Philo 512/SEBS 503— Philosophical and Scientific Basis of Trends and Research in Science Education

Activity 2: Philosophy of Science Education

Accomplished by: Junar P. Santiago

Graduate Student, NVSU, Bayombong Campus

8 Guiding Principles of Science Curriculum and their Philosophical Bases

1. Science is for everyone.
This principle recognizes the proactive relationship between science and society. This
means putting science into the service of individuals and society. The said point of view can
be traced on the principles of Pragmatism. Pragmatists believe that the curriculum should
reflect the society (the people), emphasizing the needs and interests of the children. Moreover,
pragmatists saw science as a plural, thoroughly social activity that must be directed to real-
world problems and subsequent interventions and action. The said pragmatic thought is evident
with the aim of science education for scientific literacy that is operational in understanding
oneself, common human welfare, social, and civic affairs. Science should permeate all levels
of society. Whether or not students pursue a university education, they should leave school
with a level of understanding and scientific literacy that will prepare them to be informed and
participative citizens who are able to make judgments and decisions regarding science
applications that may have social, health, or environmental impacts.
Moreover, “Science is for everyone” as a guiding principle of science curriculum is
associated also with Humanism philosophy. Cline (2021) cited in his article that "Humanism
as a technical term and as an intellectual or moral conception has always leaned heavily on its
etymology. That which is characteristically human, not supernatural, that which belongs to
man and not to external nature, that which raises man to his greatest height or gives him, as
man, his greatest satisfaction, is apt to be called humanism." The etymology is consonant with
the importance given by science to human populace—its comfort, advantage, and benefit.

2. Science is both content and process.

Science content and science process are intertwined. The value of science processes is
to advance content or the body of knowledge. Without content, students will have difficulty
utilizing the science process skills. Science processes cannot exist in a vacuum. They are
learned in context. Obviously, these premises are related to the thoughts of perennialism and
progressivism. Perennialism asserts that education should be defined by universal truths. The
said universal truth is the content that science had been discovering, mining, and improving.
A perennialist teacher uses a subject matter-centered approach to teaching which requires
mastery of the learning content. Furthermore, the process in which science content should be
thought is aligned with progressivism. Uyangor, et. al. (2016) states that Progressivism is an
educational philosophy asserting that individual should learn by doing and experiencing to
develop creativity and imagination. This philosophy believes that students demonstrate
meaningful learning when they are actively involved in the learning activities that they are
interested with. The latter statement is exactly the idea that science should be thought through
process.

3. School science should emphasize depth rather breadth, coherence rather than
fragmentation, and use of evidence in constructing explanation.
This guiding principle highlights that science centers on quality rather than quantity.
Science does not stop in discovering the basic concepts and technologies. It will uncover the
depth of concepts and principles to advance and develop more technologies. To attain vertical
advancement, a deductive method or method of teaching that enables learners to arrive at a
specific truth from general principles must be employed. Science intends to discover the reality
of nature and its focus is the vertical direction of the discovered concepts to support the
concepts with concrete (not abstract) proofs. Realism recommends to give emphasis on the
learning of science subjects which can be learned effectively through an experimental method
that entails critical and problem-solving skills. These skills are necessary to understand the
depth of the problems Thus, the notion that science should emphasize depth rather than
breadth, coherence rather than fragmentation is parallel with the ideals of realism which
proposes the utilization of experimentation and deductive reasoning.

Prof. DAISY V. RIVERA, PhD.

Professor
Philo 512/SEBS 503— Philosophical and Scientific Basis of Trends and Research in Science Education

4. School science should be relevant and useful.

To be relevant and useful, the teaching of science should be organized around situations,
problems, or projects that engage the students both as an individual and as members of a team.
The fourth guiding principle of science education could be related to many philosophical
paradigms. Capitalizing on the concept that science should be relevant and useful, the guiding
principle is in accord with progressivism. Progressivists believe that individuality, progress,
and change are fundamental to one's education. Believing that people learn best from what
they consider most relevant to their lives, progressivists center their curricula on the needs,
experiences, interests, and abilities of students. Similar to science, it is dynamic or constantly
changing and evolving to adhere to and cope with changing society or world. In fact, the
dynamic character of science is the main reason why it is relevant and useful to every individual
and to society as a whole.
Additionally, the guiding principle is related also with the philosophy of pragmatism.
Pragmatism is an educational philosophy that says that education should be about life and
growth. That is, teachers should be teaching students things that are practical for life and
encourage them to grow into better people. The phrase “practical for life” refers to things and
endeavors that are relevant and useful. Similarly, science is centered on practical and useful
things.

