, her contributions lingered and she still speaks in different seminars and fora on special education. She published books, papers, researches and articles on the gifted, special education and education in general.

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One of her pioneering researches was the Filipino conceptualization and characterizations of giftedness. She found out that Filipinos associate giftedness with the following:
1. god-given talent 2. inborn talent inherited from parents 3. natural talent rarely found in others 4. superior intellectual potential 5. ability to excel in many fields 6. ability to come up with original ideas 7. ability to use one's common sense 8. ability to adjust to any situations256

Dr. Baldo continued to advocate giftedness issues and actively trained SPED personnel and parents of special children, together with Dr. Camara and Dr. Dizon. The three professors then partnered with the Department of Education and organized Mobile Trainings for SPED teachers and administrators on inclusion, curriculum, assessment, different exceptionalities and other relevant areas in the field of special education.

C. Empowering More Teachers through Mobile Training

The three students of Dr. Valdes did not limit themselves to the classrooms and seminar halls in Metro Manila. Dr. Dizon, Dr. Camara and Dr. Baldo, went to the provinces across the country and held a series of SPED

256 Trinidad C. Baldo, "Toward a Conceptualization of Giftedness in the Philippine Context," Education Quarterly 37, no. 4 (December 1990): 1-20.

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Mobile Training for SPED Teachers and Administrators under the auspices of
the DepEd and the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, Inc. from 1994 to the present. Dr. Baldo was the coordinator from 1994 to 2004 and Dr. Camara took over from 2004 to the present. Professor Mercedita Tianzon of the UP College of Human Kinetics was part of the team. Later on, they continued giving seminars on their own. The mobile trainings they did all over the Philippines which are listed in Table 2 next page.

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Mobile Training Venue Date Participants* T A S

Mobile Training Program for Training Quezon City Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - NCR, UP-ISMED, UP Diliman, Quezon City

17-23 Oct. 1994

31

22-29 Oct. 1995 Second Mobile Training Program for Malolos, BulacanSpecial Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region III, Hiyas ng Bulacan, Malolos, Bulacan, Naga City 18-24 Nov. 1996 Third Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region V, Bicol College Of Arts and Trades Training Center, Naga City Fourth Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region IV, Tagaytay, National Programs and Training Center Fifth Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors CAR, Hotel Supreme, Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City Sixth Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region V Regional Education Learning Center (RELC), Legaspi City Seventh Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers Region I RELC, San Fernando, La Union Eighth Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region VII, PHCCI, Banilad, Dumaguete City Tagaytay City 17-18 May 1997

25

40

29

Baguio City

19-24 Oct. 1997

24

Legaspi City

13-18 April 1998

35

San Fernando, La Union

12-18 Oct. 1998

39

Dumaguete City

1-7 March 1999

50

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Mobile Training Venue Date Participants* T A S

Ninth Mobile Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region VI, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo, Rizal

Antipolo, Rizal 31 May - 5 June 1999

44

Marikina CityTenth Mobile10-16 Oct. 1999 Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors NCR, Riverbend Hotel, Marikina City 2-8 April 2000 11th Mobile Training Program for Maguikay, Cebu Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region VII, Marias Pension, Maguikay, Cebu Marikina City12th Mobile 25 June - 1 July 2000 Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors NCR, Riverbend Hotel, Marikina City 12-18 Nov. 2000 Tacloban, 13th Mobile Training Program for Leyte Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors Region VII, Ritz Tower Hotel, Tacloban, Leyte 14th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Division of Quezon, Gumaca Pastoral Formation Center, Rosario, Gumaca, Quezon Gumaca, Quezon 4-10 Feb. 2001

33

34

28

35

41

Tuguegarao15th Mobile Training Program for CityTraining Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region II, Conference Hall, Carig, Tuguegarao City 16th Mobile Training Program for Mamburao, Occidental Training Program for Special Mindoro Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region IV Mamburao, Central School, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro

22-28 July 2001

34

25 Nov.-1 Dec. 2001

40

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Mobile Training Venue Date Participants* T A S

17th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Division of Angeles City, Pulong Bato, Angeles City 18th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - NCR, Skyline Riverbend Hotel, Marikina City 19th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Division of Occidental Mindoro, San Jose NHS Barangay Bagong Sikat, San Jose Occidental Mindoro

