COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT FRAMEWORKS OF HUNGARIAN AND AMERICAN SCIENCE TEACHING IN LIGHT OF THE NEW STRANDARDS

Abstract

Half a century ago, Hungarian students were still among the best in the world in terms of scientific knowledge; however, according to the latest international surveys, their performance has been steadily deteriorating, and today it does not even reach the average level of developed countries. The problems are also indicated by the fact that chemistry and physics are the most unpopular school subjects in terms of students’ attitudes, the subjects chosen for matriculation and the proportion of applicants to teacher training. One of the problems in science education lies in the curricula. There is no unified science subject, the content of the subjects taught under different names or divided into disciplines is not harmonized. The US public education, despite all its problems, has many remarkable features, and among them is the regulation of the content of science education. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which frame the goals of science education, represent the international vanguard in their genre in terms of their scientific foundation, approach, and rigor. The study reviews the most important content features of the NGSS and compares them with the science content of the Hungarian National Curriculum (2020). One of the core values of the NGSS is that it describes K-12 science education in a single, consistent, overarching framework. Rather than outlining what should be taught, it defines what students are expected to know. The practical implementation of the NGSS is supported by continuous research and development. The study of the NGSS and the related science activities can also be beneficial from the point of view of the development of Hungarian science education.