Scientific Literacy in the Philippines
Module 6: Science Education in the Philippine Society
Lesson 13: Scientific Literacy
Science Literacy Science is frequently perceived to be of great importance because of its links to technology and industry which, from a national perspective, may be areas with high priority for development. 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. Consequently, science is included as a core element in elementary and secondary levels despite conceptual complexity and high cost of implementation. Another justification for the inclusion of science in high school curricular is that all citizens need to achieve a degree of “scientific literacy” to enable them to participate effectively as citizens in modern societies. 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. Studies indicate however, that many of our Filipino learners are not attaining functional literacy, without which they find it too difficult to meet the challenges posed by our rapid changing world. Scientific literacy is a related concept to issue of cultural and technological literacy (a term used in recognition of the relationship between science and technology in everyday life). Some scientific educators have attempted to define or analyze it. The term ‘scientific literacy’ has been used in the literature for more than four decades (Gullagher and Harsch, 1997) although not always with the same meaning (Bybee, 1997). Benjamin Shen (1983) distinguishes 3 types of scientific literacy: practical, civic, and scientific cultural literacy.
Practical scientific literacy is that kind of scientific and technical knowledge that can be put to use to help solve practical problems. The example given is that of the reduction in the dependence on infant
Lesson 13: Scientific Literacy
Science Literacy Science is frequently perceived to be of great importance because of its links to technology and industry which, from a national perspective, may be areas with high priority for development. 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. Consequently, science is included as a core element in elementary and secondary levels despite conceptual complexity and high cost of implementation. Another justification for the inclusion of science in high school curricular is that all citizens need to achieve a degree of “scientific literacy” to enable them to participate effectively as citizens in modern societies. 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. Studies indicate however, that many of our Filipino learners are not attaining functional literacy, without which they find it too difficult to meet the challenges posed by our rapid changing world. Scientific literacy is a related concept to issue of cultural and technological literacy (a term used in recognition of the relationship between science and technology in everyday life). Some scientific educators have attempted to define or analyze it. The term ‘scientific literacy’ has been used in the literature for more than four decades (Gullagher and Harsch, 1997) although not always with the same meaning (Bybee, 1997). Benjamin Shen (1983) distinguishes 3 types of scientific literacy: practical, civic, and scientific cultural literacy.
Practical scientific literacy is that kind of scientific and technical knowledge that can be put to use to help solve practical problems. The example given is that of the reduction in the dependence on infant
References: • Batomalaque, A. Basic Science Development Program of the Philippines for International Cooperation. University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines. • Hernandez, D. History and Philosophy of Science Education. • Holbrook, J. and Rannikmae, M. 2009. “The Meaning of Science Literacy” in Coll, R. and Taylor, N. (Eds.), Special Issue on Scientific Literacy. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education. Vol.4 No.3. July, 2009. • Ibe, M. and Ogena, E. “Science Education in the Philippines: An Overview.” Presented at the Science Education Congress, ISMED, November 27-28, 1998. • http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user upload/ archive/ curriculum/China/Pdf/beijingrep.pdf • http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mass communication/ 95438 • www.sensepublishers.com/catalog/files/9789087905071.pdf