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Gearing K to 12 Philippine Science for National Development and ASEAN

Competitiveness

Article  in  Advanced Science Letters · February 2017

DOI: 10.1166/asl.2017.7497

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RESEARCH ARTICLE Adv. Sci. Lett. 23, 1068–1072, 2017

Copyright © 2017 American Scientific Publishers Advanced Science Letters

All rights reserved Vol.23, 1068-1072, 2017
Printed in the United States of America

Gearing K to 12 Philippine Science for National

Development and ASEAN Competitiveness
Auxencia A. Limjap1*, Gil Nonato C. Santos2, Minie Rose C. Lapinid2
Lydia S. Roleda2, Jovito C. Anito, Jr.2
1Far Eastern University Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Malugay St. and Geronimo St., Makati City, 1200 Philippines
2De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila, 1004 Philippines

This exploratory investigation describes the perceptions of students and teachers on how the Philippines can be ushered
towards national development and ASEAN competitiveness through technology integrated basic science education. Qualitative
and quantitative data were gathered from the survey instruments, focused group discussions and responses to open ended
questions of 779 students and 75 teachers. The survey instruments were adapted from the surveys done by P21 organization.
Results revealed that while students see technology as an important factor in their learning, they fail to appreciate the extent of
its application in their education. Their level of satisfaction on technology use is high no matter how limited the availability and
use of technology in their school is. They still lack the awareness of the use of technology as an aid to understand science and
mathematics concepts. On the other hand, science teachers’ notion of 21st century technology and software applications in the
classroom are primarily about personal gadgets like laptops, tablets, SMARTPHONES, computers and touch screen devices.
They also recognize the limited use of technology in their schools and hardly consider computer software as technology for
science. They expressed their need for training on modern science laboratory instruments and access to modern technology
primarily the personal computers and other electronic gadgets. They believe that the schools have limited means for technology
integrated curriculum because of lack of access to electronic gadgets.

Keywords: K to 12 basic education; technology integrated science curriculum, student’s perceived use of
technology in school, teacher’s perceived technology capability

