Inquiring About HPS Education In International Science Education With Bibliometerics

Currently, how students understand Nature of Science through science curriculum is one of hotspot problems in international basic science education reforming. Merging contents about HPS education into science curriculum in middle and elementary schools is a very important and feasible approach. Penman use Bibliometerics to count up and analyze quantity of article, writers and themes distributing of HPS education from 1998-2007 in six foreign important magazines of science education. The contents are following:1. The quantity of article differs very much from one magazine to another. Penman count up the total of articles in six magazines from 1998 to 2007 as follows: the total of pages, the total of articles, the average pages of each article and the total of articles in HPS education. In the magazines, every facet doesn't increase year by year. The HPS education articles in Science & Education, which are 188, are the most in the magazines, while the ones in Research in Science Education, which are 32, are the least.2. The writers of articles centralize very much. The counting of writers distributing is as follows: country distributing, system distributing and cooperating etc. Centralizing of the first writer embodies: Firstly, centralizing in few countries. The HPS education articles from America are 249, which are 46.6% of 534(There is no information of writers in 68 of 592 pieces) and more than any other countries. Secondly, the articles from universities and colleges are 467, which are 87.5% of 534, and 67 pieces, which are 12.5%, come from other research institutions. Thirdly, the degree of cooperating is 1.80. More than half of the articles, which are 319, are cooperated, and the ratio of cooperating is 53.89%.3. The themes are clear. The statistics show the articles about Nature of Science education and methodology of science education are important proportion in international research of HPS education. Among 592 articles about HPS education from six periodicals, the articles about History of Science and science education are 63, which are 10.64% of 592, and the articles, which have"history"sample in them, are 59, which are 93.7% of 63. The articles about Philosophy of Science and science education are 384, which are 64.86% of 592, and the articles about scientific methodology education are 135, which are 35.2% of 384, the articles about Nature of Science education are 84, which are 21.9% of 384, the articles about scientific ontology education are 51, which are 13.3% of 384, the articles of education about acquiring and proving science, logical structure of science, scientific ontology(root and law of world), analyzing philosophically science theories and natural phenomena(how to discover, prove and receive theories), and philosophy of subjects, are 114,which are less than 1/3. There are 100 articles of relation between science and society (social function of science, effect of science on society), which are 69.0% of the articles about Sociology of Science education, which are 24.50% of 592. Others are 45, which are 31.0% of 145, including mobilization & hortation system of science, community of science, interpersonal relations and behavioral criteria within science group, stories about scientists, social roles of scientists and policies of technology.After analyzing, inducing and summarizing points above, penman educe some conclusions: Firstly, recently, HPS education is the important theme that international science education group study. Secondly, the education of Nature of Science, scientific methodology and relation between science and society are focuses in HPS education; Thirdly, cooperated research in HPS education is regarded by international science education group. Fourthly, and the universities and colleges drive development of international science education research. The features of the articles about HPS education in international science education give some inspirations to the basic science education in our country:①Nature of Science education should be strengthened in the K1-9 science education.②The research of HPS education should meet international research.③The universities and colleges should drive research of science education. I In a word, we should learn from some developed countries, and in course of researching science education, if we do as above, the level of research of science education is really improved to support reforming and developing of science education in China.