In recent years, the reproducibility crisis has become a problem in many disciplines, including education, in which the results of past research have not been reproduced. This crisis is caused by questionable research practices (QRPs). The purpose of this study is to clarify the existence of QRPs in the field of science education in Japan and to propose a countermeasure to the reproducibility problem. We analyzed the QRPs in articles published in the Journal of Research in Science Education in the past 4 years. As a result, eight types of QRPs (lack of validation, biased sampling, publication bias, false multiple comparisons, low statistical power, HARKing, over-generalization, and insufficient information) were found to have been used in the articles. Finally, we proposed four ideas for actions that researchers, practitioners, and editorial boards should take to prevent QRPs and solve the reproducibility problem: conducting replication studies, disseminating appropriate research methods, introducing a pre-registration system, and promoting open science.

Transfer of learning is the application of acquired knowledge, skills, and solutions to new contexts. Although many studies on learning transfer have been conducted, there are few studies on the transfer of learning from the perspective of science education in Japan, and new research in this area needs to be accumulated. In this paper, we reviewed research in other countries on the transfer of learning from science classrooms to grasp their trends, and to consider some points to keep in mind when conducting research on this topic in Japan. As a result of a comprehensive survey and analysis of articles, research was conducted from a variety of perspectives, and suggestions for effective instructional methods for promoting learning transfer were obtained. On the other hand, it is necessary to make clear the learning transfer contexts for discussion when examining the effectiveness of instructional methods in practical research, because the contexts in which transfer of learning is envisioned differ from study to study. In addition, the research methodology, such as the content of the test items utilized and the period for evaluation of learning transfer, should be considered.

The National Curriculum Standards for Elementary Schools announced in 2017 included “sound” in the 3rd Grade Science curriculum for the first time in twenty years. For teachers to successfully foster students’ construction of a scientific concept of sound through educational guidance, there is a need to understand the children’s prior naive conceptions and experiences from everyday life before embarking on the lesson. In view of the above, this study endeavored to conduct a perception survey of children on “sound” before taking the class and utilized the Science Teaching/Learning Process Map to design a lesson on “sound” in an effort to design a lesson that helps children build a scientifically correct concept of “sound”. The lesson’s effectiveness was verified through classroom implementation. Through the study, the following findings were observed: (1) the children had not identified the connection between “sound” and “trembling (vibration)” until they took the class, while many of them, based on their daily experiences, believed “sound” to be generated from the collision or friction of objects; (2) with the aim of reminding the children to evoke the image of vibration in the presence of collision or friction (the source of sound in children’s prior naive conceptions), the lesson design was confirmed to effectively foster the children’s understanding and expression of the relationship between “sound” and “vibration” (the proposition), allowing them to acquire the correct scientific concept.

In developing competency-oriented chemistry education, especially from the perspective of the development of students’ competency, learning “contexts” tend to be emphasized. In this paper, the author firstly pointed out that behind the scenes, context is regarded as an inseparable component of competency, that is, the concept of capabilities. The author subsequently conducted a case analysis of exemplarischen schulinternen Lehrplan (examples of in-school curriculum) for chemistry education at the lower level of Gymnasium in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The following four points were clarified as characteristics of context-setting in competency-oriented chemistry education: (1) Regarding competencies described in close connection with specific themes (e.g. “sustainability”), the defined contexts are to some extent limited to what accords with the themes. (2) Regarding competencies required in many learning situations of chemistry such as performing an inquiry (experiment) and recording or describing results, contexts covering a wide range of contents are set, the meaning and value of which are demonstrated by the fact that utilizing various contexts is, in itself, indispensable to developing the relevant competencies. (3) Each context derived from personal domains, social and society domains, and scientific and technological domains, is set throughout three grade levels in a relatively equal manner. (4) Even for contexts of the same type, competencies that are aimed to be developed intensively vary depending on pre-set grade levels.

