The Direction of Agriculture Fields in Practical Arts Textbooks According to the 2022 Revised Curriculum

This study aims to provide foundational data for developing textbooks in the agricultural life science field under the 2022 revised practical arts curriculum. To achieve this, the agricultural life science content from previous curricula was reviewed, and a comparison of content elements and achievement standards between the 2015 and 2022 revised curricula was conducted. Additionally, the research findings were derived from an analysis of six practical arts textbooks developed under the 2015 revised curriculum. First, despite the growing global importance of agricultural education, the content related to agricultural life science in Korea has been continuously reduced, often limited to one-off experiential activities. Given the increased emphasis on sustainable development education in the 2022 revised curriculum, it is essential to develop textbooks that reflect this shift. Second, significant differences were observed in the learning activities and content structure of practical arts textbooks developed under the 2015 revised curriculum, depending on the publisher. In particular, it was found that the content related to “eco-friendly future agriculture” and “agricultural experience in daily life,” which are key elements of the core concept of “sustainability,” were often conflated or mixed. Third, based on the achievement standards outlined in the 2022 revised curriculum, the content composition plan for the agricultural life science section of the 5th and 6th grade practical arts textbooks was proposed. It was recommended that the educational goals be clearly defined and specific content elements be aligned with the achievement standards (including explanations and considerations) set in the 2022 revised curriculum. Lastly, as the newly introduced concepts and content in the agricultural life science section of practical arts, along with sustainable development education, are quite extensive, it will be important to incorporate expert opinions in the content design to ensure these topics can be appropriately addressed for 5th and 6th grade students.