일본학술회의의 지리교육 개혁방안에 대한 고찰

Abstract

This study attempts to outline and review three reports on the reform plan of geography education proposed by the Science Council of Japan. The immediate background to lead the reform is due to the weakening of geography education in secondary school and the decline of both quantity and quality of geography teachers. Each of three reform plans of geography education can be divided into three ways including teaching contents and materials, learning methods, and teacher training. Firstly, in relation to teaching contents and materials, the reform plan puts an emphasis on reinforcing education of three basic concepts in geography, the natural environment & hazards, a more systemic approach to the learning of land use, education for sustainable development(EDS), and education for effective response to an era of space. Secondly, regarding learning methods, the reform plan focuses on the development of geographical skills through the utilization of fieldwork, maps, GIS and open data, together with the reconstruction of thematic learning. Thirdly, the reform plan for teacher training highlights the need for both increasing the number of geography teachers and reinforcing training programs to improve the knowledge and teaching skills of geography teachers. Finally, the reform plan strongly suggests the establishment of ‘Basic Geography’ as one of the required courses needed for the graduation of high school.