Abstract
East Asian countries/regions including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, and Korea are often the strong performers in PISA’s assessment of scientific literacy. This study seeks to explore if there is a “pattern” that characterizes these East Asian countries/regions in terms of their scientific literacy performance, attitudes, and pedagogy. Based on the secondary analysis of the PISA 2006 data using HLM, we found some commonalities and differences between these top East Asian regions and the equally strong-performing Western countries. The East Asian students are relatively better in science contents, while the Western students are better in understanding the process and nature of science. East Asian students are lower in self-concept in face of science tasks, but they do enjoy science learning as their Western counterparts. East Asian science teaching tends to be more traditional: fewer hands-on activities, less interaction, and less emphasis on the application of science. Interactive teaching, however, seems not benefiting the East Asian students as it did for the Western students: the more interactive the lessons, the poorer the students performed within a region, particularly for the Japanese and Korean students. Common to the East Asian and Western regions are that student performance and enjoyment get enhanced when there is more application of science in class and more outside classroom science activities. But investigation is negative to both performance and attitudes for all countries/regions. These East Asian educational characteristics are further discussed in connection with the Confucian Heritage Culture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ainley, M., & Ainley, J. (2011). Student engagement with science in early adolescence: The contribution of enjoyment to students’ continuing interest in learning about science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(2011), 4–12.
Chan, C. K. K., & Rao, N. (2009). Moving beyond paradoxes: Understanding Chinese learners and their teachers. In K. K. C. Chan & N. Rao (Eds.), Revisiting the Chinese learner: Changing contexts, changing education (pp. 3–34). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Chang, W. C. (2000). In search of the Chinese in all the wrong places! Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies, 1(1), 125–142.
Duit, R., & Treagust, D. (2003). Conceptual change: A powerful framework for improving science teaching and learning. International Journal of Science Education, 25, 671–688.
Henderson, D., Fisher, D., & Fraser, B. (2000). Interpersonal behavior, laboratory learning environments, and student outcomes in senior biology classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 26–43.
Ho, A. S. P. (2001). A conceptual change approach to university staff development. In D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), Teaching the Chinese learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives (pp. 239–254). Hong Kong, China/Melbourne, VIC: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Ho, D. Y. F. (1994). Cognitive socialization in Confucian-heritage cultures. In P. Greenfield & R. Cocking (Eds.), Cross cultural roots of minority child development (pp. 285–314). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ho, E. S. C. (2003). Effects of parent factors on student’s literacy performance. In HKPISA Centre, The third HKPISA report: PISA 2003. Monitoring the quality of education in Hong Kong from an international perspective. Hong Kong, China: HKPISA Centre.
Ho, E. S. C. (2009). Characteristics of East Asian learners: What we learned from PISA. Educational Research Journal, 24, 2.
Kesler, M., & Lavonen, J. (2009). What lies behind finnish students’ success in PISA science? In R. W. Bybee & B. J. McCrae (Eds.), PISA science 2006: Implications for science teachers and teaching (pp. 59–68). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Klopfer, L. E. (1990). Learning scientific enquiry in the student laboratory. In E. Hegarty-Hazel (Ed.), The student laboratory and the science curriculum (pp. 95–118). London: Routledge.
Korsnakova, P., McCrae, B. J., & Bybee, R. W. (2009). Improving science teaching and learning. In R. W. Bybee & B. J. McCrae (Eds.), PISA science 2006: Implications for science teachers and teaching (pp. 59–68). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Lam, T. Y. P., & Lau, K. C. (2014). Examining factors affecting science achievement of Hong Kong in PISA 2006 using hierarchical linear modeling. International Journal of Science Education, 36(15), 2463–2480. doi:10.1080/09500693.2013.879223.
