The Establishment of General Science as Part of General Public Education of Free Public High Schools

本研究试图通过回顾委员会从1893年到1920年的报告，分析美国中学科学课程作为普通公共教育的目标和结构的构建和改进过程。在1893年十人委员会的报告中，“自然地理”被认可为四年制高中的一年级课程。这是美国高中通识科学课程建设的开端。自然地理学的概念是理解自然环境与人们生活的联系。因此，它被作为进一步专业科学的入门科学课程引入，同时作为一门课程，为那些在高中只能上一门科学课程的学生提供对物理环境的一般了解。然而，自然地理学逐渐无法适应公共教育新出现的需求，即学生应该为未来的工作做好准备，应该为发展中的工业社会提供科学常识。结果，自然地理学从美国高中消失了。有人建议，取代自然地理学的新学科的结构应包括解决问题的过程，称为“项目方法”或“问题方法”。这门新学科最终被命名为“通识科学”，标志着科学教学成为美国普通公共教育的一部分。

This research attempts to analyze the processes of constructing and improving the aims and structures of science curriculum as general public education of secondary schools in the United States by reviewing the committees's reports from 1893 through 1920.In the report of Committee of Ten in 1893, "Physical Geography" was given the recognition of the first-year subject in four-year high schools. This was the beginning of constructing science curriculum of general science teaching in high schools of the United States. The subject of physical geography was conceptualized in the notion of understanding the natural environment in connection with the life of people. Consequently, it was introduced as an introductory science course for further specialized sciences,at the same time as a course which provided a general understanding of the physical environment for students who could take only one science course in high schools.However,physical geography gradually became unable to accommodate the newly occurring demands of public education that students should be prepared for their future jobs and should be provided with a scientific commmon sense for living in a developing industrial society. as a reult,physical geography disappeared from American high schools.It was proposed that the structure of the new subject replacing physical geography should be organized so as to include the process of solving problems called "Project Mehtod" or "Problem Method". The new subject finally received the name of "General Science",characterizing science teaching as part of the general public education in the United States.