SHAPING FUTURE SCIENCE EDUCATION: POST PANDEMIC PERSPECTIVES OF PRESERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS IN CENTRAL VISAYAS, PHILIPPINES

Abstract

Tertiary education plays a pivotal role in shaping future-proof science education as it provides strong theoretical foundation to advance knowledge and foster innovation. In the context of post-pandemic education, exploring preservice science teachers’ perspectives on how they envision science education can be relevant in an increasingly complex, uncertain, volatile, and ambiguous world, is a proactive measure. These preservice general science teachers (n=113) describe their point of views through drawing and narrative description. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis which resulted to four themes. Their perception of how Science education can be future-proofed centered on (1) highly advanced technology use, (2) personalized and adaptive learning (3) curated and open accessible learning resources, and (4) sustainability, social responsibility, and ethics-centered. These conceptions enable these future teachers who are also future leaders to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of a future world. These findings offer valuable insights into the need for teacher training institutions to recalibrate for the future skills in education that their graduates must possess and the curriculum to be designed to promote innovative and inclusive teaching practices.