School science teaching and learning in Macau: Problems and challenges

Abstract

Science teaching is an important part of schooling in Macau, yet it has long been neglected by international education researchers. This chapter attempts to analyze the following issues concerning science teaching and learning in this special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China: school-based science curriculum, science textbooks and their uses, science teaching methods, science learning environments, and students’ attitudes to science and school science. The data used in this chapter were drawn from an evaluation project of science education in primary and secondary schools in Macau. In the last part of this chapter, the features of science teaching and learning in this region are identified and discussions conducted on whether these features are beneficial for the purpose of achieving scientific literacy.