R Jafari harandi; S.E mir shah jafari; M.J Liaghatdar
Volume 19, Issue 2 , February 2013, , Pages 87-106
Abstract
Thispaper is part of a qualitative study that has surveyed the goal element ofcurriculum in science education of Iran and some other countries ofthe world using both the comparative and descriptive– analytic methods. To meetthe goal of preparing a comprehensive picture, the documents relevant to ...
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Thispaper is part of a qualitative study that has surveyed the goal element ofcurriculum in science education of Iran and some other countries ofthe world using both the comparative and descriptive– analytic methods. To meetthe goal of preparing a comprehensive picture, the documents relevant to thisissue in the pioneer and selected countries in science and technology weregathered, described, interpreted, compared and contrasted. The present papertries to survey and study the goal element of curriculum in science educationof Iranand these selected countries. The obtained results of this study can helpcurriculum planners, text-book authors, teachers, and other interested peopleto act with a deeper insight when developing or changing/revising curricula,enabling them to select more appropriate objectives. The obtained results showconsiderable similarities and differences between science education goals of Iran and othercountries studied. These similarities are visible mostly in curricular writtendocuments or intended documents so that the objectives look very similar in allthese countries. All the studied countries focus on four subjects includingphysics, chemistry, biology, and geology. Furthermore, the goals advanced inthese documents address the three dimensions of knowledge, skills andattitudes. The most significant points common among the studied countries arethe promotion of technological scientific literacy, ability of solvingproblems, reflecting, and nature discussions. However, there is a remarkablegap between our country and others which demands serious consideration: thisgap portrays a flaw in curriculum implementation that reflects itself inachieved curriculum objectives by students. The results of TEEMS testsillustrate this issue. However, further research in this area is needed formore appropriate conclusions
