Nature of Science in Norway’s Recent Curricula Reform

Analysis of the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Curricula

Bibliographic Data

ID21585458
AuthorsKristine Bakkemo Kostøl (0000-0001-6768-0301, University of Oslo, corresponding author), Maria Vetleseter Bøe (0000-0001-9653-790X, University of Oslo), Aud Ragnhild Skår (University of Oslo)
Year2023
Volume32
Issue5
Pages1561-1581
Publication date2023-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience & Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0926-7220 • E-ISSN: 1573-1901
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11191-022-00399-z
OpenAlexW4308448018
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited33

Developing students’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS) is seen as critical for educating scientifically literate citizens, and has emerged as an important curricular goal internationally. In Norway, a new curriculum reform has recently been implemented, intended to improve the Norwegian education in several ways. The reform aims to promote deep learning, and there has been an increased focus on twenty-first-century skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. The purpose of this study is to analyse the coverage of various NOS aspects in the new national curriculum for biology, chemistry, and physics, year 12 and 13. The curricula were analysed deductively, using the Family Resemblance Approach (FRA) to identify and categorise different NOS aspects, providing insight into how NOS is addressed. Findings include that NOS aspects from the cognitive-epistemic system of the FRA framework— aims and values , methods , practices , and knowledge —are predominant in all three curricula, whereas aspects concerning how science interacts with society are scarce. The exception is several occurrences of the aspect social values , i.e. the need for responsible interaction between science, society, and nature, especially in the biology curriculum. Furthermore, different NOS aspects are found in different parts of the curriculum, e.g. practices are found in the basic skills sections more than in the competence aims sections. Findings are discussed in terms of how the new curriculum reform can promote Norwegian students’ learning of NOS

Curriculum · Curriculum development · Curriculum theory · Engineering ethics · Mathematics education · Nature of Science · Norwegian · Pedagogy · Political science · Science education · Sociology · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies · Engineering · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy

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