An analysis of the orientation and emphasis of intended grade-10 chemistry curricula as represented in textbooks from different Chinese communities

This study presents an analysis of the representation of intended curricula in 10th grade chemistry textbooks from different Chinese communities, namely from the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and the Chinese minority in Malaysia. The study aims to identify the commonalities and differences among seven textbooks concerning the emphasis and orientation of the intended curriculum. It also looks at any indications of how student-oriented these curricula are in terms of the presentation of content and the suggested activities. The findings indicate that the Taiwanese textbooks have a high degree of contextualization and socio-scientific issues orientation, supported by rich and colorful illustrations as well as the integration of macro- and submicroscopic aspects of chemistry concepts. The textbook from Malaysia uses a quite traditional approach. It basically follows a structure-of-the-discipline orientation, using less contextualization and fewer illustrations. The textbooks from the People's Republic of China lie somewhere in between the textbooks from Taiwan and Malaysia. They offer some indications of student-oriented learning and have some extent of daily life and socio-scientific issues orientation.