Learning About Natural Disasters and Education for Disaster Reduction : Cooperation between Science and Integrated Learning after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake

Abstract

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 has made a great impact on the administrations in many cities of Japan in regard to the matter of disaster reduction. In this paper, I discuss science education concerning natural disasters and their reduction in the school curriculum after the earthquake in the context of educational reform in Japan. Then I discuss the relation between science education and integrated learning in the new course of study in Japan. It may be true that in the revised school curriculum, the words "natural disaster" are stressed, but it is not enough for students to study geoscientific topics such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Learning about natural disasters and their reduction is being combined with integrated study for practical purposes in the schools. And we can see such a tendency in elementary and lower secondary schools and in boards of education, especially in Hyogo Prefecture. In addition, with this approach we can treat the natural environment in each region as a teaching material in the period of integrated learning, so more students can study geoscience, a subject which has tended to receive less attention in the school curriculum. And we may have the opportunity to dispel current apprehensions about a decline in the scholastic ability of students as a result of the new course of study.