This study aims to reveal the changes of the 2017 version of the science-curriculum standards in China, focusing on the Upper Secondary School Chemistry Curriculum Standards, and to identify the characteristics of the Chinese science- curriculum standards through comparison with the upper secondary school chemistry of the Course of Study in Japan. First, we presented the process of the latest curriculum reform, based on the core competencies, for upper secondary education in China. Second, we made an overview of the revision of the science curriculums for upper secondary education, analyzed the “Subject Core Competencies” related to the science-curriculums, and revealed the changes of the organization of the course. Then, we analyzed the 2017 version of the Chemistry Curriculum Standards in comparison with the 2003 version. Finally, we discussed the characteristics of science education for upper secondary schools in China, through comparison between China and Japan. The following findings were revealed: First, the 2017 version of the Chemistry Curriculum Standards clarified the ideal images of the students and their achievements after finishing the chemistry course. The goals of the chemistry curriculum became more specific and profound, and the contents were also reorganized in a more effective way. Secondly, the real-world issues, experiments, and inquiry activities were emphasized on curriculum standards. We compared the results of our analysis with the case of Japan, and concluded that, in China, chemistry, as one of three separate core science subjects, includes the contents of socio- chemistry issues, emphasizes the affective domain of the objectives, and provides teaching strategies and guidance for teachers more effectively.

The digital teaching material about geological events in San’in Kaigan Geopark supported teachers who don’t have specialization in earth science when guiding their pupils. The material connects geosites of San’in Kaigan Geopark with earth science terms. There are 24 geosites and 48 geographical terms in the materials, which can be easily and effectively related and learned. This material was distributed to 22 upper secondary schools in the San’in Kaigan Geopark area and a questionnaire survey was conducted on the usefulness of the materials for science teachers. More than 90% of respondents indicated that all of teacher guidance support, student use, and general public use materials were indeed useful and effective. As a result of a questionnaire survey, more than 80% of the four questions asked about the relationship between geological terms and geosites were positive. The educational effectiveness of this teaching material was thus demonstrated in both upper secondary school science teachers and students.

This study focuses on students’ thinking ability in transforming interrogatives of “why” into questions of “what” and “how” in problem-setting situations in elementary school science. In this study, we developed a new teaching method for elementary school students, which was based on the thought process in the process of question conversion and the actual conditions of elementary school students, and practiced it in class. After one hour of instruction for the students to gain understanding of the knowledge necessary for the conversion process, four hours of instruction for the students to repeat the knowledge in their daily science classes were provided. The effect of the instructional method was limited, although it was able to promote the acquisition of knowledge necessary for the conversion of questions and to develop the students’ thinking ability in scientific inquiry.

This study investigates how high school students understand the Nature of Science (NOS) and how they develop their perspectives on the NOS through inquiry-based activities. This study involved 80 high school students who participated in an inquiry-based activity. Students responded to a questionnaire entitled Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) as well as open-ended questions both before and after the inquiry-based activity. The results of quantitative analyses suggest that the students who investigated the natural sciences developed views related to the “tentativeness of the sciences” and the students who investigated the humanities and social sciences developed views related to the “theory-laden-ness of sciences”. These results indicate that differences in the areas of investigation affect the development of the students’ views on the NOS. Moreover, based on the results of a qualitative analysis, it was determined that the students who cultivated the habit of researching and reading passionately developed more profound views on the NOS.

