history of science and technology in the philippines essay

Science Education in Countries Along the Belt & Road pp 331–345 Cite as

Science Education in the Philippines

• Robert John D. De La Cruz 13  
• First Online: 18 January 2022

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This report gives an overview of the current situation of science education in the Philippines. In addition, this features the requirements and initiatives done by the government in terms of keeping up its science education program with the changes brought by the twenty-first century. The science curriculum in the Philippines was implemented to produce scientifically literate individuals who are responsible decision makers and can apply scientific knowledge to look for solutions to problems of the community. However, in the latest results of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, the Philippines ranked last among participating countries in which Science was one was one of the subjects tested. The results of the first participation of the country in PISA has paved the way for the Department of Education to propose more programs to address the deficient academic performance and advance the quality of education in the Philippines. Furthermore, the rapid change brought by Industry 4.0 also brings challenge to science education implementers for the country needs to ensure that it can adapt with the emerging technologies like A.I. and Robotics. Several initiatives were done by the Department of Science and Technology and Science Education Institute through their responsive and tailor-fit programs and projects.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank our God Almighty for giving me wisdom and perseverance to write this report. I also want to extend my gratitude to Prof. Lee Shok Mee of Penang, Malaysia for this opportunity. To my wife Cara, thank you for the love and support that you have given me in the writing process. To my friend, Mr. Romnick P. Nicolas, thank you for proofreading this paper.

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De La Cruz, R.J.D. (2022). Science Education in the Philippines. In: Huang, R., et al. Science Education in Countries Along the Belt & Road. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6955-2_20

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This introductory essay outlines at least two distinct approaches to the study of science and technology in the Philippines and details the process by which we devised this special issue. We remain uncomplacent with the idea that science and technology studies, in its Anglo-European conceptions and ongoing theoretical commitments, needs to be a new field in the Philippines. Guided by the Global Asias framework, which posits the possibility of "relational nonalignment," we, instead, introduce this special issue as but one way science and technology, most especially in the postwar period, may be investigated, critiqued, and reimagined.

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A HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

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Essay on Development Of Science And Technology In The Philippines

Students are often asked to write an essay on Development Of Science And Technology In The Philippines in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Development Of Science And Technology In The Philippines

Introduction to science and technology in the philippines.

The Philippines has made strides in science and technology. This progress helps solve problems and improves lives. The country invests in research, education, and innovation to keep growing in these fields.

Education and Research

Schools in the Philippines teach science and technology from a young age. Universities conduct research, pushing boundaries in fields like agriculture, medicine, and information technology.

Government Support

The Philippine government backs science and technology through funding and policies. Agencies like the Department of Science and Technology lead efforts to support scientists and tech experts.

Innovation and Startups

Many Filipinos are creating new technologies. Startups are popping up, focusing on digital technology, health, and environmental solutions, showing the creative spirit of the country.

Challenges and Future

Despite progress, the Philippines faces challenges like limited resources and natural disasters. Yet, with continued focus on science and technology, the future looks bright for further development.

250 Words Essay on Development Of Science And Technology In The Philippines

Science and technology growth in the philippines.

The Philippines is a country that has been working hard to grow in science and technology. This means the country is trying to make better use of science and create new gadgets and machines to help people live better lives.

The government in the Philippines has made plans to help science and technology get better. They give money and support to schools and places where people work on new ideas. This helps students and researchers to make new discoveries and inventions.

Education is very important for science and technology. In the Philippines, there are special programs in schools to teach kids about science from a young age. Also, there are universities that do research, which means they try to find out new things about the world and how to solve problems.

Technology in Daily Life

Technology is now part of everyday life in the Philippines. People use mobile phones, computers, and the internet a lot. This helps them to talk to each other, learn new things, and do business.

Challenges and Moving Forward

Even though there is progress, there are still challenges. Some places in the Philippines do not have good access to the latest technology. The country is working on this by trying to make technology available to more people and training them to use it.

In conclusion, the Philippines is making good steps in developing science and technology. With continued support and education, the country can make even more progress in the future.

