Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks

Muhammet Mustafa Alpaslan; Bugrahan Yalvac; Cathleen C. Loving

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

Full Text (PDF)

Muhammet Mustafa Alpaslan ¹ ² ^* , Bugrahan Yalvac ¹, Cathleen C. Loving ¹

More Detail

¹ Texas A&M University, USA² Mugla Sitki Kocman University, TURKEY^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Over 50 years, two major reform efforts in science education took place. The purpose of the present study is to explore how the educational reforms were reflected in nine 6th grade science textbooks published in 1975, in 1985 and in 1997 in terms of (a) the materials used, (b) the contexts to which the electricity concept was related, (c) the type of student activities, and (d) the domain of learning objectives dealing with text activities. For the analysis, a checklist was developed. Our findings show that the concept of teaching electricity has moved from transmitting a body of knowledge and the discipline of science orientation to a more social learning and a student centered pedagogical orientation.

Keywords

textbook analysis
history of science education
science textbooks
science education reforms

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2015, 207-216

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

Publication date: 02 Apr 2015

Article Views: 2073

Article Downloads: 961

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Armstrong, T. (2009). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria VA.
Avakian, R. W., Blaustein, D. J., McLaughlin, C. W., Reel, K., Thompson, M., Wulff, J. I., & Zitzewitz, P. (1996). Science interaction. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, New York.
Baser, M., & Durmus, S. (2010). The effectiveness of computer supported versus real laboratory inquiry learning environments on the understanding of direct current electricity among pre-service elementary school teachers, Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education 6(1), 47-61.
Brandwein, P. F., Cooper, E. K., Blackwood, P. E., Hone, E. B., Cottom-Winslow, M., Fraser, T. P., & Giddings, M. G. (1975). Concepts in science. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. New York
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school, National Academy Press, Washington DC.
Cook, A., & Tulip, D. (1992). The importance of selected textbook features to science teachers, Research in Science Education, 22, 91-100.
Cooper, E. K., Blackwood, P. E., Boeschen, J. A., Giddings, M. G., & Carin, A. A. (1985). HBJ science. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Orlando: FL
De Boer, G. E. (1991). A history of ideas in science education: Implications for practice, Teacher College Press, New York NY.
De Boer, G. E. (2000). Scientific literacy: Another look at its historical contemporary meanings and its relationship to science education reforms, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 582-601.
Dispezio, M., Lisowski, M., & Skoog, G. (1997). Science insights exploring matter and energy Addison-Wesley, New York.
Duschl, R. (2008). Science education in three-part harmony: Balancing conceptual, epistemic and social learning goals, Review of Research in Education, 32, 268-291.
Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E. (2000) How to design and evaluate research in education (4th ed), McGraw-Hill, Boston MA.
Gallagher, J., (1971). A broader base for science teaching, Science Education, 55, 329-338.
Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences, Basic: New York.
Hamm, M. (1989). An analysis of global problem issues in sixth- and seventh-grade textbooks, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 26(5), 445-452.
Hickam, H. H. (1998). Rocket boys: A memoir, Delta, New York NY.
Jones, D.A. (1991). Electrical engineering: The backbone of society, Proceedings of the IEE: Science, Measurement and Technology, 381(1), 1–10.
Küçüközer, H., & Demirci, N. (2008). Pre-service and inservice physics teachers‘ ideas about simple electric circuits, Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education 4(3), 303-311.
Leite, L. (2002). History of science in science education: Development and validation of a checklist for analyzing the historical content of science textbooks, Science & Education, 11, 333-359.
Mallinson, G. G., Mallinson, J. B., Brown, D. G., & Smallwood, W. L. (1975). Science: Understanding your environment. Silver burdett, General Learning Corp., Morristown: NJ.
Mallinson, G., Mallinson, J., & Smallwood, W. (1985) Silver burdett science, Silver Burdett Company, Dallas TX.
McLaughlin, C. W., & Thompson, M. (1997). Glencoe physical science: Texas edition, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Westerville: OH.
National Research Council. (2007). Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in grades K-8. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Orpwood, G. W., & Soque, J. P. (1984). Summary of background study 52, Science education in Canadian schools. Science Council of Canada: Ottawa, Canada.
Osborne, J. F., Duschl, R., & Fairbrother, R. (2002). Breaking the mould: Teaching science for public understanding, Nuffield Foundation, London.
Pinto, L. E. (2007). Textbook publishing, textbooks, and democracy: A case study, Journal of Thought, 42(1/2), 99- 121.
Posner, G. J. (2004). Analyzing the curriculum, McGraw-Hill, Crawfordsville IN.
Rockcastle, V., & Salamon, F. (1975). Stem elementary school science, Addison- Wesley Company, Menlo Park CA.
Rockcastle, V. N., McKnight, B. T., Salamon, F. R., & Schmidt, V. E. (1984). Addison-wesley science. AddisonWesley, Menlo Park CA.
Rudolph, J. (2002). Scientists in the classroom: The cold war reconstruction of American science education, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Turner, S. (2008). School science and its controversies; or, whatever happened to scientific literacy? Public Understanding of Science, 17, 55-72.
Wilkinson, J. (1999). A quantitative analysis of physics textbooks for scientific literacy themes. Research in Science Education, 29(3), 385-399.
Yalvac , B. (1998). Effect of instruction on students‘ understanding of electric current concept using conceptual change text at 6th grade. Unpublished master thesis, Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

How to cite this article

APA

Alpaslan, M. M., Yalvac, B., & Loving, C. C. (2015). Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(2), 207-216. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

Vancouver

Alpaslan MM, Yalvac B, Loving CC. Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(2):207-16. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

AMA

Alpaslan MM, Yalvac B, Loving CC. Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(2), 207-216. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

Chicago

Alpaslan, Muhammet Mustafa, Bugrahan Yalvac, and Cathleen C. Loving. "Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2015 11 no. 2 (2015): 207-216. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

Harvard

Alpaslan, M. M., Yalvac, B., and Loving, C. C. (2015). Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(2), pp. 207-216. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a

MLA

Alpaslan, Muhammet Mustafa et al. "Curriculum Reform Movements and Science Textbooks: A Retrospective Examination of 6th Grade Science Textbooks". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 11, no. 2, 2015, pp. 207-216. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1316a