A literature informed reflection

Mr. Rollan P. Inis Requirement for Second Quarter
Subject Teacher in Research II
Special Science Curriculum for Basic Education: A literature-informed Reflection

Special Science Curriculum for Basic Education:
A literature-informed Reflection

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In response to the industrialization efforts of the Philippine government, the Department of Science and Technology’s, Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) together with the Department Education (DepEd), selected several public high schools nationwide to take part in DOST-SEI’s Engineering and Science Education Program. The Science and Technology Oriented High School Program (ESEP) is the flagship program for the development of Science, Mathematics and Research. It is being implemented in selected 110 public high schools and 6 learning Resource Centers nationwide (Sasota, 2008). This program aspires to increase the number of high school graduates who will pursue science and technology careers. Science and mathematics education has long been recognized as a major factor in development. How students learn and how to measure students’ performance in various areas is thus a priority concern of policy makers and educators nationwide (Ocampo, 1997).
Science education aims to develop scientific literacy among students that will prepare them to be informed and participative citizens who are able to make judgments and decisions regarding applications of scientific knowledge. The science curriculum recognizes the place of science and technology in everyday human affairs. The science curriculum promotes a strong link between science and technology. This curriculum places importance in mathematics and the sciences, as well as research. It has higher standards of science and mathematics education than other high schools that only have a Basic Education Curriculum.
Science is a systematized body of knowledge. It plays a vital role in our daily lives. Today, science has a philosophical effect on the way we live, mainly through technology- the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes (Burnie, 2008).

DISCUSSION
Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), is a study that measures student performance in science and mathematics which is being done since 1995 and every four years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) (Ogena et al., 2010). In this study, students studying in schools with similar curriculum with advanced preparation in science and mathematics will be utilized. Starting in 1995, IEA provides the valuable information about students’ mathematics and science achievement in an international context and aside from this, data is also collected from their school and teachers regarding curriculum and other factors related to the teaching and learning of science and mathematics.
Based on the results of the Performance of Philippine High Schools with Special Science Curriculum in the 2008 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS- Advanced), Filipino students in the secondary level are not competent enough compared to other countries that have long number of years of formal schooling (Stat et al, 2010). This study (TIMSS- Advanced) aims to assess the performance of Filipino students belonged to the Special Science Program of the DOST. TIMSS-Advanced is an international study conducted by the international Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). TIMSS-Advanced assessed the performance of students with special preparation in advanced mathematics and sciences, who are in the final year of secondary schooling, across countries. Data for the Philippines were culled –out from the international database and the performance of the students was compared with that of students from other countries. Ten (10) countries (Armenia. Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Slovenia and Sweden) including the Philippines participated in the 2008 TIMSS-Advanced (Mullis et al., 2008).
In- depth analysis was done to identify content areas in mathematics, sciences and cognitive domains (Knowing, Applying and Reasoning) where Filipino students are relatively weak or strong. Unfortunately, Philippines got the lowest rank among the countries who participated. The results could provide inputs in determining possible areas where improvements in the teaching of science and mathematics or largely in presently used curriculum could be initiated. The results really just show that Philippines had low quality of education thus resulting to a lower economic stability of our country; for the economic stability of a country is strongly associated and connected with the quality of secondary school graduates, particularly those with solid backgrounds and strong inclination towards science, mathematics and engineering. Compared to other countries, performance of students from the Philippines in general is relatively less well, be it in general or in specific content area or domain. However, looking at the data results of the Philippine High School against other participating countries, Philippine Science High School appears to be competitive internationally, revealing higher achievement rating in terms of average percent correct responses than other countries, namely, Armenia, Iran, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden in overall advanced mathematics rating. PSHS also emerged to outperform other countries in Reasoning and Applying Domains, in which its achievement rating exceeds almost all countries except Russian Federation and the Netherlands who achieved the highest benchmark of the examination (Ogena et al., 2010).
CONCLUSION
In fact, science and mathematics education is an essential factor for development distinguished by most countries. It is essential to all Filipino students, elementary and secondary not only to those who already belonged to the special science curriculum, to give importance and specialization in mathematics and sciences subjects. The association between science and technology and economic development cannot be denied, thus, efforts on improving the Filipino students’ competence in science and mathematics, which are the backbone of research and innovation, need to be accelerated if our country, Philippines, wants to be competitive.
Results of the study have shown that Special Curriculum in Science helped the schools implementing it to outstand. The interface of its unique and best practices, such as the rigid selection of its students through a viable examination and its customized curriculum is the foremost factor behind the current status of the top outstanding schools.
With this we can say that there may be a need to revisit and broaden the implementation of the curriculum in all the schools (private and public). In order to improve the economic status of the country, we need higher science-oriented graduates, thus in order to make this happen we must have a curriculum (special curriculum in science) which should be applied and implemented to all disciplines.

