IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2011) 2–1

Research article
erdCurrent State of Food and Agriculture Education(SHOKUNOU KYOUIKU) in JapanHIROKI INAIZUMIFaculty of International Food Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
Email:inaizumi@nodai.ac.jp
Received 14 December 2010

Accepted 31 January 2011

Abstract At the beginning of this century, the Japanese education system and associatedcurriculum dramatically changed, particularly concerning instruction related to acquiring a“Zest   for   Living”   through   food   and   agriculture   education.   Concomitant   with   these  revisions, numerous studies and activities have been conducted predominantly at theelementary level, with only a few performed at the university level. In attempt to counter
this trend, the Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA) established the Food andAgriculture Education Theory Course (FAETC) in April 2007. In the present study, theeffectiveness of the FAETC was investigated by examining the relationship among
students’   daily   lifestyles,   particularly nightly sleeping time and breakfast consumption
custom, and their academic performance in this course. From the results of surveys
conducted over a three-year period, it was revealed that students who had a regular
lifestyle with respect to sleeping and eating trends exhibited superior academic
performance. However, it appeared that students with an irregular lifestyle also improved
their concentration levels. Therefore, these results suggest that a positive correlation exists
between lifestyle and concentration level, and student conscientization can be promoted bycontinuous encouragement in regular class. In other words, it is concluded that a large
possibility exists for the role of FAETC for conscientization by students in their daily
lives.
Keywords food and agriculture education, food and nutrition education, zest for living,
conscientization

INTRODUCTION
Since the Basic Law on Shokuiku (Food and Nutrition Education) was enforced on July 2005,
numerous activities have emerged, including seminars, publications, and a certifying examinationfor Shokuiku/Shokunou (Food and Agriculture) Education, among others. The rapid expansion ofthis program has been termed  the  ‘Shokuiku bubble’  in  Japan.
Along with this trend, the Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA) has   begun   ‘Shokunou
Kyouiku’   (Food   and   Agriculture   Education   Theory   Course [FAETC]) in the Department ofInternational Bio-Business Studies, Faculty of International Food Studies from April 2007.
Background of the FAETC
According to the preamble of the Basic Law on Shokuiku, the Japanese Government clearly statedthe importance of Shokuiku as follows:“Above   all   else   ‘SHOKU’   (food/diet/eating) is important for children to cultivate richhumanity (i.e., develop into well-rounded and compassionate individuals), and to acquire theknowledge and means to live healthy lives. The Basic Law on Shokuiku formally makes Shokuiku
the foundation for living, and positions it as the base of intellectual (Chiiku), moral (Tokuiku) andphysical (Taiiku) education.”
Three years before the Basic Law on Shokuiku enforcement, the Japanese Ministry of
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Standard  (NCS)  in  2002  by  introducing  the  brand  new  subject  ‘Period  for  Integrated  Study’,  which  was   aimed   at   the   ability   of   students   to   acquire   a   ‘Zest   for   Living’.   Subsequently,   many   people  thought Shokuiku and/or  other  food  and  agriculture  studies  were  the  key  contents  of  the  ‘Period  for  Integrated   Study’   subject.   Since   foods   are   a   prerequisite   condition   for   every   human   being,   this  subject would be a strong learning assistant tool if it contained suitable educational content thatwas presented properly. In other words, it appeared that Shokuiku had significant potential to allow
the acquisition of not only knowledge, but also mental and physical skills through individual
learning activities.
Theoretical framework
