Assessment of biology curriculum implication in vocational high schools : Analysis of statement and suggestions

Assessment of Biology Curriculum Implication In Vocational High Schools: Analysis Of Statement and Suggestions Scientific literacy is now commonly regarded as a necessary part of the culture of any citizen in a modern society. Some basic physical, chemical, and biological knowledge is necessary to adapt the changing and developing technological world. In this study; biology education in the vocational high schools is examined. Vocational high schools have a very important role to support the qualified work- power of our country. But there is no clear information about the success of these schools to reach the aims in terms of biology. This study is thought to provide some valuable information about that. The study was carried out with 80 students and 12 biology teachers at 9 multi programmed high schools in Trabzon. Schools were visited by researcher to observe the schools' general conditions. An attitudes scale and an achievement test were implemented to students selected randomly. Semi informal interviews were carried out with 12 biology teachers and 10 students. Also a teacher questionnaires was developed and implemented to determine the necessity of a new curriculum for the vocational high schools. Also teacher questionnaires were posted to cities of the country, to get a common view of majority about the general situation and to make limited generalization. After analysis of the collected data, it was found that; 1+1 (one hour biology, one hour health care) implication of curriculum causes incomplete learning of two courses. Some suggestions were made as a result of analysis to improve the biology education in these schools and also a new topic list for biology curriculum were presented. Key Words: Biology Education, Vocational High Schools, Biology Curriculum, Curriculum Development VI