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(Seoul National University of Education)
With the development of science and technology, an effort to investigate the current research trend of elementary science education will lead to future directions for elementary science education. This study set out to analyze papers published in Elementary Science Education by quantity, subject and methodology for the last ten years. The results were as follows: First, the number of papers has continuously increased for the last 30 years. Second, as for categorization by the functions of elementary science education, the number of papers was mainly published in the field of teacher education, which was followed by learning processes and teaching methods in the order. Third, in the field of the research subjects of elementary science education, many researches were conducted on scientific inquiries and concepts traditionally emphasized in elementary science education, and on gifted education recently implemented as part of national policy. Fourth, as for categorization by the methodologies of elementary science education, a survey study was the most popular, being followed by experimental study and literature study in the order. In recent years, researches based on the case study methodology have visibly grown in numbers, which seems to part of efforts to find implications with new methodologies among researchers facing limitations with the old ones in the middle of uniqueness called education.