Graphing in Korean middle school science education: literature review and textbook analysis

In science education, data collection and transformation skills are highly emphasised. Graphing skills are essential for scientific inquiry and are widely included in national curricula and international assessments. This study examines how graphing in Korean middle school science education is addressed from the perspectives of skills and tools, deriving implications for future instruction. To this end, Korean research trends were reviewed through a systematic literature review using the PRISMA method. Additionally, inquiry activities from a middle school science textbook were analysed to explore required graphing skills and suggested tools. The analysis of graphing skills required in the inquiry activities was conducted using the Test of Graphing in Science (TOGS) as the basis of the analytical framework. The findings are as follows: (1) The literature highlights graph construction as a key skill for developing data literacy and inquiry skills, claiming it requires systematic classroom guidance. (2) Textbook analysis identified one construction skill (drawing a connecting line) and two interpretation skills (finding meaningful values, comparing with predictions) not included in TOGS. (3) In the textbook, subskills related to variables were emphasized only in graph interpretation. (4) While previous studies report the effectiveness of digital tools, the textbook suggested only analogue tools.