A Study Of The Problems And Countermeasures Of Information Ethics Education In Primary And Secondary Schools In Japan

The 21st century is an era of rapid development of information. Information is increasing in a sharp speed, and information technology is changing with each passing day. The amount of information of The New York Times per day is equivalent to the sum of information one person can receive in a lifetime. The huge amount of information and advanced science and technology penetrate and influence our way of life in a multi-faceted way. Information technology is a double-edged sword. If a person has a good command of information technology, but without good information ethics, he/she will cause more harm to the society. Therefore a person with high degree of information literacy should have a good information ethics first. Information technology education has already been included in compulsory education in China. Over two hundred million school students will become the largest group using information technology in the future. The importance of the implementation of information ethics education for school students should be clearly understood.Information ethics education requires more attention and exploration in the field of moral education in China, not only from the aspect of information technology education. The exploration and development of information ethics education start early in Japan. It emphasizes on infonnation ethics education for adolescents, and there are extensive research on the purpose, content, material development, teaching practice and other aspects of information ethics education in school. This thesis analyzes the problems and countermeasures of information ethics education in primary and secondary schools in Japan and summarizes its characteristics in hopes of providing a new perspective in theory, guidelines and reference in practice for infonnation ethics education in China.This thesis is composed of an introduction and five parts. The introduction gives an account of the origin and significance of the thesis, the existing literature home and abroad, and the research methodology.Part One illustrates the concept, content and purpose of information ethics education in Japan and introduces its current state based on its connotation and background.Part Two investigates the main problems of information ethics education in primary and secondary schools in Japan from three aspects:national policy, educational practice, and social environment.Part Three analyzes and sorts out the reform measures and countermeasures of information ethics education in Japan according to the problems stated in Part Two.Part Four is a case study of the practice of information ethics education in primary and secondary schools in Miyazaki, Japan on three dimensions:the background, research, and reform.Part Five presents several considerations on the construction of information ethics education in primary and secondary schools in China in association with the experience of information ethics education in primary and secondary schools in Japan.