Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Lopez, Quezon Branch

GEED 10083
Science, Technology, and Society

MODULE 1:
General Concepts and Historical Events
in Science, Technology, and Society

LESSON 3:
Science Education in the Philippines

Christopher B. Valencia, LPT, MAED

Professor
LESSON 3
 Science Education in the Philippines

LESSON OBJECTIVES

After successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

 Discuss the concept of science education
 Identify science schools established to promote science education in the Philippines

The Concept of Science Education

In today’s global education system, science education is much more than fact-based
knowledge. Science education becomes meaningless and incomprehensible for learners, if the
learners are unable to relate it with their lives. Science is generally considered as the study of
facts related to natural and material world. Modern era; however, has brought a shift in the
views about science education from objective fact based knowledge to practical activity which
caters to the learners’ skills, attitude, and values along with understanding (Donnelly & Jenkins,
2001).

Many studies emphasize on hands-on and minds-on activities in science classroom to

provide a wide range of scientific skills from basic mathematical calculations to more analytical
skills (Bekalo & Welford, 2000; Osborne & Collins, 2001; Watts, 1991).Wallace and Loudon
(2002) raise the importance of practical work to be authentic in order to bridge the gap between
school science and real science. However, usually updated teaching techniques in school
laboratories are very limited and specifically reduced to a set of routine exercises of pre-
decided answers (Donnelly & Jenkins, 2001; Zin, 2003). The reasons of limited scope and
frequency of this practical work are based on the teachers’ own skills in designing and
conducting inquiry tasks and examination requirements that focus on set steps given in
prescribed books. Practical work is considered as second priority in schools due to its time
consuming nature, less weightage given in overall exams, and large classes with limited
equipment.

Significant and rapid development in science, engineering, and technology such as a

production and proliferation of mobile and electronic devices, robotics, digital communication
and information systems have enabled instant flow, and exchange of various forms of data,
work, and capital. These developments and activities have forever transformed the nature and
organization of life, including human, non-human, and more-than-human life. Despite all the
advancements, in the awaking of the second millennium the world finds itself facing a series of
globally interconnected and locally specific challenges: climate change, the quality and security
of food, water and air pollution, political instability, refugee crisis, poverty, migration, racisms,
sexisms, gender bias, and various other forms of sociopolitical and economic inequalities and
oppressions. Many of the these challenges are arguably intertwined with, if not the direct result
of, scientific and technological activities, globalization processes, and associated neoliberal
economies, values, ethics, and behaviors. As Faber and McCarthy (2003) cogently argue, “As a
result, the issues of sustainable development and social/environmental justice have surfaced
together as in no other period in world history…[both]a part of the same historical process” (p.
40). Science education, which cuts across the persistent divide of natural sciences and social
science, is potentially uniquely positioned to support new generations’ understanding and
engagement and address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of these global
challenges. Scientific knowledge is vital for effective action, however, a new vision of
contemporary societies that are socially inclusive, just and equitable, ought to be at the heart of
the account of our efforts in averting a continuous, growing global crisis. Hence, addressing
goals related to diversity and equity in science education becomes of crucial importance in light
of the big picture of a rapidly changing world.

Science Education in Basic and Tertiary Education

Science is useful because of its links to technology and industry, which, from a national
perspective, are areas of high priority for development. Science provides ways of making sense
of the world systematically. It develops students’ scientific inquiry skills, values and attitudes,
such as objectivity, curiosity, and honesty and habits of mind including critical thinking. All these
are useful to the individual student for his own personal development, future career, and life in
general. These skills, values, attitudes, and dispositions are likewise useful to the community
that an individual student belongs to, and are further useful to the country that he lives in. The
learning of science is also important for the nation’s cultural development and preservation of its
cultural identity. Science is most useful to a nation when it is utilized to solve its own problems
and challenges, keeping a nation's cultural uniqueness and peculiarities intact. Thus in many
countries, science teaching and learning is linked with culture.

In the Philippines and around the world, people are talking about a science and technology-
based world and a knowledge-based economy. Given the expectations and skills required to
live successfully in such an environment and the varied problems of science education in the
country, there is a need to rethink what the vision of science education is. The current direction
of curriculum development in many countries is towards scientific literacy, where the science
education needs of all students are differentiated from those who have an interest in scientific
careers. An example is York University’s 21st Century Science, which has a Foundation
Science subject to be taken by all students, and a second optional subject, Additional Science,
for those students who wish to proceed with disciplines in science in later years.

Science Schools in the Philippines

The mission of schools is to educate children to higher standards of performance by

providing them with the experiences necessary to learn, define, analyze, adapt and invent. This
statement was made in 1994 by Linda Darling Hammond, Executive Director of the National
Commission on Teaching and America's Future.This same mission is echoed by schools not
only in the Philippines but all over the world. The Hammond Report also emphasized that
teachers who will successfully carry out this mission need to be well-prepared and well-
equipped.All basic education institutions in the Philippines, both publicly-managed and
privately-owned, are supervised by the Department of Education (DEPED). But the Philippine
Science High School System (PSHS) is an exception. It is an attached agency of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) with 13 campuses all over the country (de
Leon & Tan, 2014). The Board of Trustees (BOT), with the DOST Secretary as the Chairman, is
the highest policy making body of the PSHS System. The Executive Director coordinates the
implementation of BOT approved policies and guidelines to the PSHS campuses. Each PSHS
campus is headed by a Campus Director. The Executive Committee (ExeCom) is composed of
all campus directors, and headed by the Executive Director. The ExeCom is a collegial body
that recommends policies and guidelines for the consideration of the BOT (“About the PSHS”).

