The Science Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
In primary education, science is taught within the content area Personal and World Orientation. The curriculum in this area is organized to teach students to “orientate on themselves, on how people relate to each other, how they solve problems, and how they give meaning to their existence.”12 The educational content of personal and world orientation is presented as a coherent whole, and content from other learning areas is applied as much as possible. The seven core objectives for nature and technology and the science subcategory of Personal and World Orientation are as follows:
- Distinguish, name, and describe the roles and functions of common plants and animals
- Describe the structures of plants, animals, and humans, and the form and function of their parts
- Research material and physical phenomena, including light, sound, electricity, power, magnetism, and temperature
- Describe weather and climate in terms of temperature, precipitation, and wind
- Find connections between form, material composition, and function of common products
- Design, implement, and evaluate solutions to technical problems
- Describe the positions and motions of the Earth-Sun system that cause the seasons as well as night and day
In secondary school, the first year of science is taught under the core objectives of the content area Man and Nature.13 By the end of the first year of secondary school (Grade 7), students should be taught the following:
- Transform questions arising from topics pertaining to the sciences, technology, and human health and welfare into research questions; carry out an investigation on a scientific topic and present the results
- Acquire knowledge about and insight into key concepts of living and nonliving things and connect these key concepts with situations from everyday life
- Describe how people, animals, and plants are related to each other and the environment, and how technological and scientific applications can have permanent positive or negative influences on these living systems
- Acquire knowledge about and insight into the nature of living and nonliving things, as well as their relationship to the environment, through experimentation
- Work with theories and models by investigating chemical and physical science phenomena, such as electricity, sound, light, movement, energy, and matter
- Acquire knowledge about technical products and systems through investigation, estimate the value of this knowledge, and design and construct a technical product
- Understand the essential structures and functions of human body systems, establish connections between these systems and the promotion of physical and psychological health, and take responsibility for one’s own health
- Care for oneself and others, one’s environment, one’s safety, and the safety of others