Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Studies education during the Meiji and Taisho periods contained early forms of a
developing social scientifi c awareness.
Nagata (
2006
) studied liberal education reform in Social Studies during the Taisho
era. He investigated “lifestyle studies” taught in Asakusa elementary schools in the
early Showa period, and analyzed the geography curriculum during this period.
He described the history of national education curricula and showed their contrasting
structure to world/country spatial formations, from the perspective of “production of
space” by H. Lefebvre (Nagata
2009
).
16.3.3
Overseas Research
Japanese researchers look to international methods of promoting geography learn-
ing. Murayama (
2005
) discussed the Swedish textbook “The Wonderful Adventures
of Nils,” a novel used in upper-level Swedish elementary schools. She used the
textbook to provide insight into the joy of learning geography from a child's per-
spective. From there, rich geographic contents were spun into the story, for example,
the importance of using different scales to learn about phenomena. Through this
literature, geography education promotes awareness and respect of regional diversity
and love for the Earth as the supporter of life. Murayama suggested that this may be
what is lacking in Japan's geography education.
Tabe (
2008
) focused on textbooks written by Morse and Goodrich, both literary
fi gures. The former is recognized as the “father of American geography” and the latter
known for Parley's Universal History. Tabe explained the process and current struc-
ture of modern geography education in the U.S. and Europe. Other researchers
have published about western countries, with Ida (
1995
) reporting in detail about
the popularity of geography education in New Zealand. Arai (
2011
) discussed the
content of citizenship development education in junior high schools in that country.
Shimura (
2010
) described the state of geography education in England through
Geography
:
The National Curriculum for England
. This study provided a big pic-
ture of the English education system by interviewing researchers there and visiting
local elementary and secondary schools. What emerged were perspectives on strong
topics in environmental geography, including sustainable changes, studies on text-
books, teaching materials (e.g., maps) and work schemes, geography education
revival in the country, graphicacy, sample studies, and case studies. This research
was comprehensive and detailed. It is thus a valuable reference, since geography
education in England is frequently used as a model in Japanese discussions.
16.3.4
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
The role of GIS in Japan's schools is important, although obstacles are slowing its
adoption in schools. Murayama (
2004
) compiled GIS theories related to geography
research, and Ito (
2010
) developed a low-budget GIS program that can be easily
used in the classroom. For a more thorough discussion on GIS education in Japan,
please read Chap.
14
.
