Comparative Study of Chinese Mainland and Taiwan Elementary Science Textbooks Based on STS Education Concept

Strengthening STS (Science, Technology, and Society) education is a necessary part of education reform. Comparing STS contents in science textbooks across countries and areas is one of the important aspects of STS education development and textbook research. This study compared the current elementary science textbooks of two areas in Asia: Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, and explored their STS education respectively. The results show that there are some differences in the way of integration between Mainland and Taiwan textbooks. The former has more kinds and quantities of STS content, while the latter has more pictures and less texts. Based on the results, some suggestions are provided: revise science textbooks according to the new curriculum standards, and introduce new STS contents to achieve the objective of students understanding the relationship among STS and environment; fully integrate the elements of STS into each unit, especially connect scientific knowledge with daily life and society; students should be encouraged to explore various levels of STS actively.