Influence Of Science Instruction Reform On Academic Performance Of Eighth Grade Students In Chinese Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region

Keywords

Chinese students; Inquiry-based instruction; science performance

Abstract

The Chinese government has implemented centralised science curriculum standards to change science teaching from a didactic to inquiry-based approach to support all students in acquiring science literacy. Framed through theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and cultural pedagogy, this study examined the influence and impact of these reforms on Chinese science teaching and the performance of 8th grade Chinese students in the Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Regions using instruments developed by TIMSS 2007. It revealed that mixed, lecture-based, more inquiry-based and practice-based science teaching approaches were popularly practiced in classrooms, with the mixed-teaching approach being the most popular. While a mixed approach was positively associated with performance, the frequent practice of a more inquiry-based approach had a significant negative relationship. Neither lecture-based nor practiced-based teaching approaches were found to be related to performance. This finding questions the assumption that inquiry-based science teaching is central to improving the science performance of all students in China.

Publication Date

11-2-2018

Publication Title

Compare

Volume

48

Issue

6

Number of Pages

879-895

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1365285

Socpus ID

85029420499 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85029420499

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS