Lower Secondary School Students’ Thinking in Science Class that Introduced the “4 per 1000” Initiative: Consideration through Practice Class in Yamanashi

Abstract

In this study, we analysed the content of lower secondary school students’ thoughts about SSI (Socioscientific Issues). In a third-year science class, the “4 per 1000” initiative was introduced and the students were asked whether they would participate in the initiative. The students’ thoughts were divided into five categories, including science-related content (hurdles to participation, benefits, how carbon sequestration works, ripple effects and impacts of the initiative, and information dissemination on the effectiveness of the initiative). The students focused on aspects other than science and ultimately decided not to participate. Based on the results of the analysis, we discussed future research topics related to the educational use of SSI.