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This edited volume is a state-of-the-art comparison of primary science education across six East-Asian regions; namely, the People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Singapore. While news of educational policies, classroom teaching, assessment, and other educational innovations here often surface in the international media, this book brings together for the first time relevant information regarding educational systems and strategies in primary science in East Asia. Above all, it is a readable yet comprehensive survey-readers would have an accurate sense of what has been accomplished, what has not worked so well, and what remains to be done. Invited experts in comparative education research and/or science education also provide commentary by discussing common themes across the six regions. These types of critical synoptic reviews add much value by enabling readers to understand broad commonalities and help synthesize what must surely be a bewildering amount of very interesting albeit confusing body of facts, issues, and policies. Education in East Asia holds many lessons (both positive and negative) to offer to the rest of the world to which this volume is a timely contribution to the literature.
List of contents
1. Introduction, Yew-Jin LEE & Jason TAN.- Part I - The regional chapters.- 2. Primary Science Education in Hong Kong, Wing Mui Winnie SO, Zhi Hong WAN, & Yu CHEN.- 3. Elementary Science Education in Japan, Kenji MATSUBARA.- 4. Primary science education in China, Weiping HU & Xin SHOU.- 5. Primary Science Education in Taiwan, Ying-Tien WU, Li-Jen WANG, Teng-Yao CHENG & Zong-Rong YANG.- 6. Progress and challenges of elementary science education in Korea, Mijung KIM, Hye-Gyoung YOON, & Mee-Kyeong LEE.- 7. Primary Science Education in Singapore, Yew-Jin LEE.- Part II - The expert commentaries.- 8. The End of Science Education in East Asia? Adam LEFSTEIN.- 9. Some comments on primary science from outside the East Asian region, Terry RUSSELL.- 10. Scientific literacy in East-Asia: Shifting towards an inquiry informed learning perspective, Umesh RAMNARAIN.- 11. Curriculum, Pedagogy, Teacher Training and Recent Reforms in Primary Science Education, Lorraine Pe SYMACO & Esther G. S. DANIEL.- 12. The role of teacher education in advancing reform in Primary science education, Carla ZEMBAL-SAUL.- 13. Institutional Pressures on Primary Science and the New Ecosystem of Knowledge, Elizabeth H. MCENEANEY.- 14. Coda.
