Issues of Bhutanese Science Curriculum: A View from the Exploratory Study

Abstract

Bhutanese science curriculum witnessed several rounds of reforms to improve the quality
of science education. The growing body of research, however, reports that the Bhutanese
science curriculum is affected largely by several issues and challenges. Therefore, an
exploratory study was carried out to document the issues and challenges of the Bhutanese
science curriculum. Twenty-one (N=21) Bhutanese science teachers took part in the study.
Data were collected through one-on-one interviews. The data collected from interviews
were analyzed based on thematic analysis. The findings suggested that the Bhutanese
science curriculum is largely voluminous, content-laden, high in lexical density, or
prescriptive. Moreover, findings also inferred that the Bhutanese science curriculum
largely lacks scientific inquiry, logical progression, and developmental appropriateness of
concepts, or attributes of contextualization. Overall, compared to the science from fourth
to sixth grade, seventh to 12th-grade science appeared largely plagued by issues and
challenges. Findings from this study have some practical implications for Bhutanese
science teachers and science curriculum developers.