Science Education In East Asia

This edited volume is a state-of-the-art comparison of primary science education across six East-Asian regions; namely, the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Singapore. While news of educational policies, classroom teaching, assessment, and other educational innovations here often surface in the international media, this book brings together for the first time relevant information regarding educational systems and strategies in primary science in East Asia. Above all, it is a readable yet comprehensive survey—readers would have an accurate sense of what has been accomplished, what has not worked so well, and what remains to be done. Invited experts in comparative education research and/or science education also provide commentary by discussing common themes across the six regions. These types of critical synoptic reviews add much value by enabling readers to understand broad commonalities and help synthesize what must surely be a bewildering amount of very interesting albeit confusing body of facts, issues, and policies. Education in East Asia holds many lessons (both positive and negative) to offer to the rest of the world to which this volume is a timely contribution to the literature.

This book is a collaborative product of an official project approved by the East-Asian Association for Science Education (EASE), one of the most important professional societies of science education in Asia. This EASE book is compiled with a unique approach. It consists of well-structured four sections: (A)The Historical Development of Science Education in East Asia, (B)The Achievements of Science Education Research in East Asia, (C)Science Teacher Training in East Asia, and (D)Some Challenges to Research in Science Education in East Asia. Its fifteen chapters are co-authored/collaborated by renowned scholars from regions of East Asia. The book successfully integrated and consolidated the research, findings, curricular developments, and science teaching practices that have shaped ongoing educational agenda and student learning outcome in an unprecedented approach. Six Regional Coordinators from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan worked together with Editors and more than fifty science educators to assure the book project adequately reflects the trends and practices in this region. The six Regional Coordinators are: (1)Prof. Weiping HU, Shaanxi Normal University, (2)Prof. Winnie SO Wing Mui, The Education University of Hong Kong, (3)Prof. Masakata OGAWA, Tokyo University of Science, (4)Prof. Jinwoong SONG, Seoul National University, (5)Prof. Huann-shyang LIN, National Sun Yat-sen University, (6)Prof. Chi-jui LIEN, National Taipei University of Education. This book intends not only to serve as references, but also a complement of existing perspectives from western countries. Insights gained from the integration and consolidation of East-Asian developmental trends and perspectives would allow science educators, teachers, and policy makers make wise decision for future advancements for their own countries/regions. 1. Why We Study the History of Science Education in East Asia: A Comparison of the Emergence of Science Education in China and Japan. 2. The Advent of Science Education for All: A Policy Review across East-Asian Regions. 3. Trend and Development of School Science Education in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. 4. National/Regional Systems of Research Training in Science Education: The Experiences in Japan and Hong Kong. 5. Science Education Research Trends in East Asian Areas: A Quantitative Analysis in Selected Journals. 6. Current Trends of Science Education in East Asia (1995-2014): With a Focus on Local Academic Associations, Journal Papers, and Key Issues of Science Education in China Mainland, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. 7. Diversity Dilemmas of Science Education in East Asia. 8. A Comparison of Elementary School Science Textbooks in East Asia. 9. Primary School Science Teacher Training in East-Asia: In the Continuous Reforming for the Quality Assurance. 10. Pre-service Education of High School Science Teachers. 11. Science Education Reform and the Professional Development of Science Teachers in East Asian Regions. 12. Affective Aspects of Science Education in East Asia Regions. 13. Science Learning in Informal Environments in East Asia: Focusing on Science Museums/Centers. 14. Introducing Modern Science and High Technology in Schools. 15. Government Policy in Developing a STEM Curriculum: The Case of the High-Scope Program in Taiwan.