After revising the NCS and enforcing the Basic Law, numerous studies focused on the importanceof Shokuiku and/or food and agriculture education have been published in Japan. For example,
Kageyama (2006) concluded that breakfast behavior and varietal food intake are closely related toacademic performance in elementary school students, while Koshikawa et al. (2007) also describeda close relationship between diet and learning attitude/motivation. Moreover, Suzuki et al. (2007)
and Asaoka et al. (2010) pointed out that food and agriculture education has important functions forrebuilding human relations and revitalizing communication among local communities. However,most studies to date have focused on younger children or have presented complicated theoreticalarguments without clear conclusions. For studies involving children, it make sense that eating
habits   are   closely   related   to   children’s   daily   life,   but   those   children   cannot   be   considered  independent, as their behaviors are strongly affected by their parents and/or surrounding adults.
Moreover, in addition to dietary habits, academic performance may also be influenced byhousehold conditions (e.g. family structure, income levels, family norm, etc.). Therefore, it appears
difficult to evaluate direct relationships between eating habits and academic scores in children. For
those studies involving complex theoretical arguments, although the authors collected large
amounts of historical and current evidences on food and agriculture education/activities and have
put forth important efforts, a concrete theory has yet to be demonstrated.
Therefore, in the present study, an attempt has been made to establish another framework forfood and agriculture education and student performance. Specifically, an empirical study involving
university students was conducted for evaluating the educational effects of the FAETC in TUA.
University students were selected as they are generally considered more independent than primaryand secondary school students, which would allow the relations between their eating habits,
autonomous behavior (derived from their own conscientization), and academic performance to be
captured, and also fill the gaps of previous studies on food and agriculture education in Japan.
Research objectives
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that FAETC has a positive effectfor  achieving  conscientization  in  students’  daily  lives  and  the  integration  of  knowledge,  which  is  typically presented incoherently during early stages of their education.
In general terms, the two main objectives of this survey were to: 1) Compare student behavior
concerning breakfast consumption and hours of sleep with the guidelines of the Basic Program for
Shokuiku Promotion (BPSP) set by the Office for Shokuiku Promotion in the Cabinet Office,
Government of Japan in 2006, and 2) Evaluate the effects of FAETC on student lifestyle.
The three specific objectives were to: (1) Examine the current situation for breakfast
consumption behavior among target students and compare these findings with the latest National
average  and/or  National  projection,  (2)  Identify  factors  affecting  students’  breakfast  consumption  behavior,   and   (3)   Clarify   the   relation   between   students’ customs and their performance in thiscourse.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGIESThe FAETC
In response to these stated objectives for the Basic Act of Shokuiku, TUA established the FAETC
for students who have an interest in food, agriculture, and environment. Table 1 shows a course
outline of the FAETC in 2009. The purpose of this course was to allow student to discover theeducational elements in agricultural activities.
To cover the areas of not only on food, but also more broad areas including agriculture andenvironment, TUA decided to adopt FAETC (Shokunou Kyouiku) and not Food and Nutrition
Education (Shokuiku), even though the Basic Law is named Shokuiku. For achieving the outlined
goals, several discussion sessions were offered as part of the course in addition to the normal
lectures.
Table 1 Course content of the FAETC in 2009
Theme of lecture
1. Background of the birth of Shokuiku/
Shokunoukyouiku, and current situation
2. Education

