• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.40-52
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore ways to change high school earth science elective courses with the introduction of the high school credit system in 2025, and ways to restructure them in preparation for the next curriculum revision. For this purpose, Delphi surveys with earth science education experts, a survey with in-service earth science teachers, and in-depth interviews with experts were conducted. According to the results, we need to consider four keywords such as cultivation of earth science literacy, connection with student career paths, emphasis on the fun of earth science itself, and student selection rate and college entrance exam in restructuring Earth science electives. Based on this direction, we composed four subjects: Earth System Science emphasizing earth science literacy, and three such subjects reinforcing career connection as Solid Earth Science, Atmospheric and Ocean Science, and Space Science. To resolve concerns about falling selection rate of earth science courses with the introduction of the high school credit system, it is necessary to re-establish the status of the earth science subjects including enhancing the career connection of the earth science electives. Follow-up studies are necessary to elaborate and publicize the titles and core concepts of Earth science electives.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 2021

The goal of this study is to explore ways to restructure Convergence Elective Courses in science in preparation for the high school credit system, ahead of the 2022 revised science curriculum. This study started from the problem that the 2015 revised science curriculum has not guaranteed science subject choice for students with non-science/engineering career aptitudes. To this end, a survey was conducted by randomly sampling high schools across the country. A total of 1,738 students responded to the questionnaire of 3 science elective courses such as Science History, Life & Science, Convergence Science. In addition, in-depth interviews with 12 science teachers were conducted to examine the field operation of these three courses, which will be classified and revised as Convergence Elective subjects in the 2022 revised curriculum. According to the results of the study, high school students perceive these three courses as science literacy courses, and find these difficult to learn due to lack of personal interest, and difficulties in content itself. The reason students choose these three courses is mainly because they have aptitude for science, or these courses have connection with their desired career path. Teachers explained that students mainly choose Life & Science, and both teachers and students avoid Science History because the course content is difficult. Based on the research results, we suggested ways to restructure Convergence Electives for the 2022 revised curriculum including developing convergence electives composed of interdisciplinary convergence core concepts with high content accessibility, developing convergence electives with core concepts related to AI or advanced science, developing module-based courses, and supporting professional development of teachers who will teach interdisciplinary convergence electives.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.441-454
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• 2021

In this study, we propose the composition of contents on the area of astronomy for high school Earth Science elective courses for the 2022 revised curriculum based on high school students' perceptions of changes in Earth Science core concepts over the curriculum revisions, and analysis of learning elements in the area of astronomy for domestic and foreign Earth Science curriculum. Four Earth Science education experts compared and analyzed the astronomy contents presented in Korea, the US, British Columbia (BC) in Canada, Japan, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) curriculum. According to the survey results, high school students who answered that they were most interested in the core concepts of astronomy expressed a lot of regret that the contents related to astronomical observation were eliminated from the 2015 revised curriculum. As a result of comparing domestic and foreign curriculum, Korea and IBDP curriculum dealt with the largest amount of learning elements in astronomy. In the case of BC in Canada and IBDP, astronomy was offered as an independent subject, and the curriculums of Japan and Korea dealt with astronomy in the Earth Science subject. According to the results, it is necessary to develop general elective courses in Earth Science with astronomy-related contents with high discriminating power in order to strengthen astronomy education. Since astronomy requires background knowledge from various disciplines and inter-disciplinary learning was required, it is necessary to organize the career-related elective courses in Earth Science so that astronomy can be dealt with according to the knowledge structure of general Astronomy. Based on the research results, ways to organize astronomy contents for Earth Science elective courses were suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the philosophical background and progress of the 2022 revised curriculum development in the high school earth science field. Research that was not covered in the research report includes the relevance of the transformative competency of OECD Education 2030, and that core ideas and achievement standards are organized around knowledge understanding, process functions, and value attitudes that constitute the learning compass needle. In addition, the composition of core ideas and Earth science electives in light of the understanding-centered curriculum, and IB type inquiry-based teaching and learning. Main research results include that the 2022 revised Earth science curriculum emphasized the student agency to foster the transformative competency and scientific literacy, and the curriculum document system in the field of earth science uses a learning compass needle. In addition, based on the understanding-centered curriculum, core ideas of Earth science were derived, and elective courses were organized to help students reach these core ideas. Also, IB-type inquiry-based teaching and learning was emphasized to foster student agency with knowledge construction competency. Based on the research results, slimming of the national and general level curriculum, the need to develop process-centered assessment methods for value and attitudes, the need for curriculum backward design, and ways to develop student agency through inquiry-based teaching and learning were suggested.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.80-92
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• 2022

We fitted latent growth models of attitude towards science using the Korea Education & Employment Panel 2004-2007 data with 343 high school students. The growth model show better fit indices compared to the no growth model. The intercept and slope showed significant variances, and thus, we added control variables of the number, ratio of advanced courses, and variety in science elective subjects, and the achievement percentile for middle school. In the conditional growth model, the previous achievement has significant positive effects on the intercept and the ratio of the advanced courses and variety of science subjects show significantly positive effects on the slope. Based on the results, it supports the 2022 Revised Science Curricular that high school credit system should provide students with basic 'Physics,' 'Chemistry,' 'Biology,' and 'Earth Science,' credits in 'general electives', various integrated subjects in 'converged electives', and highly advanced subjects in 'career electives.'

