Children’s learning is undergoing a major transformation, as they live in an era of rapid change, including technological innovation such as AI, the advance of globalization, and multicultural conviviality, requiring a broad perspective and the ability to think and act on their own. This is why “development education/international understanding education” is attracting attention. (Note 1)
Development Education/International Understanding Education” is an education to learn about current situations and issues, from familiar to foreign countries, to think about solutions, and to foster independence to act on one’s own. Ms. Sachiko Takeda, Director of JICA’s Public Relations Department, interviewed Mr. Naoki Ogi, an education critic known as “Ogi Mama,” and Ms. Fumi Takano, who has been involved in international understanding education at a public high school in Nagano Prefecture, about its significance and challenges.
At JICA Chikyu Hiroba, from left, Dr. Fumi Takano, Dr. Naoki Ogi, Ms. Sachiko Takeda (Director of JICA Public Relations Department)
The environment surrounding children is increasingly borderless.
Takeda: In April 2023, the “Administration for Children and Families” was established and a system to encourage the growth of children throughout society was launched. In school education, too, we are beginning to see a shift toward a direction that emphasizes the independence of children.
Ogi: At last, we have entered an era in which we are building a peaceful, safe, and secure world with children at the center. The government has begun to listen to children’s voices first, and has even begun various efforts, such as surveying children in advance to determine what methods would make it easier for them to express their opinions. Now that the law is in place, what remains to be seen is how adults at home, at school, and in local communities will change.
Takano: “Time for Integrated Inquiry” has been made compulsory in all high schools in Japan since the 2022 school year (Note 2). Unlike the knowledge transfer type classes that have been the mainstream in the past, the “Time for Integrated Inquiry” emphasizes how students formulate their own questions, research and gather information to solve them, and output their ideas obtained through exchanges of opinions with people around them, and teachers are expected to play a supporting role. Teachers are expected to play a supporting role.
Ogi: At the recent WBC, Manager Kuriyama’s attitude of respecting the independence of the players attracted a lot of attention, didn’t it? In Japan, sports are traditionally thought of as a world of strict hierarchical relationships, but the fact that the coach, as a leader, trusted his players and supported them from behind to become the world’s number one suggests that a new era is dawning.
For 22 years as a junior high and high school teacher, Dr. Ogi has practiced unique and creative education in which children are the main actors. He emphasizes, “Now is the time for adults to listen carefully to children’s voices and support them from behind so that they can demonstrate their abilities.
Takeda: What kind of initiatives are actually taking place in schools?
Takano: The themes of inquiry vary, but my school, Ueda High School in Nagano Prefecture, has long focused on developing global human resources and is promoting “international understanding education. In order to question “why” and become aware of social issues, it is necessary not only to have knowledge, but also to know what is going on in the world and to acquire critical thinking.
Now that they have experienced the new Corona, many students have gained a sense of being connected to the world even in Japan, and the rapid progress in ICT technology has enabled them to connect with their peers around the world. As the environment surrounding children becomes increasingly borderless, “education for international understanding” has become indispensable.
Mr. Takano has been teaching English at high schools for 20 years, and has also focused on global human resource development. Currently, as a chief instructor at the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education, she is promoting international understanding education throughout the prefecture.
● Ogi: Today’s children are imbued with a sensitivity to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and they are seriously considering how they will relate to the world. The JICA International Cooperation Junior High and High School Student Essay Contest, for which I serve as the head judge, received approximately 44,000 entries in FY2022, and the number of students interested in world affairs is steadily increasing. Last year, many of the essays focused on the Ukraine issue in particular.
● Takano: Ueda Senior High School also started with SDGs study, and has been conducting international conferences for high school students and overseas training programs. By coming into contact with real social issues, the students who participate in the training not only “understand” but also “take action. One student saw children living on the streets during a study tour in the Philippines and started volunteering at a local children’s cafeteria after returning home. By seeing the world, they were able to become aware of issues in their immediate community.
