The Goals of Science Education

Introduction:

Science teaching plays an important role in the attainment of a country’s developmental

goal toward global competition and excellence. Technological innovations in the field of science
contribute greatly to the economic growth and security of a country, and quality science
education makes students globally competitive. Encourages student at all grades to develop a
critical sense of wonder and curiosity about scientific and technological endeavors.

Goals;

• 1. Science education should develop fundamental understandings of natural systems.

“Scientific knowledge”

There is a body of knowledge concerning biological, physical, and earth systems. For over 200
years, our science education programs have aimed toward informing students of these natural
systems. This goal has been, and will continue to be, of significant importance for science
teachers.

• 2. Science education should develop a fundamental understanding of, and ability to use,
the methods of scientific inquiry.

“Scientific methods”

A second goal has centered on the abilities and understandings of the methods of scientific
investigation. Descriptions of the goal have changed; for example, the terms inquiry and
discovery have been used to describe the scientific methods goal.

• 3. Science education should prepare citizens to make responsible decisions concerning

science-related social issues.

“Societal issues”

Science education exists in society and should contribute to the maintenance and aspirations of
the culture. This goal is especially important when there are social challenges directly related to
science.

• 4. Science education should contribute to an understanding and fulfilment of personal

needs, thus contributing to personal development.

“Personal needs “

All individuals have needs related to their own biological/psychological systems

• 5. Science education should inform students about careers in the science.

“Career awareness”

Scientific research, development, and application continue through the work of individuals
within science and technology and through the support of those not directly involved in scientific
work.

Reference:

Bybee, R. W., Powell, J. C, Trowbridge, L. W., (2008). Teaching Secondary School Science;
Strategy For Developing Scientific Literacy.

Historical development and Curricula Reforms in Science Education in The Philippines

(Francisco Reyes, 1972)

Pre-Spanish Period

• “The Banaue Rice Terraces Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the
Philippine islands, the natives of the archipelago already had practices linked to science
and technology. Filipinos were already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties
of plants and the methods of extracting medicine from herbs. They already had an
alphabet, number system, a weighing and measuring system and a calendar. Filipinos
were already engaged in farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving. The Banaue Rice
Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-Spanish era
Filipinos. “
Spanish Colonial Period

• The Spanish introduced formal education and founded scientific institution.

• Parish schools were established where religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music
was taught. Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture was taught to the
natives. Later the Spanish established colleges and universities in the archipelago
including the University of Santo Tomas.
• The study of medicine in the Philippines was given priority in the Spanish era, especially
in the later years. The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering in the islands
by constructing government buildings, churches, roads, bridges and forts
• The opening of the Suez Canal saw the influx of European visitors to the Spanish colony
and some Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were probably influenced by the
rapid development of scientific ideals brought by the Age of Enlightenment.
American Period and Post-Commonwealth Era

• Angel Alcala is a national scientist noted for his work in marine and aquatic biology.
• On July 1, 1901 The Philippine Commission established the Bureau of Government
Laboratories which was placed under the Department of Interior. The Bureau dealt with
the study of tropical diseases and laboratory projects.
• On October 26, 1905, the Bureau of Government Laboratories was replaced by the
Bureau of Science and on December 8, 1933, the National Research Council of the
Philippines was established.
• Science during the American period was inclined towards agriculture, food processing,
forestry, medicine and pharmacy.
• In 1946 the Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science.
• in 1950, there is a lack of basic information which were necessities to the country's
industries, lack of support of experimental work and minimal budget for scientific
research and low salaries of scientists employed by the government.
• Not much focus was given on the development of industrial technology due to free trade
policy with the United States which nurtured an economy geared towards agriculture and
trade.
• In 1958, during the regime of President Carlos P. Garcia, the Philippine Congress passed
the Science Act of 1958 which established the National Science Development Board.
Marcos Era and Martial Law

• During Ferdinand Marcos' presidency, the importance given to science grew

• In the amended 1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Section 9, he declared that the
"advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development.“
• In his Second State of the Nation Address on January 23, 1967, he declared that science
was necessary for the development programs, and thus, directed the Department of
Education to revitalize the science courses in public high schools.
• The Department of Education, with the National Science Development Board (NSDB), is
organizing a project to provide selected high schools with science teaching equipment
over a four-year period
• In the amended 1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Section 9, he declared that the
"advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development.“
• In his Second State of the Nation Address on January 23, 1967, he declared that science
was necessary for the development programs, and thus, directed the Department of
Education to revitalize the science courses in public high schools.
• The Department of Education, with the National Science Development Board (NSDB), is
organizing a project to provide selected high schools with science teaching equipment
over a four-year period
 • He stated that he planned a project to have medical interns do a tour of duty in provincial
hospitals to arouse their social conscious and reduce the "brain drain."
• The government also conducted seminars for public and private high school and college
science teachers, training programs and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate
science scholars, and workshops on fisheries and oceanography.
• In his Fifth State of the Nation Address on January 26, 1970, he emphasized that the
upgrading of science curricula and teaching equipment is crucial to the science
development program.
• Marcos assisted 107 institutions in undertaking nuclear energy work by sending scientists
to study nuclear science and technology abroad, and providing basic training to 482
scientists, doctors, engineers, and technicians
• In his Seventh State of the Nation Address on January 24, 1972, he spoke about his major
development projects in reforming sectors of education.
• Such projects included research and development schools, technical institutes, science
education centers, and agricultural colleges and vocational high schools.
• On April 6, 1968, he proclaimed 35 hectares in Bicutan, Taguig, Rizal as the site of the
Philippine Science Community.
• In 1982, he reorganized the National Science Development Board and its agencies into a
National Science and Technology Authority to provide central direction and coordination
of scientific and technological research and development. (Executive Order No. 784, s.
1982)He granted salary increases to the people with teaching positions in the Philippine
Science High School due to their necessity in the advancement of national science.
(Executive Order No. 810, s. 1982). He enacted a law on the completion of the National
Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Complex at the University of the Philippines at
Los Baños. (Executive Order No. 840, s. 1982)

