Science Education in Japan and its Challenges
日本の理科教育がかかえる現状と課題
Shinichi IZUMl*1, Fumio NAKADAI*2, Hidenori YAMADA*3, Junko KAWAHITO*3
*1 Hyogo Prefectural Kobe-Takatsuka High School
*2 Chiba Prefectural Yakuendai High School
*3 Japan Science Foundation
1. Losing Interest In Science
Over years there has been a social phenomenon called "Losing Interest in Science" in Japan. The phenomenon was officially reported in the White Paper on Science published by the Science and Technology Agency in December 1993. It is often said that the phenomenon is unique to Japan. How about other economies? Recently we have another coinage "Detest from Thinking". An increasing number of people don't feel like giving thought to complicated or difficult matters.
One of the causes of the phenomenon is a trilemma in which Japan has been caught. Young people have dreams for the future. In reality, however, such dreams are challenged by a number of gloomy problems such as exhausted natural resources, population growth, food shortage, growing CO2 emission, and deteriorating environment. Discouraged to seek for their dreams in the face of the reality, they may give up thinking rather than try to identify the causes for and find solutions to these problems. They have some reason to think "If there is no bright future ahead of us, why not enjoy the present?"
Decades ago, it was widely believed that the 21st century would embody our dreams and expectations: flying vehicles, robots meeting our needs, space travel... the list goes on indefinitely. Today, we have a long list of different kind: estimated oil deposits amounting to only some decades, explosive population growth with a total of 8 billion projected for 2015, food shortage, endocrine disruptive substances, global warming, rising sea level and so on. It illustrates the negative aspect of the modern civilization.
But we cannot stop the 21st century coming. We have to use wisdom and take effective measures to survive. We have to be conflict-free, synergy-oriented to solve problems affecting the freedom and integrity of mankind. Education should have a role to play in such global endeavor.
In the first place, literacy is essential. It is prerequisite for sharing information, promoting collaboration across various boundaries. To that end, the importance of consideration for others and the importance of working for mankind beyond selfish interests should be taught. On the other hand, science is indispensable to development of technologies in the field of alternative energy, environmentally friendly biodegradables, waste management and so on. From such global viewpoint, the importance of science education cannot be underestimated.
Let's change focus from global to personal requirements. Take waste disposal as an example. Do you know how household waste is disposed? In Japan household waste is collected by municipal-managed trucks and incinerated inlarge-scale facilities. But is every type of household waste incinerated there? Compared to industrial waste which is subject to strict regulations, household waste is not necessarily through proper segregated disposal in Japan.
For example, there is no common rule established as to sorting waste, whether combustible or not. Even a single item should be sorted separately: a metal part of a ballpoint pen is incombustible while some part of the pen can be incinerated. In the daily context, we need scientific knowledge for proper decision to make.
Now take water as another example. Japan has maintained an advanced waterworks system. Tap water is available any time. Not many people are aware of where sewage is drained. Most of us don't pay attention to the cycle of water after we use it for personal consumption. But there is an alternative to the throwaway practice: household sewage can be filtered through the soil into ground water, which in turn can be pumped up and used as drinking water.
Japanese pumped and used ground water up until the 1960s, and some areas till do. In this cycle of water, we would and should be more careful about the usage and drainage of water.