CHAPTER II
EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE CURRICULUM (Problems encountered and solutions)

Out of the thousand students who took the classification exam for the school year 2010-2011, only 250 students are picked to take the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) entrance exam last May 2010 and out of those examiners only 80 students are lucky enough to pass this assessment (Ocampo, 1997). But before taking the exam, the top 250 students from the classification exam underwent an Enrichment program to take some reviews for the exam which lasted for two weeks. Few days after that exam, the result for the qualifiers was posted. Parents were very proud of the achievement unlocked by their child. We even remembered our parents saying to our neighbors: “Our daughter passed the DOST exam. She’s one of the finest in her batch because she was one of the chosen few.” Many people consider the students who passed that exam as the chosen few and our batch mates treat us as the crème of the crop.
We thought our struggle ended there. But we thought wrong. It was just the beginning of the obstacles we are about to get through.
Before the start of classes, I’ve heard so many rumors about being a Special Science Curriculum (SSC) student. People told me that students are flooded with assignments and projects by their terror teachers. I was scared, as a child, hearing those gossips.
Meeting different people at our age from different schools is a big deal. Even saying “hello” and giving a smile is hard to do. Here comes this awkward moment when you enter the classroom and everyone is staring at you, scrutinizing every detail of you. Fortunately, here comes those who have friendly faces and that moment started a relationship called friendship.
As time goes by, the rumors I’ve heard is becoming true. We have been fired up with home works and projects plus the pressure of being in this curriculum. Teachers kept on reminding us to do our best, to strive hard, to pass our tasks before submission and to maintain our grades in order for us to remain in this curriculum.
It was really difficult for us to adjust our time and to manage our time to do the entire thing we need to do. Until now, this is still a problem we are facing. Our schedules are not always alike and that starts the conflict. Some of the cases we encounter are that when we need to perform three performances with different groups. The practicing time will not be the same because it will depend to different factors. So what usually happens is that we tend to sacrifice Sunday. Sad but true that we also often sacrifice our church hours to give our mentors a satisfying performance. Our parents usually complain about our schedules on weekend. Aside from the fact that they will give us additional allowances, we cannot help them in doing the household chores. Instead of having our rest during weekends from the stressful weekdays, we can’t relax anymore because of the practices we have.
Though some of our teachers allow us to use their period but sometimes it is not enough. Also, we need a long period of time to discuss ideas and to execute such.
So we came up to the solution of having the same schedule. We have to finish practicing before the agreed time so that we can proceed to our next practice. We also tried practicing in just one location but it did not end too well. The tendency is that some of our classmates will not listen attentively and will not participate because they want to goof around with their friends which happen to be not part of the group.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ogena E., Stat R., and Sasota (2008). Performance of Philippine High Schools with Special Science Curriculum in the 2008 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://jpronline.info/index.php/jpr/article/view/11278/5712.pdf
Ocampo A. J. (1997) Training Future Engineers and Technologists. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://www.nzdl.org/ocampo/article/pii/S0926669900700374.pdf
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Attainment (IEA). Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study - Advanced (Data Sets). Retrieved August 21, 2013 from http://rms.iea-dpc.org/#.
Mullis, I. V.S, Martin, M. O., Robitaille D. F., & Foy P. (2009). TIMSS Advanced 2008 International Report, United States: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://bvp.academia.edu/MullisRobitaille/Papers/1211317/TIMSS_&_PIRLS_International_Study_2008_23_12_199-413.
Arora A., Foy, P., Martin M.O. & Mullis I.V.S. (Eds.). (2009). TIMSS Advanced 2008 Technical Report, United States: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://www.iaim.edu.in/pdf/ARTICLE-10.pdf

Bibliography: Ogena E., Stat R., and Sasota (2008). Performance of Philippine High Schools with Special Science Curriculum in the 2008 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://jpronline.info/index.php/jpr/article/view/11278/5712.pdf Ocampo A. J. (1997) Training Future Engineers and Technologists. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://www.nzdl.org/ocampo/article/pii/S0926669900700374.pdf International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Attainment (IEA). Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study - Advanced (Data Sets). Retrieved August 21, 2013 from http://rms.iea-dpc.org/#. Mullis, I. V.S, Martin, M. O., Robitaille D. F., & Foy P. (2009). TIMSS Advanced 2008 International Report, United States: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://bvp.academia.edu/MullisRobitaille/Papers/1211317/TIMSS_&_PIRLS_International_Study_2008_23_12_199-413. Arora A., Foy, P., Martin M.O. & Mullis I.V.S. (Eds.). (2009). TIMSS Advanced 2008 Technical Report, United States: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Retrieved 21 October 2013 from http://www.iaim.edu.in/pdf/ARTICLE-10.pdf