2016 Volume 84 Pages 13-24
This study examines the formation of values of students in an elementary school social studies class and proposes the construction of alternative lesson plans to traditional elementary school social studies lessons to allow the focus to shift from a regional to a national perspective so as to ensure a viable learning base. Previous studies on this subject have proposed that social studies lesson plans can foster the formation of values to avoid unintentional indoctrination. However, these propositions have not been fully reflected in elementary school education. Therefore, this study has two main points of significance.
First, for the purpose of the formation of values, this study proposes a construction principle for elementary school social studies, which is constructed through the institutionalization of democratic values and a child’s value formation processes. Second, based on the above principles, to develop volunteering values in children, this study introduces a possible lesson plan for the 5th grade, “Analyzing Minamata disease.” After practice, the children understood the norms behind the social decisions involved in Minamata disease and how these norms could change. Further, it was shown that through the use of such examples it is possible to foster the formation of values. By making judgments regarding social problems, the children were able to see the differences in the interpretation of each other’s values, and therefore were able to deepen their social recognition abilities.
