2010 年 4 巻 p. 19-27
In this paper, we analyzed the educational significance of “fish dissection” in elementary school science of Japan. Description of fish dissection has been decreasing in elementary school science textbooks in recent years, though the importance of “natural experience,” “experiential learning,” and the necessity of guidance to understand the “preciousness of life” has been proposed in science education in Japan. For the method of analysis, we investigated mainly the changes in teaching materials for “fish dissection” in the postwar textbooks, and also the notions of dissection and scientific concepts of sixth graders as well as their view of life through classes of “fish dissection.” We examined science textbooks published by four different textbook publishers on the basis of the Course of Study (CS) for Elementary Schools in Japan, which were revised in 1958, 1968, 1977, 1989 and 1998. The results of the study were as follows: Crucian carp (Carassius cuvieri) was described as one of the teaching materials for observations and experiments in all textbooks published based on the 1958 and 1968 revisions of the CS. There were, however, no teaching materials on “fish dissection” in any textbooks published by any companies based on the 1977 revision of the CS. “Fish dissection” was described as a reference in a unit in the textbooks published based on the 1989 and 1998 revisions of the CS by some of the four publishers. A questionnaire to the children after the class on “fish dissection” revealed the following facts: First, almost all of the children answered that the practice of fish dissection was good. Secondly, they had a variety of impressions or notions on life and seemed to realize the “preciousness of life”. The facts show the effectiveness of introducing “fish dissection” in elementary school science to let children realize the “preciousness of life”.
