• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.398-412
• /
• 2012

과학 교과서는 과학 교육에 있어서 아주 중요한 역할을 하여 왔다. 교과서는 학생들이 학문적 경험을 하게끔 주도하며 학교 교육을 대표하는 수단이라고 할 수 있다(Valverde, Bianchi, Wolfe, Schmidt, & Houang, 2002). 그러나 과학 교육에서 교과서의 중요한 역할에도 불구하고, 국내외에서 그 연구가 미비하였다 (Good, 1993). 이 연구의 첫번째 과제로써 과학 교과서 연구 현황을 살펴보기 위해 지난 30여년간 미국에서 이루어진 초등 교과서와 관련된 연구들을 분석 및 정리하였다. 한편 과학의 본성에 대한 이해는 지난 반세기 동안 과학 교육에서 하나의 중요한 목표가 되어 왔으며, 미국의 여러 국가적 차원의 지침서에서는 그 중요성을 강조하였다 (NRC, 1996; AAAS, 1990, 1993). 그럼에도 불구하고 과학 교과서 연구에서 과학의 본성에 관련한 선행 연구가 거의 없다는 것을 알고, 본 연구의 두번째 과제로써 현재 미국 초등 교과서에 나타난 과학의 본성에 대한 연구를 4가지 주제에 근거하여 분석하였다. 과학의 본성에 대한 4가지 주제는 (a)지식 체계로서의 과학, (b) 탐구 방법으로의 과학, (c) 생각의 방법으로의 과학, 그리고 (d) 과학과 기술, 그리고 사회와 연관된 관계 (Chiappetta, Fillman, & Sethna, 2004)로서, 본 연구에서는 미국 초등 과학 교과서에 나타난 이 4가지 주제를 학년별 및 출판사별로 4가지 영역의 포함 정도를 퍼센트로 산출하였다. 또한 도입 단원 전체를 분석하였으므로, 단원 전반적 내용에 내포된 과학의 본성에 대한 측면을 연구자의 직관과 전문성에 근거하여 서술적인 방식으로 토의하였다.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.770-782
• /
• 2022

This study analyzes the depictions of scientists and teachers' thoughts on the 2015 revised elementary school science authorized 3rd-4th grade textbooks from the perspective of gender equality, and suggest improvements for the 2015 elementary school science authorized 5th-6th grade textbooks as well as a 2022 revised elementary school science curriculum. The data consist of representations of scientists found in seven elementary science textbooks provided to 3rd- and 4th-grade students in 2022 as well as in-depth interviews conducted with three elementary school teachers and responses from 32 teachers in Gyeonggi-do. Of the 23 scientists depicted in the textbooks, three (13.0%) are female and 10 (43.5%) worked in the inquiry domain, which was the largest group. When the teachers were asked about their perceptions of the gender ratio of scientists in the textbooks, their answers revealed that they had lower perceptions of female scientists compared to male scientists; moreover, they had no or very little teaching experience concerning female scientists. Furthermore, the teachers' thoughts on improving the gender ratio of scientists depicted in the textbooks differed considerably by the teachers' gender. Based on these findings, it was concluded that during the process of producing textbooks, writers and members of society need to agree on the gender ratio of scientists to be represented, and a social consensus is needed to identify and introduce the achievements of previously unknown female scientists towards gender equality.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.487-499
• /
• 2022

This study aims to understand the trends and characteristics of elementary science textbook research. For this purpose, among the papers published in science-related journals from 2001 to 2021, 156 studies related to elementary science textbooks were analyzed to examine the research trends on textbook analysis. The analysis criteria consisted of two major categories, 'outward feature' and 'topic.' The subcategories of 'outward feature' consist of 'year of publication,' 'target curriculum,' 'target grade,' 'science content area,' 'subject of study,' and 'publishing institution.' The sub-categories of 'topic' consist of 'comparison,' 'content,' 'illustration,' 'inquiry activity,' 'perception of textbooks,' and 'others.' As a result of the analysis on 'outer feature,' textbook-related research was conducted almost every year, and the research on the 2009 revised science curriculum, on the 3-6 grades, and on the whole field of science had the most. The science textbook researches were published not only in science education-related journals but also in other areas' journals. As a result of the analysis of the 'topic,' the number of papers was higher in the order of comparative research, content analysis, illustration, inquiry activities, and perception of textbooks. Implications for accredited textbook system of elementary science were discussed based on the analyses on the elementary science textbook research trends.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.307-324
• /
• 2022

This study examined the content diversity of seven authorized science textbooks by comparing the characteristics of the science concept description and the contents of inquiry activities in the "weight of objects" unit. For each textbook, the flow of concept description content and the uniqueness of the concept description process were analyzed, and the number of nodes and links and words with high connections were determined using language network analysis. In addition, for the inquiry activities described in each textbook, the inquiry subject, inquiry type, science process skill, and uniqueness were investigated. Results showed that the authorized textbooks displayed no more diversity than expected in their scientific concept description method or their inquiry activity composition. The learning elements, inclusion of subconcepts, and central words were similar for each textbook. The comparison of inquiry activities showed similarities in their contents, inquiry types, and scientific process skills. Specifically, these textbooks did not introduce any research topics or experimental methods that were absent in previous textbooks. However, despite the fact that the authorized textbook system was developed based on the same curriculum, some efforts were made to make use of its strengths. Since the sequence of subconcepts to explain the core contents differed across textbooks, this explanation process was divided into several types, and although the contents of inquiry activities were the same, the materials for inquiry activities were shown differently for each textbook to improve and overcome the difficulties in the existing experiments. These findings necessitate the continuation of efforts to utilize the strengths of certified textbooks.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.618-629
• /
• 2023

