Practical Work in Biology,
Chemistry and Physics at Lower
Secondary and General Upper
Secondary Schools in Slovenia

Andrej Šorgo; Andreja Špernjak

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia

Full Text (PDF)

Andrej Šorgo ¹ ^* , Andreja Špernjak ¹

More Detail

¹ University of Maribor, Maribor, SLOVENIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Syllabi in the science subjects, biology, chemistry and physics at lower and general upper secondary school are compared in the light of their underlying philosophies, goals, objectives and recognized importance in science teaching. Even though all syllabi were prepared within the same framework, great differences among syllabi concerning practical work are evident. More importance is given to practical work in the syllabi of chemistry and physics, where it is recognized as a basic method, while in the biology syllabus the construction of concepts is valued much higher.

Keywords

curriculum
practical work
science
secondary school
syllabus

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2012, Volume 8, Issue 1, 11-19

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

Publication date: 12 Jan 2012

Article Views: 2686

Article Downloads: 1221

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Abell, K.S. &. Lederman N.G. (Eds.) (2007). Handbook of Research on Science Education. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Aberšek, B. (2004). Vocational education system in Slovenia between the past and the future. International Journal of Educational Development, 24, 547–558.
Bauer, M.W., Allum, N. & Miller, S. (2007). What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda. Public Understanding of Science, 16, 1, 79-95.
Commission of the European Communities (2005). Proposal for a recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning. Retrieved 6 July 2010 from http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/keyr ec_en.pdf
Domin, D.S. (1999). A review of laboratory instruction styles. Journal of Chemical Education, 76, 543–547.
Government of the Republic of Slovenia (2010). About the Ministry / Ministry of Education and Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2010 from http://www.mss.gov.si/en/ about_the_ministry/
Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16, 235–266.
Hofstein, A. & Mamlok-Naaman, R. (2007).The laboratory in science education: The state of the art. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 8, 105–107.
Hofstein, A. & Lunetta, V.N. (2004). The laboratory in science education: Foundations for the Twenty-First century. Science Education, 88, 28–54.
Holbrook, J. & Rannikmae, M. (2007). The nature of science education for enhancing scientific literacy. International Journal of Science Education, 29, 1347–1362.
Illeris, K. (2008). Competence Development - the key to modern education, or just another buzzword? Asia Pacific Education Review, 9, 1–4.
Ivanuš-Grmek, M., Javornik Krečič, & M, Vršnik Perše, T. (2007). Prenova učnih načrtov v splošni gimnaziji. School field - Šolsko polje, 18, 63–76.
Kolenc Kolnik, K. & Konečnik Kotnik, E. (2009). Developing the Curriculum Structures of Geography in Slovenian Upper-Secondary Schools. Didactica SlovenicaPedagoska Obzorja, 24, 131–143.
Marks, R., Bertram, S. & Eilks, I. (2008). Learning chemistry and beyond with a lesson plan on potato crisps, which follows a socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry lessons: a case study. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 9, 267–276.
Michael, J. (2006). Where's the evidence that active learning works? Advances in Physiology Education, 30, 159–167.
Osborne, J. (2007). Science Education for the Twenty First Century. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 3, 173–184. Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
P21 Framework Definitions (2009). Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/P21_Fra mework_Definitions.pdf
Sadler, T.D. & Zeidler, D.L. (2009) Scientific literacy, PISA, and socioscientific discourse: Assessment for progressive aims of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46, 909–921.
Šorgo A., & Šteblaj M. (2007). Curricula and their impact on interdisciplinary integration of natural science subjects in high school. Didactica Slovenica - Pedagoška obzorja, 22, 113–127.
Šorgo, A. & Špernjak, A. (2009). Secondary school students’ perspectives on and attitudes towards laboratory work in biology. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 14, 123–134.
Šorgo, A. & Kocijancic, S. (2006). Demonstration of biological processes in lakes and fishponds through computerised laboratory practice. The International Journal of Engineering Education, 22, 1224–1230.
Šorgo, A., Hajdinjak, Z. & Briški, D. (2008). The journey of a sandwich: computer-based laboratory experiments about the human digestive system in high school biology teaching. Advances in Physiology Education, 32, 92– 99.
Šorgo, A., Ver čkovnik, T. & Kocijan č i č, S. (2010). Information and communication technologies (ICT) in biology teaching in Slovenian secondary schools. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 6, 37–46.
Špernjak, A. & Šorgo, A. (2009). Perspectives on the introduction of computer-supported real laboratory exercises into biology teaching in secondary schools: Teachers as part of the problem. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 14, 135–143.
Tondeur, J., Hermans, R., van Braak, J. & Valcke, M. (2008). Exploring the link between teachers’ educational belief profiles and different types of computer use in the classroom. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 2541–2553.
UNESCO (2009). Science and Technology Education. Retrieved 6 December 2009 from http://www.unesco.org/en/science-and-technology/

How to cite this article

APA

Šorgo, A., & Špernjak, A. (2012). Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 8(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

Vancouver

Šorgo A, Špernjak A. Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2012;8(1):11-9. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

AMA

Šorgo A, Špernjak A. Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2012;8(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

Chicago

Šorgo, Andrej, and Andreja Špernjak. "Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2012 8 no. 1 (2012): 11-19. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

Harvard

Šorgo, A., and Špernjak, A. (2012). Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 8(1), pp. 11-19. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a

MLA

Šorgo, Andrej et al. "Practical Work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Lower Secondary and General Upper Secondary Schools in Slovenia". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 8, no. 1, 2012, pp. 11-19. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2012.813a