PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Chemistry textbooks serve as the primary reference for teachers and students during teaching and learning. The textbook details the learning content and knowledge covered within a particular subject. Chemistry is more effective in raising awareness of people’s behavior and its impact on the surrounding environment, so it receives more research attention. This study investigates the chemistry content covered in Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary School and lower secondary science textbooks published by Chinese People’s Education Press. The comparative method, which includes description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison, was employed in this study. The authors compared lower secondary science textbooks used in most regions of China and Malaysian Chinese schools. Results showed some similarities in the chemistry contents; for instance, they are arranged from fundamental concepts to a broader perspective. However, differences were found in the sequence in which the chemistry concepts and their application to Nature were introduced in both textbook versions used in this study. It was discovered that the organization of chemistry textbooks used in most regions of China was more scientific than the book used in Malaysia. It was relatively basic in comparison and only presented the concepts required for secondary school subjects. The findings of this study suggest that it might be appropriate for 21^st-century chemistry concepts to be integrated into the curriculum to address the need for education in environmental and sustainability issues from the perspective of education in chemistry.

• Adick, C. (2018). Bereday and Hilker: Origins of the ‘four steps of comparison’ model. Comparative Education, 54(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2017.1396088

• Bakken, A. S. (2019). Questions of autonomy in English teachers’ discursive practices. Educational Research, 61(1), 105-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2018.1561202

• Bereday, G. Z. (1967). Reflections on comparative methodology in education, 1964-1966. Comparative Education, 3(3), 169-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006670030304

• Bodlalo, L. H., Sabbaghan, M., & Jome, S. M. R. E. (2013). A comparative study in green chemistry education curriculum in America and China. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90(InCULT 2012), 288-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.07.093

• Chen, X., de Goes, L. F., Treagust, D. F., & Eilks, I. (2019). An analysis of the visual representation of redox reactions in secondary chemistry textbooks from different chinese communities. Education Sciences, 42(9), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010042

• Chiappetta, E. L., & Fillman, D. A. (2007). Analysis of five high school biology textbooks used in the United States for inclusion of the nature of science. International Journal of Science Education, 29(15), 1847-1868. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690601159407

• Eilks, I., & Chen, X. (2019). An analysis of the representation of practical work in secondary chemistry textbooks from different Chinese communities. Science Education International, 30(4), 354-363. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v30.i4.13

• Eilks, I., & Hofstein, A. (2013). Teaching chemistry–a studybook: A practical guide and textbook for student teachers, teacher trainees and teachers (I. Eilks & A. Hofstein, Eds., 1st ed.). SensePublishers. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-140-5

• Hoque, K. E., Kenayathulla, H. B., Subramaniam, M. V., & Islam, R. (2020). Relationships between supervision and teachers’ performance and attitude in secondary schools in Malaysia. SAGE Open, 10(2), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020925501

• Jegstad, K. M., & Sinnes, A. T. (2015). Chemistry teaching for the future: A model for secondary chemistry education for sustainable development. International Journal of Science Education, 37(4), 655-683. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2014.1003988

• Johnstone, A. H. (1991). Why is science difficult to learn? Things are seldom what they seem. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7(2), 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.1991.tb00230.x

• Kubiatko, M., Balatova, K., Fancovicova, J., & Prokop, P. (2017). Pupils’ attitudes toward chemistry in two types of Czech schools. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(6), 2539-2552. https://doi.org/10.12973/EURASIA.2017.01239A

• Lepik, M., Grevholm, B., & Viholainen, A. (2015). Using textbooks in the mathematics classroom – the teachers’ view. Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, 20(3-4), 129-156.

• Mahaffy, P. (2011). The human element: Chemistry education’s contribution to our global future. In J. Garcia-Martinez & E. Serrano-Torregrosa (Eds.), The chemical element: Chemistry’s contribution to our global future (1st ed., pp. 131-157). Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527635641.ch4

• Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research:A guide to design and implementation (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass Publishers.

• Middlecamp, C. H. (2019). Sustainability in the chemistry curriculum: A call for action. Israel Journal of Chemistry, 59(6), 504-513. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijch.201800069

• Okunuga, R. O., & Ajeyalemi, D. (2018). Relationship between knowledge and skills in the Nigerian undergraduate chemistry curriculum and graduate employability in chemical-based industries. Industry and Higher Education, 32(3), 183-191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218766913

• Österlund, L. L., Berg, A., & Ekborg, M. (2010). Redox models in chemistry textbooks for the upper secondary school: Friend or foe? Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 11(3), 182-192. https://doi.org/10.1039/C005467B

• Peng, L. M. (2019). Survival out of the system: The research of Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools. Nan Jing Normal University.

• Rusek, M., & Vojíř, K. (2019). Analysis of text difficulty in lower-secondary chemistry textbooks. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 20(1), 85-94. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8rp00141c

• Set, S., David, F., Sieng, S., & Kita, M. (2015). Cambodian student competencies in chemistry at lower secondary school compared to regional neighbors and Japan. Kyōiku Jissen-gaku Ronshū, 16(3), 169-181.

• Sharma, S., & Al-Sinawai, S. (2019). Attitudinal differences towards instructional supervision: A study of teacher beliefs and supervisory behaviour in Malaysia. International Education Studies, 12(8), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n8p106

• Siah, P. C., Ong, S. B. C., Tan, S. M., & Sim, C. P. (2015). Perception on Chinese values: A comparison of Chinese secondary students studying at national secondary schools and Chinese independent schools in Malaysia. The Social Science Journal, 52(1), 62-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2014.08.006

• Sjostrom, J., & Talanquer, V. (2014). Humanizing chemistry education: From simple contextualization to multifaceted problematization. Journal of Chemical Education, 91(8), 1125-1131. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed5000718

• Treagust, D., Chittleborough, G., & Mamiala, T. (2003). The role of submicroscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations. International Journal of Science Education, 25(11), 1353-1368. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069032000070306

• Vojíř, K., & Rusek, M. (2021). Preferred chemistry curriculum perspective: Teachers’ perception of lower-secondary school textbooks. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 20(2), 316-331. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/21.20.316

• Wei, B. (2019). Reconstructing a school chemistry curriculum in the era of core competencies: A case from China. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(7), 1359-1366. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00211

• Wei, B., Chen, B., & Mai, Y. (2019). Examining chemistry teachers’ perceptions of their interaction with curriculum materials: A quantitative approach. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 18(2), 197-208. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/19.18.197

• Yunus, F. W., & Ali, Z. M. (2013). Attitude towards learning chemistry among secondary school students in Malaysia. Journal of Asian Behavioural Studies, 11(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i9.61