A survey conducted by the Fukushima University Educational Promotion Organization revealed that more than half of high school teachers in Fukushima Prefecture feel that there are issues with teaching inquiry learning and the professionalism of supervisors. Inquiry learning will become a compulsory subject in high schools starting in the 2022 academic year, but some respondents complain that ``high schools are too busy to handle it.''
According to Fukushima University, the survey was conducted online at 103 national, public, and private high schools in Fukushima Prefecture, and responses were received from 84 teachers at 124 schools. This is the first quantitative and comprehensive survey of inquiry learning in Fukushima Prefecture.
Regarding teaching issues, 55.6% cited inquiry learning guidance such as how to formulate questions, set up temporary cases, and summarize, 52.4% cited the expertise of supervisors, and 49.2% cited collaboration among supervisors and evaluation methods. . Teachers with a short history of teaching inquiry learning tended to have problems with the teaching itself, while teachers with a long history tended to have problems with overall management, such as securing teaching time and collaboration with external organizations.
As teachers become increasingly busy with their work, they are unable to devote enough time to instruction outside of their field of expertise, it is difficult to evaluate student growth, there are concerns about continuity with their career paths, and there is a lack of time for individual instruction. There are also voices that view this as a problem. 84.5% of high schools collaborated with external organizations such as local governments, private companies, NPOs, and universities.
Based on the results of this survey, Fukushima University will produce a 5- to 10-minute video on topics such as the flow of research and how to formulate questions, with Fukushima University faculty members providing explanations.