500 Words Essay on Development Of Science And Technology In The Philippines

The Philippines is a country that has been working hard to grow in the field of science and technology. This growth is very important because it helps the country solve problems and improve the lives of its people. Over the years, the government and private groups have put money and effort into making science and technology better.

Education and Training

One key area is education. Schools in the Philippines teach students about science and technology from a young age. This helps children learn and get excited about these subjects. There are also special programs and schools for students who are very interested in these fields. By giving good training and education, the country prepares smart workers for the future.

Research and Development

Another important part is research and development, often called R&D. This is where scientists and experts try to find new knowledge and create new things. In the Philippines, there are several research centers and universities that do this kind of work. They look into areas like farming, health, energy, and many others. Their goal is to come up with solutions that can help the country.

The government of the Philippines also plays a big role in the development of science and technology. It makes laws and policies that support these areas. For example, the government gives money to research projects and encourages companies to use new technology. This support helps make sure that the country keeps getting better in science and technology.

Technology is not just for scientists; it is part of everyday life. In the Philippines, people use technology for many things like talking to each other, shopping, and learning. The internet and mobile phones have become very common, and they make life easier and more fun for everyone.

Challenges and Solutions

Even though there has been progress, there are still challenges. Some parts of the Philippines do not have good access to the internet or the latest technology. To fix this, the government and private companies are working to bring technology to these areas. They build cell towers and offer training so that more people can use technology.

Future of Science and Technology

Looking ahead, the future of science and technology in the Philippines is bright. There are plans to keep investing in education, research, and new technology. This will help the country to not only solve its own problems but also to share its discoveries and inventions with the world.

In conclusion, the development of science and technology in the Philippines is a journey that is still going on. With continued support from the government, schools, and businesses, the country is on its way to becoming even better in these important fields. This will help the Philippines grow and give its people a better life.

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Science & Technology in Philippine Context

Essay by review   •  November 26, 2010  •  Essay  •  943 Words (4 Pages)  •  2,844 Views

Essay Preview: Science & Technology in Philippine Context

Science & Technology in Philippine Context

Science has been described as "the means of understanding the natural environment", while technology is "the means of controlling and managing it". Hence Science and Technology together cover the gathering and generation of information about the material world and the application of that information for the welfare of mankind.

Changes in science and technology cause changes in individual people that can make them look at their society differently, and sometimes, to improve it. The advanced countries of the world are where they are today primarily because of their ability to use science and technology as effective tools for achieving their national objectives. These countries have changed the life-styles of their peoples through the cultivation and application of science and technology. The developing countries have fallen behind primarily because of their backwardness in this respect.

The limitation of resources, shortage of skilled manpower in many areas, inadequate research facilities and skill development programmes, lack of coordination among scientific organizations, outmoded science curricula in the educational institutions, dependence on foreign technology, brain drain and emigration of trained manpower and poor social consciousness of the role of science and technology in national development-all of these factors have conspired to keep us backward.

It is now generally realized that the inherent strength of a nation lies in the skills of its people which can be acquired and enhanced through the practice of science and technology in every field. The promotion of scientific knowledge and development of technology, through their increasing application, create the necessary conditions for socio-economic uplift of a country. Technological progress is thus the crucial determinant in the realization of the twin objectives of eradication of poverty and acceleration of socio-economic development.

Philippines have been struggling to meet the basic needs of its people and to substantially raise the living standards throughout the country. In order to achieve these goals and to keep up with the rest of the world, Philippines, too, must harness science and technology to reach its national goals. It is only through the use of S & T as effective instruments of change that a happy future for the people of Philippines can be ensured.

While I do see a few difficult years ahead I am extremely optimistic about the future of science and technology in this country and, indeed, in the world. Those of who have been privileged to call themselves scientists and engineers have been part of the greatest adventure that is accessible to humans. They have made major contributions to the quality of life for all of us and I am confident that there are many more such developments waiting just over the horizon. One of our major challenges will be to make the improved quality of life that has resulted from scientific and technological developments available to a much larger fraction of the world's population than now enjoys them.

