"Life and Death Education" in Home Economics Education : Curriculum development, Teaching practice and Class evaluation

本研究考察了家政教育中的生死教育课程。首先，它分析了实践报告，其结果揭示了两个鲜明的特点。第一组课程的重点是生活和食物，基于食物滋养生命的观点。第二组课程以生与育为主题，或以老年人的生活质量为主题，鼓励学生思考性、生死问题。第二组，我们在一所初中开设了家政课，将死亡主题作为家庭和儿童保育教育的一部分。在课堂上，学生们被要求阅读伊丽莎白·库布勒-罗斯的教材《致癌症儿童的一封信》，并填写工作表。对工作表的分析使我们能够验证我们的课程是有意义的。2005年，我们组织了一个学术项目，包括讲座、实践报告和网络活动，与日本家政教育协会近木地区协会共同发起讨论家政教育中的生死教育。实践报告集中于初中和高中家政生死教育的经验，并提供了关于小学实践的信息。这个学术项目为与会者提供了一个交流意见的重要机会，包括大阪府小学和初中的家政学教师在内的广泛参与。最后，我感谢秋田大学教育与人文科学学院教授Kazue Mochizuki对本研究的贡献。

This study examined life and death education curriculums in home economics education. First, it analyzed practice reports, the findings of which revealed two distinctive features. The first group of classes focused on life and food based on the perspective that food nurtures life. The second group of classes dealt with the theme of birth and childcare or the theme of quality of life for elderly people, encouraging students to think about the issues of sex, life and death.Second, we offered a class of home economics at a junior high school, in which we took up the theme of death as part of family and childcare education. In the class, students were required to read "A Letter to a Child with Cancer" by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a teaching material, and fill in a worksheet. The analysis of the worksheets enabled us to verify that our class was meaningful. It showed that the students were greatly impressed with the story, contemplated life and death, and acknowledged that they had a meaningful class.In 2005, we organized an academic program, including lectures, practice reports and a networking event, to discuss life and death education in home economics education in cosponsorship with the Kinki Regional Association of the Japan Association of Home Economics Education. The session of practice reports focused on experiences of life and death education in home economics in junior and senior high schools and also provided information about practices in elementary schools. This academic program provided a significant opportunity to the participants to exchange their views and opinions, with broad participation of teachers, including home economics teachers, from elementary and junior high schools in Osaka Prefecture.Finally, I am grateful to Kazue Mochizuki, professor of the Faculty of Education and Human Studies, Akita University, for her contribution to this study.