| Research Abstract |
The essence of environmental education during infancy is to foster principles, including a sense of value, in the child, and to nurture an emotional connection to nature with the nursery school playing a central role. Special nursery school education is not required to adopt environmental education ideals, but rather, through consciously and repetitively incorporating "Environment in Early Childhood" activities (such as taking walks, playing with vegetation, caring for animals, cultivating, and playing games) into daily nursery education, such goals can be attained. Through teaching infants about life cycles, the circulation of the natural world, ecology and it' s characteristics, the relationships between organisms and humans, diversity, the importance of life, and changes in seasons and phenomena, we can raise awareness in the child and help to foster curiosity and an inquisitive mind. When developing new programs, it is important to create those that can be applied to various situations, and to incorporate into the programs aspects of Japanese nature and traditional culture. In addition, it is important that nursery school education as a whole be one that enables "child care to achieve a sustainable society", and this remains a luminous challenge for educators. From the current results of the Nature Environmental Survey, the necessity for activities, such as talking walks, which utilize the region' s climate and natural environment was seen. Moreover, according to the empirical research seen in the "Rating Standard on the Power of Growing Up", the significance of "Child Care Close to Nature", especially in group education at kindergartens and nursery schools was pointed out. Although with childcare education programs, there are systemic, time related, and physical limitations, it is necessary to heighten interest in nature, promote understanding of it' s significance, and allow for actual experiences with nature through plants and animals.
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