1. INTRODUCTION technologies in science education and the capability of the

This research is an offshoot of the Electronic Enablers
for Excellence in Education (E4) program initiated by the
De La Salle University Physics department and Science
Education department in 2011. The E4 program1 aimed to
develop and promote technology primarily designed to
complement and enhance education delivery systems for
our educators. It engaged the educational community and
stakeholders to have a voice in determining the shape and
direction of our educational system and ultimately the
future of our children. Further, it aimed at creating a
design or draft for a realistic Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math (STEM) program that can keep the
Philippines abreast into 21st Century Science2,3,4, and
strengthen the country for ASEAN competitiveness
through education5,6, and exploring the perceived
capabilities of the teachers to adapt to the latest
_______________________________________________________________
*A.A. Limjap is former chair of the Science Education Dept. of DLSU.
Her email address is alimjap@feu.edu.ph
1
latest technologies to entice students to take courses on
science, technology, engineering and mathematics in
college7.
The urgency of the need to focus on technology
enhancement in science education was stated in the Perth
Declaration on Science and Technology Education7 of
2007. It stresses the critical role of government in
providing the quality of school education in science and
technology. It points to the need to create a scientifically
and technologically informed citizenry through the
science learned in school, the applications of science to
society, and the applications of digital technologies to
society. Together with the Association on Supervision
and Curriculum Development and Partnership for 21 st
Century Skills (P21), these groups identified information,
media and technology skills as vital to the attainment of
the critical thinking skills of the citizens of the future.
While stakeholders have shown interest in empowering
Adv. Sci. Lett. 23, 1068–1072, 2017
teachers for successful technology integration in the
classroom, this trend in education generates a lot of issues
in the Philippine educational arena. This research
provides the baseline data about the perceptions of
students and teachers on the use of technology in basic
science education and issues related to technology
enhanced science teaching and learning.
2. METHODOLOGY
This cross-sectional survey aimed at describing the
current state of technology use in science teaching as
perceived by teachers and students. As a descriptive
study, it used different forms of survey and interview to
gather data. Qualitative data were generated from the
results of the focused group discussions and responses to
open ended questions. The investigation was directed at
probing into the understandings and attitudes of the
stakeholders on technology integrated basic science
education and its impact to national development and
ASEAN competitiveness. The qualitative data culled
from the documents and field notes from interviews were
analyzed to determine the shared conceptions of both
students and teachers. Views shared by two groups were
determined.
The quantitative data were obtained from the survey
instruments which was adapted from the surveys done by
the P21 (21st Century Skills) organization8 consisting of
student attitude and perception questionnaires, and
teacher attitude and technology readiness questionnaires.
The quantitative data collected from the survey forms
were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The
perceptions and attitudes of the stakeholders on the issues
regarding technology integrated basic science education
were correlated.
The survey instruments were distributed to school
teachers and students of about 30 public and private
secondary schools in 7 regions of the Philippines.
Purposive sampling was employed in choosing the
participants for this study in order to avoid disrupting the
students’ class schedule.
There were 779 students and 75 teachers who
participated in the study. The National Capital Region
contributed the biggest number of participants.
3. STUDENTS’ VOICE
While majority of the students see the importance of
technology in their studies, their conception of an ideal
school setting with respect to their current science
education program appears to be limited. They seem to
be satisfied with using technology mostly to do their
assignments and not to prepare for their class. Besides,
their views of technology mainly involve use of
computers and electronic gadgets. They fail to see that
science laboratory instruments like those from PASCO 9
RESEARCH ARTICLE
are also technology in spite of the fact that many of the
respondents participated in the PASCO workshops. While
they see technology as an important factor in their
learning, they fail to appreciate the extent of its
application in their education. Thus, their level of
satisfaction on technology use is high no matter how
limited the available technology and its use is in their
school. Although some students are familiar with the
interactive white board and the MOODLE, they still lack
the awareness of the extent to which technology can be
used in their Science and Math classes, particularly as an
aid to understand Science and Math concepts.
Nonetheless, after having been exposed to the different
gadgets during PASCO workshops, students also want
efficient and maximum use of technology in their schools.
In addition, students also expressed the need for their
teachers to learn new technology and use it in their
science class since according to them, their teachers can
inspire and get students’ interest when instruction makes
use of technology such as online or virtual learning,
taking tests in website and the like.
Lack of technology, lack of technical support, and
teachers’ inability to use technology are some of the
problems students identified in their current school
situation. They expressed their desire to equip themselves
with skills on technology when they go to college and
pursue their career. As such their concept of an ideal
school setting is significantly different from what they
currently have in school.
Figure 1. Technology skills important for college work or
for employment
When students were asked which technology skills are
important to them as college students or workers,
majority (55%) claim that audio, video and/or multimedia
content development are a necessary skill. Computer
programming ranked third at 40%. Graphic development
ranked higher at 28% than web content development at
18% or web site development at 15%. It seems that
students are more concerned with the presentation of
2
RESEARCH ARTICLE Adv. Sci. Lett. 23, 1068–1072, 2017