5. School science should nurture interest in learning.

This guiding principle is associated with the philosophy of pragmatism. Pragmatists
believe that the curriculum should reflect society, emphasizing the needs and interests of the
children. In pragmatism, the teacher captures the child’s interest and builds on natural
motivation. The same with science. Students are generally interested in problems that puzzle
them. They have a natural urge to find solutions. Organizing the curriculum around problems
or phenomena that puzzle students help motivate them to learn. Moreover, it can be deduced
that science is aligned with the thoughts of existentialism. Existentialists believe that every
individual is unique, and education must cater to individual differences. Therefore, the
objective of education is to enable every individual to develop his or unique qualities, harness
his potential and cultivate his individualities.

6. School science should demonstrate a commitment to the development of a culture of

science.
A culture of science is characterized by excellence, integrity, hard work, and discipline.
These features of science are connected with the thoughts of idealism. According to idealism
education is the process of development of a person, his/her conscious and spiritual self. The
phrase “development of a person” is linked with excellence, integrity, hard work, and
discipline which are necessary to sustain science culture. These traits are necessary for the
development of a person. Idealism as a school of thought believes that the school exists to
develop character, increase knowledge, and cultivate aesthetic taste. Thus, idealism is reflected
in the development of scientific culture.

7. School science should promote a strong link between science and technology, including
indigenous technology.
Social reconstructionism emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to
create a better society. Although, the main parameter of this philosophy are social issues, and
conflicts, some of these issues or conflicts can be addressed through the product of science—
technology. Therefore, science through the technologies it produced provides resolution to
social issues and problems.
Today, you no longer have to grow your own foods or wash your own clothes by hand.
And, you don’t have to worry as much about the prospect of getting sick and dying.
Agricultural technologies, like fertilizers (discovered by chemists), combine harvesters (built
by engineers), and selective breeding (worked on by biologists), have allowed us to produce
incredible amounts of highly nutritious food on relatively little land. So, science and
technology solve our problem of food shortage. Another social problem is our disease
susceptibility. But thanks to science and medical technology, our life expectancies have
increased at a dramatic rate.

Prof. DAISY V. RIVERA, PhD.

Professor
Philo 512/SEBS 503— Philosophical and Scientific Basis of Trends and Research in Science Education

8. School science should recognize that science and technology reflect, influence, and shape
our culture.
The science curriculum should recognize the place of science and technology in
everyday human affairs. It should integrate science and technology into the civic, personal,
social, economic, and values and ethical aspects of life. The most obvious effect of science has
been its medical and technological applications, with the accompanying effects on health care,
lifestyles, and social structures. Generally, the way we live today is greatly affected by science
and technology. Science is an organized body of knowledge and one of its goals is to search
for the absolute truth. Such search for absolute truth is patterned with the major proposition of
perennialism. Perennialism believes in the application of universal and absolute educational
principles. Many thoughts could be extracted from this argument of perennialists. One possible
meaning of the argument is that education is always regarded as a process of improvement.
For instance, the study of medicine does not aim for spreading disease, but for restoring and
improving health. The said proposition of perennialism is within the parameter of science and
technology. Science schools should recognize that science and technology reflect, influence,
and shape our culture because science is for improvement and development.

Scientific Model

Educating every learner to higher standards of performance has been a perennial challenge
for the teachers, specifically in providing the students the needed competencies to become more
globally competitive and functionality literate (Delos Santos, et. al., 2021). One common problem
faced by science students is their low mastery of content knowledge in science. This is supported
by the study of Grosschedl, et. al. (2014) which stated that the most challenging part for educators
is to assist learners to develop their knowledge of the subject matter. The researchers cited that
these difficulties are affected by different factors such as students’ background knowledge,
intelligence, and motivation.
Several published studies (Freeman et al., 2007; Jensen & Moore, 2008, 2009; Moore,
2005) and countless unpublished examples illustrate optional educational interventions that were
intended to improve the performance of low-performing, postsecondary science students but were
unsuccessful. These interventions include providing extra review sessions, practice problems,
additional office hours, help rooms, and more. The high-performing students typically avail
themselves of these additional resources and improve, whereas the lower-performing students do
not (Jensen & Moore, 2008, 2009; Moore 2005), though low performers self-motivated to seek
help can show substantial gains with course-specific coaching (e.g., Chaplin, 2007). Hattie, Biggs,
and Purdie’s (1996) comprehensive meta-analysis of general learning skills interventions with
university students found that “the effects on study skills are minimal.” A likely reason for this
failure is that general study skills interventions are too broad in their scope and too distant from
where they will be applied. Moreover, many studies have revealed that implementing stricter study
requirements, found limited or no effect on student achievement (Deweese, 2012; Slavin &
Karweit, 1984; Slavin, 1987, 1990).
Different academic-based and/or related interventions have been implemented to enhance
the mastery level of students in science. But until now, the problem remains unsolved. It has
however been observed that an area of education which is the spirituality has not been fully
researched, yet it is very vital to human overall well-being (Astin & Astin, 2004; Astin, Astin &
Lindholm, 2011; Cox, 2011). This is an indication that education appears to provide all-round
development of students, but an extra touch of spirituality is needed to complete the cycle of
building the individual student into a wholesome entity with a sense of purpose, direction, and
positive character which will complement the academic and other aspects that the non-faith schools
emphasize.
Due to the presented arguments, the proponent presents
a scientific model called, Counter Flow. This model is
anchored on the fact that spiritual discipline is directly related
to the academic performance. Additionally, such a major
Counterflow anchor of the model is supported by Horwitz (2022) claim that
more intensely religious teens earned higher GPAs in high
school. A clear explanation for this is the theory of scholar and
sociologist, Christian Smith which states that increased
religiosity deters young people from risky behaviors, connects
them to more adults, and provides them with leadership
opportunities. This may seem unusual and unscientific because

