Ma-Science
Science Education in the Philippines:
An Overview (Page 1 of 18)
By Milagros D. Ibe
Professor Emeritus, University of the Philippines and Ester B. Ogena
Director, DOST Science Education Institute
Presented at the Science Education Congress, ISMED, November 27-28, 1998. As Convenors of the UP-CIDS and National Academy of Science and Technology's joint program on Mega Issues: Science and Education, the authors convened the organizing committee of the conference.
LOOKING BACK
Countries wanting to improve their people's quality of life cannot escape the need to harness their science and technology capability as a way of developing competitiveness. It is, therefore, important to be guided by past and present experiences in science education to be able to recognize the turning points for the country's future which we need to decide now.
Science education from the pre-Spanish period to the post-World War II period has focused on science with a health orientation. The launching of the Russian Sputnik in 1957 made nations examine their development programs and decide to put emphasis on science and technology (S&T). In the Philippines, formal recognition of the importance of S&T was implicit in the establishment of the National Science Development Board in 1958. In 1963, the Philippine Science High School was created with the view of developing a critical mass of feeders for S&T professions. During the 1960s also, New Scienceand New Mathematics emerged as concepts in the teaching of science and mathematics schools. The development of science and mathematics curricula in the Philippines has been influenced largely by developments in foreign countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Japan. New ways of teaching, such as discovery and inquiry approaches and the spiral approach for mathematics, came about in the late '70s.
The Philippine Commission to Survey Philip-pine Education (PCSPE) recommended, among others: (1) a restructuring of the
An Overview (Page 1 of 18)
By Milagros D. Ibe
Professor Emeritus, University of the Philippines and Ester B. Ogena
Director, DOST Science Education Institute
Presented at the Science Education Congress, ISMED, November 27-28, 1998. As Convenors of the UP-CIDS and National Academy of Science and Technology's joint program on Mega Issues: Science and Education, the authors convened the organizing committee of the conference.
LOOKING BACK
Countries wanting to improve their people's quality of life cannot escape the need to harness their science and technology capability as a way of developing competitiveness. It is, therefore, important to be guided by past and present experiences in science education to be able to recognize the turning points for the country's future which we need to decide now.
Science education from the pre-Spanish period to the post-World War II period has focused on science with a health orientation. The launching of the Russian Sputnik in 1957 made nations examine their development programs and decide to put emphasis on science and technology (S&T). In the Philippines, formal recognition of the importance of S&T was implicit in the establishment of the National Science Development Board in 1958. In 1963, the Philippine Science High School was created with the view of developing a critical mass of feeders for S&T professions. During the 1960s also, New Scienceand New Mathematics emerged as concepts in the teaching of science and mathematics schools. The development of science and mathematics curricula in the Philippines has been influenced largely by developments in foreign countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Japan. New ways of teaching, such as discovery and inquiry approaches and the spiral approach for mathematics, came about in the late '70s.
The Philippine Commission to Survey Philip-pine Education (PCSPE) recommended, among others: (1) a restructuring of the