There are still major problems facing our civilization. They include population growth, hunger, disease, destruction of the environment, and many more. It has become traditional to lay most, if not all, of these problems at the doors of science and technology. But if we look more closely at the situation, we will find, I believe, that in each case the science that we require is already

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• Solar Eclipse 2024

What the World Has Learned From Past Eclipses

C louds scudded over the small volcanic island of Principe, off the western coast of Africa, on the afternoon of May 29, 1919. Arthur Eddington, director of the Cambridge Observatory in the U.K., waited for the Sun to emerge. The remains of a morning thunderstorm could ruin everything.

The island was about to experience the rare and overwhelming sight of a total solar eclipse. For six minutes, the longest eclipse since 1416, the Moon would completely block the face of the Sun, pulling a curtain of darkness over a thin stripe of Earth. Eddington traveled into the eclipse path to try and prove one of the most consequential ideas of his age: Albert Einstein’s new theory of general relativity.

Eddington, a physicist, was one of the few people at the time who understood the theory, which Einstein proposed in 1915. But many other scientists were stymied by the bizarre idea that gravity is not a mutual attraction, but a warping of spacetime. Light itself would be subject to this warping, too. So an eclipse would be the best way to prove whether the theory was true, because with the Sun’s light blocked by the Moon, astronomers would be able to see whether the Sun’s gravity bent the light of distant stars behind it.

Two teams of astronomers boarded ships steaming from Liverpool, England, in March 1919 to watch the eclipse and take the measure of the stars. Eddington and his team went to Principe, and another team led by Frank Dyson of the Greenwich Observatory went to Sobral, Brazil.

Totality, the complete obscuration of the Sun, would be at 2:13 local time in Principe. Moments before the Moon slid in front of the Sun, the clouds finally began breaking up. For a moment, it was totally clear. Eddington and his group hastily captured images of a star cluster found near the Sun that day, called the Hyades, found in the constellation of Taurus. The astronomers were using the best astronomical technology of the time, photographic plates, which are large exposures taken on glass instead of film. Stars appeared on seven of the plates, and solar “prominences,” filaments of gas streaming from the Sun, appeared on others.

Eddington wanted to stay in Principe to measure the Hyades when there was no eclipse, but a ship workers’ strike made him leave early. Later, Eddington and Dyson both compared the glass plates taken during the eclipse to other glass plates captured of the Hyades in a different part of the sky, when there was no eclipse. On the images from Eddington’s and Dyson’s expeditions, the stars were not aligned. The 40-year-old Einstein was right.

“Lights All Askew In the Heavens,” the New York Times proclaimed when the scientific papers were published. The eclipse was the key to the discovery—as so many solar eclipses before and since have illuminated new findings about our universe.

To understand why Eddington and Dyson traveled such distances to watch the eclipse, we need to talk about gravity.

Since at least the days of Isaac Newton, who wrote in 1687, scientists thought gravity was a simple force of mutual attraction. Newton proposed that every object in the universe attracts every other object in the universe, and that the strength of this attraction is related to the size of the objects and the distances among them. This is mostly true, actually, but it’s a little more nuanced than that.

On much larger scales, like among black holes or galaxy clusters, Newtonian gravity falls short. It also can’t accurately account for the movement of large objects that are close together, such as how the orbit of Mercury is affected by its proximity the Sun.

Albert Einstein’s most consequential breakthrough solved these problems. General relativity holds that gravity is not really an invisible force of mutual attraction, but a distortion. Rather than some kind of mutual tug-of-war, large objects like the Sun and other stars respond relative to each other because the space they are in has been altered. Their mass is so great that they bend the fabric of space and time around themselves.

Read More: 10 Surprising Facts About the 2024 Solar Eclipse

This was a weird concept, and many scientists thought Einstein’s ideas and equations were ridiculous. But others thought it sounded reasonable. Einstein and others knew that if the theory was correct, and the fabric of reality is bending around large objects, then light itself would have to follow that bend. The light of a star in the great distance, for instance, would seem to curve around a large object in front of it, nearer to us—like our Sun. But normally, it’s impossible to study stars behind the Sun to measure this effect. Enter an eclipse.

Einstein’s theory gives an equation for how much the Sun’s gravity would displace the images of background stars. Newton’s theory predicts only half that amount of displacement.