Prof. DAISY V. RIVERA, PhD.

Professor
Philo 512/SEBS 503— Philosophical and Scientific Basis of Trends and Research in Science Education

of the demarcation between religion and science. But the baseline data were the results of
researches that were scientifically done. Thus, the proponent of this model strongly believed that
the model is scientific and feasible.
The model is named as counterflow because it literally counteracts or opposes the
malpractices and bad behaviors of learners which are the cause of unmastered competencies. The
model has three parts—Readying, Rebuilding, and Responding. This model does not overlay the
academic classes of the students. The model will be integrated with the daily lessons of the
learners. The teacher-implementer will slate 10 minutes from the schedule of the students to share
the sessions with the learners. The sessions contain lessons on basic spiritual disciplines and the
foundations of the Christian faith. Students who are not Christian have an option not to join the
sessions not neutral with their religious doctrines and practices to ensure impartiality.

Readying
This part introduces God to the learners. Surveys have shown that moral discipline is
deteriorating because less time is spent on values education. In the Department of Education, more
time are slated for content-based subjects than values subject. Readying teaches the learners truth
about God. The session to be shared in this part are as follow:

Session 1: One Truth: The Gospel

Session 2: One Way: The Savior

Session 3: One Proof: Our New Life in Christ

Session 4: One Promise: The Assurance of Our Salvation

Session 5: One Pursuit: Growing in Our Relationship with Christ

Rebuilding
Rebuilding contains lessons on value-formation. Sessions on this part aim to rebuild the
moral values of the learners. The model believes that learners did not master the learning
competencies because learners are misbehaving. Meaning, the learners do not perform well in their
academics because they are morally corrupted. Below are the sessions and their titles:

Session 6: Biblical Roles of Father, Mother, and Children

Session 7: Beware of Pride, Be Humble

Session 8: Overcome Blurred Morality

Session 9: Destroy Discontent

Responding
In this part of the model, the learners are encouraged to practice what they have learned
from the previous sessions. Sessions are centered on how learners slowly respond to their learning.
The learners are not by-force or compelled to respond or apply immediately what they have
realized. Instead, the teacher-implementer through the guidance of their parents will allow the
students to go through processes and reflections. Sessions that might help learners contemplate are
the following:

Session 10: Dare to be Different

Session 11: Build Keystone Habits

After the sessions, post-assessment will be implemented to quantify the learning of the
students. Using a survey questionnaire, the extent of learning and perceptions toward the model
will be measured. Afterwhich, the proponent will analyze and interpret the results.

Prof. DAISY V. RIVERA, PhD.

Professor
Philo 512/SEBS 503— Philosophical and Scientific Basis of Trends and Research in Science Education

Create your own scientific model to augment one of the least mastered skills in math/science. Make
a simple write-up about the model.

Rubrics:

Criteria Highest Medium Lowest

(40 pts) (35 pts) (30 pts)
1. Scientific Approach (20 pts)
• Relevance and appropriateness of the model to the least
mastered skill
2. Presentation (10 pts)
• Write-up is well-written, good grammar, spelling and
punctuation
• Neatness and organization
• Good sentence structure
3. Originality of the Scientific Model (10 pts)

Points to Ponder:

“Our scientist colleagues should continue to teach the fundamentals of science, but they can
help by making clear to their students that science brims with important conceptual,
interpretative, methodological, and ethical issues that philosophers are uniquely situated to
address, and that far from being irrelevant to science, philosophical matters lie at its heart.
”
- Subrena E. Smith

Prof. DAISY V. RIVERA, PhD.

Professor