Evaluation of Elementary School Third Grade Science Course Curriculum Based on Teachers’ View

Abstract

The science and technology course that is being taught in primary schools has been updated to the name Science with the compulsory education regulation 4 + 4 + 4 (primary school 4 years + secondary school 4 years + high school 4 years) which was made in 2013 and started to be taught in the third grade of primary school for the first time. The science curriculum prepared for this course started to be taught in the third grade in the 2015-2016 academic year. The aim of this study is to evaluate the third-year elementary school science curriculum based on teacher opinions. This research is a case study based on qualitative research. The research data were obtained through interviews with 32 classroom teachers selected with maximum diversity sampling who worked in the Adıyaman city center in the 2016-2017 academic year. Content analysis was performed on the data obtained using a semi-structured interview form. Research findings; the third year of science education will contribute to the development of students' cognitive, emotional and psychomotor areas and will make them a base for higher classes and increase academic success. It also points out that the subject matter is more interesting. The vast majority of teachers participating in the survey stated positive views about the separation of science content from the Life Science course at the third grade level as a new Science Course, but few participants expressed negative views. According to participants, during the application of the science course, they faced some difficulties such as the lack of equipment, lack of textbooks and lack of laboratories. According to the results of the research, the science course started to be taught at the third grade level of elementary school contributes positively to the education of the students. However, in the implementation process of the Science Course, teachers face a number of problems. In order to solve these problems some suggestions are made such as; elimination of equipment deficiencies in school laboratories,  preparation of appropriate teacher's guide book for the science course, establishment of separate classrooms for science course and in-service training for teachers related to science curriculum. It is suggested that more comprehensive studies on the application of science curriculum to third grade elementary schools should be done according to the opinions of students, parents and experts.