SCIENCE

EDUCATION IN
PHILIPPINE
SOCIETY
SITTIE AINA S. PAGADOR
Early Major Projects and
Activities
 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
 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.
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
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.
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.
The BSCS adaptation project was an exercise in
curriculum development involved:
- Writer-specialist
- Classroom teachers
- Administrators
- Illustrators and biology educators
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.
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.
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
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.
 writing-
developing Teacher Preparing
the Tryout Evaluation Revision final
experiment training edition
al edition
 OTHER NATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Philippine Association of Science Teachers (PAST) -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
- 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)
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.
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.
SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE 1950s
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.
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
 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.
- 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.
- 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
 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.