De La Salle University - Dasmariñas

Science
Education
In The
Philippines
Group 2
BORROMEO, Ellen Bless Journey C.
CANDALLA, Eliseo Jr. M.
COMPAÑERO, Ericka Nicole B.
DE CASTRO, Ralph Lyndon D.
FRIAS, Anabella Faith F.

BSA 23/ BSM 22

Dr. Lolibeth V. Figueroa

 Introduction
Science Education is a field concerned with sharing science content and process
with individuals not traditionally part of the scientific community. It is also a cultural enterprise
which exists to varying degrees in all types of societies. They have reached and influenced a
dominant position in modern society. Science education has always played an important role in
the development of our country. It has been instrumental in imparting the hard skills and
knowledge to our students to enable them to make a living. For many years now, Science education
has helped the Philippines developed a workforce to help support its industry, agriculture, service
and the academe.

According to Alabastro (2007), the success of the government’s support programs

to science education depends on the degree of effectiveness of the programs in which on the other
hand requires the proper alignment of the visions and values of the people managing the system
and delivering science instruction to the learner.

Recognizing the role that science and technology will bring to the economic growth
and development, the country is taking steps to strengthen its science and technology capabilities.
But for a developing country like the Philippines, the challenges continue in limited availability of
resources and the fast pace of technological innovation.

Brief History
As early as the 1950s, our scientists were concerned about the condition of the
Science education here in the Philippines. Leading scientists made the authorities in our country
aware about the inefficiency of teaching of science from grade school level to college levels in
both public and private schools.

In 1957, the Philippine government made it compulsory in all elementary and

secondary schools to teach science. The National Committee for Science Education was
established in 1958 to formulate objectives for teaching science education to students in all levels
and help improve the teaching of science.
 When Dr. Carlos P. Romulo served as the president of the University of the
Philippines in 1962, he proposed a grant from the Ford Foundation for the funding of the Science
Teaching Center which offered advance training for teachers in the field of science which was
eventually granted by the foundation and have constantly received support from the Government
under R.A. 5506.

The government with the help of different institutions, started to invest in the field
of science and began including the subject as base knowledge in the standard curriculum of the
Philippines’ Educational System. The science education in the Philippines relatively adapted
scientific innovations around the world that sets a higher standard and quality education in our
country.

Progress and Regress

Inadequacy in the field of science made the leading scientist in the Philippines
during 1950 to do a study on how to improve the knowledge of the state pertaining to what methods
are they capable of using to have a progressive teaching scheme when it comes to the field.
Associations in the Philippines conducted different seminars and trainings to those educators who
will be teaching the science subject.

Areas that need improvements identified by the National Committee for Science
Education:

1.) Integration of Science with classroom instructions

2.) Acquisition of more science equipment and tools

3.) Coordination of Efforts with other agencies

4.) Negotiation for a science institute for teachers

5.) National science talent search and fellowship

6.) Higher salaries of Science and Mathematics instructor

 By these assessment, National Committee for Science Education adapted the BSCS
or the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science to give more opportunities in having more
knowledge about the field of Science.

The days were gone when the students just have General Science in Grade 7,
Biology in Grade 8, Chemistry in Grade 9 and Physics in Grade 10. Adapting to the new K to 12
Curriculum, changes were made. These new implementations change the way how students are
exposed to four areas namely Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics and they are taught
every grading period (Sanchez, 2014). Along with this, science education in the Philippines face
challenges such as shortage of qualified science teachers, lack of resources and materials like
textbooks, equipment, large classes and lack of support from the administrators. Because of this,
it was found that the lack of these materials and equipment leads to poor performance of students
(SEI-DOST & UP NISMED, 2011).

At present, the Department of Education finds solution regarding these matters.

Numerous laboratory schools and equipment are being distributed in selected public Senior High
Schools throughout the country from 2017 until present. They also distributed television sets and
computer packages as well to aid the teachers in their instructional materials. The computers
contain the Learning Resource Management and Development System (LRMDS) of the
Department of Education which provides teaching and learning resources aligned to the K to 12
curriculum. But until this time, most of the Learner's materials and textbooks in Science are not
yet available for students especially in Science that's why teachers are exposed to various trainings
and seminars to be able to cope and teach well despite lacking textbooks and adhering to the goals
and objectives of K to 12 program specifically Science Education.

Faculty Trainings and Seminars

The Philippine Science Centrum offers a wide variety of trainings, seminars and
materials for the educator's needs. The said activities are for teachers, either in elementary or
secondary level, introducing the interactive and integrative approaches in teaching science and
science related subjects.

 Science Models as Effective Teaching Aids- led by Engr. Roland Moya, Education Officer
at Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology. Most common perception of
 students in Science subjects is boring and challenging to understand. The training focuses
on the teacher's creativity in employing hands-on activities in their Science classes. The
activities and exercises in this module explain concepts on Force, Energy, Earth, Space and
Matter.
 Hands-On Minds-On Microscale Chemistry (Laboratory in A Box (LaB)- this seminar was
led by Prof. Cora Salumbides during DOST Balik Scientist 2009 and this activity focuses
on teaching the educators effective strategies in chemistry by bringing a "Laboratory in a
Box" that they can bring from one classroom to another with exciting activities and
environment-friendly chemicals and materials.
 Effective Test Construction Method- this program was led by Ms. Elvira Galvez, trainor
of Foundation for Upgrading Science Education (FUSE) that primarily focuses on basic
knowledge in test construction of an appropriate test for different subjects.

Conclusion
With proper funding and being part of priority, Science education in the Philippine
can be a good foundation for future benefits of the country. Given that we experienced some
circumstances in the past, we, being innovative, we can say that until now we still in the process
of adapting to new discoveries and coping with the deficiency our country is facing the field of
Science.

Having the right set of equipment and facility, our nation can reach more than what
we expect in the field of Science. Vibrance of high potential and massive effort with those in line
with the field is already an edge and a good reason to invest more to enhance and give more
opportunities for them to excel and execute what can they contribute in this area. Proper
designation of knowledge is not all about giving lessons to the students but also extending the
scope of what can Science do for us especially to those who shows greater interest and efficiency
when it comes to the study of this subject.
 References
 Science Education in the Philippines (2017). Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/iPagador/science-education-in-the-philippines
 Trans. Natl. Acad. Sci. & Tech. Philippines 29:202-211 (2007)
 Wikipedia contributors. (2019, August 16). Science education. In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:37, September 9, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Science_education&oldid=911007610
 Philippine Science Centrum. Training for Teachers (n.d). Retrieved from
https://www.science-centrum.ph/index.php/for-teachers