The main purpose of this study is to understand 5th grade elementary school students’ comprehension of the heart function. This study was conducted by the free-form questionnaire method. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1) Less than 5% of the children explained the heart function scientifically and correctly (i.e. their explanations included a total of 3 propositions related to “heartbeat”, “blood outflow”, and “blood inflow”); 2) Children’s explanations of the heart function were diverse (scientific explanations about secondary functions associated with heart function were roughly divided into 4 types and non-scientific explanations were roughly divided into 8 types); and 3) Based on these results, we suggest perspectives that are indispensable for helping pupils achieve comprehensive recognition of heart function, and propose teaching and learning strategies consisting of three core propositions.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between children’s ability to self-assess arguments and argument skills, and if so, what kind of relationship exists. For this study, in order to examine the relationship between the two, a total of 65 children were surveyed via the task of describing their arguments as well as though the task of having the children self-evaluate their own arguments. These investigations were conducted during the implementation of the third- grade unit “Things and Weights,” which introduces an argument that included claim-evidence-reasoning. The results of the two surveys suggested the following: (1) children with high ability to self-assess arguments tended to have high argument skills, and (2) children with low ability to self-assess arguments tended to have low argument skills. Next, Interviews were conducted with 16 children who demonstrated varying levels of improvement in argument skills, asking for details of their self-assessment of their arguments. The results of the second survey revealed the following correlations: (1) children who were able to judge the success or failure of their own augments and to explain the problems of their own augments tended to have better argument skills, while (2) children who were unable to explain the problems of arguments tended not to have improved upon their argument skills.

Changes in the aims, objectives, contents of learning, and teaching approaches in American high school biology from the late 19th century to the early 20th century were examined in this study. Typical textbooks and publications of those days, as well as literature concerning historical research of American science education, were used for the analysis. Biology was traditionally thought to have been introduced into the high school curriculum in the early 20th century, however this study clarified that it had already been introduced as a subject much earlier, in the 1880s. It was divided into two sections, based on the above examination. The following points of view which characterize each term were identified: a change in learning objectives from preparation for more advanced learning to preparation for life; a change from two branches of botany and zoology to three branches, with physiology added to them; an increase in content related to the human body and daily life; an addition of new content related to tobacco and alcohol; a change from inductive anatomical experimentation to deductive demonstrative experimentation; and the adoption of seasonal sequences. These changes were interpreted to have been influenced by such factors as development of public health, people’s perception of tobacco and alcohol, the spread of eugenic thought, the academic maturity of biology as a scientific discipline, reports and recommendations from academic societies, relationships between high schools and universities, students’ needs, and school management, among others. Future tasks to extend this research should include an investigation into the process and factors influencing the historical transition of the biology curriculum since 1920.

The purpose of this study was to develop assessment indices to gauge the level of students’ proactive attitude to learning in science classes in lower secondary school. For this assessment, it is necessary to consider the “attitude of persistence” and the “attitude of self-regulation”. In this study, we attempted to create scales that could be used as assessment indices. Three lower secondary school teachers were surveyed about the aforementioned two aspects and the results were collected. Next, a questionnaire survey was administered to 397 lower secondary school students. As a result of subsequent exploratory factor analysis, 22 elements of the persistence scale and 29 components of the self-regulation scale were created. The correlation coefficients between the scores on these scales and the academic performance of the students in science class were calculated to determine the external validity of the scales, and significant positive correlations were found between the scores and the students’ academic performance in science.

We planned, presented, and verified the effectiveness of a science lesson based on the strategy of formative assessment. Our strategy was based on the proposal of Wiliam (2010), in which he proposes five strategies: 1) Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success, 2) Engineering classroom activities that elicit evidence of learning, 3) Providing feedback that moves learners forward, 4) Activating students as instructional resources for one another, and 5) Activating students as owners of their own learning. The lesson we designed was based on the unit of “Dissolution of substances”. Result indicated that: (1) The teachers and pupils shared learning goals, the pupils expressed their learning outcomes, and teachers provided feedback based on these; (2) Pupils reached the learning goals through self- and peer-assessment; and (3) Teachers reflected on their own teaching and tried to correct and improve. The strategy proposed by Wiliam in 2010 was thus verified to be a useful framework for designing science lessons in Japan’s education system.

