The Comparison Study Of Geographical Curriculum In The Beginning Of 21centry Between China And Japan

Geography has higher status in the middle and primary schools in Japan. In recent years, some changes has happened in the geography curriculum offering of Japanese middle school. Especially entering 21st century, the Japanese Department of Education strengthened the basic educational reform, and established the new geography curriculum standard of middle and primary schools. According to the new standard, geography curriculum offering, examination system and assessment system have changed. Our country made the new geography curriculum reform in 2001,which is much more similar with the last geography curriculum reform in 21st century of Japan. Comparing Chinese geography curriculum reform with that of Japan will be favorable to our country's geography education studying, teaching material's editing, new geography curriculum implementation and assessment, etc.Curriculum reform includes the changes of curriculum offering, curriculum content, teaching material, teaching method and curriculum assessment etc. In the curriculum offering, Japan sets up geography curriculum in society and science. In our country some areas set up independent geography curriculum and some locals set up their geography curriculum in society and science. In high middle school, our country adopts credit system too, like Japan. Although our country has some difference in geography curriculum offering with Japan, but they has both fully considered the various needs of the students. In the curriculum objective, our two countries emphasize the cultivation of student's intelligence, ability, emotion attitude and value, and regard it as the important direction of the curriculum objective to improve students' comprehensive accomplishment. In the curriculum content, two countries do not emphasize the discipline system, but pay attention to the settlement of the geographical problem in the society, student's capability of resolving geographical problem and the improvement of student's information accomplishment. Geographical teaching materials of China and Japan both have a greater change in such all respects as the form of expression, system structure , teaching material idea ,etc. The teaching material system progressively went towards to pluralism too. But they have some differences, for example, our teaching materials lay emphasis on picture system, activity system and text system. However, Japan plays more emphasis on teaching material's practice, opening, and wild investigation skills, etc. Of teaching material's structure and formation two countries have each characteristic. In the end, according to the comparison with the research of Chinese curriculum and Japanese curriculum, I presented some specific suggestions about training teacher's curriculum reformation idea, enhancing curriculum resource's construction, etc.