scholarly journals THE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THIRD-GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS AND CURRICULUM STANDARDS IN CHINA AND JAPAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-518
Author(s):  
Lihui Sun ◽  
Liangbo Li

This study applied the Porter’s alignment model to construct a localized two-dimensional framework based on Anderson's taxonomy. The research chose the third-grade primary school science textbooks from two representative presses in China and Japan, coded the textbooks and curriculum standards, calculated the alignment level between the textbooks of the two presses and their corresponding curriculum standards, and discussed the alignment level from the topic, cognitive demand, and emphasis. The results show that the B version in Japan is significantly aligned with the Japanese curriculum standard, but the A version in China does not have significant alignment with the Chinese curriculum standard. Besides, a common problem is that the ratios of life science in sample science textbooks both exceed the requirements of the curriculum standards, and the problems of exceeding the standard in cognitive demand and not highlighting the key points also need to be concerned. This study provides ideas and references for countries with similar educational situations to study the compilation of science textbooks and fills up the deficiency of the international comparison of the alignment between primary school science textbooks and curriculum standards by using the alignment model. Keywords: alignment evaluation, content analysis, curriculum standards, primary school, science textbooks

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-236
Author(s):  
Andriani Sideri ◽  
◽  
Michael Skoumios ◽  

Science process skills play an essential role in science education. The research assessing these skills in school science textbooks is limited. The aim of the current study was to examine the involvement of science process skills in the content of science school textbooks of the last two primary school grades in Greece. A specific analysis framework was adopted, based on 534 activities included in the two textbooks. It was concluded that the activities included in the two textbooks mainly involved the skills of communicating, observing, and inferring, while the involvement of the remaining science process skills was particularly limited. Therefore, the school textbooks fail to provide students satisfactory opportunities to engage in science process skills and facilitate a better understanding of sciences ideas and concepts. The findings of this study provide information about some strengths and weaknesses of the science textbooks that could be used by teachers in planning for teaching.


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