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Volume 5 |
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High School Science Curriculum |
The Russian educational system provides a general education to all of its citizens. According to a study of the Soviet mathematics and science curriculum, on which the present Russian system is based, practically all students (99.3) complete a secondary school, and all participate in a compulsory science and mathematics curriculum. This is in stark contrast to science and mathematics curricula in the United States in which less than one-sixth of American students take high school physics (whereas as all Russian students take five years of physics), and one-third of American students take chemistry (Russians take four years). Although most American students take high school biology, usually in grade 10, Russina students study biology for six years!
The Russina educational system, like most of the other countries I have reviewed, is a centralized system controlled by the State Committee on Public Education. Although there is a trend to give local schools more autonomy in curriculum content decisions (as much as 40%), and textbook selection (both resulting from perestroika), the decision on the nature and scope of the curriculum is a national one. The general curriculum for all students is shown in Figure 4.
The overall curriculum for Soviet science is shown in the chart below All students are introduced to science at the Junior level (classes 1-5), and then begin their study of science in earnest in the sixth level. Let's begin by looking at science in at the junior level.
Course and
Content Grades in the Russian
Curriculum The World Around Grades 1 - 2 Nature Study Grades 3 - 5 Biology Grades 6 - 11 Physics Grades 7 - 11 Chemistry Grades 8 - 11 Computer Technology Grades 6 - 11 Astronomy Grade 11 Mathematics Grades 1 - 11
Junior Level Science
The Russian science curriculum begins with a two year experience called "The World Around" in levels one and two. The focus of this experience is the exploration of the natural environment including gardens, parks, the countryside, changing seasons, and caring for pets and indoor plants.
This is followed by three years of nature study in classes three through five. Nature study involves the students in developing skills in observation, inquisitiveness, and the love of nature. The aims of the three years of nature study include:
The content of nature study includes Earth and other bodies, air and the water cycle, conservation, rocks and soil, living organisms and their environment, effect of human activity on the living world, ecology.
Senior Level Science
The science curriculum from classes 6 - 11 is described as a spiral curriculum, contrasting it from the non-spiral (layer cake) model of the American curriculum. In the Russian's spiral science curriculum each science is taught over a period of several years. For example, in class 6, students begin their study of biology which continues for the next five years. Notice that in each of the next two years students pick up first physics and then chemistry and continue studying these subjects each year. Let's look at each subject.
The biology curriculum in the sixth class is botany, and students meet for two periods of instruction per week. Zoology is introduced in the seventh level and continues into the eight level. Human anatomy and physiology is taught in level 9, and general biology is offered in the 10th and 11th levels.
Student study physics two periods per week during the seventh and eighth levels. The content of physics in the seventh level includes physics phenomena, the structure of matter, interaction of bodies, pressure, work, power and energy. In the eighth level students study thermal, electrical, electro-magnetic and light phenomena. The physics curriculum is more intense in the next three years with students meeting three periods per week in level nine, and four periods each week in the last two years. In level nine students study kinematics, conservation laws, and waves. In the 10th level they study molecular physics, and electrodynamics, followed in the 11th level with a continuation of electrodynamics, as well as electromagnetic waves, and quantum physics.
The chemistry curriculum begins in level eight. The chemistry curriculum is focused on exploring two basic systems of knowledge, namely, substances and processes. The approach to chemistry includes the development of a conservationist attitude to natural resources. The content in the eighth and ninth levels is the study of inorganic chemistry, while in the tenth and eleventh level the focus is on organic chemistry.
In the last year of school students also take a course in astronomy which introduced a contemporary view of the universe, focusing on the practical use of astronomy. The Russian success in space and the developments of international cooperation are also part of the course.