Developing students’ metacognitive ability is particularly important in science education and has been studied by many researchers and teachers. However, it is difficult to assess (measure) students’ metacognitive ability correctly. The off-line method, which measures students’ metacognitive ability using questionnaires employing psychological scales, can provide information in a short period of time, but the method’s validity was considered to be low (e.g., Harada, Hisasaka, Kusaba & Suzuki, 2020). The purpose of this study was to collect studies that measured students’ metacognitive ability in science using such scaled questionnaires, in order to review the statistics and researchers’ interpretations. The results indicate that we should strive for the following two outcomes, (1) To conduct a conceptual replication of previous studies,. and (2) To develop upon basic research to refine the measurement of metacognition.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the effectiveness of a lesson designed by McNeill and Krajcik’s (2011) teaching strategies in improving argument construction skills based on appropriate and sufficient evidence, through a case study on “Magnetism created by electric current” in the 5th grade of elementary school. Yamamoto, Inagaki et al. (2013) tested the effectiveness of these teaching methods by conducting a case study on “dissolution of matter” in the same grade. This study is a new test of whether a lesson designed by utilizing these teaching strategies are effective in different units. A total of 65 children in two classes in the fifth grade were given a series of argumentation tasks before and after the unit. Analysis of the responses revealed that the children improved their argument construction skills in terms of the appropriateness of using only evidence to support their claims. It is also evident that the skills have improved, although partially, in terms of the sufficiency of using all the pieces of evidence necessary for the claim. However, at the same time, it was found that some of the sufficiency of the evidence did not improve much. A supplementary analysis of the selection of evidence shows that the selection of “indirect evidence” that must be analogous to the meaning of the experimental results is not always possible. Based on the above results, we can conclude that the lessons designed by using McNeill and Krajcik’s (2011) teaching strategies are effective in improving children’s argument construction skills based on appropriate and sufficient evidence from the unit “Magnetism created by electric current”. In addition, it could be considered that the lessons designed by the teaching strategies have room for improvement in terms of “teaching the argument multiple times within the unit” and “promoting the use of indirect evidence”.

The key to learning and understanding astronomy is the development of an ability to shift points of view and perspectives: in other words, a student’s ability to grasp movement in three-dimensional space. We prepared a transparent celestial globe modified with a built-in wearable camera to check the status as seen from the inside. We evaluated the “concreteness” of this celestial globe, which is a property by which students themselves can surely and easily analyze, manipulate, and integrate using their five senses, locomotorium, and thinking ability. We used the globe in four classes, during three of which students operated the celestial globe. After these classes, 57 out of 70 students answered that using the celestial globe helped them to understand the movements of celestial bodies, while twelve students reported that it was difficult to become accustomed to celestial globe operation. However, after three practical operation experiences, most students became able to operate this celestial globe and were assessed as capable of thinking about the relation between the rotation and revolution of the earth and the movement of astronomical objects in a sophisticated, three-dimensional way. Based on these results, we evaluated this celestial globe as having “concreteness” as a teaching material to support the transition from the active locomotion of the viewpoint as the concrete operation of the students to passive locomotion of the viewpoint as the mental operation. We also assessed it as useful to foster students’ acquisition of perspective shifting and mental viewpoint operation abilities.

UV-curable resins are produced by the reaction of radical polymerization initiators with a monomer having a reactive part, and irradiation of these resins with ultraviolet light leads to the formation of stable polymers. UV-curable resins have been developed for use in a wide range of industrial applications such as adhesives, coating materials, and UV inks. Polymer chemistry in high schools simply covers basic reactions, compounds and their historic backgrounds, and synthetic experiments including problems on formaldehyde synthesis and heating. In this study, polymerization reaction was examined, focusing on light-irradiated polymerization reaction without solvents, and in so doing, using less toxic reagents. After the addition of a small amount of initiator to various kinds of monomers, it was observed that the reaction occurred at a high temperature. However, by utilizing simple and easy operations such as irradiating the resin with light for several minutes, students could obtain a stable cured product. In addition, the devised polymer synthesis could be performed by a large number of students, using safe reaction conditions. Furthermore, in this study, the effectiveness of the novel polymer chemistry experiment materials and the degree of student achievement from performing polymer chemistry experiments in class were evaluated and confirmed.

