Chinese Science Education in the 21st Century: Policy, Practice, and Research

This book informs the international science education community by providing an overview of science education policies, research, and practices in mainland China, including specific examples of the most recent developments in these areas. To date, due to various reasons (e.g., language barriers), few science educators from Mainland China have shared their ideas, research findings and practice in English science education journals and books. Thus, little is known to the international community -- especially the Western world -- about the successes of and challenges faced by Chinese science educators, researchers and policy makers and of the important lessons that can be drawn from this literature. For instance, nowadays, most American educators know that Lesson Study as an effective teacher professional development process that originated in Japan. However, few people appear to be aware that Chinese teachers have a long tradition in engaging in similar professional development practices called Collective Lesson Preparation (CLP) (or Jie-ti-bei-ke in Chinese Pinyin) in their work routines. The CLP process has provided many formal and informal opportunities for teacher interactions and serves as a powerful tool for mentoring new teachers in Chinese schools. This book covers four main areas in Chinese science education: policies, science curriculum and instruction, informal science learning and science teacher education. While focusing on China, it also addresses broader implications about science education for the international community.