Current State of Food and Agriculture Education (SHOKUNOU KYOUIKU) in Japan

抄録

At the beginning of this century, the Japanese education system and associated curriculum dramatically changed, particularly concerning instruction related to acquiring a “Zest for Living" through food and agriculture education. Concomitant with these revisions, numerous studies and activities have been conducted predominantly at the elementary level, with only a few performed at the university level. In attempt to counter this trend, the Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA) established the Food and Agriculture Education Theory Course (FAETC) in April 2007. In the present study, the effectiveness of the FAETC was investigated by examining the relationship among students' daily lifestyles, particularly nightly sleeping time and breakfast consumption custom, and their academic performance in this course. From the results of surveys conducted over a three-year period, it was revealed that students who had a regular lifestyle with respect to sleeping and eating trends exhibited superior academic performance. However, it appeared that students with an irregular lifestyle also improved their concentration levels. Therefore, these results suggest that a positive correlation exists between lifestyle and concentration level, and student conscientization can be promoted by continuous encouragement in regular class. In other words, it is concluded that a large possibility exists for the role of FAETC for conscientization by students in their daily lives.