SPACE SCIENCE EDUCATION IN PHILIPPINE SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PLANS

摘要

The Philippines has lagged behind in terms of space science education compared to other countries in the SoutheastAsian region. This is primarily due to the minimal coverage of astronomy and space science in the basic educationcurricula for both primary and secondary levels. There is also a lack of training in the field of space science amongscience educators. In this paper, I discussed how astronomy and space science is tackled in the framework of thePhilippine educational system, particularly at the secondary level. The current status of space science education wasstudied based on the existing curricula and how it can be modified to increase its effectiveness. I also showed thatFilipino students have a very basic understanding about astronomy and space science that stems from the secondaryschool curricula. It was determined that in a 25-question space science assessment survey administered to 533students, the average score was 41% with a standard deviation of 3.216. I also discussed the necessity of a multiprongedapproach in teaching astronomy and space science that would cater to students from different economic andsocial strata. Due to the geographical nature of the country, I tackled the issue of developing regional centers forastronomy and space science. Finally, I mentioned the future development plans for astronomy and space scienceeducation in the Philippines.