5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
[HTT17-P02] Does Inquiry- and Problem-Based Learning Utilizing Familiar Local Areas Promote Students' Civic Engagement?
Keywords:Civic Engagement, Utilizing the local region, Inquiry- and Problem-Based Learning
Understanding residents' changing attitudes toward their community and environment is crucial for a sustainable society. Schools promote students' attachment to their community through Inquiry- and Problem-Based Learning, encouraging Civic Engagement, which involves activities to preserve local nature and culture. However, learning that utilizes the local area is dependent on the environmental situation of that area, so there is room for verification as to whether the same effects as previous research can be expected. Also, there is relatively little natural environment in the suburbs of cities, and it is difficult to secure time for hands-on activities that utilize the local environment. For these reasons, it is necessary to verify whether problem-solving learning that utilizes the local area and is practiced in schools in the suburbs of cities is effective for Civic Engagement, based on specific individual cases.
In this study, we used a case study of a junior high school in Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, to clarify the impact of this Instructional Practice on Civic Engagement. The learning objectives for each year were set in stages, and the learning was planned to raise the students' pride and attachment to the city (1st year objective), to think about ideas for forming a sustainable society in the city (2nd year objective), and to think about and try out measures that they could implement themselves to form a sustainable society (3rd year objective). Under these goals, each year group conducted research on the environment, culture, industry and economy of the city, and the program was designed to summarize the results in the form of a presentation. The survey was conducted after the Instructional Practice, and the attitudes of the students who took part in the course towards community involvement were checked using a psychological scale questionnaire, and the awareness and attributes that affect Civic Engagement were examined.
As a result of the survey, 155 valid responses were obtained. When we checked the results for “Civic Engagement”, “Regional Identity”, “Civic Loyalty” and “Attachment to the Region”, which were calculated from the responses to the psychological scale, we found that the students who took the class had a high level of “Attachment to the Region” overall, and that the first and second year students in particular had a high level of Attachment to the Region. However, as a result of conducting multiple regression analysis with “Civic Engagement” as the dependent variable and the other attitudes as the independent variables, we found that “Attachment to the Region” did not have an effect on increasing “Civic Engagement” in any of the grades. In contrast, “Regional Identity (the sense of belonging to a region)” had a significant impact on “Civic Engagement”. In addition, only in the third grade did “Civic Loyalty (the sense of pride in and active defense of one's region)” have a significant impact on Civic Engagement. These results suggest that the relevant classes motivate students to participate in regional activities as they progress through the grades. Specifically, it was found that learning that only fosters a sense of attachment to the local region does not necessarily contribute to Civic Engagement, and that inquiry-based learning that fosters a sense of belonging and pride in the local region is more likely to increase attitudes towards Civic Engagement. However, it was not possible to confirm whether the differences between the grades identified were due to the nature of the group or to the accumulation of learning, so we would like to clarify this in future surveys.
In this study, we used a case study of a junior high school in Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, to clarify the impact of this Instructional Practice on Civic Engagement. The learning objectives for each year were set in stages, and the learning was planned to raise the students' pride and attachment to the city (1st year objective), to think about ideas for forming a sustainable society in the city (2nd year objective), and to think about and try out measures that they could implement themselves to form a sustainable society (3rd year objective). Under these goals, each year group conducted research on the environment, culture, industry and economy of the city, and the program was designed to summarize the results in the form of a presentation. The survey was conducted after the Instructional Practice, and the attitudes of the students who took part in the course towards community involvement were checked using a psychological scale questionnaire, and the awareness and attributes that affect Civic Engagement were examined.
As a result of the survey, 155 valid responses were obtained. When we checked the results for “Civic Engagement”, “Regional Identity”, “Civic Loyalty” and “Attachment to the Region”, which were calculated from the responses to the psychological scale, we found that the students who took the class had a high level of “Attachment to the Region” overall, and that the first and second year students in particular had a high level of Attachment to the Region. However, as a result of conducting multiple regression analysis with “Civic Engagement” as the dependent variable and the other attitudes as the independent variables, we found that “Attachment to the Region” did not have an effect on increasing “Civic Engagement” in any of the grades. In contrast, “Regional Identity (the sense of belonging to a region)” had a significant impact on “Civic Engagement”. In addition, only in the third grade did “Civic Loyalty (the sense of pride in and active defense of one's region)” have a significant impact on Civic Engagement. These results suggest that the relevant classes motivate students to participate in regional activities as they progress through the grades. Specifically, it was found that learning that only fosters a sense of attachment to the local region does not necessarily contribute to Civic Engagement, and that inquiry-based learning that fosters a sense of belonging and pride in the local region is more likely to increase attitudes towards Civic Engagement. However, it was not possible to confirm whether the differences between the grades identified were due to the nature of the group or to the accumulation of learning, so we would like to clarify this in future surveys.