Eddington and Dyson measured the Hyades cluster because it contains many stars; the more stars to distort, the better the comparison. Both teams of scientists encountered strange political and natural obstacles in making the discovery, which are chronicled beautifully in the book No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity , by the physicist Daniel Kennefick. But the confirmation of Einstein’s ideas was worth it. Eddington said as much in a letter to his mother: “The one good plate that I measured gave a result agreeing with Einstein,” he wrote , “and I think I have got a little confirmation from a second plate.”

The Eddington-Dyson experiments were hardly the first time scientists used eclipses to make profound new discoveries. The idea dates to the beginnings of human civilization.

Careful records of lunar and solar eclipses are one of the greatest legacies of ancient Babylon. Astronomers—or astrologers, really, but the goal was the same—were able to predict both lunar and solar eclipses with impressive accuracy. They worked out what we now call the Saros Cycle, a repeating period of 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours in which eclipses appear to repeat. One Saros cycle is equal to 223 synodic months, which is the time it takes the Moon to return to the same phase as seen from Earth. They also figured out, though may not have understood it completely, the geometry that enables eclipses to happen.

The path we trace around the Sun is called the ecliptic. Our planet’s axis is tilted with respect to the ecliptic plane, which is why we have seasons, and why the other celestial bodies seem to cross the same general path in our sky.

As the Moon goes around Earth, it, too, crosses the plane of the ecliptic twice in a year. The ascending node is where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic. The descending node is where the Moon enters the southern ecliptic. When the Moon crosses a node, a total solar eclipse can happen. Ancient astronomers were aware of these points in the sky, and by the apex of Babylonian civilization, they were very good at predicting when eclipses would occur.

Two and a half millennia later, in 2016, astronomers used these same ancient records to measure the change in the rate at which Earth’s rotation is slowing—which is to say, the amount by which are days are lengthening, over thousands of years.

By the middle of the 19 th century, scientific discoveries came at a frenetic pace, and eclipses powered many of them. In October 1868, two astronomers, Pierre Jules César Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer, separately measured the colors of sunlight during a total eclipse. Each found evidence of an unknown element, indicating a new discovery: Helium, named for the Greek god of the Sun. In another eclipse in 1869, astronomers found convincing evidence of another new element, which they nicknamed coronium—before learning a few decades later that it was not a new element, but highly ionized iron, indicating that the Sun’s atmosphere is exceptionally, bizarrely hot. This oddity led to the prediction, in the 1950s, of a continual outflow that we now call the solar wind.

And during solar eclipses between 1878 and 1908, astronomers searched in vain for a proposed extra planet within the orbit of Mercury. Provisionally named Vulcan, this planet was thought to exist because Newtonian gravity could not fully describe Mercury’s strange orbit. The matter of the innermost planet’s path was settled, finally, in 1915, when Einstein used general relativity equations to explain it.

Many eclipse expeditions were intended to learn something new, or to prove an idea right—or wrong. But many of these discoveries have major practical effects on us. Understanding the Sun, and why its atmosphere gets so hot, can help us predict solar outbursts that could disrupt the power grid and communications satellites. Understanding gravity, at all scales, allows us to know and to navigate the cosmos.

GPS satellites, for instance, provide accurate measurements down to inches on Earth. Relativity equations account for the effects of the Earth’s gravity and the distances between the satellites and their receivers on the ground. Special relativity holds that the clocks on satellites, which experience weaker gravity, seem to run slower than clocks under the stronger force of gravity on Earth. From the point of view of the satellite, Earth clocks seem to run faster. We can use different satellites in different positions, and different ground stations, to accurately triangulate our positions on Earth down to inches. Without those calculations, GPS satellites would be far less precise.

This year, scientists fanned out across North America and in the skies above it will continue the legacy of eclipse science. Scientists from NASA and several universities and other research institutions will study Earth’s atmosphere; the Sun’s atmosphere; the Sun’s magnetic fields; and the Sun’s atmospheric outbursts, called coronal mass ejections.

When you look up at the Sun and Moon on the eclipse , the Moon’s day — or just observe its shadow darkening the ground beneath the clouds, which seems more likely — think about all the discoveries still yet waiting to happen, just behind the shadow of the Moon.

