| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立台北師範學院 === 課程與教學研究所 === 90 === Abstract
The attempt of this paper is to show that, in the life-curriculum of elementary schools, the content of self-outlook in textbooks, and to find related factors which influence the content of textbooks. To achieve the purpose of this study, I adopted literature analysis, content analysis and interview research methods. I analyzed the content of life-curriculum textbooks forvolumes one and two which are published by six officially approved private publishers. Through interviewing the editors of the textbooks and schoolteachers, I clarified further the potential significance of life-curriculum to understand the bigger picture of self-outlook. According to the results of my analysis and those related factors, I have come to the following nine conclusions.
1. As a whole, the six editions all give undue emphasis to the natural environment of “social self” and self-expression of “mental self”. The physiological feeling of “physiological self” and mood awareness of “mental self” are neglected in comparison.
2. In most editions, the main content of the first grade is the relationship between class and school, and self. The relationship between self and community is usually included in textbooks for the second grade.
3. The content of each edition is based on children’s self-awareness, but there are still boundaries in unit planning and a lack of diversity and creativity in activity design.
4. Some editions neglect the social and economic background of a child’s family and differences between growing up in an urban environment and a rural one. I found that children raised in rural areas do not have as much access to extra curricular classes and activities.
5. There is far-fetched in some editions, and it just disobeys the essential brief of life-curriculum.
6. The foundation of life-curriculum theory in Taiwan is weak. In addition, there are no local, practical studies about children’s self-outlook. As a result, some textbooks lack orginality.
7. The three fields in life-curriculum textbooks are not dealt with evenly. Furthermore, the simple content may form a barrier against the connection with courses of independent fields in the third grade.
8. The position of the arts and humanities in life-curriculum is ambiguous. What is worse is that they are sometimes regarded as secondary activities.
9. Course outlines and censorship still present problems for publishers pursuits. The lessons on paper also differ greatly from what the teachers actually teach.
According to the above conclusions, I offer the following suggestions for future, related studies:
1. The development of children’s self-outlook is diverse. The planning of teaching materials for life-curriculum should be coherent, consistent and applicable to daily life.
2. Textbooks should stress the importance of children’s awareness of their mood and for establishment of self-awareness.
3. More local, practical studies are needed.
4. Private publishers should be encouraged to carry out the research and development of textbooks.
5. Reexamine the importance and essence of life-curriculum and establish more concrete theory about it.
6. Suggestions for follow-up studies: extend the research scope, make comparisons with Japanese life-curriculum textbooks, and participate in real-life environments to understand real-life teaching conditions.
Keywords: life-curriculum, textbook, self-outlook
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