Toward the Establishment of a Methodology for Social Studies Pedagogical Research:

From the Sprouting of Diverse Research and Studies to the Creation of “Analytical Rationale Studies”

Abstract

　　This paper reviews the characteristics and trends of research in the Journal of Educational Research on Social Studies, from its predecessor with Vol. 1 (1953) to 14 (1966) from the period of the Social Studies Association of Hiroshima University’s Faculty of Education, and from Vol. 15 (1967) to 25 (1976) of the Japanese Social Studies Education Research Association. Educational research on social studies is found to have developed in step with the establishment of research methodologies. At the time of the journal’s first issue, the view of such research was undergoing a major transformation. Then, around 1970, the research shifted from applied science in pedagogy, psychology, and various humanities and social sciences to the study of curriculum development and practice for social studies with its own research subjects and methods, becoming oriented toward “Analytical Rationale Studies”.