A Survey of Junior High School Students' Ideas of Fish : Basis for Using Fish as a Teaching Material in Home Economics Class

Abstract

To improve the teaching of fish in home economics class, a survey was conducted among junior high school freshmen students on their ideas of fish. The survey was done in five areas from a fishing village, a local city, and a metropolis. Survey questions include items on their experiences of sport fishing, and fish cooking, the number of fish related dishes encountered in a week, and their image of fish related dishes, etc. The students' answers to these questions differ greatly with the areas where they live. In the fishing village, most junior high school freshmen students are very familiar with the fish as expected; while in other areas majority of the students do not know even the shapes of fishes. Most freshmen knew that fish is good for human health, although many prefer meat because these students are unfamiliar with the appearance of the fish. In general, the results of the survey strongly indicate that fish should be used as a teaching material, provided that regional differences in preference of young people for fish are taken into account.