Science Education in the Philippines

1. 1. SCIENCE EDUCATION IN PHILIPPINE SOCIETY SITTIE AINA S. PAGADOR

2. 2. Early Major Projects and Activities
3. 3. EARLY EFFORTS TO IMPROVE SCIENCE EDUCATION •As early as decade of the 1950s,
scientist were concerned with the state of science education in the schools. Leading scientist made
Philippine authorities aware that the teaching of science from grade school level to college levels in
both public and private schools was very inadequate.
4. 4. Philippine Association for the Advance of Science – annual conference which it focuses on the
training of science teachers and teaching of science. - It also called the importance of the growth of
science consciousness in the general population and the need to remedy the shortage of scientist in the
country. 1957 – The Philippine government made the teaching of science compulsory in all
elementary and secondary schools.
5. 5. National committee for Science Education – set up in 1958 to formulate objectives for teaching of
science education at all levels and to recommend steps that would upgrade the teaching of science.
6. 6. The committee identified the following areas to which improvement efforts were needed. a.
Integration of science with classroom instruction b. Acquisition of more science equipment and tools
c. Coordination of efforts with other agencies d. Negotiation for a science institute for teachers e.
National science talent search and fellowship f. Higher salaries of science and mathematics
7. 7. Clark Hubler – a science educator of Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts and Fulbright
fellow in the Philippines in 1963-1964, noted some salient characteristics of science education in the
country – language problem. - 3 language had to be learned by the students Filipino, English, Spanish
- 4 language for Tagalog provinces local dialect, Filipino, English, Spanish - 5 languages for those not
spoken local dialect in their home. - He cited that the ratio of books is 1:4 in Manila public schools
and 1:10 in the rest of the country.
8. 8. THE BSCS ADAPTATION PROJECT - The secretary of Education had earlier set up a National
Committee in Science Education to formulate objectives for teaching of science at the three
instructional level and recommended action that would upgrade the teaching of science. a. Subject
matter competence of teachers b. The curriculum materials c. Laboratory equipment and science
facilities in schools.
9. 9. According to the survey on the status of science teaching in the Philippines and in U.S. conducted
by the committee created by the NSDB. The committee found that all levels of science instruction,
elementary, secondary and tertiary had in common the following weaknesses and a lack of: 1.
Adequate equipment and facilities in the laboratories 2. Up-to-date and adequate textbooks,
publications and reference materials 3. Qualified and imaginative teachers 4. Provision for systematic
upgrading of teachers
10. 10. 1960s – a group of biological educators at the University of Philippines organized themselves into
a team to adapt the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) Green Version – introduce to
students to the living world and sought to provide him with biological information as may be
necessary and useful as he lives his life.
11. 11. 1962 – Adaptation on green version laboratory manual. - BSCS donated 1,600 copies of the BSCS
green version textbook, experimental edition. - Green version laboratory manual were tried out in ten
(10) public high schools for a full school year.
12. 12. The BSCS adaptation project was an exercise in curriculum development involved: - Writer-
specialist - Classroom teachers - Administrators - Illustrators and biology educators
13. 13. Harry Case – head of the Ford Foundation; recommended the Philippines educational leaders for
the remarkable degree of cooperation in the establishment of the Science Teaching Center at the
University of the Philippines September 25, 1964 – U.P. grant by the Ford Foundation providing
$310,000 over a two-year period of the Science Teaching Center.
14. 14. R.A 5506 - an Act establishing Science Education Center (SEC) as a permanent unit of the
University of the Philippines. This act earn marked 250,000 pesos annual from the national especial
science fund for the support of the center.
15. 15. The following are the activities were included in the summer institute to achieve the mention
competences: a. discussion of the objectives of the materials b. discussion and practice in writing
instructional objectives c. study, discussion and demonstration lessons of the process of science d.
Study and discussion of the basic concepts include in the materials. This section include updating and
increasing the teacher’s background knowledge in
16. 16. e. Performing selected laboratory exercises from the new materials f. Constructing simple teaching
aids needed in teaching the materials g. Teaching sample classes followed by critique and discussion
of the lesson taught h. Pre and post testing of the teachers participants. The test include ‘proces’ and
‘content’ items.
