総合学習としての生活科の可能性

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Ten years ago, we introduced Life Environment Studies as a new subject into the school curriculum for grade 1 and 2. In 2002 we will start Integrated Learning which is a major characteristic of new curriculum reform. Many teachers now tend to pay more attention to Integrated Learning rather than Life Environment Studies. However, we need to examine the outcome of 10 years old Life Environment Studies before introducing Integrated Learning into the school curriculum. Life Environment Studies was meant to be a form of integrated learning and we need to learn a lot from past. Otherwise we may repeat the same mistakes in the future practice. According to some studies, many teachers gave good evaluation to the effects of Life Environment Studies. Some similarities can be found in their positive evaluation; firstly, because children learned to work with others cooperatively; secondly, because they acquired some skills to do things well; thirdly, because they discovered what they were effective in action; and lastly, because they learned to understand their friends and help each other. On the other hand, there is a problem not to be missed. Life Environment Studies has been likely to be managed in a stereotyped methods. Many teachers imitated and followed other teachers instead of creating their own unique methods. In this way this subject has gradually lost its vitality and isolated itself from other subjects and even from children. We must recognize the problems and do what we can do for a change so that we can help children grow. In my view, we need to think how to integrate Life Environment Studies into the whole schooling. The purpose of schooling is, in a word, to help children learn ways of life through teaching different subjects. We need both theories and methods to integrate these teaching and learning. The major role of Life Environment Studies, I think, is to combine different subjects and integrate these teaching and learning for the learning of way of life. To make this possible, we have to loosen our own stereotype toward each different subject, lower the barriers of them, and merge them into one, which will lead to the learning of way of life. I don't wish, here, to propose anything that is impossible. My goal is simply to respond to the need. First of all, we need to put more emphasis on integrated learning in schooling. We have many difficulties in today's world which requires more integrated approaches. Especially, the main difficulties children in schools face today have a lot to do with their way of life, Secondly, I think we can expand the possibilities of Life Environment Studies (and other subjects as well) by adopting the integrated curriculum from kindergarten to the end of high school. Finally I would like to suggest, as Clive Beck says, that children and teachers need many kinds of experiences which have potentials to increase social interaction in school, foster a climate of care and mutual help, and free up more time for learning what they are interested in.
神戸親和女子大学の論文
1999-06-30

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山根耕平
神戸親和女子大学

総合学習としての生活科の可能性

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