This book presents innovations in teaching and learning science, novel approaches to science curriculum, cultural and contextual factors in promoting science education and improving the standard and achievement of students in East Asian countries. The authors in this book discuss education reform and science curriculum changes and promotion of science and STEM education, parental roles and involvement in children's education, teacher preparation and professional development and research in science education in the context of international benchmarking tests to measure the knowledge of mathematics and science such as the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and achievement in science, mathematics and reading like Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Among the high achieving countries, the performance of the students in East Asian countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and China (Shanghai) are notable. This book investigates the reasons why students from East Asian countries consistently claim the top places in each and every cycle of those study. It brings together prominent science educators and researchers from East Asia to share their experience and findings, reflection and vision on emerging trends, pedagogical innovations and research-informed practices in science education in the region. It provides insights into effective educational strategies and development of science education to international readers. This collection will be of great value to science educators in that region and to scholars in comparative education. It will also be illuminating to all those working in science education who are interested in teasing out the way cultural influences overlay and complement universal features of human cognition in determining how learners respond to science teaching. Keith Taber, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK The strong influence of culture on East Asian education is well-known. The success of East Asian countries in international science achievement comparisons has recently achieved much accolade and the science education research community has been growing exponentially over the past few decades. Yet, few of us outside Asia, are well-versed in their approach to education. This volume is an excellent beginning. Norman Lederman, College of Science, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA Norman Lederman, College of Science, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA.

This book presents innovations in teaching and learning science, novel approaches to science curriculum, cultural and contextual factors in promoting science education and improving the standard and achievement of students in East Asian countries. The authors in this book discuss education reform and science curriculum changes and promotion of science and STEM education, parental roles and involvement in children's education, teacher preparation and professional development and research in science education in the context of international benchmarking tests to measure the knowledge of mathematics and science such as the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and achievement in science, mathematics and reading like Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Among the high achieving countries, the performance of the students in East Asian countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and China (Shanghai) are notable. This book investigates the reasons why students from East Asian countries consistently claim the top places in each and every cycle of those study. It brings together prominent science educators and researchers from East Asia to share their experience and findings, reflection and vision on emerging trends, pedagogical innovations and research-informed practices in science education in the region. It provides insights into effective educational strategies and development of science education to international readers.

This book describes a comparative study of the primary science learning objectives (from the cognitive domain) in the curriculum of six high-achieving East Asian states — mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore. Specifically, the authors use one of the most widely accepted and useful tools in curriculum research — revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. This is the first time that such findings from all six states have been published in one place and the results are valuable for policymakers, educators and researchers around the globe. Our new English translations of the primary science learning objectives in China, Taiwan and Korea will also greatly facilitate future analyses of these curricula.

This book project poses a major challenge to Japanese science education researchers in order to disseminate research findings on and to work towards maintaining the strength and nature of Japanese science education. It also presents a unique opportunity to initiate change and/or develop science education research in Japan. It provides some historical reasons essential to Japanese students’ success in international science tests such as TIMSS and PISA. Also, it helps to tap the potential of younger generation of science education researchers by introducing them to methods and designs in the research practice.

Science is a subject matter that requires learners to explore the world and develop their own abilities on the basis of that exploration. As technology broadens and deepens, science teachers need to expand their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), which determines how well they use technology to help students learn science. The book details our efforts to prepare science teachers to teach with the help of technology, examining various aspects of teacher education, professional development, and teaching material preparation. It consists of three parts, which focus on: how TPACK is conceptually constructed within the field of science education, how teacher evaluation and teaching materials are developed and utilized based on the transformative model, and how science teachers are prepared and supported with electronic resources based on the integrative model. The book offers a valuable resource for all those working in science education, as well as those readers who are interested in teacher education. Science teachers will come to know how simulations and animations can pedagogically support student learning. Practices for teachers' TPACK development such as learning-by-design, evaluation and measurement, and teacher communities are also addressed, applied and discussed in the case of science teachers. The individual chapters will provide teacher educators and researchers from all disciplines with new insights into preparing teachers for the Digital Era.

Each volume in the 7-volume series The World of Science Education reviews research in a key region of the world. These regions include North America, South and Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and Israel, Arab States, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of this Handbook is on science education in Asia and the scholarship that most closely supports this program.