3. History of education and agricultural
education in Japan

4. Food, agriculture and education
Conclusion

TopicsCurrent situation of food and agriculture in Japan
Background of Shokuiku/ Shokunoukyouiku
What is education?
Examining educational history
Pre-modern age
Establishment and expansion of the school system
Agricultural panic and the birth of farmer training
centers
 Reformation after WWII Current situation
 Lessons learned from general educational theories
 Industrial education besides agriculture
Examining the educational factor in agriculture, introducing
the theory of comparison








Source: Web-syllabus of TUA (2009)

Survey methods
To  identify  the  factors  affecting  students’  lifestyle  habits,  particularly  the  daily  hours  of  sleep  and  breakfast consumption, data was collected from FAETC students over a three-year period.
Table 2 Background of participating students
2007(total=234)
Participants (per total students)
Male
GenderFemaleDomestic
Resident
International
Yes
Breakfast(total number)
No
CourseAverageperformanceSD(max=10)

Number
111
55
56
94
17
649
308
7.32

2008
(total=215)
%
47%
50%
50%
85%
15%
68%
32%

1.76

Number
63
42
21
52
11
524
126
7.29
2.00

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2009(total=223)
%
29%
67%
33%
83%
17%
81%
19%

Number
70
46
24
65
5
543
198
7.14
1.54

%
31%
66%
34%
93%
7%
73%
27%

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2011) 2–1

To collect data, a survey was conducted by administering a small questionnaire at the end ofeach FAETC lecture between 2007 and 2009. The four-question questionnaire was distributed 15
minutes before the end of each lecture, filled out by students, and collected; typically, feedback
would be given at the beginning of next lecture. Moreover, students were asked each time for theirconsent concerning the use of their personal information for research. If a student was not willing
for their information to be utilized for research purposes, that data was eliminated from the analysis.
The course performance was combined final examination and homework scores into 0 to 10 scales.
The composition of students who participated in the survey is summarized in Table 2.
SURVEY RESULTS
Investigation of student background and their lifestyle with a focus on the daily hours of sleepand breakfast consumption
There are three majors (Management, Information, and Environment Sciences) in the Department
of International Bio-Business Studies at TUA which offer specific lectures and seminars for eachselected major. FAETC is one of the compulsory lecture courses in the Environment Major;
therefore, the number of participating students varies each year. Table 2 indicates the number ofparticipating students and their characteristics for each year during 2007-2009, as mentioned above.
As shown in the first column of Table 2, the total number of students in the department by
academic year was: 234 in 2007, 215 in 2008, and 223 in 2009. Of these, the number and portion ofparticipating students for FAETC was: 111 (47%) in 2007, 63 (29%) in 2008, and 70 (31%) in
2009, while the gender ratio (male: female) of participants was close to 7:3, with the exception of
2007, when the ratio was 5:5. The portion of domestic and international students was 85:15 in 2007,
83:17 in 2008, and 93:7 in 2009.
After compiling the collected student data related to lifestyle (Table 3), it was compared to thetarget figures of the BPSP.
Table 3 Average nightly sleeping hours and breakfast consumption

Hours of sleep
Breakfast
consumption
(%)

2007
Average
SD
5.92
1.492

2008
Average
SD
5.98
1.569

2009
Average
SD
5.91
1.552

3-year average
Average
SD
5.93
1.532

67.80

80.60

73.30

73.10

0.467

0.396

0.443

0.444

Table 3 shows that in the initial year that FAETC was offered (2007), the average breakfast
consumption rate was 67.8%, which was significantly below the national average of 73.5%
reported by the BPSP in 2006. However, the three-year average consumption rate by students inthis course (73.1%) was similar to national average reported by the BPSP and slightly higher thanthe value (71.9%) reported in the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS) conducted by the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2009. Although a peak breakfast consumption rate of
80.6% was observed in 2008, it appears that the BPSP target figure of 85% in 2011 may be difficult
to achieve.
With respect to the reported hours of sleep, the three-year average of FAETC students was
5.93 hours per day, which was close to the national average reported in the NHNS of 6-7 hours perday.

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Factors influencing breakfast consumption
Among the factors evaluated in this survey, several were selected to examine their correlation withbreakfast consumption behavior (Table 4).
Table 4 Correlation of selected factors with breakfast consumption

GenderStudent
Sleeping time
Academic year

Correlation
coefficientSignificancelevel

F value

Cases

-0.10
-0.06
-0.01
-0.06

0.000
0.000
0.233
0.000

138.61
33.86
1.43
24.73

2348
2348
2348
2348

(male=1)(international=1)(hours)(2007-2009)

According to Table 4, a positive correlation with breakfast consumption behavior was only
shown   for   ‘academic   year’,   while   negative   correlations   were   detected   for   both   ‘gender’   and‘student’   background   (Japanese-International [Intl.]). As the student breakfast consumption
behavior gradually improved from 2007 to 2009, it suggests that breakfast consumption wasaffected by the series of educational activities promoted under the current   ‘Shokuiku bubble’   as  Shokuiku and/or Shokunou became popularized in society, and might also be good evidence for theefficacy of the National Campaign for BPSP. The   factor   of   ‘male   student’   showed   a   negative  correlation with breakfast consumption behavior, indicating that female students have a higher
tendency to consumption breakfast than their male counterparts. Intl. students also had a negative
correlation with breakfast consumption rate, suggesting that their behavior may have been affectedby the additional  cost  of  breakfast.  The  last  examined  factor,  ‘sleeping  time’,  was  positively,  but  not significantly, correlated with breakfast consumption behavior of the student participants.
Comparison of the hours of sleep between breakfast consumers and non-consumers
A   comparison   between   breakfast   consumers   (hereafter   ‘bf-consumers’)   and   non-breakfast
consumers   (hereafter   ‘bf-non-consumers’)   in   connection   with   average   sleeping   hours   by   FAETC  lecture number (Figures 1, 2) revealed a more stable trend in bf-consumers than bf-non-consumers.
Although it is possible that bf-consumers had already established independent life routines andactions (autonomous behavior), no significant correlation existed between breakfast consumption
behavior and hours of sleep against which the general public perceive.