Angeles City

3-9 March 2002

36

Marikina City

22-28 Sep. 2002

33

San Jose, Occidental Mindoro

29 Nov. -5 Dec. 2002

55

Tagaytay City20th Mobile 11-17 May 2003 Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region IV,Helena Benitez National Program and Training Centrer, Tagaytay City 1-8 June 2003 Davao City21st Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region XI, RELC Davao City 22nd Mobile Training Program for 9-15 Nov. 2003Puerto Princesa City, Training Program for Special Palawan Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Division of Palawan and Puerto Princesa, Bulwagang Princesa Pensionne, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

32

31

26

23rd Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region III, Talavera Central School, Nueva Ecija

Talavera, Nueva Ecija

24-30 Oct. 2004

37

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Mobile Training Venue Date Participants* T A S

24th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors -Region II, Regional Office, DepEd, Tuguegarao City

Tuguegarao City

28 Nov. - 4 Dec. 2004

37

Palo, Leyte25th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region VII, RELC Palo, Leyte Baguio City 26th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - CAR, Hotel Supreme, Baguio City

25 Sep. - 1 Oct. 2005

36

21-28 May 2006

25

27th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - NCR, RELC Marikina City 28th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - NCR, RELC Marikina City

Marikina City

30 July - 5 August 2006

28

Marikina City

14-20 Jan. 2007

26

13

29th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Region III, RELC Marikina City

Marikina City

16-22 Jan. 2007

33

30th Mobile Training Program for Training Program for Special Education Teachers, Administrators and Supervisors - Division of Calamba and Laguna, Yahweh's Springs and Resort Center

Laguna

11-17 Nov. 2007

24

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Moreover, from 1980 to 2000 Dr. Camara and Dr. Baldo, later on joined by Dr. Dizon, and upon invitation by the DepEd and other government and non-government agencies, constantly updated the competencies of teachers and administrators throughout the Philippines in the areas of hearing impairment, visual impairment, mental retardation, giftedness, learning disabilities, orthopaedic handicaps and autism, among other exceptionalities. Through their own initiatives, they continued to organize conferences, give lectures and attend other fora that address assessment, placements, inclusion and other concerns of all stakeholders in special education. They also conducted national seminars on special education, autism and giftedness from the 1980s to the present.257 Dr. Mercedes Adorio was also a product of the RA 5250 training and is a UP SPED professor, writer and speaker of various issues in SPED. There are other people who worked hard to help promote SPED in the Philippines but the aforementioned UP professors had the most influence in special education in the country. Nevertheless, all of them look back at Dr. Matilde Valdes as their mentor.

257 From the records and interviews with Drs. Camara, Dizon and Baldo as well as different July 2008.

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Summing Up Dr. Valdes' Contributions

Last May 1999, the SPED community honored Dr. Valdes when she was a guest speaker at the 6th National Conference on the Gifted at the Institute of Science and Mathematics Education Department (ISMED) Auditorium inside UP-Diliman. The following citation summarized her contributions to the growth of Special Education:
A visionary, trailblazer and iconoclast, Dr. Matilde M. Valdes pioneered the organization of special education (SPED) as a strong program and enduring academic discipline in the UP and the country. Her vision and high creativity have borne fruit such that SPED, the most sought after program with the biggest enrolment in the UP College of Education is now the leader in the country. Currently, SPED graduates who were her students occupy leadership positions in government and non-government organizations locally and abroad. Many SPED graduates, the present UPCE SPED faculty included, have created an impact in the country and abroad in teaching, research, publications and extension services. At present, SPED graduates who have specialized in giftedness are known nationwide and abroad as competent, dedicated, multi-skilled and multi-talented professionals. The specifics of Dr. Valdes outstanding contributions are as follows: She single-handedly designed the curricula, syllabi and bibliographies for 40 new SPED courses including those on giftedness and creativity at the masters and certificate degree levels and the Organization, Administration and Supervision (OAS) SPED Program. She was instrumental in the enactment of R.A. 5250 passed in 1968 which provided for a 10-year scholarship program for SPED teachers including those for the gifted and administrators of programs for the gifted from all over the country. The OAS program which used to be a component of R.A. 5250 still serves as an excellent training program in UP for SPED administrators and supervisors including those programs for the gifted from the regions of the country.

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Her pioneering efforts resulted in the organization of SPED programs and services all over the country.258

Indeed, the pioneering efforts of Dr. Matilde Valdes impacted the whole country because of her commitment to train teachers and duplicate herself by driving her students to achieve like her. It was her belief that teachers should change themselves first in order to effectively teach special education. She facilitated this change through her Dynamics of Learning course wherein she used different teaching strategies like role playing and games to help teachers understand their own personalities. Once they understand their own shortcomings, it was easier for them to understand the needs of their students. This course was so effective that Dr. Valdes used to get letters from spouses of her students, thanking her for the positive change in their partners. When asked what was her message to SPED teachers today, she quoted the scriptures that encourage everyone to love their neighbors as themselves. All in all, Dr. Matilde M. Valdes was thankful that she was given a long life and that she was able to accomplish what she did in spite of the challenges she faced.259

258 Quoted from the citation given to Dr. Valdes during the 6th National Conference on the Gifted in May 1999.

259

Personal interview with Dr. Valdes, July 21, 2008.

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D. Formal Training from Other Colleges and Universities

As of this writing, other colleges and universities are offering Special Education certificate, undergraduate and masters programs. Only the University of the Philippines has a doctoral program in Special Education which was first offered in June 1994 and is the first in Asia.260 As mentioned in Chapter V, the Department of Education, the University of the Philippines and Philippine Normal College, now Philippine Normal University (PNU), worked together to implement R.A. 5250. PNU offers a Graduate Program in Special Education with four choices:
Stream 1 - Teaching the Visually Disabled [which] provides specialized training to both experienced and beginning teachers of the visually disabled. This training includes aging others orientation and mobility strategies to mediate the environment of the visually disabled, use of nonoptical aids, tactual aids and auditory aids and other information in order to give better assistance to the visually disabled individuals. Stream 2 - Teaching the Auditory Disabled [which] focuses on instructional strategies, preparation of materials and use of sign language to assist those with hearing disabilities in communication/interaction and socialization. Stream 3 - Teaching the Intellectually Gifted [which] gives greater attention to training of teachers in identifying and serving the gifted, talented and creative individuals in the different areas of development: cognitive, social-emotional, language and physical development. Stream 4 - Teaching the Intellectually Disadvantaged [which] enables the teacher to understand the meaning and etiology of mental retardation. Students are provided with opportunities to try out strategies and develop materials in order to maximize assistance to the mentally disabled in the schools.261

The students of Dr. Valdes to whom he passed her baton like Dr. Camara and Dr. Dizon, worked hard to improve the UP SPED Program during the early 1990s. The proposed PhD in Special Education was approved during a UP board meeting attended by both in December 1993.

260

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Besides UP and PNU, twelve other colleges and universities offer Special Education in Metro Manila based on the 2006 records of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED): 1. Arellano University-Manila Master Arts of Education Special Education 2. Centro Escolar University MA Special Education Bachelor of Elementary Educ Special Education 3. De La Salle University MA Special Education Teacher Certificate Program in Special Education 4. Far Eastern University Certificate in Teacher Education on Special Education 5. Manuel L. Quezon University MA Special Education 6. New Era University Master of Arts in Education Special Education Bachelor of Elementary Education Special Education

261 Graduate Academic Programs, 2002, Philippine Normal University, 29 March 2003 <http://www.pnu-edu.ph/apro_grad.htm>.

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7. Philippine Normal University Master of Arts in Education Special Education Graduate Diploma, Special Education 8. St. Joseph's College of Quezon City Master of Arts in Education, Special Education 9. St. Paul University Quezon City Bachelor in Secondary Education Special Education 10. St. Scholastica's College Master of Arts in Special Education Bachelor in Elementary Education Special Education Bachelor of Secondary Education Special Education 11. University of The Philippines-Diliman Doctor of Philosophy (Education: Special Education) Master of Arts in Education (Special Education) Bachelor of Elementary Education (Special Education) Bachelor of Secondary Education (Special Education) 12. STI College-Las Pias Diploma in Special Education 13. Southville International School And Colleges Bachelor of Elementary Education, Special Education

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14. Sto Nio de Novaliches School Bachelor of Elementary Education, Special Education Outside Metro Manila, there are four schools that offer SPED in both Regions I and VII. Regions XIV, IVa, V, VI and IX each has two schools that have such programs. Lastly, there is one school that offer SPED in Regions III, XI and XIV each. No school offers SPED in Regions II, IVb, XIII, X, XII and XV.262 In spite of the trailblazing work of the leading SPED practitioners of the University of the Philippines many more prospective teachers and students are not reached. Most SPED tertiary and graduate level courses are located in Metro Manila. Likewise, special education services are mostly available in urban areas. But due to Filipino ingenuity, alternative methods of delivering

special education to unreached areas in the Philippines evolved and discussed in Chapter VII.

262

From the records of the Commission on Higher Education as of this writing.