An analysis of the outcomes of the Turkish science curriculum in terms of science process skills, nature of science, socio-scientific issues, and STEM
An analysis of the outcomes of the Turkish science curriculum
Abstract
The purpose of the current study is to analyse the 2018 Turkish Science Curriculum in terms of different themes comparatively. The themes focused on in the current study include science process skills (SPS), nature of science (NOS), socioscientific issues (SSI), and Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM), which are the themes that have had significant influences on science education in recent years. Learning outcomes in the science curriculum were analysed by using the document analysis method. As a result of the study, it was determined that the most emphasized skills are SPS yet skills such as measuring, predicting and interpreting data related to SPS are largely ignored and no place is allocated to skills such as making functional definitions and formulating hypotheses. The majority of the learning outcomes related to SSI were found to be weakly associated with them and very little emphasis is put on the structure of SSI including two dimensions/dilemmas and probability/risk. Given that special importance is attached to science, engineering and entrepreneurship practices in the bases of the curriculum, it is remarkable that little place is allocated to STEM integration among learning outcomes. Moreover, NOS and its sub-dimensions (particularly, subjectivity, there is no single scientific method, creativity and imagination in science) are associated with the learning outcomes to a small extent. There is a need for revision of the learning outcomes in the science curriculum in terms of SPS, SSI, NOS and STEM integration, which have been strongly emphasized and considered to be important in recent years.
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