Lederman, N. G. (2007). Nature of science: Past, present, and future. In S. K. Abell & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 831–880). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Mark, B., & Chad, L. (2012). Shadow education: Private supplementary tutoring and its implications for policy makers in Asia. Hong Kong, China: Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Mok, I., Chik, P. M., Ko, P. Y., Kwan, T., Lo, M. L., Marton, F., et al. (2001). Solving the paradox of the Chinese teacher? In D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), Teaching the Chinese learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives (pp. 161–179). Hong Kong, China/Melbourne, VIC: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (2003). Meaning making in secondary science classrooms. Maidenhead, UK/Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.
OECD. (2006). Assessing scientific, reading and mathematical literacy: A framework for PISA 2006. Paris: OECD Publications.
OECD. (2007). PISA 2006: Science competencies for tomorrow’s world (Vol. 1). Paris: OECD Publications.
OECD. (2009). Experiences, attitudes and motivations for excellence. In Top of the class: high performers in science in PISA 2006. Paris: OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264060777-6-en
OECD. (2013). Strong performers and successful reformers in education. Retrieved April 9, 2014, from http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/oecd/index.html
OECD. (2014). Who are the school truants? (PISA in focus, no. 35). Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/5jzb019jwmd5-en
Olsen, R. V., & Lie, S. (2009). Knowledge of and about science. In R. W. Bybee & B. J. McCrae (Eds.), PISA science 2006: Implications for science teachers and teaching (pp. 59–68). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Roth, K. J., Druker, S. L., Garnier, H. E., Lemmens, M., Chen, C., Kawanaka, T., Rasmussen, D., Trubacova, S., Okamoto, Y., Gonzales, P., Stigler, J., & Gallimore, R. (2006). Highlights from the TIMSS 1999 video study of eighth-grade science teaching (NCES 2006-17). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Seidel, T., Prenzel, M., Wittwer, J., & Schwindt, K. (2007). Unterricht in den naturwissenschaften [Instruction in the natural sciences]. In M. Prenzel, C. Artelt, J. Baumert, W. Blum, M. Hammann, K. Klieme, & R. Pekrun (Eds.), PISA 2006. Die ergebniss der dritten internationalen vergleichsstudie [PISA 2006: The results of the third international comparative study] (pp. 147–179). Munster, Germany: Waxmann.
Scott, P. (1998). Teacher talk and meaning making in science classrooms: A Vygotskian analysis and review. Studies in Science Education, 32, 45–80.
Singer, S. R., Hilton, M. L., & Schweingruber, H. A. (Eds.). (2006). America’s lab report investigations in high school science. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Taylor, J. A., Stuhlsatz, M. A. M., & Bybee, R. W. (2009). Windows into high-achieving science classrooms. In R. W. Bybee & B. J. McCrae (Eds.), PISA science 2006: Implications for science teachers and teaching (pp. 59–68). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Thomson, S. (2009). Teaching and learning science: PISA and the TIMSS video study. In R. W. Bybee & B. J. McCrae (Eds.), PISA science 2006: Implications for science teachers and teaching (pp. 59–68). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (Eds.). (1996). The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences. Hong Kong, China/Melbourne, VIC: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (2001). The paradox of the Chinese learner and beyond. In D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), Teaching the Chinese learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives. Hong Kong, China/Melbourne, VIC: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Välijärvi, J. (2003). The System and How Does It Work: Some Curricular and Pedagogical Characteristics of the Finnish Comprehensive School. Education Journal, 31(2) and 32(1), 31–55.
Yip, D. Y. (2008). Hong Kong students’ performance in scientific literacy. HKPISA centre. Retrieved June 26, 2008, from http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~hkpisa/events/2006/events2006_20071210.htm
Yip, D. Y., & Cheung, S. P. (2004). Scientific literacy of Hong Kong students and instructional activities in science classrooms. Education Journal, 32, 2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lau, Kc., Ho, E.Sc., Lam, T.Yp. (2015). Effective Classroom Pedagogy and Beyond for Promoting Scientific Literacy: Is There an East Asian Model?. In: Khine, M. (eds) Science Education in East Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16390-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16390-1_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16389-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16390-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)