All 5 main publishers’ official science textbooks for 4th grade of elementary schools include experiments in which, after a few days, the volumes of water in a covered and an uncovered container, initially holding equal amounts, are compared. On the topic of “the water that goes out into the air”, or “evaporation”, we conducted an experiment on the conditions inside a covered container and its water volume in science lessons with 159 students in a public elementary school in Chiba city. We investigated what the students expected regarding the volume of water and their degree of understanding of the experiment’s results. The results revealed that, in the prediction stage, 119 pupils (74.8%) were able to think scientifically and considered that, inside the container, as the water evaporates and becomes droplets, the water level drops and its volume decreases. However, such students were not convinced of the experiment’s result demonstrating that the water volume did not decrease materially. Our results indicate that, in the future, although it is appropriate to think that the water volume decreases only by an amount corresponding to the water droplets attached to the surface of the container, it is necessary to consider that, as the volume of water droplets is very minute, the drop in water level is nearly imperceptible, so that the pupils who made predictions by thinking scientifically can be convinced.

In the Course of Study, it was suggested that we should improve our classes based on the viewpoint of active learning. In order to realize truly interactive learning within science classes, it is important to recognize the meaning of learning through interaction and to improve upon the atmosphere in which science discussion takes place. In addition, the atmosphere of science classes is influenced by human relations among the students in the classroom. However, prior research on interactive learning in science education has not focused on individual differences in interpersonal relationships in the classroom. The aim of this research is to examine the influence of school social life on discussion and learning within science classes. Analysis of the results suggested that school social standing has an influence on critical discussion and psychological safety of science groups in science class. In addition, it was revealed that the students with low or moderate social standing among their peers experienced higher stress responses in observation and experiment situations that required “interactive learning” than the students with higher relative social status.

The uniformity of solutions is a fundamental aspect of solution understanding. However, it is not easy to understand it even after repeated learning in the fifth grade of elementary school and the first grade of lower secondary school. To overcome this problem, our study aims to develop a teaching strategy for a reliable understanding of the uniformity of solutions. With this aim in mind, we propose a lesson on colloidal solutions as one of the pillars of solution study, in which the students must think about liquids through a comparison of the following three categories. (A) Clear, aqueous solutions. (B) Overall cloudy colloidal solution. (C) The suspension in which the particles sink. In this lesson, students will experimentally clarify that the difference between these liquids is a difference in the size of the particles in the liquid. Furthermore, students will clarify the reason for the overall cloudiness of (B) the colloidal solution (paint solution) by observing Brownian motion. Students will combine these activities, compare, and discuss the uniformity of aqueous solutions. As a result of the practice of this class in the first grade of lower secondary school, the students showed great interest in the class and performed well on a test on solution uniformity. Moreover, they were able to maintain high grades in their examinations on this topic in their second year. This suggests that the understanding of solution homogeneity is well established. This lesson and method was thus confirmed to be effective to promote solid understanding of the uniformity of solutions among elementary and junior high school students.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the subjects described in the research topics of lesson studies held in elementary schools, and to examine the relationship between the subjects, class perspective, observation, the audience’s understanding of the lesson, and the discourse during the class review meeting. he first survey revealed that the subjects of the research topics included the learners and the teaching methods. The second survey revealed that 1) there were many utterances about complex knowledge areas in class observations, as well as during class review meetings based on learners’ research topics; 2) in class observations and class review meetings based on learners’ research topics, students often talked about the appearance of the learner who observed, especially the appearance of the learner alone; and 3) the observer performing fixed point observation spoke about the appearance of the observed learner during the class observations and the class review meetings on learners’ research topics. From the above, it was shown that the research topics of the lesson study was mainly comprised of the learners or teaching methods, and that conducting class observations and class review meetings based on learners’ research topics led to a discussion based on the simple fact of the learner’s appearance.