Fifth Republic

• In 1986 during Corazon Aquino's presidency, the National Science and Technology
Authority was replaced by the Department of Science and Technology, giving science
and technol ogy a representation in the cabinet.
• In 1987-1992 Under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for the years
science and technology's role in economic recovery and sustained economic growth was
highlighted.
• In 1990 during Corazon Aquino's State of the Nation Address she said that science and
technology development shall be one of the top three priorities of the government
towards an economic recovery
• August 8, 1988 Corazon Aquino created the Presidential Task Force for Science and
Technology which came up with the first Science and Technology Master Plan or STMP
• According to Ceferin Follosco, the budget allocation for science and technology was
increased to 1.054 billion pesos in 1989 from the previous year's 464 million pesos.
• In 1990-1991 due to the Asian financial crisis, budget allocation were trimmed down to
920 and 854 million pesos respectively. Budget allocation were increased to 1.7 billion
pesos in 1992.
• Former President Corazon Aquino encouraged scientists and inventors to bring the
Philippines to its former position as second to only Japan in the field of science and
technology.
In the year 2000 One of the goals of her administration was to achieve the status as being
an industrialized country. During President Corazon Aquino’s term and the
reorganization of Philippine bureaucracy that Executive Order No.128 abolished R.A.
No. 3859, also known as the “Philippine Inventors Incentive Act.” This Philippine
Inventors Commission was under the Science Development board.
• . In 1993, Science and Technology Agenda for National Development (STAND) was
established. Among its priorities were:
• (1) exporting winners identified by the DTI;
• (2) domestic needs identified by the President's Council for Countryside Development;
• (3) support industries and
• (4) coconut industry development.
• In President Joseph Estrada's term, two major legislations that he signed were
Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8749[33]) which was designed to
protect and preserve the environment and ensure the sustainable development of its
natural resources, and Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No.
8792)which outlaws computer hacking and provides opportunities for new businesses
emerging from the Internet-driven New Economy.
• Congress, during his term, was able to enact laws that were significant for the field.
Among were:
• 1. Magna Carta for Science and Technology Personnel (Republic Act No. 8439);
• 2. Science and Technology Scholarship Law of 1994 (Republic Act No. 7687) and
• 3. Inventors and Inventions Incentives Act (Republic Act No. 7459).
• 4. The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293) was
enacted during Ramos' term. The law provides industrial property rights, copyrights and
related rights, and technology transfer arrangements.
• In the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the science and technology sector of
the Philippines was dubbed as the "golden age" of science and technology. Numerous
 laws and projects that concerns both the environment and science to push technology as a
tool to increase the country's economic level.
• Helping the environment was one of the focus in developing technology in the
Philippines.One of the more known laws to be passed by her administration was the R.A.
9367 or the "Biofuels" act. This act promotes the development and usage of biofuels
throughout the country. This potentially enables a cheaper alternative to gasoline as a
medium in producing energy.

Problems Encountered in Teaching Science and Technology

Problems in teaching science and technology are encountered in curriculum, learning

materials, teachers, and student performance.

1. On the curriculum

Teachers often complain that the curriculum is overcrowded and that they are not able to finish
the content in certain year levels and there are not enough teaching learning materials. Some
teachers complain some topics are too difficult to teach (Nebres & Vistro-Yu, 1998). Concern
also has been expressed about the placement of science subjects in the curriculum. Earth science,
for example, is offered in the first year, although it requires knowledge about concepts in
chemistry and physics that are taken up in higher year levels. Another example is chemistry
(third year) and physics (fourth year). There are increasing suggestions that the courses be
reversed because of the perception that chemistry is more difficult than physics (Mendoza,
1998). 2.

2. On learning materials

Learning materials such as books and science equipment are either unavailable or inadequate in
many schools. Also, very few schools have science laboratories. Concern also has been
expressed that teachers’ manuals, intended to help teachers teach more effectively, are
inadequate.