content development than with the use of different forms techniques, modern technologies, applications, video
of media, thus the result. making projects, and multimedia. They should allow
students to use own gadgets, use cool technologies, use
Table 1 shows the distribution of student responses in classroom computers in exchange of files, use PREZI
terms of technology skills they consider relevant for their presentations, POWERPPOINT, TV, SMARTPHONES in
future employment or college life. Paired t-test showed case computers fail, maximize current technology, make
that there is a significant difference between the current animations, use Kindle and other e-book readers, bigger
experience and the desired experience for all variables screen, and do computer programming. They build their
listed. Table 1 further shows that students wish to be interest and are inspired to pursue it. Some of them (24%)
exposed to more electronic learning systems like online think that classes should be more interesting. They
learning, internet research and self-designed experiments. pointed to the need for teachers to do exciting and
They want to have better use of digital products and practical things in class. They ask science teachers to
videos. teach us to do amazing things, and relate topics to
When asked for the teaching practices of their science everyday life. They want more practical examples, make
teachers that motivate them to pursue a career in science the lessons easier to understand. They are expecting
and technology, the answers were clustered into interesting lectures and activities. They say that teachers
1) laboratory and research-based learning, 2) online must be more energetic, give more experiments and nice
learning, 3) computer aided and technology based explanations, show actual work of scientists, be
instruction and 4) pedagogy that is fun and inspiring. interesting reviewers, give specific explanations, bring
Seventy percent of those who responded think that class to field trips, give more examples, and show the
computer aided and technology based pedagogy inspire importance and use of science in life. Sixteen percent
students to pursue a career in science and technology. think that online learning will also develop student’s
Table 1. Paired Samples Test on Student Aspirations interest in science and technology. They are referring here
Variable M SD t p to virtual learning where syllabi, assignments, lectures
Student presentation using digital and even tests are posted in the website. Only a handful
-46 < .05 mentioned the need for student centered pedagogy
products
Current 3.5 1.177 although other suggestions imply it. A few also
mentioned the need for creation of certain institutional
Desired 4.57 0.889
policies on allowing students the use of technology in
Video Making -43.6 < .05 class. Students also articulated the administrative support
Current 3.32 1.332 needed for motivating students to careers in S&T. Fifty
Desired 4.41 1.032 percent of those who responded think that good
Digital Portfolios -47.2 < .05 infrastructure with technical support is the key to building
interest towards careers in S&T. They mentioned air
Current 2.43 1.656
conditioned rooms, library, and laboratories, laboratory
Desired 4.03 1.456 equipment, and modern technology, online library, more
Online Learning -46.7 < .05 computers, online learning, technical assistance to
Current 2.58 1.732 technology use (in case of failure) among the facilities
Desired 4.28 1.309 that they want to have in their laboratory rooms. They
-47.4 < .05 suggest that schools assign a technician, provide
Digital Textbook
multimedia, recorded class lectures, interactive
Current 1.82 1.894
whiteboard, WIFI on campus, and offer gadgets for loan
Desired 4.15 1.423 (borrowing). They would like to see more interactive
Internet Research -29.3 < .05 lessons, experiential learning and integration of
Current 3.76 1.461 technology in the science classes. Fifty- seven percent of
Desired 4.65 0.94 those who responded have a positive understanding about
K-12 and its implications to students’ science preparation
Self-designed experiments -40.3 < .05
in high school because there is more time to learn fully
Current 2.69 1.663 and specialize the subjects and for better preparation for
Desired 4.06 1.463 college. The rest either have no idea what K – 12 is about
N=769 df=768 or do not favor the longer years that it will keep them to
Students were also asked what they think teachers high school. Thus, these students have negative notion
should practice to motivate them to pursue careers in S & about the new curriculum.
T. Majority of those who responded (54%) that computer
aided and technology based instruction will motivate 4. TEACHERS’ VOICE
students to pursue careers in S&T. According to them,
teachers should use laptops, videos, tablets, advanced Science teachers recognize the limitations of the
3
Adv. Sci. Lett. 23, 1068–1072, 2017
technology use in their schools. Teachers expressed their
need for training on modern science laboratory
instruments like those of PASCO. This poses a greater
challenge over other challenges such as class size. They
want access to modern technology primarily the personal
computers and other electronic gadgets. A good number
of teachers know simulation sites like the PHET where
interactive research based simulations of physical
phenomena are found. However, they also surmised that
their students are more knowledgeable on the use of
computers than them. Teachers believe that technology is
helpful in learning concepts and mentioned the
educational technology vendors, interfaces, software and
apparatus, and data loggers that provide science
laboratory experiments as ways to integrate science
technology in the classroom. Nonetheless, they recognize
that they have to live with the limited means in terms of
the infrastructure such as laboratories and equipment for
technology integrated curriculum. Strikingly, teachers
expressed lack of funding as the main reason for this
limitation. For them, investment on training for modern
technology is the way towards global competitiveness.
Teachers make use of whatever is available such as
social networking for science classroom as well as the
YOUTUBE which is mostly associated with
entertainment. Their responses imply high expectations
of an ideal school setting for a technology based science
class. Figure 2 reveals that just like students, most (56%)
of teacher’s notion of 21st century technology and
software applications in the classroom are primarily about
personal gadgets like laptops, tablets, SMARTPHONE,
personal computers and touch screen devices. Only 32%
thought of computer software like MS Office, Flash and
PASCO as the technology to have in the classroom for the
21st century. Nevertheless, there is still a good number of
teachers who are advanced about their ideas regarding the
possible technologies that can be used in the 21st century
science classroom. They identify online resources,
simulation sites, online learning and social networking
sites as useful for science instruction. Most of the teachers
who responded (39%) think that research based and
inquiry based instruction with laboratory method and
hands on experiments motivate students to take careers in
