Proposal of renovation of mathematics education through the research of educational curriculum of "Wasan" in the Edo period

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18671
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 9:Education and related fields
• Research Institution: Soka University
• Principal Investigator: Suzuki Masashi 創価大学, 教育学部, 教授 (50216438)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 江戸時代の数学 / 数学道場 / 免許制度 / 作題に重点を置く教育課程 / 算額

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It is known that in Japan during the Edo period, in addition to Wasan, Japanese mathematics as a form of mathematical research, an environment for learning mathematics, also known as a "mathematics dojo," was widely spread throughout the country.
Field research has revealed that the social factor behind this situation was that people in the vicinity of village headmen were required to perform detailed calculations in order to collect tribute rice and perform other duties. Furthermore, we learned that there was a widespread cultural awareness among these people that it was natural to have a certain degree of mathematical knowledge.
In addition, it was suggested that both the granting of licenses for each unit of mathematics and the custom of students presenting problems of their own making to each other were firmly established, and both contributed greatly to increasing the enthusiasm for mathematics in Japan as a whole.

Free Research Field

数学科教育法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

江戸期の数学学習熱の高まりに、当時の社会生活状況が強く影響していたことが確認されたことで、算数・数学教育において、現実社会とのつながりを意識させることが、学習意欲の面でも有用であることが改めて裏付けられた。
一方、自作問題を提示し合う学習習慣の姿からは、自ら問題を発見・創作することの重要性が浮かび上がる。これからの不確実な時代を考えるとき、算数・数学教育の新たな教育課程編成にも大いに参考となる。