The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the elementary science curriculum of Finland, which ranked at the first place in the science domain of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a comparative study on the academic achievements of OECD member nations, for three consecutive years and recorded a high national competitiveness index, and that of South Korea, thus providing information needed to develop curriculums and textbooks in the middle of occasional curriculum revisions and giving useful implications for the implementation of curriculum in the field of education in South Korea. The research findings were as follows: First, as for the science content areas based on the ratio of large area items according to the evaluation and analysis framework of TIMSS 2007, South Korea's ratio of life, chemistry, physics, and earth hardly showed fitness for TIMSS 2007 and exhibited equal distribution among the areas. In Finland, the ratio of life, chemistry, physical, and earth was similar to the fourth grade level of TIMSS 2007. The country showed differential distribution with life accounting for the highest percentage. Second, as for the cognitive domains, South Korea showed a high percentage in "Uses and Procedures of Tools" of "1. Knowing" and "Making Connections," "Comparison/Contrast/Classification," and "Uses of Models" of "2. Application." Finland recorded a high percentage in "Information Interpretation" of "2. Application." While South Korea focused on the uses and methods of scientific instruments during scientific activities, Finland made an approach with a focus on problems related to daily life such as the interpretation of information including reports and graphs from an interpretative perspective.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the teachers' stages of concern and levels of use on STEAM of the 2009 elementary science curriculum and to support effective application according to the teachers' stages and levels. Therefore this study was conducted by the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). The total number of 113 teachers participated in this study. The results of the study were as follows: First, most teachers were in the stage of awareness. Second, the results of the chi-square test showed that the stages were significantly different according to their positions, training experiences and final degrees (p<.05). Third, about half of teachers were in the level of orientation and preparation. The others were in the level of routine, integration and renewal. Fourth, the results of the chi-square test showed that the levels were significantly different with the categories of their gender, position, age, career in education, workplace and training experience (p<.05). Fifth, the correlation coefficient between stages of concern and levels of use (r=.59) was relatively high (p<.05). Based on these results, we suggested that the support of application should be provided according to the teachers' stages and levels.

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