Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education (한국과학교육학회지)

The Korean Association for Science Education (한국과학교육학회)
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Comparison of the Science Curricula of Korea, the United States, England, and Singapore: Focus on the Concept of Energy

한국, 미국, 영국, 싱가포르의 과학 교육과정 비교 - 에너지 개념을 중심으로 -

  • Received : 2017.07.17
  • Accepted : 2017.09.07
  • Published : 2017.10.31
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Abstract

Energy as a powerful and unifying concept to understand natural world has been regarded as one of the key concepts of the science curricula in many countries. However, concerning learning and teaching of energy, various difficulties have been reported widely. This study aimed at analyzing and comparing science curricula of Korea, the U.S., England, and Singapore regarding energy to identify the potential issues for energy curriculum in the future. 2015 revised Korean science curriculum, Next Generation Science Standards of the U.S., Science programmes of study of England, and the Science syllabus of Singapore were compared based on six basic elements of the concept of energy: energy form, energy resource, energy transfer, energy transformation, energy conservation, and energy dissipation. Achievement criteria that include energy were extracted from all curricula and categorized into the six elements. The frequency and distribution of the six elements in the four curricula were compared in terms of school levels and disciplinary areas. Contents of six energy elements were also compared. Though all curricula emphasized energy as a key science concept, we found many differences in the degree of emphasis of basic ideas and specific contents and approaches. Korean curriculum is characterized by 1) high frequency concerning energy form among the elements of the concept of energy, 2) introducing energy forms of unclear meaning, which are not linked with other physical quantities, 3) emphasis on energy conversion in comparison of energy transfer, 4) focusing on mechanical energy conservation instead of more general energy conservation, and 5) absence of the concept of 'system' concerning energy. Issues for energy curriculum development were discussed.

에너지는 매우 복합적인 과학개념으로 많은 국가의 과학 교육과정에서 핵심을 이루는 개념이지만, 교수 학습 과정에서 많은 어려움을 야기하는 개념이기도 하다. 본 연구는 한국, 미국, 영국, 싱가포르의 교육과정을 비교분석하여 향후 교육과정 개정 시 고려해야 하는 에너지 교육과정의 쟁점들을 추출하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 한국의 2015 개정교육과정, 미국의 차세대 과학교육표준(NGSS, Next Generation Science Standards), 영국의 과학 교육과정(National curriculum in England: Science programmes of study), 싱가포르의 과학 교육과정(Science syllabus)에서 에너지를 명시적으로 포함하는 성취기준들을 추출하여, 여섯 가지 개념 요소(에너지 형태, 에너지 자원, 에너지 전달, 에너지 전환, 에너지 보존, 에너지 산일)에 따라 분류하고 비교하였다. 에너지 관련 성취기준이 학교 급별, 학문 영역별, 에너지 개념 요소별로 어떻게 분포하는지 빈도 분석을 실시하였고, 에너지 개념 요소별로 내용 분석을 병행하였다. 그 결과 모든 나라의 교육과정 모두에서 에너지 개념의 중요성을 확인할 수 있었지만, 세부적으로는 강조하고 있는 개념 요소와 개념 요소별 내용에 있어서 상당한 차이를 발견하였다. 그 중 다른 나라와 대비되는 한국 교육과정의 가장 큰 특징은 에너지 개념 요소 중 에너지의 형태와 관련된 성취기준의 빈도가 가장 높다는 점, 특정 물리량에 대응하지 않는 체 포괄적인 의미로 사용되는 에너지 형태를 포함하고 있다는 점, 에너지 전달에 비해 좀 더 어려운 개념 요소인 에너지 전환을 강조하고 있는 점, 에너지 보존의 경우 역학적 상황에만 국한하여 성취기준이 제시되고 있는 점, 에너지 개념과 관련하여 '계'를 도입하지 않고 있는 점 등을 들 수 있다. 이러한 차이가 야기하는 교육과정 개편 상의 쟁점들에 대해서 논의하였다.

Keywords

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