Filipino at the Curricular Periphery: A Narrative Review of STEM-Centric Urban Secondary Education in the Philippines
Abstract
Background: Urban secondary education in the Philippines sits at the intersection of an intensified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) agenda, English-linked global competitiveness, and a constitutional commitment to Filipino as a language of instruction and scholarly discourse. Filipino may retain formal curricular presence while occupying a weaker institutional and epistemic position than subjects associated with science, mathematics, technology, and English. Objective: This narrative review examines how Filipino becomes marginalized in STEM-centric urban secondary schools and identifies directions that can strengthen its curricular, pedagogical, and professional status without weakening STEM or English competence. Methods: A structured narrative search covered scholarship from 2019 through 2025, supplemented by one foundational bilingual education policy. The final corpus comprised 27 sources: 22 peer-reviewed journal articles, one scholarly book chapter, and four Philippine policy or curriculum documents. Sources were synthesized through thematic comparison informed by SANRA principles. Results: Five patterns recurred: hierarchical allocation of subject status and curriculum time; prestige attached to English and market-oriented disciplines; confinement of Filipino to cultural or language-specific functions; routine multilingual practices within science and mathematics classrooms; and professional consequences when institutional value follows high-status subjects. Philippine and international STEM studies documented translanguaging and code-switching as resources for reasoning, scientific argument, participation, and conceptual access. Conclusion: Filipino's marginalization is best understood as institutional and epistemic rather than simple curricular absence. An equitable model protects Filipino as a discipline while legitimizing it for explanation, inquiry, public science communication, and cross-curricular knowledge construction alongside English and regional languages.