초등학교 과학 교과서 내용의 통합적 구성에 관한 국제 비교 연구

The aims of this study are to analyze and compare the elementary textbook contents of science in Korea, USA and England and to make suggestions for the improvement of integrative contents in Korean science textbooks. For this study, lessons on living things in the three grade science textbooks of three different countries were selected and analyzed according to the five criteria: component elements of the lesson, integration of knowledges and investigations, integration of subject and life, connection with other subjects and focus of integration. From this comparative study, five suggestions are inferred for the improvement of the Korean elementary science textbooks. First, it is recommended that Korean textbooks should present unit objectives and evaluative components in the introductive part and last part of each lesson. Second, Korean textbooks should include scientific knowledges as a way of presenting educational contents. Third, Korean textbooks are recommended to include integrated contents fitting for students' life context. Fourth, Korean textbooks are recommended to integrate contents in connection with mathematics, arts, literature and so on. Fifth, issues which can facilitate students to understand contents in the textbooks and to relate to their life should be more employed.