Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1.1.2
Geography in the Japanese Education System
1.1.2.1
Social Studies Curriculum in Elementary Schools
In the fi rst National Curriculum Standards (1947), Social Studies was considered
the most important subject, known as a core subject, because of the signifi cant role
it played in creating a democratic society in Japan. Therefore, teaching Social
Studies involved many hours of lessons, comprising 16.5 % of total elementary
school classroom hours. Since then, however, the number of hours dedicated to
Social Studies have decreased.
The implementation of a new subject area, Life Environmental Studies, replaced
Social Studies and Science at the fi rst and second grade levels in 1989. By 2002, a
new subject called Integrated Studies, included in all grade levels, had a huge impact
on Social Studies education. After 2002, only 6.4 % of classroom hours were dedi-
cated to Social Studies (Tabe 2004 ). Table 1.2 shows unit hours allocated to Social
Studies per year (MEXT 2008 ). The curriculum regulation defi nes one school year
as having 35 weeks of instruction, which translates to only 2 or 3 class hours per
week of Social Studies from third to sixth grade.
Overall, the aims of elementary Social Studies in the National Curriculum
Standards are 3 : (1) to develop an understanding of life in society; (2) to develop an
understanding and love for Japan's land and history; and (3) to foster foundational
qualities of citizens who are members of a peaceful and democratic country and
society. These aims respectively correspond to an understanding of Japanese soci-
ety, geography, history, skills, values, and attitudes. This structure is the same in
each school grade, while the fi nal goal of Social Studies is to foster students' under-
standing of basic contributions as a citizen to the nation.
Social Studies in elementary schools encompass broad and comprehensive con-
tent. The term “Geography” is not used in textbooks, but many geography-related
topics are included in all grades although the content and expectations are different
across each grade level (Table 1.3 ). In this table, columns are divided by strands into
geography, history, and civics. The instruction emphasis is on geography and civics
in grades 3 and 4, geography in grade 5, and history and civics in grade 6. However,
Table 1.2 Unit hours allocated to Social Studies per year (National Curriculum Standards 2008
edition)
Elementary
Junior high school
Grade
3rd
4th
5th
6th
1st
2nd
3rd
Social Studies
70
90
100
105
105
105
140
Total unit hours of schooling
945
980
980
980
1,015
1,015
1,015
Course length: 1 unit hour is 45 min in elementary school, 50 min in junior high school
3 There is no English version of the course of study in Social Studies that is authorized by
MEXT. The text is a translation by the authors.
 
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