Student Perceptions of the Integrated ‘Science Education’ Major in Some Chinese Universities

Abstract

The integrated science education major has been implemented for a decade in China. An investigation was conducted in 2010 to find out students' satisfaction with the programme. Participants included 27 senior students and 25 past students from six normal universities. Results show very low satisfaction. Identified reasons include the fact that the curriculum did not reflect the intended integration objectives of the major, and that the quality of science educators was inadequate to teach integrated courses. The most unsatisfactory aspects relate to the treatment of the nature of science, the integration of subject matters, and students' experience of inquiry learning in terms of both curriculum content and teaching methods. In addition to establishing an effective evaluation system, a more fundamental suggestion is to change the current normal college-based Chinese teacher education system especially in the science education sector.

Keywords:

• Evaluation
• Nature of science
• Teacher development
• Undergraduate science major
• Chinese teacher education system
• Student perceptions

Acknowledgement

This research is sponsored by the National Committee for Educational Science Planning as a Keynote Project in ‘The 11th Five-Year Plan’, ‘Science Education Policy Formation from International Perspective’ (GQA106007).