A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

297

the fourth grade upward, vocational guidance should have a very prominent place in the schools.
This work will require careful surveys and studies of the occupations
of each community and province to find what kinds of work exist or
might profitably be developed, the number of workers each kind of
work can take on each year, the wages or salaries paid, the chances
for advancement, and other forms of information about the work which
will enable one to judge whether it is a desirable field for him. It
should include also a study of the kinds of persons adapted to the work
and the kind of training required to succeed in it. Having these sources
of information available, there remains the problem of finding which
pupils or students have the capacities and the qualities for doing the
work, and helping these to become sufficiently interested in the work to
prepare themselves to enter upon it as an occupation. Then remains
the preparation and training for the work by the school in the best way
possible.
Since the occupations of the Philippine Islands are very largely agricultural and industrial, the problem is to direct the interests of most of
the pupils toward these fields, and more specifically toward those particular branches within the community or province in which the pupils live.
For the professions, the number needed is very small, and these should
be selected with reference to the particular kinds of ability required to
succeed well in the respective professional fields.
The schools should be thoroughly alive to their responsibilities for
having about the local industrial conditions the information needed to
select the kinds of occupational training they should offer. They should
also be prepared to use every means possible to determine the respective
aptitudes of pupils-by mental, educational, and occupational tests, by
the performance of pupils, and by conditions surrounding the pupil which
should affect his ability to prepare for a particular occupation. All
teachers, principals, and supervisors should feel a responsibility for
knowing their children with reference to their aptitudes and abilities,
and for having helpful information and advice to give to pupils and
parents about occupational choices and preparation.
To secure the necessary information much work is needed in industrial
and occupational research.
OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH
Much research work is needed to secure the facts about the distribution of workers among the occupations in each of the provinces. An
occupational survey of each municipality or district would yield much
material of great value, both for advising pupils and for determining