This study conducted a comparative analysis of the frequency and usage of the term “understanding”across the Courses of Study for various subjects in Japan, as well as its definitions in relevant reference works, such as encyclopedias and glossaries of member societies of the Consortium in Japanese Curriculum Research and Development Association (JCRDA). As a result, the following characteristics were found: 1) There are marked differences in the frequency and usage of the term “understanding” and the extent to which researchers are interested in the concept of “understanding” across the Courses of Study for different subjects. 2) Disciplines in the natural sciences, such as science education and health and physical education, tend to employ the definition of “understanding” from Bloom’s Taxonomy. In contrast, subjects in the humanities and social sciences, including social studies and Japanese language education, often dare to draw upon the conception of “understanding” derived from German sciences of mind. 3) In the subject areas that emphesize the concept of “understanding” from German mental science in their encyclopedias and glossaries, some indoctrination through “sympathic understanding” in the national curriculum guidelines tend to be adopted. Soical studies education is a typical example. 4) In subject areas where “sympathic understanding” is not emphasized in the national curriculum guidelines, Bloom’s definition of “understanding” tends to be used in encyclopedias and glossaries. Science education is a typical example.

　　This paper focuses on the terms “inquiry” and “criticism,” checking their appearances in major Japanese laws in the field of education and in the Courses of Study, and comparing their meanings in the glossaries of the academic associations that are members of the Japan Consortium of Subject Pedagogy Associations. As a result, the following characteristics were identified:

　　1) “Inquiry （tankyu; 探究）” is of increasing importance, as it has been placed at the core of curriculum management, and is described as an intellectual activity to determine the essence through a series of problem-solving learning processes. However, while some subjects （e.g., social studies and science）explain the differences in the degree of teacher involvement in providing information on scientific knowledge, others do not.

　　2) “Inquiry （tankyu; 探求）” is used in the context of searching for one’s own way of being and living.

　　3) Although the term “Criticism （hihan; 批判）” is not often used in the Courses of Study, it appears in many glossaries of member academic associations and is explained as “critical thinking,” in which students think logically and make judgments based on evidence from various angles.

　　4) “Criticism （hihyo; 批評）” is explained as a social activity to make judgments based on evidence in subjects that emphasize the acceptance of works.

　　5) The subjects/areas in which both “inquiry” and “criticism” are explicitly related include social studies, home economics, and environmental education, especially in the context of problem-solving learning and sustainability education.

　　In this paper, we present the linguistic characteristics of art writings by senior high school students, mainly revealed through lexical and syntactic analysis, and examine its potential in art education. In particular, this paper focuses on 551 text data submitted to the 7th High School Art Writers Award, which was held in 2017, a contest on art writing, as the main object of study, and used morphological analysis tools to calculate quantitative data of linguistic forms that appeared in high school students’ texts, and took up actual examples of usage to conduct qualitative observation and analysis. The results indicated that the writing that was highly rated in the contest tended to be characterized by the use of demonstrative and “taigendome” (to use a noun at the end of a sentence), suggesting an orientation toward shared experience, which is caused by the effects of these expressive forms.