新見公立短期大学看護学科学生の高等学校における理科履修科目と科学リテラシーに関する調査(4) : ゆとり教育で科学リテラシーは低下したか?

type:原著

高等学校では2003年度から新課程による教育が実施されている。著者らは,新見公立短期大学看護学科に入学する学生の高等学校における理科履修科目と入学時における科学リテラシーに関する調査を2003年度入学生から継続的に実施してきた。2006年4月に新課程履修者が入学したことから,旧課程履修者との異同を知ることによって,本学の看護基礎教育における自然科学系教育科目の教育改善に資することを目的として本研究を実施した。新課程履修者の履修科目は,理科総合等の一部の科目で高等学校調査書の記録と実際の履修との間にかなりの相違が認められた。このことは,必修科目の規定と多くの大学が入試科目として課している科目との相違に関連していことが推測された。新課程履修者は,全員が生物Iを履修していた。一方,化学と物理履修が減り,生物に偏る傾向がますます強まった。生物で履修した内容は,履修率が向上した分野がある一方で,生化学および生態系分野で著しく減少し,生物進化,系統分類分野についても低下した。理科の科目選択動機調査では,「自分の将来の職業など役に立つと思ったから」等,進路に対する指向がきわめて強いことが示された。意識調査では,自然科学に対して興味と関心をもつ一方で,学習の対象としては苦手意識が強いこと,分野別では生物学に強く偏る傾向を示した。基礎知識調査の得点は,旧課程履修者と同様な傾向を示したが,ヒトの遺伝に関連の問題で正解率が有意に向上した。これらの結果から,新課程移行による理科学力の顕著な低下は認められなかったが,履修内容の減少に伴って,大学教育における教育内容への配慮が今後必要になるものと考えられる。

We have investigated options of science subjects in high schools and scientific literacy among the nursing students of Niimi College since 2003. The newly revised national standard curriculum of the high school that was issued in 1999 took effect in 2003. It requires less study time and contents and permits more latitude than those of the previous one. The students enrolled in 2006 were educated according to the new curriculum. It is important to know the level of their scientific ability for improving nursing education of the college especially about natural scientific and basic medical fields. The options of science subjects in their high schools showed the difference between the official records issued by high schools and the actual answers of the questionnaire survey. The reasons might concern the fact that the essential science subjects required differ in the curriculum and college entrance examinations. All the students who educated in the new curriculum studied basic biology in their high schools. However, the ratio of the students who did not learn biochemistry, ecology, evolutional biology and systematic biology increased compared to those who educated in the previous curriculum. The ratio of them who did not study chemistry and physics also increased. The motives for their options of scientific subjects in their high schools were suggested to strongly point to their future courses to study and careers to pursue. The analysis of their preference for sciences suggested that although most of them were interested in science, their concern had a tendency to be limited to biology and they felt sciences were their poor school subjects. Their scientific knowledge was investigated using the method previously reported (Uno, F: The,Bulletin of Niimi College 25, 43-51, 2004). The level of the knowledge educated in the new curriculum was almost equal to those educated in the previous one except for a test question. The ratio of the correct answer concerning the human genetics was significantly improved. These results mentioned above suggested the new national standard curriculum did not remarkably bring down the level of scientific ability of the nursing students so far examined.

identifier:3

identifier:KJ00004797601