This article focuses on conceptual profile (CP) theory, which discusses conceptual understanding in children from the viewpoint of the “coexistence of multiple modes of thinking,” to elucidate the characteristics of CP theory for scientific conceptual understanding research on the thought features of individuals. The following characteristics are pointed out by analyzing CP theory through comparisons with key conceptual change studies in the literature. First, there is a focus on the mechanism by which the meanings of concepts are stabilized, and the process of acquiring conceptual understanding is defined as “meaning making.” Second, the efficacy and genetic hierarchy in modes of thinking are separated and conceptual understanding is heterogeneously organized to discuss the thought features of individuals from the perspective of selecting modes of thinking according to the context of concepts that need to be used. Third, CP theory claims that the learner recognizes the applicable range of scientific modes of thinking through learning science. Fourth, a diachronic and genetic dimension is introduced to the methodology of conceptual understanding analysis through the emphasis on genetic analysis by Vygotsky.

It has been reported that science textbooks are not being used in the classes of elementary and middle school. The reason most cited is that the textbook presents the “answers”. In this study, the nature and role of science textbooks were discussed. Science textbooks describe parts of the science paradigm in simple ways without altering their character. Just as the scientist finds and solves problems in the paradigm in normal science activity, learners can also find and solve scientific problems in the textbook, and, in doing so, the learners can learn the science. The role of observations and experiments in textbooks is to support the text reading. Reading textbooks as part of the science paradigm is the gateway to participating in science. Understanding the textbook is the fundamental basis for the learner’s to acquire and appreciate scientific knowledge. The results of this study strongly suggest that textbooks are scientific texts that should be utilized in elementary and middle school.

The article examined the characteristics, structure, and strategy of “Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physical Science: Lab Investigations for Grades 6–8” (ADIPS) and analyzed the elements necessary for teaching Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI) from a practical viewpoint. Based on the analysis of teaching methods of ADIPS, the findings suggested that the major characteristics of the teaching strategies that effectively promote the understanding of NOSI are as follows: (a) configuring an appropriate question that leads to a good argument, (b) providing a method to experience and share authentic scientific inquiry that were conducted by scientists, (c) providing experiences to help students understand and realize what scientists were doing as the students looked back on their own scientific inquiry, and (d) introducing activities to promote understanding of the community of scientists through scientific writing and peer review processes.

The classic Expectancy × Value Theory of motivation assumed the synergistic effect of “expectancy” and “value”. However, modern theory has mainly focused on the additive effects. Recently, the synergistic effects have been rediscovered (Nagengast et al., 2011). Previous studies have only examined models that assumed additive effects, leaving it unclear as to whether there are synergistic effects or not. This study focused on observations and experiments in science classes and examined the effects of self- efficacy (expectancy) and interest (value) on the students’ tendencies to use different learning strategies. The results showed that there was an interaction pattern for the problem-solving strategy, which is a deep learning strategy, consistent with the expectancy×value theory, and a second-order interaction between the intensity of interest (positive affect), depth of interest (proactive thinking orientation) and self-efficacy. Based on these results, we interpreted the science educational meaning of “×” and emphasized the importance of self-efficacy among learners.

This study is comprised of a practical research on the teaching of amplitude and period of a pendulum, carried out by utilizing the conceptual exchange strategy (Strike and Posner, 1994) in a class of fifth graders of elementary school. In this study, changes in commitment to theory and switching between theories were investigated using the fortune line method, modified by Tonishi (2012). Since it is important to pay attention to “speed” and “moving distance” in the movement of a pendulum (Kawasaki, Nakayama, Matsuura, 2012), these concepts were taught a as prior understanding (Noe, 2007). The results are as follows;

· It was confifirmed that conceptual exchanges are, roughly, caused by a weakening of commitment to existing theories, theory switching, and commitment to new theories (Fukuta and Tonishi, 2016).

· Theory switching comes about is due to changes in the “ecological niche” between theories.

