Science curriculum for primary education: A comparative analysis between Portugal, England, United States, Australia and Singapore

Abstract

This article presents the results of a comparative analysis between the science curriculum for the early years of schooling in Portugal and countries whose students' science scores in international studies stand out (TIMSS and PISA). The curriculum guidelines of England, United States, Australia and Singapore were selected for this comparative analysis. Content analysis was used, using WebQDA software, in order to identify and compare curricula in terms of: organizational structure; expected learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, attitudes and values); distribution of content defined by area and theme over the four years of primary education; explicit guidelines for science teaching. In Portugal, the area of science, in primary education, is integrated in the subject of “Study of Environment”, which includes physical and natural sciences and social sciences, which does not occur in the curricular organization of the other curricula under analysis. The results indicate that the Portuguese curriculum, in comparison with the other curricula, presents a lower incorporation of learning in physical and natural sciences, privileging knowledge over skills and attitudes and values and shows little explicit guidelines for the teaching of science.