Analogies in biology education are often used as a tool to conceptualize abstract science
concepts. This research examined the analogies presented in eight different Korean textbooks
taken from the Seventh Biology Curriculum and two American biology textbooks. Firstly, this
study collected and classified analogies in the textbooks according to the following criteria:
regions, chapters and publishers. The analogies were analyzed according to their common
characteristics, ways of expression, degrees of abstraction, and the equivalence and role in the
context. Secondly, based on the result of the analysis, the current study focused on the
differences in the analogies between Korean and American biology textbooks.
In terms of the frequency of the analogies by type in both Korean and American textbooks,
structural, verbal, concrete-to-concrete, simple match and short-term memory types showed
high frequencies. On the other hand, the American textbooks presented a higher level of
frequency in the structural/functional, enriched/extended, and multiple memory analogies than
the Korean textbooks. Also, motivational analogies were often found at the beginning of a
chapter in the American textbooks.
In the Korean textbooks, there were many repeated and overlapping analogies presented by
various publishers; thus, the analogies were easily recognizable for the students. In order to use
analogies effectively in the class, it is essential to construct and present elaborate and various
analogies in textbooks.