Transition of Conservation Education Described in Curriculum Guidelines at Lower Secondary School and Related Issues

Abstract

  The issue concerning “conservation of living organisms” must be interpreted as a part of so-called trans-science that encompasses a number of disciplines. In school education, understanding the status of the natural world and living organisms and the like, and the scientific methods that are employed in their conservation are subjects studied through science. However cultivating the behavior for conserving nature and living organisms is a subject studied outside the realm of science, rather as social studies and ethics. Therefore, the author analyzed the descriptions of Curriculum Guidelines published between 1947 and 2008 with the objective of identifying the issues related to conservation education.

  An understanding of living organisms in the balance of the nature world has been shown in science textbooks. Perception of beauty and harmony in nature was described as an object of science in the Curriculum Guidelines issued between 1947 and 1951. However, such an object has not been evident since 1958. Conversely, the need to recognize the sublime in nature has been described in ethics since 1969.

  Regarding having a sense of reverence for life―that is, the sense of caring for plants and animals―was described in Curriculum Guidelines issued for social studies in 1955. The attitude regarding respect for life has been defined as an object of science since 1969. In the education of ethics, descriptions regarding respect for life have been offered since 1958.

  In the 1970s, nature conservation education―the orientation of links between a plurality of subjects―was proposed; however, these links have not become popular yet. From this viewpoint, one may say that it is possible to demonstrate an issue on the conservation of living organisms by increasing the teacher's awareness of the mutual relationship between science and ethics.