The extent to which life skills are contained in the Science Textbooks at the lower Basic grades

Abstract

The study aimed to analyze the content of science books for the lower basic grades to reveal the extent to which they contain life skills, and to achieve this, a list of life skills that must be available in the content of science books for the lower basic grades was built. The list was distributed among five basic areas of life skills: nutritional skills, health skills, Preventive skills, environmental skills, scientific skills.  After verifying the veracity of the list, the content analysis tool was built and used in the analysis of the science book for the first grade, which includes (nine) study units.  Environmental and scientific skills at an appropriate level, nutritional skills and health skills were not addressed at an appropriate level, and preventive skills were not addressed at all.

The science book for the second grade, which includes (twelve) study units, was also analyzed. The results showed that the content of the science book for the second grade focused on environmental skills and scientific skills, and it included health skills and preventive skills in an average manner, while nutritional skills were not addressed at an appropriate level.

The science book for the third grade, which includes (twelve) study units, was also analyzed. The results showed that the content of the science book for the third grade focused on preventive skills, environmental skills, and scientific skills. As for health and nutritional skills, they were not addressed at an appropriate level.

The study recommends the need to focus on life skills when preparing and authoring curricula and textbooks in the field of science, benefiting from the life skills contained in the study tool, and employing these skills in educational and learning situations, since these skills are important in terms of their inclusion in textbooks.