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Despite the increasing focus on incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into education through curriculum mainstreaming, related research remains lacking. This study explored the representation of SDGs in Taiwan's national curriculum in terms of selection and organization. Through a content analysis of the social studies and natural sciences curriculum guidelines, the findings revealed that SDG-related content comprises a minor part of the guidelines and is not well organized, possibly due to limitations on discipline characteristics and curriculum types. A subtle but complex implicit curriculum reflects neoliberalism, which addresses SDG-related issues through market mechanisms and shifts the focus from power, politics, and citizenship to consumers' choices and lifestyles. The results provide a reference for policymakers and educators in re-examining underrepresented SDGs and dimensions and organizing them coherently. They also bridge the gap between the international framework and national curricula, laying the foundation for international comparisons, discussions, and debates on ESD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of standards, or indicators, for global/international education has lagged behind that of the national curriculum. To address this, we developed a set of core concepts and competence indicators of global/international education for Taiwan's "Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines" and revised these through three rounds of Delphi surveys. The final version is composed of five core concepts, three dimensions, and 60 competence indicators across seven learning areas accessed through four learning stages. To explore the extent to which the national curriculum overlaps with global/international education, we conducted content analysis to examine the global/international components of the guidelines. This revealed that 10.70% of the competence indicators in the guidelines were related to global core concepts. Numerous indicators were related to multiculture, whereas only a few were related to human rights and social justice. The comparison of the indicators for learning areas showed that integrative activities indicators were the most closely related to global education, whereas social studies indicators were related to all global core concepts. The mathematics indicators were unintegrated with global core concepts, with most of the learning areas emphasizing only one or two such concepts.

This study investigates how the illustrations in a science textbook, with their design modified according to cognitive process principles, affected students' learning performance. The quasi-experimental design recruited two Grade 5 groups (N?=?58) as the research participants. The treatment group (n?=?30) used the modified version of the textbook, and the comparison group (n?=?28) used the standard textbook published in Taiwan. Scores from a researcher-developed performance assessment for the two groups were examined with a one-way ANCOVA, using the first unit examination as the covariate. Results showed that the modified textbook with a cognitive principles-driven design enhanced the participants' learning performance in terms of conceptual knowledge, as well as transfer and retention, compared with that of the group using the standard textbook. However, such improvement did not occur in procedural knowledge. Thus, the learning benefits of cognitive principles-driven illustrations warrant further investigation.

The development of standards, or indicators, for global/international education has lagged behind that of the national curriculum. To address this, we developed a set of core concepts and competence indicators of global/international education for Taiwan's Grade 1- 9 Curriculum Guidelines and revised these through three rounds of Delphi surveys. The final version is composed of five core concepts, three dimensions, and 60 competence indicators across seven learning areas accessed through four learning stages. To explore the extent to which the national curriculum overlaps with global/international education, we conducted content analysis to examine the global/international components of the guidelines. This revealed that 10.70 % of the competence indicators in the guidelines were related to global core concepts. Numerous indicators were related to multiculture, whereas only a few were related to human rights and social justice. The comparison of the indicators for learning areas showed that integrative activities indicators were the most closely related to global education, whereas social studies indicators were related to all global core concepts. The mathematics indicators were unintegrated with global core concepts, with most of the learning areas emphasizing only one or two such concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how the illustrations in a science textbook, with their design modified according to cognitive process principles, affected students' learning performance. The quasi-experimental design recruited two Grade 5 groups ( N = 58) as the research participants. The treatment group ( n = 30) used the modified version of the textbook, and the comparison group ( n = 28) used the standard textbook published in Taiwan. Scores from a researcher-developed performance assessment for the two groups were examined with a one-way ANCOVA, using the first unit examination as the covariate. Results showed that the modified textbook with a cognitive principles-driven design enhanced the participants' learning performance in terms of conceptual knowledge, as well as transfer and retention, compared with that of the group using the standard textbook. However, such improvement did not occur in procedural knowledge. Thus, the learning benefits of cognitive principles-driven illustrations warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopted the transformation approach to modify the structure of curriculum and instruction of a Taiwanese teacher-education program to weave in elements of culturally responsive teaching (CRT). Through observation, interviews, and data collection, the transformation of 15 candidates was analyzed. Their intrinsic motivation progressed from “establishing inclusion” to “developing a positive attitude,” “enhancing meaning,” and finally “engendering competence” through reflection. The findings can serve as the basis for deepening the theories and practices of culturally responsive teacher preparation, particularly in the context of Chinese cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitous nature of microbes has made them the pioneers in radionuclides adsorption and transport. In this study, the radiation resistance and nuclide biosorption capacity of microbes isolated from the Lanyu low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) repository in Taiwan was assessed, the evaluation of the possibility of using the isolated strain as biosorbents for 60 Co and Co (II) from contaminated aqueous solution and the potential impact on radionuclides release. The microbial content of solidified waste and broken fragments of containers at the Lanyu LLRW repository reached 10 5 CFU/g. Two yeast strains, Candida guilliermondii (CT1) and Rhodotorula calyptogenae (RT1) were isolated. The radiation dose necessary to reduce the microbial count by one log cycle of CT1 and RT1 was 2.1 and 0.8 kGy, respectively. Both CT1 and RT1 can grow under a radiation field with dose rate of 6.8 Gy/h, about 100 times higher than that on the surface of the LLRW container in Lanyu repository. CT1 and RT1 had the maximum 60 Co biosorption efficiency of 99.7 ± 0.1% and 98.3 ± 0.2%, respectively in 60 Co aqueous solution (700 Bq/mL), and the 60 Co could stably retained for more than 30 days in CT 1. Nearly all of the Co was absorbed and reached equilibrium within 1 h by CT1 and RT1 in the 10 μg/g Co (II) aqueous solution. Biosorption efficiency test showed almost all of the Co (II) was adsorbed by CT1 in 20 μg/g Co (II) aqueous solution, the efficiency of biosorption by RT1 in 10 μg/g of Co (II) was lower. The maximum Co (II) sorption capacity of CT1 and RT1 was 5324.0 ± 349.0 μg/g (dry wt) and 3737.6 ± 86.5 μg/g (dry wt), respectively, in the 20 μg/g Co (II) aqueous solution. Experimental results show that microbial activity was high in the Lanyu LLRW repository in Taiwan. Two isolated yeast strains, CT1 and RT1 have high potential for use as biosorbents for 60 Co and Co (II) from contaminated aqueous solution, on the other hand, but may have the impact on radionuclides release from LLRW repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]