Changes of the Format and Content of Science Textbooks of North Korean' Elementary School in the 2000's

2000년대 북한 소학교 자연 교과서의 체제와 내용 변화

Since the national curriculum and textbooks are essential to understand the country's educational system, the importance of the textbook analysis should be emphasized to understand the education in North Korea. In this study, the science textbooks of North Korean elementary schools published since the year 2000 were analysed in depth and compared with those of 1990's, then the change in North Korean elementary science education was investigated. As for the external format, the total pages of 3rd grade textbooks of 2000's decreased notably. The 4th grade textbooks show an emphasis on the integrating feature of season-related chapters. The analysis of each category using a content framework of TIMSS shows that the content proportion relating to Earth Science and Physical Science was increased, while the proportion relating to Biological Science was decreased. Besides, changes of proportion of each subcategories were analysed and discussed.