science and technology. Twenty-seven percent of them
point to the actual use of technology in class as
motivating factors. They also refer to computer
simulations like those that are available in PHET as
effective for students. Some of them refer to specific
pedagogies like blended learning, project based learning,
differentiated learning, cooperative teaching and learning,
use of historical accounts and motivational methods like
science fairs and exhibits, or science quiz, distance
learning, constructivist based instruction, laboratory and
research based instruction, motivational and career
oriented teaching, computer-aided and technology based
instruction.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Teachers think that there is room for improvement.
Fifty-one percent of those who responded believe that
there is much to be desired in terms of technology that
can be employed in the science classes. They do not just
refer to the modern technology and sophisticated
laboratory equipment. They are also aware of the need to
adjust teaching strategies to the available technology.
They are aware of online discussions that teachers and
students can engage in. They say that teachers should be
inspiring students through teacher’s own experience, and
expose students to different science and technology
careers.
When asked for the needed support from school
administrators, most teachers refer to resources and
school budget. They don’t see their potential to generate
these for their school.
Figure 2. Teacher’s notion of technology and software
applications for the 21st century science classroom
Teachers don’t realize their ability to initiate reforms in
teaching since they are just waiting for mandate from the
administrators. Their opinion (34%) on how pedagogical
practices can be accommodated in K-12 curriculum are
mainly institutional. They think that K-12 demands
modern way of teaching, especially because learners
nowadays learn fast but easily get bored. Some teachers
(30%) among those who responded think that use of
technology in the classroom by way of online classes and
other modern pedagogies should characterize the K-12
science classes. They think that technology can enhance
or reinforce learning through online classes and use of e-
notebook for students. For educational reforms to take
place, they identify school administrators, as well as the
Department of Education as sources of funding, budget
and infrastructure.
According to most teachers (55%), the best way to
improve the use of technology in science classes is to
provide training programs. In fact they believe that
scholarship programs for a graduate degree where more in
depth training can be provided will be the best program
for this purpose. While some teachers (23%) want the
current technology they have in school to be upgraded,
they are certain that acquisition of new technology should
come with intensive training. Only then can technology
be well incorporated in science classes.
4
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Figure 3. Teachers’ perception on how schools could
improve the use of technology in science education
The sentiments of both students and teachers on
technology use in schools generated from this study have
been articulated many years back by international
institutions like UNESCO, ASCD and P21. The need to
make the experience in the use of technology in basic
science more meaningful can be inferred from the
opinions they share. However, there should be specific
programs from organized agencies that should set the
directions and standards for the attainment of the
nationwide goals on basic science education.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The goal of this study was to investigate the perceptions
of students and teachers on how the Philippines can be
ushered towards national development and ASEAN
competitiveness through technology integrated basic science
education. The analysis of both qualitative and quantitative
data revealed that while learners recognize that technology
can be an integral part of the learning environment, the
current provisions and conditions in schools suggest that
technology is utilized only as medium for instructional
delivery. The technology-integrated learning environment
described by the students is characterized by utilizing
technology in the delivery of lessons and in accomplishing
the assigned homework. They see this as totally different
from the ideal technology-integrated learning encounter
where teachers utilize sophisticated digital content in drills
and student performances, provide simulations and real
world experiences, and utilize software applications.
Students are cognizant that technology-integrated learning in
their current context is constrained by administrative and
institutional factors. These factors include the lack of
infrastructure, lack of modern educational technologies, and
lack of technical knowledge and support of and from the
school personnel in utilizing technology in the learning
environment.
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Adv. Sci. Lett. 23, 1068–1072, 2017
The teachers on the other hand pointed to the same
constraints in evaluating their current context of technology-
integrated learning. They recognized the need for more
sophisticated educational technologies and training on how
to effectively utilize these technologies in learning.
In gearing the Philippines towards national development
and ASEAN competitiveness, this study suggests that more
administrative and institutional work has to be effected.
Primarily, education agencies and institutions must provide
support for adequate and sophisticated educational
technologies and trainings for teachers. With adequate
government and private support, the E4 program can be a
catalyst that steers K-12 instruction towards the desired 21st
Century Basic Science of both students and teachers.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research team of project A-96 is grateful to the
funding agency, National Research Council of the
Philippines; the cooperating agencies De La Salle
University, and SCIENSTAR Inc. exclusive distributor of
PASCO Instruments headed by Mr. Cesar C. Bermundo;
and the administrators, teachers and students of the 30
school participants all over the country for their valuable
help in the completion of this project.
REFERENCES
[1] Santos, G., Palabrica, E., Limjap, A. & Bermundo, C. E4 Science
Forum and Science Workshop. (2011)
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[3] The Basic Sciences: The Science Lever for Development
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[4] OFSTED. ICT in schools – the impact of government initiatives:
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report, HMI 2195. (2004)
[5] Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC]. 4th Asia Pacific
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(2009).
[7] Fensham, P. Science Education Policy-making, Eleven emerging
issues. UNESCO Section for Science, Technical and Vocational
Education. (2008)
[8] 21st Century School Questions. West Virginia Dept. of Education
Division of Curriculum and Instructional Services Office of
Assessment and Accountability. (2008)
[9] ScienceStar Corporation at www.sciencestar.