International relations of education reform in the Meiji era revealed from students' science notes

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K01022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Science education
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Science (2018-2020); Niigata University (2017)
• Principal Investigator: Okiharu Fumiko 東京理科大学, 教育支援機構, 准教授 (60409050)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小林 昭三 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 名誉教授 (10018822) ; 種村 雅子 大阪教育大学, 教育学部, 教授 (30263354) ; 土佐 幸子 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 教授 (40720959) ; 岡野 勉 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 教授 (30233357)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 物理教育史 / 明治期 / 筆記 / 簡易実験 / 後藤牧太 / 小学校生徒用物理書

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was investigation and analysis how Japanese-style science education, which was in the Japanese climate in the middle of the Meiji era, matured and reached international standards, focusing on the students’ notes in the secondary and higher education stages at that time. Although the number of physics notebooks of normal school students in the middle of the Meiji era that remained until now was small, it is clarified by the analysis of notebooks that education was carried out while incorporating the latest scientific topics based on imported textbooks even after the turning point of the Japanese science education in 1886.
In addition, the usage record of "Physics Book for Elementary School Students" by Makita Goto et al. who influenced physics education in Asia can be found in Gunma, Niigata, Saitama, and Shizuoka prefectures, and also used until as late as 1902.

Free Research Field

物理教育

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本の科学教育が成熟してきた明治20年頃の師範学校や中等教育の教育実態を、現在まで残っている数少ない当時の生徒の筆記の記述内容から明らかにできた．また櫻井房記や小川正孝など日本の高等教育の初期の卒業生らによる授業記録も残っていることが明らかとなった．筆記は実際の授業に基づいて記述されており、当時の日本の科学教育の実態を明らかにするための大変貴重な一次資料であるため、本研究で得られた成果は意義があると考えられる．