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2007

In this research we diagnosed the actual status of the 7th National science elective curriculum and suggested a way to select and organize the content of the new science elective curriculum. The first science education reform was grounded in the structuralism where the structure of discipline was valued above everything else. On the other hand, the second science education reform suggested alternative interpretations of students' opportunity to learn, putting a brake on the structuralist thinking. According to the survey result, the majority of the science elective courses are in need for revision because the contents are overcrowded, too difficult in light of students' learning readiness, failed to draw students' interest in science, and are overlapped and repeated among the 10th grade science, high school science I and II. In particular, Earth Science II and physics II are the most unfavorable courses among students. Thus, we recommended a fundamental change be made in the new curriculum in addition to the optimization of the content. In this paper, we suggested 'topic-centered content organization' for the science elective course I, i.e., Physics I, Chemistry I, Biology I and Earth Science I that is designed for both science track and non-science track students. Since curriculum provides students with an 'opportunity to learn', a curriculum study should focus on what the 'opportunity to learn' is that students ought to be offered. Based on the result of this study, we recommended one way to select and organize the content of high school elective curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.217-226
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• 2020

The purpose of this research is to draw suggestions on the settling of the 2015 revised curriculum and the direction of science curriculum improvement by identifying the current status of science general elective courses for high school sophomores, and examining teachers' perception. To this end, with 12 city and provincial education offices' cooperation, we analyzed the status of science elective subjects that freshmen took in 2018 by school year, school type and region. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine science teachers of the focus group to discuss ways to improve curriculum operation and implementation of science general elective courses, and ways to raise the selection rate. The number of science general elective courses for high school students in 12 municipal and provincial education offices was confirmed to be 163,710 for Physics I, 216,754 for Chemistry I, 290,736 for Bioscience I, and 200,861 for Earth Science I. By school type, autonomous high schools have the highest completion rate, while specialized schools and vocational schools have very low rates. Units completed per semester for general elective courses were mostly three units (61.5%) and two units (28.7%). High school science teachers suggested reconstruction of three-unit elective courses that can be completed in one semester, content development focused on competences rather than knowledge, and the need for a teacher community to improve teachers' teaching competences. Based on the results of the research, ways to operate high school science elective curriculum in preparation for the high school credit system were suggested.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.771-776
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to survey the status of the 7th elective-centered curriculum and find problems in operating the system. 485 students in the tenth and eleventh grade were randomly selected as subjects. The results are as follows. (1) Among the students, 29% of them selected their science subject without considering their future jobs, 48% did it without enough overview of the system, and 25% did without clearly understanding the details the choice centered curriculum. (2) Among the students who participated in the survey, 65% of them showed positive responses concerning the needs of individual choice centered curriculum and 96% said it increased their participation in class. However, only 39% believed that operating this type of curriculum is realistically possible. (3) 89% of students selected their science subjects accordingly with the college preparatory courses and 14% selected based on their hopes. (4) The percentage of science subjects chosen are 40% for chemistry, 25% for biology, 22% for Physics, and 13% for earth science, but 74% of students wanted to change their choices. These results showed that students recognized the object of the 7th curriculum, but selected science subjects as a means of getting into college entrances, rather than carefully considering their future and aptitude.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.96-106
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to identify the actual conditions of operation in school and investigate the perceptions of science teachers and students regarding the 7th elective-centered curriculum of high school science subjects. For this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted for the selected subjects including 127 high school science teachers and 763 high school students in their third year who had experienced the 7th elective-centered curriculum. As a result of the study, concerning the way to present the elective subjects of science, many cases were the alternative way and the group-elective way in humanity courses while natural science courses had the alternative way and the free-elective way in most cases. In other words, in many cases, the right of elective was given within a limited range. The result of the investigation on science teachers' perceptions on the elective-centered curriculum was that negative views dominated as a whole. Especially, earth science teachers showed the most negative attitudes. The number of biology and chemistry teachers who supported students' right to opt subjects were lower than that of physics teachers and earth science teachers who were against it. To help students make a right choice, many viewed that the system of the college Scholastic Ability Test should be complemented in order to prevent any disadvantage to each elective subject or that it was necessary to have systematic and realistic career education. As the result of investigating the perception of high school students in their third year regarding the elective-centered curriculum, they were usually not very satisfied with it. As the reason for it, many said the selection right was limited. Many others also expressed that there were lack of public relations and education on subjects and careers. Based on these results, limits still exist in accepting all demands although there are a lot of efforts made to smoothly adjust supply and demand of science teachers as well as students' electives in the field of school. It is considered necessary to come up with counterplan and complements to prevent basic science from being neglected or lower academic achievement in the subject of science from happening, and at the same time to harmoniously deal with supply and demand of science teachers as well as the issues of students' demands given the actual conditions of school.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.239-249
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• 2017

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the influence of pre-service science teachers' selection of earth science I, II in the high school and their college major on their self-perceived attitude and academic achievement in general earth science lecture at university. The participants in the study were 273 who enrolled in the division of science education, college of education and took the general earth science lecture from 2012 to 2015. The data was analyzed with two-way ANOVA by using SPSS 23.0. The results indicated that there was no significant difference of students' attitude and examination difficulty in general earth science lecture between earth science major and other subject major. However, students who took earth science I and/or II in high school showed positive attitude toward the lecture and higher achievement scores than students who didn't take earth science I, II in their high school. The results of the study imply that it is essential to consider students' attitude toward science and achievement in pre-service science teacher education.