Imaginative Thinking in Teaching Science: Content Analysis of Primary School's Science Textbooks Based on Imagination Parameters

This research analyzed the content of primary schools’ science textbooks through applying imaginative thinking. Research was a quantitative content analysis. 6 primary school’s science textbooks were selected to be investigated. Based on imagination parameters in Steiner’s view including flexible concepts, participative/objective imagination, and intuitive thinking, textbooks were analyzed through deductive content analysis. Findings indicated that science textbooks had different emphasis on using imagination. Considering the aforementioned components, emphasis on flexible concepts was more than the other components; it was notable that the contribution of the third and the fourth grades’ science textbooks were lower than the other textbooks. The findings revealed that, differentiating cognition and imagination, equalizing imagination and fantasy, educational priorities and preferences of families and the educational system might be the reasons of overlooking imagination.