Teaching Aims - Essentials of Chemical Education - page 67

3.2 Human Element: Guidelines and Curricula
Different countries developed different basics for teaching and learning goals -
therefore, some examples concerning Germany, the United States of America, and
England are discussed.
3.2.1 Germany
Lesson planning at school and therefore also chemistry lessons are highly depen-
dent on social premises; society exerts influence on the goals of chemistry lessons.
Also environmental problems place a demand on chemistry lessons, political,
ecological, technological, scientific and cultural developments react upon the
lessons.
Teachers should be aware of these relations. They can also be found in
preambles and headline goals of the curricula. The “guidelines and curricula of
chemistry in secondary school” of the state North-Rhine Westphalia say [ 18 ]: “The
secondary school teaches a general education with the goal of enabling the student
to a mature and responsible life in a democratic society. It offers them stimulation
and helps to develop their individual abilities and values. Such an education is
being developed dealing with phenomena of nature and society, their structures and
principles, the cultural tradition and the current cultural reality”.
The German Association for the Support of Mathematical and Science Educa-
tion (MNU) has developed educational guidelines in its “Recommendations for the
development of curricula and guidelines for chemistry lessons” [ 19 ] and put them
up for discussion:
- Practice complex thinking
- Develop communication skills
- Consider student conceptions
These recommendations [ 19 ] also say: “For planning chemistry lessons in
secondary schools these guidelines should be taken into account:
- Methods of working in chemistry
- Substances and properties
- Properties and chemical structure
- Particles between imagination and reality: first atomic and bonding models
- Chemical reaction: changes on the substance, regrouping of atoms, ions and
molecules, scientific and symbolic language, energy transfer
- Principles of classification for substances and reactions” [ 19 ]
Criteria for the conception of curricula for advanced education, in Germany
called Sekundarstufe II , other areas, concepts, and contents are discussed (see
Fig. 3.4 ). Besides criteria of science and chemistry one takes into account special