Representations of Nature of Science in Chinese Physics Curriculum Standards over the Past Two Decades

Abstract The importance of nature of science (NOS) for promoting science literacy and its fundamental role in science education are widely acknowledged. Employing the analytical framework of the family resemblance approach (FRA), which conceptualizes NOS as a combination of cognitive-epistemic and social-institutional systems involving 11 NOS categories, this study investigates how NOS are represented within three successive versions of Chinese physics curriculum standards over the past two decades. To offer a comprehensive view, the epistemic network analysis (ENA) is also utilized to visually depict and compare the evolving frequency of connections among the NOS categories over time. The result reveals a consistent underrepresentation of the social-institutional system, notably marked by the absence of three categories: professional activities, social organizations and interactions, and financial systems. However, there is a slight upward trend observed in social categories of NOS, indicating a growing awareness of this imbalance. The ENA analysis further demonstrates a steady increase in connections among NOS categories within the physics curriculum standards, while connections are more frequent and extensive within the cognitive-epistemic system compared to the social-institutional system. These findings provide valuable insights for the enhancement of the current physics curriculum standards, aiming to establish a more comprehensive and progressive approach to NOS education. As China’s curriculum reform advances, addressing the insufficient representations of NOS through the FRA lens can help foster a deeper understanding of nature of science, ultimately promoting science literacy among students.