E-Media/Educational (ETV)

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The ABS CBN Foundation, Inc. (AFI) has always believed that good education is the framework for a successful nation. And so, with parentage from the ABS CBN Broadcasting Company, the Foundation was naturally inspired to harness the power of media in developing an educational program for Philippine public school children.

Starting in 1994 with the production of a television show entitled, “Sine’skwela” (School On Air), AFI initially sought to augment the Philippine public school curriculum’s science subject instruction. Following the successful reception of “Sine’skwela” by school children and the government’s Department of Education, the Foundation soon began producing other shows – to include a variety of other subjects and disciplines – and the E-Media / Educational TV (ETV) campaign was born.

In initial test groups, children exposed to the “Sine’skwela” material demonstrated marked improvements in their school grades, prompting the subsequent production of shows like, “Hirayamanawari” and “Bayani” (shows about Philippine national heroes), “MathTinik” (Math Wiz), “Epol / Apple” (show for English language instruction) and “Pahina” (Page – a show for literary appreciation). These shows provide a common experience for the students, stimulate their interest and imagination through the demonstration of abstract ideas and equalize educational opportunities.

The addition of on-air content notwithstanding, the challenge of delivering these materials to the more than 38,000 public schools all over the Philippines, remained. In 1996, ETV started mass-producing the materials on video (initially on VHS tapes and currently, on DVD discs) and distributing them along with television sets and media players to the schools. School administrators and teachers were also handed notes and given necessary training to maximize the teaching potential of the videos.

Donors to the program were then drawn together and encouraged to “adopt” a public school by sponsoring the installation of the T.V., DVD set and video library to a school of their choosing. The program became known globally as the “Adopt-A-Hometown-School” campaign, as donors chose to donate ETV packages to schools they themselves attended or to those within their hometowns.
So far, the ETV effect has proven to be quite significant. A mid-life assessment of the program by Dr. Milagros Ibe, Director of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Science and Math Education, showed as much as a 23% differential between those exposed to the science series and those who were not part of the program. The study determined that grades 2 and 3 pupils exposed to the science programs absorbed twice as much of the concepts than those who were given regular, non-augmented instruction. Interestingly, the study concluded that understanding of the concepts in Filipino appeared to facilitate the transfer of learning to English.

In other independent studies, the values-formation series, “Hirayamanawari” and the cultural history series, “Bayani,” stimulated students’ imagination and critical thinking skills. An unintended benefit of the program, as reported by the Apayao school district, with its challenging mountain geography, is the drastic reduction in absenteeism and truancy. Positive playground and classroom behavioral changes have also been reported by teachers as a result of exposure to the shows.

To date*, only 8,177 of the more than 38,000 Philippine public schools have been adopted and so the challenge of building a successful nation continues.
* 2007 statistics

To learn more about the E-Media/Educational TV program and its current activities in the Philippines, please visit the program’s site emedia.abs-cbnfoundation.com

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