Regional Revitalization and Curriculum Reform

Lecturer (Graduate School of Educational Practice, Educational Management)

YOSHIDA Naofumi

We live in a society where disasters recur. The damage to society and individuals caused by disasters occurs when the vulnerabilities latent in society are exposed by unforeseen natural phenomena.

Traditional school education has aimed to develop autonomy in taking actions to protect lives during disasters as part of disaster education. However, can we say this is enough for school education to shape the society of the next generation? I believe it is essential not only to cultivate the autonomy to take life-saving actions during disasters but also to raise children who can confront the regional issues highlighted by disasters and reconsider the way society and individuals should exist.

Based on this problem awareness, I am focusing my research on the education in schools of Futaba County in Fukushima Prefecture, which was forced into complete evacuation after the Great East Japan Earthquake. As disasters bring about changes in regions, how should educational committees and schools proceed with the reconstruction of education? Public schools in the disaster-affected areas continue to explore the conditions for creating new curriculums while facing the challenges presented by the affected regions.

▲Fire Brigade's New Year Drill at Ukedo Fishing Port (photographed on January 1, 2020, in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture)

▲A Classroom in Namie Junior High School Before Demolition (photographed on July 25, 2020, during 'Preserving the School's History')

▲ The Entrance of a Public School from Okuma Town, Evacuated to Aizuwakamatsu City (photographed on April 30, 2021)