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East-Asian Primary Science Curricula pp 1–10Cite as

Primary Science Curricula: Past and Present Realities

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Education ((BRIEFSEDUCAT))

Abstract

That science has assumed a nigh indispensable and ubiquitous place within primary schools around the world is a fact that few educators would deny. Reasons for its contemporary currency are plentiful and range from early preparation for life and work in an increasingly technological world to exposure to one of humanity’s greatest cultural treasures. Given that not all young people might pursue the study of science beyond elementary school due to poverty, falling motivation, or lack of access, being able to learn and experience something about science at this stage no matter how modest becomes all the more precious.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In the rest of this book, we will refer to Hong Kong (SAR) as Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China as China or mainland China, and the Republic of Korea as Korea. Technically speaking, Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) of China, a territory and not a state although for convenience it will be called as such here. By designating all these six regions or territories as states, we wish to remain neutral as to their legal or political status within international politics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Yew-Jin Lee

  2. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Mijung Kim & Qingna Jin

  3. Chuncheon National University of Education, Chuncheon, Kangwon-do, Korea (Republic of)

    Hye-Gyoung Yoon

  4. National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan

    Kenji Matsubara

Authors
  1. Yew-Jin Lee
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  2. Mijung Kim
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  3. Qingna Jin
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  4. Hye-Gyoung Yoon
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  5. Kenji Matsubara
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Correspondence to Yew-Jin Lee .

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Lee, YJ., Kim, M., Jin, Q., Yoon, HG., Matsubara, K. (2017). Primary Science Curricula: Past and Present Realities. In: East-Asian Primary Science Curricula. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2690-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2690-4_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-2689-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-2690-4

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