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What Solar Eclipse-Gazing Has Looked Like for the Past 2 Centuries

Millions of people on Monday will continue the tradition of experiencing and capturing solar eclipses, a pursuit that has spawned a lot of unusual gear.

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By Sarah Eckinger

• April 8, 2024

For centuries, people have been clamoring to glimpse solar eclipses. From astronomers with custom-built photographic equipment to groups huddled together with special glasses, this spectacle has captivated the human imagination.

Creating a Permanent Record

In 1860, Warren de la Rue captured what many sources describe as the first photograph of a total solar eclipse . He took it in Rivabellosa, Spain, with an instrument known as the Kew Photoheliograph . This combination of a telescope and camera was specifically built to photograph the sun.

Forty years later, Nevil Maskelyne, a magician and an astronomy enthusiast, filmed a total solar eclipse in North Carolina. The footage was lost, however, and only released in 2019 after it was rediscovered in the Royal Astronomical Society’s archives.

Telescopic Vision

For scientists and astronomers, eclipses provide an opportunity not only to view the moon’s umbra and gaze at the sun’s corona, but also to make observations that further their studies. Many observatories, or friendly neighbors with a telescope, also make their instruments available to the public during eclipses.

Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen, Fridtjof Nansen and Sigurd Scott Hansen observing a solar eclipse while on a polar expedition in 1894 .

Women from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and their professor tested out equipment ahead of their eclipse trip (to “catch old Sol in the act,” as the original New York Times article phrased it) to New London, Conn., in 1922.

A group from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania traveled to Yerbaniz, Mexico, in 1923, with telescopes and a 65-foot camera to observe the sun’s corona .

Dr. J.J. Nassau, director of the Warner and Swasey Observatory at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, prepared to head to Douglas Hill, Maine, to study an eclipse in 1932. An entire freight car was required to transport the institution’s equipment.

Visitors viewed a solar eclipse at an observatory in Berlin in the mid-1930s.

A family set up two telescopes in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1963. The two children placed stones on the base to help steady them.

An astronomer examined equipment for an eclipse in a desert in Mauritania in June 1973. We credit the hot climate for his choice in outfit.

Indirect Light

If you see people on Monday sprinting to your local park clutching pieces of paper, or with a cardboard box of their head, they are probably planning to reflect or project images of the solar eclipse onto a surface.

Cynthia Goulakos demonstrated a safe way to view a solar eclipse , with two pieces of cardboard to create a reflection of the shadowed sun, in Lowell, Mass., in 1970.

Another popular option is to create a pinhole camera. This woman did so in Central Park in 1963 by using a paper cup with a small hole in the bottom and a twin-lens reflex camera.

Amateur astronomers viewed a partial eclipse, projected from a telescope onto a screen, from atop the Empire State Building in 1967 .

Back in Central Park, in 1970, Irving Schwartz and his wife reflected an eclipse onto a piece of paper by holding binoculars on the edge of a garbage basket.

Children in Denver in 1979 used cardboard viewing boxes and pieces of paper with small pinholes to view projections of a partial eclipse.

A crowd gathered around a basin of water dyed with dark ink, waiting for the reflection of a solar eclipse to appear, in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1995.

Staring at the Sun (or, How Not to Burn Your Retinas)

Eclipse-gazers have used different methods to protect their eyes throughout the years, some safer than others .

In 1927, women gathered at a window in a building in London to watch a total eclipse through smoked glass. This was popularized in France in the 1700s , but fell out of favor when physicians began writing papers on children whose vision was damaged.

Another trend was to use a strip of exposed photographic film, as seen below in Sydney, Australia, in 1948 and in Turkana, Kenya, in 1963. This method, which was even suggested by The Times in 1979 , has since been declared unsafe.

Solar eclipse glasses are a popular and safe way to view the event ( if you use models compliant with international safety standards ). Over the years there have been various styles, including these large hand-held options found in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1979.

Parents and children watched a partial eclipse through their eclipse glasses in Tokyo in 1981.

Slimmer, more colorful options were used in Nabusimake, Colombia, in 1998.

In France in 1999.

And in Iran and England in 1999.

And the best way to see the eclipse? With family and friends at a watch party, like this one in Isalo National Park in Madagascar in 2001.