Massachusetts Elementary School Science Curriculum Standards, A Comparative Study

Science and technique, an importance marking that measures a national comprehensive capability, plays a prominent role in development of a country. Currently, many countries, especially developed ones, value science education and science curriculum very much. In our country, the elementary science curriculum set up in early 1980s. However, it wildly kept going until the beginning of this century.Since 1983, Shanghai Education Committee firstly put forward conducting science education and setting up science curriculum in China. After having past through many the education reform to adjust itself to the current of time, Shanghai Education Committee promulgated Shanghai elementary School Science and Technology Curriculum Standards (draft for asking for the opinion) in 2006.In contrast, Massachusetts, one of the most flourishing regions in economy and science and technique in the United States, also equally values science and technique, and is one of the states which have modified the Science Curriculum the most times. On 10th,2006, new Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework was published after being checked and upgraded. Thus, studying and analyzing the October of 2006 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (Elementary Schools Part)just provides a good reference for revising Shanghai primary school science curriculum at the right moment. From that, following several topics are put forward:1. Both the primary school science curriculum standards were influenced by American National Science Education Standards when they were drawn up, what are differences and similarities between them?2. Where is the margin s between two the primary school science curriculum standards, and whether do they develop towards the same direction?3. What can be drawn lessons from Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework for revising the science curriculum standard of Shanghai?This research mainly bases above three topics to compare, analyze and study establishment background, basic structure, purpose, property, contents, implement principle and other problems of the texts of Shanghai Primary School Science and Technology Curriculum Standards (asking for the opinion draft) and Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework ( the primary school part), with this hope to have certain help to the improvement of Shanghai Primary School Science Curriculum Standards (draft for asking for the opinion), and the front science teacher and workers who take on researching science teaching theories obtain some valuable reference from it.