Students (left) visit a poverty-stricken area in the Philippines and are briefed on the current situation of the children living there. After returning to Japan, they continue to support the local community through bazaars at cultural festivals and other events.
Supporting children’s learning throughout society
Takeda: In order to respond to the changes in learning, it is necessary for those who teach to change as well.
Takano: Many students at Ueda Senior High School are self-motivated, and we have held fund-raising activities for developing countries and bazaars to raise funds for digging wells in Cambodia, even for the Corona Disaster. On the other hand, as a teacher, I lacked such experience and was sometimes at a loss to answer questions from students. So I decided to participate in the JICA Overseas Training Program for Teachers last year, so that I could first go to the field and confront real social issues.
In Egypt, where I was training, I was initially resistant to the uncontrolled honking of horns and the hustle and bustle of the city. After a few days, however, I began to wonder, “Why are there no accidents when there are no traffic lights? I began to take a more serious look at different cultures and found myself broadening my horizons. During my visit to a school that provides Japanese-style education, I realized that what is normal in Japan is not what is normal in the rest of the world. I would like to convey to my students that by being exposed to such “differences,” they will learn who they are, and this will lead to an attitude of respect for diverse ways of thinking.
Dr. Takano exchanges opinions with a staff member promoting Japanese-style community centers in Egypt on how schools and local communities should collaborate.
When I was teaching at a university, I strongly encouraged my students to see the world. I once visited an educational site in Mongolia with a JICA staff member, where the school day is divided into morning, afternoon, and evening. Some days are extremely cold, so going out in the evening is a life risk, so to speak. Still, the children wanted to learn. With few teaching materials and teaching tools, the teachers had to be creative. It was a great experience to directly experience the reality of such a world.
Dr. Ogi watches a science experiment at a Mongolian elementary school he visited.
Takeda: Are there any challenges in promoting international understanding education in the future?
Takano: At present, international understanding education is still positioned as a one-off event, and the system is not yet systematized. Nagano Prefecture is in the process of reforming learning with inquiry at its core, but there is a limit to how much teachers alone can meet all needs. If we could collaborate with people from various backgrounds and experiences, such as local communities, companies, and international organizations, and have them blow a new wind from the outside into our schools, I believe it will be an opportunity for our children to connect with the world.
●Oki I think that is a very important point. If there are 600 parents, there are 600 different groups of professionals. For example, if there is a mother from India, we could ask her to give a special class on making curry, or ask someone with teaching experience to come in to assist with learning, etc. I hope that the trend of opening schools to the community will expand. There must be many adults in the community who would like to teach children.
Takeda: JICA is also engaged in support projects that can be utilized at schools, such as the creation of teaching materials and delivery of lectures based on our knowledge of support for developing countries, so we would like to play a part in such a role in cooperation with schools and local boards of education.
Mr. Takeda is also the director of JICA Chikyu Hiroba. As a place where people can experience global issues and connections with developing countries, Chikyu Hiroba has hosted approximately 2.4 million people to date, including school visitors and event participants from all over Japan (as of March 2023).
To foster human resources capable of solving social issues
●Takeda: Finally, how would you like children to apply what they have learned through international understanding education?
Ogi: ChatGPT is a hot topic these days, but humans are no match for AI in terms of the amount of knowledge they possess. In the future, “human ability” will be required to master AI in various fields. Children, who are beginning to make full use of digital tools and pay attention to social issues, will be the ones to create novel ideas and new values. I believe that they will open up new horizons to address the problems that the world faces today, such as climate change and war.
● Takano: In a sense, I think that being able to experience the borderlessness of the world through the Corona Disaster was a valuable experience. In the future, I would like the students to become people who can contribute to someone else’s happiness by getting involved in society by digging deeper into their “likes” while broadening their horizons more and more. In order for the teachers to be flexible in accepting what the students want to do, the Board of Education Secretariat will do its utmost to support them in systematically positioning international understanding education in their educational activities.
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