3. On teachers

In science, because of the shortage of science teachers in general, and majors in certain science
disciplines in particular, a science teacher may be hired to teach a science subject that is not his
major. Thus, a teacher must be multi-skilled to teach all science disciplines. But that is not the
reality (Mendoza, 1998). Even teachers in science high schools find difficulty in teaching the
integrated way (Reyes, 1998). Future science teachers graduate from pre-service programs, yet
few are competent enough to actually teach their subjects (Nebres & Vistro-Yu, 1998).

4. On student performance
Various assessments and surveys report downward trends in students’ performance in science.
The results are consistent, but a major concern is whether such results are used as a starting point
when new programmes and activities in science and mathematics education are organized. In
particular, it is not clear whether teachers are informed of the results of assessments (Nebres &
Vistro-Yu, 1998).

Recent Reforms of Science and Technology Education Curriculum in the Philippines

Recent reforms in science and technology education are the products of foreign-assisted
projects implemented in the country to improve instruction in science. Among these are:

The Science and Mathematics Education Manpower Development Program (SMEMDP)

-a program of the Japan Bank for International Co-operation advocated the Practical
Work Approach (PWA) in teaching science and mathematics. The programme focused on the
training of elementary and secondary teachers on PWA and the development of appropriate
instructional materials.

JICA provided a 5- year package of assistance through the provision of INSET under the Science
and Mathematics Education Manpower Development Program (SMEMDP), a core project of the
Package Cooperation I, which aimed at improving the quality of science and mathematics
education in the Philippines.

The Project in Basic Education (PROBE)

- funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) supported

the improvement of instruction in science and mathematics. The project promoted the creation of
teacher support units for both pre-service and in-service teacher training, and the development of
curriculum and teacher support materials.

The National Science Teaching and Instrumentation Center

-a project with the German government, produces prototype science equipment that is
mass produced and provided to public schools.

The Department of Education (DepEd) through the National Science Teaching Instrumentation
Center (NSTIC) initiated and implemented the project on the Mass Production and Supply and
Delivery of Science Equipment and Consumables to four hundred thirty-five (435) public
secondary schools nationwide. The delivery to the recipient schools was completed on May 10,
2011. Thus, the National Consultative Conference on the Use of Science Equipment shall be
conducted on September 22-23, 2011 at the DepEd Ecotech Center, Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City.

In this connection, the NSTIC will conduct the training for one (1) science teacher per science
subject area (Integrated Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics) per recipient school. The
training is very important in order for the science teachers to master on the use of science
equipment that they have received and also their utilization and application related to the content
and the basic maintenance procedures for the equipment sustainability.

To effectively train the science teachers of the recipient schools, the NSTIC has developed
training manuals for the utilization and application as well as basic maintenance procedures to be
used during Regional Training by the core of regional trainers to be finally reviewed and edited
during the conduct of the consultative conference. The tentative schedule of the regional training
will start on the first week of October 2011 until the succeeding dates until completion of the
seventeen (17) regions.

Continuing Science Education via Television (CONSTEL)

Science teachers may upgrade their competencies through the Continuing Science
Education via Television (CONSTEL), which is evolving into Continuing Studies in Education
via Television, a joint project of DECS, DOST, PTV4 (the government TV station), University
of the Philippines’ Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP-ISMED)
and the Foundation to Upgrade theStandards of Education (FUSE). The project will soon include
teaching episodes in English and mathematics.

School year 2015-16 is now underway in every public school in the country, with private
institutions starting theirs the week after. For big-name tertiary schools such as UP, Ateneo, La
Salle and UST, opening of classes would come a few months later, as part of their alignment
with the academic calendars of other countries.

Back in school year 1995-96, a surge in educational TV programs took place. The said school
year saw the establishment of two different series of educational programs: ABS-CBN’s ETV
(Educational Television), and PTV-4’s CONSTEL (Continuing Education via Television).

Meanwhile, PTV-4’s CONSTEL series consisted of the following programs:

Science Made Easy – a telecourse for elementary students that features lessons on basic science.
Chemistry in Action – a telecourse for high school students that features lessons on chemistry.
Physics in Everyday Life – a telecourse for college students that features lessons on physics.
References:
Reyes, V. 1998. Roundtable Discussion for the National Science and Mathematics Education
Congress on Materials and Methods in Basic Education and In-Service Teacher Training in
Science and Mathematics (1960- 1998) held at UP-ISMED on September 15, 1998. In: Ogena,
E.B.; Brawner, F., eds. Science education in the Philippines: challenges for development, Vol. 1.
Metro Manila, SEI- Department of Science and Technology.

Group 4
Section: II- BSci Ed
Members:
Lucrecia L. Cabildo

Ariane Faith A. Castillo

Jonathan Abellera

Lovely Domingo

Kecilyn Ambrocio

Rica Jane L. Cachola

Hazel Joy Dela Cruz

Adelpha Dela Peña

Lovely Domingo

Jomer Casim

Mae Ann Cabatbat

Francisco Acerit

Christian Almazan

Ryan Jay Abique

Lucrecia Ca