A Comparative Study On The Alignment Between Primary School Science Textbooks And Curriculum Standards In China And Japan

In the 21 st century,a wave of standards-based education reform has been set off all over the world.China initiated a new round of curriculum reform of basic education,and Japan carried out curriculum evaluation reform based on curriculum standard evaluation paradigm.They both emphasize that the compilation of textbooks should be based on curriculum standards.However,although some scholars began to pay attention to the textbook evaluation research,the evaluation research of alignment between textbooks and curriculum standards is still in its infancy.Textbook is an important material in the teaching process,so it is necessary to carry out evaluation research on whether the current textbooks have a high alignment level with the curriculum standards.At the same time,the development of science education and the cultivation of children’s scientific literacy has become an important part of the education of all countries,which puts forward higher requirements for the quality of primary school science textbooks.Considering that Japan has made some achievements in science education,it is helpful to explore the superiority of compiling science textbooks for primary schools in China by comparing and discussing the alignment between science textbooks and curriculum standards in China and Japan,and at the same time,it can properly learn from the experience of Japan and provide reference for the compilation of Chinese primary school science textbooks.Firstly,this study takes the Chinese and Japanese primary school science curriculum standards and two versions of the third and fourth grade primary school science textbooks of the two countries as the research objects,selects the SEC alignment model,and makes localized adjustments to the model based on the theories of Anderson’s taxonomy and expert consultation.Based on this model,this paper encodes the text of science curriculum standards and science textbooks of Chinese and Japanese.From the perspectives of alignment index,topic,cognitive demand and emphasis,data analysis is made on the alignment of two versions of primary school science textbooks in the two countries respectively.Secondly,according to the data analysis results and the specific text content of the two versions of the textbooks of the two countries and curriculum standards,the alignment of two versions textbooks in each country are compared and discussed.It is found that four versions of primary school science textbooks all have significant alignment with their curriculum standards,while the alignment indexes of the two versions of Japanese textbooks are relatively high.In terms of topic,four versions of primary school science textbooks all focus on physical science as required by curriculum standards,but the ratio of life science exceeds the standard,and the ratios of technology and engineering are slightly insufficient in the two versions of Chinese primary school science textbooks.In terms of cognitive demand,four versions of primary school science textbooks differ in highlighting the key cognitive demand,but they are relatively good at controlling the non-key cognitive demand.In terms of emphasis,there are different problems in the foreground area that need attention,while in the background area,the characteristics of two versions of Chinese primary school science textbooks’ proper self-development and two versions of Japanese primary school science textbooks’ loyalty to curriculum standards are reflected.Finally,some suggestions are put forward to improve the compilation of primary school science textbooks in China,such as reasonably controlling the topics and deepening the study of curriculum standards,balancing the cognitive demands and developing students’ abilities in an all-round way,highlighting the key topic and following the law of cognitive development,blending in unique wisdom and highlighting characteristics.