· Theory switching is caused by social processes, in other words, discussion, checking the number of children by raising hands, and explanations from by the teacher. This indicates that commitments are influenced not only by the logical appropriateness of the theory, but also by the social influenced in the classroom.

· In contrast, experiments only change our commitment to a theory by comparing predictions and results, They do not contribute to the generation of a new theory.

· The teacher’s “summing up” activity of the lesson is important because it informs the learner, that the knowledge to be committed as public one.

Many teachers find it difficult to teach Ohm’s Law (Fukuyama, 2000). In this study, the difficulty of teaching Ohm’s Law, in other words, the difficulty of learning from the students’ point of view, stems from the irrationality of the “heuristic experiments” shown in the textbook. This study is a practical study to improve students’ learning of Ohm’s Law by changing the experimental method to one that employs deductive testing through hypothesis formation. The process of abduction, which is a hypothesis formation process, becomes easier by treating previous knowledge and experience logically. Of the three variables of voltage, resistance, and current, in the actual circuit, only voltage was the independent variable, while current was the dependent variable, and resistance was treated as a constant in the circuit. The concept of conductance, the inverse of resistance, was used as an intermediate concept in the learning process. These measures allow us to treat Ohm’s Law as a simple proportional expression. They make easier to understand mathematical language as a scientific proposition. For these reasons, we propose to express Ohm’s Law as I=V, instead of V=RI or R= as shown in many textbooks. It was thus clarified that these treatments are effective to make Ohm’s Law easier for junior high students to learn.

In this study, I typified all observations and experiments published in the elementary school science textbooks of Company Y certified by the Ministry of Education in 2020 from the tendency of the content of “inquiry skills” that Hasegawa and others (2013) developed, interpreted the inquiring characteristic of each cluster, and considered a tendency of the problem-solving abilities to bring up in each school year. The results allowed me to clarify that the observations and experiments described in the textbooks can be categorized into six types according to each tendency of “inquiry skills”. Moreover, it was possible to suggest the trends in observations and experiments in each grade and, further, to reveal various points to be noted in teaching methodology, which were interpreted based on the exploratory characteristics of the six clusters. A cluster: The group which measures and observes the state and the property, and the characteristic of the change of the phenomenon, and thinks inductively. B cluster: The group which hypothesizes, controls the independent variable, understands the change of the dependent variable qualitatively, and thinks inductively. C cluster: The group which hypothesizes, controls the independent variable, measures and understands the change of the dependent variable, and thinks inductively. D cluster: The group which checks and records the state, the property, and the structure of the phenomenon, distinguishes them qualitatively based on the point of view of their classification, and thinks inductively. E cluster: The group which hypothesizes, quantitively understands the state, the property, and the characteristic of the change of the phenomenon, and thinks inductively. F cluster: The group which hypothesizes, and observes the state, the property, and the structure of the simple phenomenon that have causal relationships, draws graphs of the quantitative data collected by measuring the characteristics of the change, and thinks inductively.

This study aims to examine the treatment of socioscientific issues (SSI) in science education while focusing on their relationship with citizenship education. Two general properties of the use of SSI were identified. First, SSI-based science education seeks both to develop scientific literacy and impart scientific knowledge. Second, it endeavors to inculcate in citizens the ability to make reflective decisions on SSI based on an understanding of the “nature of science” and rational argumentation. These findings suggest three strategies for the development of an SSI-based curriculum with a view to training future citizens as sovereign individuals with agency to affect change as responsible menbers of society. First, while an SSI-based curriculum needs to focus on science and technology, it must also incorporate elements of sociology/culture, environmental studies, economics, ethics/morality, and policy. Second, students need to make reflective decisions about SSI as a community after fully examining information and engaging in informal reasoning over socioscientific argumentation. Third, students need to see themselves as one of a multitude of members who constitute society, and to be provided with an opportunity to participate independently in the process of decision-making to develop their sense of agency, individual responsibility, and confidence in the realms of science and citizenship.