Examining environmental issues in a Philippine STEM curriculum: a political ecology analysis

Environmental crises require STEM education to address not only scientific mechanisms but also the socio-political forces shaping ecological outcomes. Yet, visibility of these perspectives in Global South curricula remains underexplored. This study examines how political and apolitical ecologies are represented in a Philippine STEM school’s curriculum by analyzing learning guides covering environmental themes. Using manifest content analysis and Robbins’ political ecology framework, the study assessed whether environmental issues are framed as neutral or linked to governance, equity, and power. Findings show a dominance of apolitical narratives, such as Environmental Determinism and Ecoscarcity (75.00% in Earth Science, 70.83% in Integrated Science, and 32.14% in Agriculture), which focus on technical and population-driven explanations while ignoring power dynamics. The strongest political narrative, Degradation, Marginalization, and Conflict, appeared most in Chemistry (37.04%), Health (23.81%), and Biology (22.22%). This imbalance suggests that while learners gain strong technical knowledge, they receive limited guidance in examining power and justice. Curriculum reform should include local case studies, integrate Humanities and STEM planning, and adopt inquiry-based approaches to environmental justice. These findings inform policy and curriculum for transformative sustainability education.