2012 Volume 64 Issue 6 Pages 521-543
This report aims to inform the current state of geography education in Japan to countries abroad. An organized effort to create such a report is the first since 1980 when the IGU convention was held in Tokyo. This report aims to present the trends in Japan’s geography education since 1980, although trends before 1980 may be discussed depending on the topic. Chapter I provides an overview about the general geography curriculum in Japan. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sports and Technology (MEXT) created the Course of Study to serve as a standard for the educational curriculum. Therefore the historic development of the Course of Study is classified. Chapter II presents a discussion of articles and research results concerning geography education during this time period. The subsections are overall review, geography education research, foreign research, geography curriculum/coursework composition theory research, cognitive research, and geography education content theory/methodology theory research. Chapter III describes the promotional activities and training activities promoted by academic groups. The main focus of this chapter will describe the activities that are targeted for school teachers and children/students regarding geography education.
