• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.147-160
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to compare the elementary science curriculum and textbooks of Korea, the United States, Japan, and Singapore to know how the contents on particulate concept of matter is introduced and expressed. In Korea, particulate concept of matter was adopted as a term for 'molecules' in the 3rd through 6th curriculum, and the term for 'particles' was adopted in the 2009 revised curriculum. In the United States, NGSS adopted the term 'particle' in fifth grade. Japan presented the concept of 'particle' as a core concept of matter in the commentary, and the expressions 'particles' were being introduced in the textbooks. But it did not cover particulate nature of matter at the elementary school level in Singapore. An analysis of elementary textbooks in Korea, the United States and Japan except Singapore showed particulate expressions in 'dissolution', 'state change of water', 'gas pressure and volume', 'combustion and extinguishment' units. Korean textbook was only being introduced in 'dissolution' and 'gas pressure and volume', but in the textbooks of Japan and the United States, water was expressed as particles in 'state change of water' unit. Discussion and implication on the introduction of particulate concept to elementary science curriculum and textbooks were suggested based on the results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.38-54
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to compare the concepts and inquiry activities of textbooks in Korea and Singapore textbooks focused on the field of geology, and to provide implications for the future development of Korean curriculum and textbooks. For the study, it was selected as the 2015 revised science textbook in Korea and 'My pals are here' that is the most used textbook in Singapore. The results of this study are as follows: First, Korea had a lower level of concept than Singapore. Second, we could confirm that Korea is composed of 'inquiry' centered compared to Singapore. Third, Korea deal with only one concept in one grade, however Singapore is structured so that concepts are divided hierarchically into several grades. Fourth, Singapore has been instructing students to learn how the learned concept interact with the Earth, which is different from Korea. These results may give implications for the curriculum composition and textbook development in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.370-381
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• 2021

This study compared and analyzed the chemistry curriculum of South Korea and Singapore. The analysis revealed that Korea's achievement standards in the chemistry subject comprised knowledge and skills, whereas Singapore's achievement standards comprised knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes. The scope of knowledge and skills of the Singaporean achievement standards-wherein each element was explicitly presented-were more extensive than that of Korea. The elementary school curriculum in both countries was structured to help students qualitatively understand materials in real life, whereas the middle school content was structured such that students could understand the topic of particles. Additionally, several differences were found in specific content elements; for example, the periodic tables were included only in the Singaporean content, whereas changes in the volume of gas according to temperature and pressure were included only in the Korean content. The Singaporean academic achievement standards, integrating knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes in science curriculum, can be used as a reference for adjusting and restructuring the Korean curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2014

The feasibility of integrated concepts as a key element in designing integrated science curriculum has been investigated by analysing science contents included in performance expectations stated at different grades. The science curriculum of Singapore and the state of Ontario in Canada, and next generation of science standard (NGSS) were selected. Each of them presents theme, fundamental concepts, and crosscutting concepts, which has the characteristics of integrated concepts proposed in the study. Analysis showed that theme, fundamental concepts, and crosscutting concepts were influenced by the characteristics of each curriculum. In addition, science contents related to integrated concepts at different grades varied with the nature of integrated concepts. Based on results, some suggestions were made. First, the total number of integrated concepts should be considered for designing integrated curriculum. Second, the nature of integrated concepts and science contents associated with the integrated concepts should be considered. The integrated concepts should be vast and deep enough in the meaning to contain various content knowledge of different science domains. Third, it should be considered that how the integrated concepts have to be presented at different grades.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.799-812
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• 2017

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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2013

The purpose of this research is to examine the current state of inserting illustrations in science textbooks under the 7th Revised Educational Curriculum which is currently enforced in all grades of elementary schools, and to compare and analyze the external and internal differences in illustrations in science textbooks of elementary schools in Singapore and Korea and to present desirable direction of producing illustrations. There are not only some differences in rate of the kinds and role of the illustrations in grades, but also in both countries. For example, in the case of illustrations for motivation, in both Korea and Singapore, interesting photos related to overall contents with regard to the contents of the unit are used. But in the 3rd and 4th grade class in Singapore, story types of cartoons related to learning subjects are presented to draw students' interest and attention. These need to be considered when developing textbook illustrations in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.498-518
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• 2010