The Philippine Science High School  was established under Republic Act 3661 otherwise
known as the PSHS Charter. On February 5, 1986, Executive Order No. 1090 wa approved
establishing the Mindanao and Visayan Campuses of the Philippine Science High School
The mandate is to offer free scholarship to students with aptitude in the Sciences and
Mathematics with the purpose of preparing them for a science career. Although the school
emphasizes the best instruction in Sciences and Mathematics, it also provides a well-rounded
curriculum that gives thorough attention to all aspects of the scholars academic, physical, and
social development.

DOST Programs and Projects

The Balik Scientist Program

Patriotism is being inculcated among Filipinos as early as childhood years. This is the
same patriotism spirit Filipinos who left the country bring with them which encourages them to
go back and serve our country. Through the Balik Scientist Program (BSP) of the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST) Filipino scientists, technologists, and experts are encouraged
to return to the country and share their expertise in order to promote scientific, agro-industrial,
and economic development, including the development of our human capital in science,
technology and innovation.
In June 15, 2018, president Rodrigo R. Duterte institutionalized the program with RA 11035
"Balik Scientist Act" also known as the Balik Scientist Act. Then after three (3) months, the
DOST crafted the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and MC No. 006 of the Balik
Scientist Law. The Balik Scientist Program aims to:
       1. Reverse the effect of the brain drain
       2. Strengthen S & T capabilities
       3. Accelerate flow of technologies
       4. Promote knowledge of sharing

DOST-Science Education Institute Scholarships

The S&T Undergraduate Scholarships Program aims to stimulate and entice talented
Filipino youths to pursue lifetime productive careers in science and technology and ensure a
steady, adequate supply of qualified S&T human resources which can steer the country
towards national progress.

RA 7687
Republic Act No. 7687, also known as the “Science and Technology Scholarship Act of
1994”, provides for scholarships to talented and deserving students whose families’ socio-
economic status do not exceed the set cut-off values of certain indicators. Qualifiers must
pursue priority fields of study in the basic sciences, engineering, other applied sciences, and
science and mathematics teaching.

MERIT
The DOST-SEI Merit Scholarship Program, formerly known as the NSDB or NSTA
Scholarship under RA No. 2067, is awarded to students with high aptitude in science and
mathematics and are willing to pursue careers in the fields of science and technology. 

DICT Programs and Projects

 Tech4ED, which stands for Technology Empowerment for Education, Employment,
Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, is a program that provides ICT-enabled
services to communities that have minimal access or no access to ICT and government
services. As a national digital inclusion initiative, the Tech4ED Program caters to disadvantaged
communities such as rural and urban poor, PWD’s, and indigenous communities.
The Tech4ED Mission is to establish sustainable Tech4ED Centers nationwide as a delivery
channel for relevant ICT-enabled services and content for socio-economic development of
unserved and underserved communities towards improved quality of life. These self-sustaining
centers serve as venues for ICT skills trainings as well as co-working spaces for online
freelancers in rural areas. The Centers also serve as a conduit for efficient delivery of
government and other services and a tool for the empowerment and participation of the
unserved and underserved communities in development. Each Tech4ED Center is provided
with access to the Tech4Ed Platform (www.tech4ed.gov.ph) which houses various learning
materials and content.

Objectives
To establish sustainable Tech4ED centers;
To provide and develop innovative ICT-enabled services and content for the socio-economic
development of communities, especially the unserved and underserved communities;
To ensure availability of competent Tech4ED knowledge workers; and
To increase awareness, appreciation of and support for the Tech4ED Project.

The Free Wi-Fi for All – Free Public Internet Access Program aims to accelerate the
Philippine government’s efforts in enhancing internet accessibility for Filipinos so that economic,
social, and educational opportunities will be bolstered, and the growing digital divide can be
bridged.Drawing its mandate from the provisions of Republic Act No. 10929, the Free Wi-Fi for
All Program provides free, fast and secure Internet access in public places across the
Philippines, such as hospitals, basic education institutions, state universities and colleges,
airports and seaports, terminal, among others.By developing relevant systems and enhancing
existing ones, the Free Wi-Fi for All– Free Public Internet Access Program aims to:provide Wi-
Fi Internet access at no charge in selected public places;provide efficient and effective ICT
infrastructure and information systems to the public;promote the use of ICT to improve delivery
of critical functions of government services;provide a lower entry barrier for users, as well as
improve accessibility;through public-private partnerships, provide commercial services, but with
direct government intervention – in the form of investments – only as a method of last resort;
and
acquire a secured official electronic communications and collaboration system.

ASSESSMENT
Name: Date:

Course and Year: Module No. 1

Lesson No. 3

Direction: Explain each questions and provide concise answers with some relevant
examples for clarification, if necessary.
1. What other government projects and programs are available for science education in the
Philippines?
2. Discuss science-related issues and problems in the Philippines.
3. Identify science and technology policies that could be adapted or implemented in the
Philippines.