Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In that light, teachers' acquisition of geography skills is important and the
in-service training sessions implemented by AJG-CGE are thus extremely signifi cant.
Participating teachers are very appreciative and provide feedback such as “I can use
this in tomorrow's class.” Plans for the future to tie together these training sessions
with the teacher's license renewal courses offered at universities and prefectural
education committees would help revitalize geography instruction in the classroom,
and create opportunities for many teachers to participate in the training.
13.4.2
In-service Training of Teachers Implemented
by Other Associations
The HGSJ established a Geography Education Research Sub-group in 2005, and
somewhat belatedly has become involved organizationally in the revitalization of
geography education. Their Geography Education Summer Training Sessions have
become one of the major cornerstones of the sub-group's activities. These have been
held every year since 2005 during the schools' summer vacation and are designed
for non-members of the association, such as elementary, junior high and senior high
school teachers and university students who are planning to become teachers. The
fi rst training session was held in August 2005 in Kyoto's Tanabe City Community
Hall and the surrounding area, with an overall theme of “Turning the Example of the
Local Area into Teaching Material.” During the morning, fi eld trips were held, and
in the afternoons lectures and reports on examples of practice in geography educa-
tion were given (Kobashi
2007
). Until 2011, the sessions were held at different
venues across the prefectures but primarily in the Kinki District. The sessions each
attracted about 50 participants annually (75 at maximum).
13.5
Conclusion and Remaining Issues
In this chapter, on the authors have described a range of formal and informal geography
education outreach activities. These include the education activities of the AJG,
along with an overview of their social action programs since the 1980s, described
synopsis of the Geography Olympiad Japan Championship, the Children's
Environmental Map Contest, and in-service training sessions for teachers. These are
outstanding recent examples of social action programs related to geography educa-
tion, and their implementation process, results, and issues that have been discussed.
A brief overview of geography education efforts from other academic associations
such as the HGSJ is also presented for comparison purposes.
Some have considered geography education at the senior high school level to be
in a precarious state. The reduction in geography enrollments, geography as an
elective rather than compulsory course in senior high school, and the fact that it is
no longer one of the university entrance examination subjects, have all contributed
