Organization of contents in intended junior secondary science curriculum of Bangladesh: An explorative study

Abstract

This study explored the organization of contents in the junior secondary science curriculum of Bangladesh. The research questions of this study focus on how science content is sequenced and integrated in the intended curriculum. Document analysis within a qualitative approach has been followed to conduct this study. Both the junior secondary science curriculum and textbooks have been analyzed to address the research questions. This study finds that the current Science curriculum at the junior secondary level is not well-organized in terms of sequencing and integration. No principle of sequencing content is followed in most cases. It is noted that in the case of intergrades vertical sequencing, 'Spiral sequencing' is partially followed in a few cases. This study also finds that the current Science curriculum does not integrate the content adequately. Intra-disciplinary integration, i.e. integrating different sub-disciplines of Science, has been tried but the level of integration is not adequate rather it is very low. This study recommends that curriculum developers make efforts to make the content better organized in both the curriculum and textbooks by following the principles of sequencing and integration.