Although society has become increasingly diverse, on a few studies analyzed elementary science textbooks in terms of race or disability. Therefore, this study analyzed character illustrations presented in elementary science textbooks in terms of multiculturalism and disability. It identified 14 approved elementary science textbooks for the 2015 revised curriculum, which are used during the first and second semesters in the third grade. First, analysis of the race of character illustrations in elementary science textbooks indicated that 8.2% of them are multicultural, which is higher than the actual proportion of foreigners living in Korea. In addition, most of them were white illustrations, whereas Asian foreign illustrations made up the least, which suggests a different distribution in the Korean context. The study observed significant differences in distribution according to publishers. Second, the gender distribution of multicultural character illustrations differed by 59.0% and 41.0% for men and women, respectively, and the gender variation between publishers was relatively large in which a few publishers accounted for 80% of male multicultural figures. The third pertained to the function of illustrations, that is, the distribution of illustrations of Koreans and multicultural figures was similar in terms of the order of illustrations with explanatory functions followed by exemplary, decorative, and supplementary functions. Finally, from the perspective of diversity in disability, the proportion of illustrations with disability was 2.0%, which was less than the actual proportion in Korea. The study discussed the need to consider the situation and diversity of Korea in terms of race and d isability.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.84-91
• /
• 2020

In this study, we investigated the elements of knowledge and information processing competence of science inquiry activities in grades 3-6 science textbooks. For this purpose, the elements of knowledge and information processing competence were extracted and a framework for analysis was created. Analysis of eight science textbooks for grades 3-6 in elementary school was carried out using the analysis framework. The following results were obtained by the analysis framework: First, we divided the knowledge and information processing competence into five elements: 'collection,' 'analysis,' 'expression,' 'selection,' and 'evaluation.' Second, the elements of knowledge and information processing competence of science inquiry activity of elementary science textbooks were not evenly composed. The science inquiry activities of elementary science textbooks focused on 'collection' and 'analysis' among the five elements of the knowledge and information processing competence, followed by 'expression,' 'selection,' and 'evaluation.' As a result, we found that a science inquiry model or a science instruction model is needed to develop the knowledge and information processing competence in elementary school science curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.525-542
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the internal and external frameworks of elementary science textbooks, which first appeared as the authorization system of elementary science textbooks changed from the national government system. In order to confirm the purpose of the authorization system to support the development of diverse and creative textbooks, this study compared 7 authorized textbooks with the national textbook developed as the 'Use of Magnets' unit of the 2015 revised science curriculum. In this study, the textbook's framework was largely divided into an external framework and an internal framework for the 'Use of Magnets' unit of elementary science textbooks, and quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted in parallel according to each subcategory. According to the research results, in the external framework of textbook units, all textbooks had the same structure: unit introduction, scientific inquiry, creative convergence, unit arrangement, and scientific reading materials. The framework in the 'Use of Magnets' unit of the 7 types of authorized textbooks was found to have some differences according to the textbook development team's interpretation of the curriculum achievement standards and many commonalities that maintained the framework in the national textbooks. In addition, the characteristics of each textbook were clearly revealed in some areas not specified in curriculum such as unit introduction activities and science reading materials, a meaningful change was also found in that the level of inquiry activity was classified and operated in response to the uniform inquiry activity operation of the existing government textbooks.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.258-270
• /
• 2009

Science textbook is the most frequently used teaching material in elementary schools of the United States and Korea. Elementary science textbooks of the United States and Korea are analyzed to find out the educational objectives and characteristics of contents shown in textbooks. About 100 pages each in the first grade and fourth grade science textbooks each nations are selected randomly for educational objective analysis. Life science contents of 1st to 6th grade are analyzed from elementary science textbooks of the United States and Korea. The analyzed textbooks in Korea are 'Wise life,' an integrated subject with social studies and science, and 'science.' The analyzed elementary science textbooks of the United States are Harcourt Science, which is one of the frequently used textbooks. The educational objective framework used includes science knowledge, scientific inquiry, scientific attitude, STS, and philosophy and history of science. The results show science textbooks of the United States emphasize scientific knowledge more than scientific inquiry. Korean science textbooks emphasize scientific inquiry more than scientific knowledge. Elementary science textbooks of the United States present some life science topics redundantly and expose more difficult topics than Korean.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.194-209
• /
• 2023

This study aims to present implications for the appropriate establishment and development of a science-authorized textbook system through an understanding of the process of selecting science-authorized textbooks and analyzing the perception of teachers. Toward this end, this study conducted interviews with five elementary school teachers who participated in the science textbook selection process, surveys on 32 teachers, and analysis on the authors of the textbooks. The result demonstrated, first, that the "opinion gathering" stage was the most important one, and a council was formed in consideration of career and major. Moreover, the evaluation standard was reorganized and used according to the situation of the school. Second, in the process of opinion gathering, the teachers used a method for reviewing the entire textbook for each teacher. Inquiry activities and textbook composition (readability) were crucially considered as internal factors, and teaching and learning materials, such as videos, were deemed extremely important as external factors. The variable of the author, which is an indicator of the reliability and expertise of textbooks, was also recognized as vital. Third, the deliberation by the School Committee and the report by the principal were recognized as the administrative final step after selection. Finally, selecting the most suitable textbooks for each grade group was recognized as more important than arbitrarily unifying textbooks for the third and fourth grades and for the fifth and sixth grades.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.29-36
• /
• 2003

The purposes of this study are to analyze the elementary school science textbooks (chemistry part) developed under the 7th national curriculum and to compare with those under the 6th national curriculum. The lesson hour, the number of pages, contents at each grade, deleted or newly introduced contents were analyzed. Some features of the 'Separation of mixtures' chapter were also analyzed. Educational implications were discussed in the aspect of whether the intention of revised curriculum was reflected, especially whether the amount of teaming was decreased.