This study analyzed the characteristics of organization scheme and the levels of core concepts in science textbooks used in Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, which have shown superior achievement according to the TIMSS 2007. Science textbooks in Korea clearly divide the fields of Energy, Matter, Biology, and Earth, presenting the fields in nearly equal proportion in each grade. In the case of Singapore, science textbooks take an integrated content approach, combining concepts from several fields under a single theme. Science textbooks in Taiwan present a single content field in each unit. Also, because each grade engages in a specific field intensively, there are many cases in which concepts related to a single field are studied in a single grade. In view of levels of core concepts, Singapore or Taiwan showed higher achievement than Korea in themes of 'Cell and their Functions', 'Ecosystems', and 'Human Health' under the TIMSS 2007 biology field. Singapore introduces core concepts for these themes in lower grades compared to Korea and presents them repeatedly in several grades. In Taiwan, there are many cases in which these core concepts are taught only once during the course of $3^{rd}$ to $8^{th}$ grade, but the explanations are presented at a level that is suitable to TIMSS 2007 assessment objectives. Considering the results of this analysis, there is a need to reconsider the division of content fields and methods of presenting core concepts in the science textbooks of Korea.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1082-1093
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• 2004

The purpose of the study was to compare science curriculum documents of the several countries including Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore. The comparison focused on goals and contents in science education of each country. The goals for science education in each country were very similar. They included understanding knowledge, acquiring inquiry skills, developing positive attitudes towards science, and appreciating S-T-S in most countries. But each country's goal setting level was different; some countries set the same goals for several grades and other countries set different goals for each grade. Goals provided for each grade were more specific and elaborated. Science contents were categorized differently in each country. In Korea, science contents were categorized in energy, matter, living things, and earth. On the other hand, science contents were composed of 8 categories including unifying concepts and processes in science, science as inquiry, physical science, life science, earth and space science, science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and history and nature of science in the United States. In the United Kingdom, science enquiry, life processes and living things, materials and their properties, and physical process were categories for science contents. In Singapore, science contents were organized by themes relevant to students' everyday experience. Implications for goals and contents in science education to prepare students to live and work in a future society were suggested based on the results of the study.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.27-48
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• 2018

The purposes of this study are to derive suggestions and implications to improve the continuity of Korean Science & Practical Arts (Technology Home Economics) curricula through international comparative analysis with focus on the science curricula or standards in five countries (Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Korea). Original documents of the national curriculums or standards of each country collected from NCIC comparatively analyzed the big concepts of the 'system' and 'energy' based on features of related components of curriculum contents, vertical, and lateral connectivity. The results indicated that the big concepts of systems and energy were used internationally to consider the curriculum continuity. In most countries, the big concept of system was used as a framework to integrate science with technology or other contents. In particular, it was also utilized to strengthen vertical and lateral connectivity in earth science and space science contents area. In the comparison of countries for the system as the big concept, New Zealand focused interrelationship between system and human activities, systems' interaction, levels and features of system concept for the linkage between grades and subjects on the basis of level. In the case of Canada and Singapore, science and technology are combined to strengthen contents' connection. However, the revised 2015 curriculum has a lack of continuity and sequence because the concepts of system and energy were concentrated on a specific grade and contents' area. The curriculum was not developed systematically for multiple grades according to their levels. In conclusion, Korean science curriculum requires sufficient understanding of students' learning and research on learning progressions and curriculum continuity. In addition, it is very important to constitute the curriculum based on the vertical and lateral connectivity in order to improve science education and to foster students' key competencies and abilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.18
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• pp.213-276
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• 1990

To revise and develop a 'Model' Curriculum for training the middle standing professionals equipped with professional technology and theories at the spot of the library, such process were executed as research on bibliographic material and literature, utilization of examination of various questionnaires, interviews with middle standing librarians at the spot of the library, a review on the operational state of the Professor's Association of Library Science of Junior Colleges, some consultation with the Research & Deliberation Committee on Curriculums, etc., and to review the present department of library science at the two-year course's short-term colleges or institutes in foreign countries, Germany which is thought to be similar to our nation's situations and its level of economy and Singapore which is considered to be a newly emerging nation were looked into typically. In particular, since studies on the curriculums of the Library Science Dept. of colleges had already preceded, thereby the framework of the 'Model' curriculum was already achieved, however to review how well such framework is applied to the spot of education and give some improvement on that, some unrelistic findings of different subjects in consideration with reality, while comparing those curriculum schedules of each Library Science Dept. with the 'Model' curriculum schedule, were supplemented or revised to be fit to reality. For some supplementing or revising proposals on the pre studied 'Model' curriculum, some tentative plans which focussed on each field respectively and some tentative plans which focussed on cultural subjects, required major subjects and elective subjects were suggested in duality to be referred to. On such a process of forming a harmony of educational theories and practice, it was planned to revise and develop curriculum in a sense emphasizing on practical exercise, and tried not to neglect on each of the fields of the curriculum centered on the areas of materials organization, linguistics, information resource, information science, library organization, & administration, etc. The study on curriculums should be performed flexible to be applied to the accelerating transition of sciences, and be good examples in instruction.