The purpose of this paper is to consider what kinds of factors influenced the changes of content and structure in school science in Japan. For the consideration of various factors, three types of curriculum changes were focused on here: the change of organization of subjects, the change of content and structure in each subject and the change of subject content. According to these types, two different methodologies were used: an analysis of materials and interviews with key people. In the case of the 1989 revised edition of the Course of Study in elementary school science, three facts based on the three types above were pointed out: 1 The relationship between a new subject "life and environment studies", and science. 2 A, B, C categories in science and introduction of the "human" content in category A. 3 The introduction of new content and material in each of these categories: the development of humans, the solar battery, the motion of objects, meteorological satellite pictures, and volcanoes. The results of this case analysis are as follows: 1 The three types of curriculum change influenced each other. 2 All of the facts included various factors which influenced their changes. 3 Especially through the interviews, key people had various viewpoints about the facts. Sometimes they didn't have the same viewpoints as in the written materials. In conclusion, the changes of content and structure in the elementary school science curriculum were influenced by various factors. Focusing on the three types of curriculum change and the use of interviews with key people were very helpful to the practical study of the science curriculum.

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In order to examine the question of the separation and independence of "Industrial Arts" and "Home Economics Education" in secondary schools in Japan, the characteristics of Food Technology which is one area in Design & Technology in England were clarified. The results were as follows: 1. Food Technology puts emphasis on food products. 2. Food Technology includes many subjects reflecting the many jobs in the field. 3. Food study drawn from viewpoint of technical education reduces the subject matter, which leads to a similar reduction in reflection and learning.

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This study focuses on a particular type of false beginner-Japanese young adult EFL learners whose language proficiency is limited in spite of six years of formal English courses at school. In order to make the false beginners' idiosyncrasy distinctive, the data is compared with that of high ability young adults who are in the same age range. As the purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of English learners' acquisition difficulties, my goals are: (1) to compare the difference of vocalization latency and accuracy between the two learner groups, (2) to find out in what area of lexical processing false beginners' backsliding occurs, (3) to discuss how false beginners access meaning making use of their orthographic and phonological knowledge of the English language. The result of an experiment of oral reading and dictation of single words shows that automaticity of single word processing is a prerequisite for Japanese EFL learners to pass smoothly through the sequence of developmental scale. Moreover, it is proved that participants' regular reading of words with an irregular spelling-to-sound correspondence is the signal of their inhibition towards successfully embracing a semantic system. The results also revealed that, when their learning of spelling is insufficient, phonetic information compensates for the deficiency and helps them to access meaning. This finding suggests the importance of oral-aural learning in English class, and indicates that language learning without sounds hinders their favorable development as language learners.

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The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the structures of students' consciousness about several manufacturing processes before they begin to manufacture. We investigated their consciousness about each manufacturing stage using the free answer method. We then analyzed the frequency of manufacturing categories on the basis of the correspondence analysis. As a result, it has been clarified that students' consciousness is divided into four types along two axes. They have little consciousness of each individual manufacturing activity, and show great differences in their consciousness of cutting, part working and finish-coating in comparison with undergraduates. In particular, they have a high level of an intense consciousness of using their product, and undergraduates have consciousness of performing accurate manufacture in part working.

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This research explores the connection between visual media and art education in today's computer age, and discusses the significance of visual media as content in comprehensive studies. In the first part of this paper the author analyzes the relationship between media and the senses, and focuses on the hypertext version of "The Complete Miyazawa Kenji," a CD-ROM that the author was involved in producing, to examine the potential of multimedia as a means of expression. The author defines multimedia as a comprehensive, integrated platform for expression that uses various forms of media to engage the five senses. In the latter part of this paper the author looks at how education can be pursued using visual media, which is a current issue in art education, addressing the role that visual media can play in comprehensive studies, and exploring the educational significance of fostering expression through the use of multimedia.

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This study aims to re-evaluate the previous views on the Course of Study for Social Studies (1963) in Korea and to clarify its historical significance in the history of the Korean social studies curriculum. To accomplish these aims, the author analyses the curriculum from three points of view: (1) historical aspects of its development, (2) principles of its construction, and (3) logic of the social cognizance behind it. The results of these analyses are as follows. (1) Systematization of teaching contents and the importance of fostering qualities requisite for national citizens were the historical aspects. (2) The curriculum is constructed based on the principle that pupils' attitudes are fostered through their understanding of meanings and significance of social facts. (3) Behind this principle exists the logic of understanding of social facts in relation to the meanings, values and objectives in society. From these analyses, it is clarified that the Course of Study (1963) was a turning point in the history of the social studies curriculum in Korea from one traditionally emphasizing pupils' ways of life to one emphasizing their social cognizance. The author concludes that social studies with the aim of fostering pupils' citizenship through social cognizance in Korea was established in the Course of Study (1963).

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This study aimed to assess the development of upper graders' understanding of the tentativeness of scientific knowledge by using the revised NSKS at three points ever two years. The survey asked the following questions. (1) Were there any changes in upper graders' understanding of the mode of each statement comprising the subscales below? (2) Which statements did upper graders' in elementary school misunderstand? Method: The revised NSKS was administered to 218 students in elementary school. The instrument contains 24 statements with a scale response with three choices. The subscales consisted of the following: creativity, development, parsimonious, and testability. Results: The results of the present survey can be summarized as follows: (1) There were changes in four statements in the subscale of testability. (2) Upper graders' misunderstood two statements in the subscales of parsimonious.

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It is true that, nowadays, more attention is being paid to global education. But, taking account of the already-crowded school curriculum, there seems to be little chance of introducing global education as a new school subject into the present school education system. Therefore, as the second best policy, we have to explore subject-based approaches to global education, that is, how the infusion of global education concepts into an existing subject such as social studies or English, which has a global dimension, can be effectively and sufficiently achieved. I am of the opinion that in particular English education in Japan should, and can, take more responsibility for global education, and that the contents of English textbooks should be improved in accordance with the new movement for a global-oriented society. Global education has some important matters of concern and interest, of which the question of human rights will be specifically addressed in this paper. First, I will show in detail how English textbooks now in use deal with the question of human rights. Second, after considering their contents from a viewpoint of education against discrimination, I will explore their contents from a global point of view. As a conclusion, I will offer some suggestions for improving the contents dealing with the question of human rights in English textbooks.

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This study investigates the metacognitive knowledge involved in reading English and in reading Japanese. 130 Japanese college students read the same text and then answered comprehension questions and a questionnaire with 31 items. Factor analysis was performed on the data obtained from the questionnaire. The result, that 8 factors were extracted in reading Japanese and 9 factors were extracted in English, reveals the similarities and the differences between the metacognitive knowledge in foreign language reading and that in native language reading. In addition, multiple regression analysis suggests that metacognitive knowledge was correlated with L1 reading, while it did not exert much influence in L2 reading. Implications of these results for foreign language reading are briefly discussed.

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