Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

7-9). The middle school Social Studies curriculum suggests that students set
activities such as keeping ‘consumption diaries’, as a means of prompting
reflection on their consumption habits as well as helping them to ‘plan future
spending’ (p. 87) (whether or how such suggestions are implemented deserves
further investigation). The Social Studies curriculum also notes the threat of
climate change and challenges of pollution and conservation (though there
only appeared to be two specific references to climate change in the coded
documents). But while curricula may stipulate the inclusion of relevant facts,
opportunities for discussion and debate — of these or any other ‘controversial’
issues — are generally limited in the Korean context (Oh, 2014; see the following
sub-section).
In Japan, coverage of issues of ‘sustainability’ is similarly distributed between
the Science and Social Studies / Civics curricula. There are several references
to global warming in official documents, and the issue is dealt with in relevant
textbooks. In middle school Civics texts, a chapter on ‘International Society
and Us’ introduces various issues or challenges facing the contemporary world
in general, and Japan in particular (with respect to its international relations).
These include: the worldwide divide between rich and poor (and more or less
wealthy nations); basic concepts in international relations, such as national
sovereignty, borders and passports (with a disquisition on national flags and
anthems reflecting the permeation of patriotic themes — see below); the role
of multilateral organisations, such as the UN and associated bodies; the threat
of global terrorism; unresolved conflicts (the Palestinian situation is singled
out in both Tokyo Shoseki and Teikoku Shoin editions); climate change and
rising sea levels (leading to flooding and inundation of low-lying islands); the
energy crisis and the need for renewable energy; and the on-going threat posed
by nuclear weapons. The books also feature guidelines or prompts designed
to support students in completing in-depth reports on themes covered in the
text. While recent research prompts scepticism regarding the extent to which
teachers actually set such tasks (Cave, 2016), textbooks clearly give considerable
prominence to issues relating to sustainable development, set in a global context
(as well as to issues of conflict, peace and international collaboration).
However, textbook discussion of the Japan’s own transition to industrial
modernity, and the sustainability of the economic model it has evolved, is
sometimes notably uncritical. Primary Social Studies texts often offer a nostalgic
take on the lifestyle of old Japan, while some Middle School Civics texts relate this
to a peculiarly Japanese ‘spirit’ (see below) — without inviting critical reflection
on the recent obliteration of tradition’s visible manifestations, architectural and
otherwise (Kerr, 2015). In the Teikoku Shoin text, issues of pollution within Japan
are discussed in relation to the role of ‘social capital’ and the environment in
supporting industrial development (pp. 152-3). A discussion here of the ‘price
mechanism’ features a photograph of tuna on sale at Tokyo’s main fish market,
with a caption highlighting the role of supply and demand in determining cost (p.
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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