EVALUATION OF CURRICULUM FOR NEW HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT 'SEIBUTSU KATSUYO' (THERAPEUTIC APPROACH UTILIZING PLANTS AND ANIMALS)

'Seibutsu Katsuyo' (Therapeutic approach utilizing plants and animals) was established as a subject teaching the social role of horticulture in the new Japanese government curriculum guidelines for agricultural high schools. Agricultural high school students can study the meaning and role of 'Seibutsu Katsuyo', via activities including cultivating and utilizing horticultural crops, raising and utilizing partner animals, and improving health and quality of life by means of horticultural plants or partner animals. To review and assess this subject, the approach of four evaluation perspectives of mainstream agricultural high school subjects was utilized, so that this evaluation would be in line with those of other subjects in senior high school by the National Institute for Educational Policy Research in 2004. The four evaluation perspectives used, therefore, were: 'Interest, Enthusiasm, Behavior'; 'Thought, Decision-making'; 'Skill, Expression'; and 'Knowledge, Understanding'. The goal of the new subject was that they would also be shown in 'Seibutsu Katsuyo'. However, concrete evaluation viewpoints and evaluation methods had not so far been developed for the new subject. In this study, concrete evaluation viewpoints and evaluation methods for each unit of the text book 'Seibutsu Katsuyo' were developed and applied. So far the item ‘Knowledge, Understanding’ has been assessed as an evaluation viewpoint, and the written test paper has been regarded as a very useful evaluation method for this purpose in school education. Teachers now need to weigh other curriculum perspectives also, such as 'Thought, Decision' or 'Skill, Expression' in developing yet more effective ways of educating students concerning the social role of horticulture.