An Analysis of Elementary School Science and Technology Textbooks: An Examination of Causal Explanation and Predictive Explanation

dc.creator	Jun-Yi Chen
dc.date	2013-04-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:33:47Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:33:47Z
dc.identifier	1999-8856
dc.identifier	1999-8864
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/ab426afda70c410c965256ea4b92f8b4
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/22697
dc.description	Textbooks are regarded as valuable resources by teachers. The purpose of this study is to examine the mean percentage of scientific explanations, including causal explanation and predictive explanation, in science and technology textbooks in elementary schools in Taiwan. We analyzed three of the most widely used versions of elementary school science and technology textbooks (grades 3-6), covering physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and technology, for a total 16,616 sentences. The coding system places sentences into five categories: causal explanation, predictive explanation, fact and description, engagement, and irrelevant. Interrater reliability is .98. We found that half of the sentences belonged in the fact and description category. Only a quarter of the sentences were causal explanation or predictive explanation in nature. Textbooks for grades five and six had higher percentages of causal explanation sentences than grades three and four. All subjects had lower percentages of causal explanation. The percentages of predictive explanation sentences in physics and chemistry were higher than those in other subjects. More fact-like statements were adopted in biology.
dc.language	Chinese
dc.publisher	National Academy for Educational Research
dc.relation	http://ej.naer.edu.tw/JTR/ccount/click.php?id=113
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1999-8856
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1999-8864
dc.rights	CC BY-NC-ND
dc.source	Journal of Textbook Research, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 57-85 (2013)
dc.subject	content analysis
dc.subject	causal explanation
dc.subject	science textbook
dc.subject	predictive ex-planation
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	An Analysis of Elementary School Science and Technology Textbooks: An Examination of Causal Explanation and Predictive Explanation
dc.type	article