17. 17. Preparing final edition RevisionEvaluationTryout Teacher training writing- developing the
experiment al edition
18. 18. OTHER NATIONAL ACTIVITIES Philippine Association of Science Teachers (PAST) -
19. 19. THE SCIENCE EDUCATION PROJECT (SEP) A major project that would have the following
objectives: 1.Improvement of pre-service, in-service education of science/mathematics teachers, 2.
Local development of science textbooks and equipment, 3. Evaluation of locally produced materials,
4. Research on teaching-learning process.
20. 20. Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) – it was part of the national project of SEP. - MAT scholarship
were granted to institutions rather to individuals. - Its objectives was to develop within each institution
a corps of science educators committed to the improvement of science teacher training programs at the
undergraduate, graduate and in-service.
21. 21. SEP effort to improve science education in the county: 1.Dissemination of improved curricula,
teaching techniques and approaches in science and mathematics on the basic levels of education
through the introduction of new curriculum and application of new teaching technique and approaches
by the returned MAT trainees and teachers that they teach.
22. 22. 2. Quality science and math education programs in the recipient-sponsor institutions through new
and improved course offerings and a generally improved teacher education programs.
23. 23. The five Regional Science Teaching Center (RCTC’s): 1.Notre Dame University in Marbel,
Cotabato – established earlier with the assistance of a Ford Foundation grant. 2. Ateneo de Davao
College 3. Silliman University 4. St. Louis University 5. Aquinas University
24. 24. SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE 1940’S - After World War II, the emergency curriculum made
possible the accommodation of a 120 pupils in an elementary level. - Secondary level general
curriculum replaced the type A & B curricula. Home economics, national language and vocational
courses became required course for all years except for geometry, advanced algebra and physics
which became optional courses.
25. 25. - No science offered in grade 1 to 4 of elementary level - 30 minutes allotted for science and
arithmetic in intermediate levels (grade 5 & 6) - One teacher handled of 60 pupils in the morning &
another teacher in the afternoon for 60 pupils (in the same room)
26. 26. 1946 – General secondary curriculum was enforced in all third and fourth year classes of public
schools. Physics, chemistry and advanced algebra were optional. 1948-1949 – the educational Act of
1948 seeking restore grade 7 drafted but it remained unacted.
27. 27. 1949-1950 – community school movement started in Iloilo and Bohol. - Classroom instruction
emphasized functional and social values of the subject matter and activities dealt with understanding
and appreciation of simple facts and methods, activities in the form of observation, experimentation,
critical thinking, planning and participating in the experiments. - Secondary level was emphasized in
such activities as health, sanitation, community and home beautification.
28. 28. SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE 1950s
29. 29. Bulletin No. 27 s. 1953 - issued by the Bureau of Public Schools to assist teachers do science
activities with their pupils. - Strengthen curriculum development efforts, - laboratories establish
instead of one center General Office - Branches centers was establish in the Philippine Normal School
and 8 public normal schools (Iloilo, Cebu, Albay, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Bukidnon, Zamboanga
and Leyte.
30. 30. Bulletin N. 15 s. 1954 – Construction of Science laboratory apparatus in Vocational shops. -
Biology became a live subject with community school projects in health and sanitation, food
production and home beautification - Physics – application in mechanical and
31. 31. DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1960S - Emphasis in the objectives of instructional procedures and
evaluation. - Educational objectives, cognitive, affective and psychomotor was given prominence in
teacher education course and summer institute. - Chemistry was newly introduced subject in the public
high schools and teachers needed the training because many of those teaching this subject had no
specialization in it.
32. 32. - During this decade some agencies assisted in the training of science teacher. - The first part of
four-year in-service training program in the use of Filipino as medium of instruction grade 1 for non-
Tagalog provinces and grade 3 for Tagalog provinces/ - Launched in 22 regional in-service education
centers.
33. 33. - Summer institute also focused on certain issues related to the improvement of science and math
education a. Relevance of course to the day functions of teachers b. Teachers should let the students
do science instead of teaching about science c. Students should provide with instructional materials
that illustrate current accepted concepts about science teaching
34. 34. Behavioral objectives:  Instructional procedures – emphasized students experience which
contributed to the attainment of the stated goals.  Evaluation – used to reinforce the students’ learning
experiences. Test critical thinking skills, analysis, application and other cognitive skills. 1967 –
NEDA assisted a program which prepared/revised/refined syllabi for teaching English, Pilipino,
Mathematics, Science and Economics.
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