Abstract
The purpose of this study was to reconsider the science curriculum for children aged 5-10 in Japan on the basis of a comparison of the different scopes and sequencing in the Science Education Standards, textbooks, and projects between Japan and the U.S. In this study, we found that there was no common rationale which specifically justified the grade level objectives in the Science Education Standards in both the U.S. and Japan. Japanese early childhood education has always given priority to integrated learning and attached importance to children's development through collaboration among themselves. However, this early childhood education emphasizes empathy or self-experimentation rather than intellectual learning which tends to be considered the domain of literacy and numeracy, not science. This paper discusses early childhood science education according to Japanese and the U.S. Science Education Standard descriptors and concludes that science education should commence in early childhood education and that a Japanese science curriculum which combines both scientific understanding of activities as well as free-experimentation may be beneficial.
