East-asian Primary Science Curricula ― An Overview Using Revised Bloom's Taxonomy

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.

Dr. Lee Yew Jin trained as a secondary school biology teacher in Singapore. Currently, his interests are in primary science, curriculum studies, science as a way of knowing, and informal learning environments. He also brings sociocultural concepts of learning as well as theoretical insights from the social sciences and humanities. His recent research (with his graduate students) includes assessing knowledge in classrooms, inquiry science, and engineering, design & technology.

Dr. Mijung Kim is an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interests are science literacy, inquiry-based teaching, scientific reasoning and problem solving, dialogical argumentation and teacher education. She also brings complex issues of STSE (Science-Technology-Society-Enviornment) relationships into her research and teaching to explore decision-making and action for sustainability.

Qingna Jin is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Canada. She graduated with a Masters degree in Education from the School of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Her research interests include scientific problem-solving, and inquiry-based teaching and learning, with a particular focus on the development of students’ metacognition in science learning.?

Dr. Hye-Gyoung Yoon is a professor at Chuncheon National University of Education, South Korea. Her research interests are science teacher education, teachers’ pedagogical reasoning and inquiry-based science teaching. She is interested in how teachers can learn from their own practice within a collaborative community.?

Dr. Kenji Matsubara is a senior researcher at the Department of Curriculum Research, Curriculum Research Center, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER), Japan. His research interests include science curriculum development, international comparisons of science education, lesson study and lesson analysis.