Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education (한국과학교육학회지)

The Korean Association for Science Education (한국과학교육학회)
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Constructivism and STS Reflected in the Korean Education Programs for Secondary Science Teachers

  • Published : 2004.02.28
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Abstract

This research aimed to investigate whether Korean education programs for secondary science teachers reflect constructivist perspectives. To identify how to introduce the idea of constructivism and STS into the courses of the current Korean education programs for secondary science teachers, two programs were selected: the Qualifying In-service Program held in Seoul and the pre-service programs established in the four departments of science education of the Korean National University of Education in Chungbuk. The course guidebooks, syllabi, and text materials prepared for implementation of the courses were collected and analyzed. E-mail correspondence with the program instructors who had conveyed both ideas to the trainees provided us more precise information about the characteristics of the classes, such as the total time provided the ideas and the teaching strategies used to implement the classes. The results indicated that the pre-service programs included the ideas of constructivism and STS more than did the Qualifying In-service Program. It is necessary that the courses included in the Korean in-service program, in particular the Qualifying In-service Program for secondary science teachers, have to be more focused on the constructivist perspectives.

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References

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