How Key Competencies Progress across School Terms? A Study of “Activities” in Geography Textbooks for Secondary Schools

The recent round of curriculum reform in China has proposed the educational goal of developing key competencies. This study examined how key competencies are integrated into geography textbooks for middle schools through pre-designed activities. The results showed that the textbooks emphasized the regional awareness competency. The activities in these geography textbooks promoted key competencies differently across the school years, and each competency showed a different type of learning progress over time.