Publication Date

1962

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Ogilvie, William K.||Caldwell, Loren T.

Degree Name

M.S. Ed. (Master of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Education

LCSH

Earth sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)

Abstract

Problem: The purpose of this study was to examine the curricular development in earth science in selected secondary schools to determine the content considered essential for a good program of instruction at the ninth grate level. Procedure: A review of literature, pertinent to the subject end published since 1955, was studied to determine professional opinions regarding the importance of teaching earth science in junior and senior high schools. A questionnaire designed to determine course topics, trends and emphasis, past, present end future, was sent to 140 science teachers who attended a national Science Foundation Institute at Northern Illinois University tearing the summers of 1959 and I960. The returns of 85 questionnaires, or 60 per cent, ware analyzed to determine the trends and direction in ninth grate earth science as warranted by the findings of the investigation. Findings and Conclusions: 1. There is an increasing interest on the part of educators, especially at the junior high level, as to the importance of earth science. 2. A large number of schools are anticipating adding a course in earth science to their curriculum in the near future. 3. Most schools who have recently offered earth science, have done so at the ninth grade level. 4. The survey indicates a lack of earth science textbooks at the senior high and junior high levels. 5. Very few earth science teachers are placing any emphasis on geological history of the earth. 6. Many earth science teachers in the secondary and junior high schools have had no specific training in earth science. 7. The survey, contrary to an educational assumption, reveals a lack of attention to the area of conservation. 8. In the schools not offering an earth science course, there is a lack of emphasis in the area of meteorology. 9. Little emphasis was desired in any area of earth science by those schools not offering a specific course in earth science. 10. The survey indicates a desire for more emphasis in oceanography.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

viii, 60 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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