Visual images are widely used in science textbooks to facilitate the understanding of abstract concept of light. This study aims to compare and analyze elementary school textbooks from Korea, the United States, and Japan, focusing on how visual images are utilized to effectively convey light-related content. The findings reveal that all three…

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…

This research is based on an approach that looks at cross-cultural research design as a "lens" for a deeper understanding of what goes on in the classroom. The research question is how a cross-cultural study like this one can lead to identifying the cultural script of teaching and help educators reflect on their practice. In this…

Anatomical education is very important in understanding the internal structure of the body and the mechanism of life, especially for the medical profession, including nursing. However, in Japan, students have a few opportunities of getting anatomical education using animals before they enter university. The different step-by-step anatomical…

The last two decades have seen unprecedented interest in science curricula, with many governments seeing improvements in the performance of their school students in science as key to future economic prosperity. We present the results of an analysis of the curriculum documents for primary and secondary science in Australia (New South Wales and…

This study examined the effects of individual student factors and classroom factors on elementary science achievement within and across five countries. The student-level factors included gender, self-confidence in science and home resources. The classroom-level factors included teacher characteristics, instructional variables and classroom…

Investigated divergence in science performance between U.S. and Japanese elementary students. Data from observations and analysis of science lessons in Japanese schools highlighted eight science activity structures and a rough order of occurrence in typical science lessons. These activity structures support a coherent inquiry process, and they may…

The purpose of this study is to refine Japanese elementary science activity structures by using a CSCL approach to transform the classroom into a knowledge-building community. We report design studies on two science lessons in two consecutive years and describe the progressive refinement of the activity structures. Through comparisons of student…

In an analysis of Japanese, Korean, and American elementary school reading textbooks to determine their differences, the weight and size of each book were measured, the number of pages totaled, and the content analyzed. Categories chosen for the content analysis included science (physical, life, and social science), literature, and basic skills.…

This paper was developed to describe and discuss the characteristics of educational settings and school science curriculum in Japan as compared with the United States. Three major aspects of the role of science education are presented. The first is the cultural and societal expectations placed on education. This represents external influences on…

Presents a view of Japanese education based on the experiences and observations of an American educator. Explains cultural contrasts, educational aspects and model, and the question of discipline. A Japanese educator responds with a personal view on educational equality in ability. (RT)

Compared were the integrated process skills of American youngsters who studied for several years in an activity-based, materials-oriented program to a group of Japanese pupils who studied in a similar program and to an American group whose program was textbook oriented. Implications are discussed. (Author/CW)

This document reports the state of science achievement of Japanese students based on the Second International Science study conducted in 1983-84. Results are compared to the first study conducted in 1970. The target populations, samples, and structure of the second study are described. Test results including score distribution and high and low…

To cope with some social problems, Japanese educational planners are drafting some proposals for research into innovations in the educational system. This paper reports on some research recently done which looked into the relationships of the Japanese educational environment and the reasoning/thinking skills and process skills of students in…

The purpose of this project was to find and make clarifications about the uniqueness and similarities on various aspects of science education programs in Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States, and the Philippines that could provide the basic considerations on curriculum development. Included are: (1) an introduction to the research; (2)…