Non-Formal Environmental Education in Japan

Abstract

Since the 2000s, schools in Japan have developed diverse approaches to environmental education, refl ecting the characteristics of each region. In general, environmental education has been conducted according to the guiding principles of the Teacher's Guide for Environmental Education and is reported to have been implemented mainly in the classes of Life-Environmental Studies and during Period for Integrated Studies. During the 2010s, the notion of "environmental education incorporating the viewpoints of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development)" has gained ground. This is education which focuses on comprehensive issues (environment, industry, culture, history, welfare, and so on) and links them with diverse sectors (government, NPO, company, research institution, and so on) in order to consider the sustainability of diff erent regions. The National Curriculum Standards which will be enacted from 2020 incorporate the viewpoints of ESD, and as a result conventional environmental education is expected to expand its scope and contents. Based on these national policies, although some schools are carrying out advanced educational activities, many schools are not making suffi cient progress in regards to environmental education, and are in the situation where they are seeking to somehow implement activities based on current issues such as natural disasters or radioactive contamination.