2007(N=649)
2008(N=522)
2009(N=543)
average2007(N=300)
2008(N=126)
2009(N=198)
AverageFig.  1  Breakfast  consumer’s  average  sleeping hours by lecture number

Fig. 2 Breakfast non-consumer’s  average  sleeping hours by lecture number© ISERD

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Correlation between breakfast consumption behavior and academic course performance
As shown in Table 5, female students displayed good performance in the course, and course
performance also had a positive correlation with breakfast consumption behavior. Even though thesignificance level was not high, a definite positive correlation between breakfast consumption
behavior and FAETC performance was identified. This result displayed a similar trend with several
studies that have also identified a close connection between these two factors in younger children.
Table 5 Correlation of gender and breakfast consumption with course performance

GenderBreakfast(male=1)(consumption=1)

Correlation
coefficient
-0.16
-0.09

Significance
level
0.204
0.030

F value

Cases

7.711
-4.6162385
2348

DISCUSSION
In this study, several factors affecting student lifestyle habits, particularly the hours of daily sleepand consume of breakfast, and the correlation of their lifestyles with FAETC performance were
examined.
The present results confirmed that a positive correlation exists between breakfast behavior andcourse performance, which is similar to the findings of previous studies conducted at theelementary level. However, a clear difference among the two student groups was detected in termsof conscientization level. Although nearly all elementary students heavily rely on their parents fortheir life activities, many university students, particularly at the junior level, are more independentand in the process of establishing their own lifestyle. During this period, it could be quite useful tourge students to acquire awareness of their daily activities, not only those related to learning, butalso more ordinal ones, such as part time working, reading a book and taking an exercise. For
example, a clear difference in the trend of sleeping-hours was identified between bf-consumers who
advanced establishment on an independent lifestyle and bf-non-consumers. Thus, it could be statedthat the FAETC is an effective method to acquire a sense of conscientization.
Even before participating in FAETC, it was expected that the student participants would
possess a good attitude towards breakfast consumption behavior. However, the results revealed thatthe difference between the student rates of breakfast consumption did not significantly differ fromthe National Average. This was also the case for the daily hours of sleep. From these results, it isapparent that even for the students who have an interest in food, a well-organized approach is
required to improve their attitude towards healthy lifestyle choices.
It can be conclude that there is a need to offer FAETC for the early-twenties generation because
this group faces the most negative nutritional condition in Japan. Although improvements to
FAETC may   be   warranted,   this   course   has   the   potential   to   positively   change   students’   lifestyle  choices, such as breakfast consumption behavior, and improves total performance, even with its
current curriculum and methods are justified and numbered consecutively, with equation numbers
in parentheses flush right, as in Eq. (1). First use the equation editor to create the equation. A
sample equation is included here, formatted using the preceding instructions.
CONCLUSION
Students who have a regular lifestyle with respect to sleeping and eating habits tend to exhibit goodacademic performance. In addition, those students who improved their lifestyle also displayed
increased concentration levels. From the results presented here, it was demonstrated that acorrelation exists between lifestyle and concentration level, and that conscientization can bepromoted by continuous encouragement in regular class. In other words, it is considered that a large
possibility exists for the role of FAETC in conscientization by students in their daily lives.
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Even though improvements to the current FAETC curriculum may be warranted, for example,
evaluating the appropriateness of the stated objectives and addressing the confusion felt by somestudents between current Shokunou Kyouiku activities and the historical evidences from general
education, the data presented here may help to establish more comprehensive and suitable
Shokunou Kyouiku in the future through active discussions in academic societies and individuals
who have an interest in this topic conclusion might elaborate on the importance of the work or
suggest applications and extensions. Do not cite references in the conclusion as all points shouldhave been made in the body of the paper. Note that the conclusion section is the last section of thepaper to be numbered.
REFERENCES
Asaoka, Y. and Nomura, T. (2010) The Power of shokuiku. Kouseikan, Japan (in Japanese).
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Cabinet Office (2006) The basic program for shokuiku promotion (BPSP). http://www8.cao.go.jp/syokuiku/
about/plan/pdf/kihonkeikaku.pdf (in Japanese).
Kageyama,   H.   (2006)   Fostering   children’s   academic   performance   by   “sleep   and   wake   up   early   and   take  breakfast”. ShokuikuKatsudou (Activities on Food and Nutrition Education), Rural Culture Association(NOBUNKYOU), 3, 36-39 (in Japanese).
Koshikawa, E., Okuda, T. and Murai, Y. (2007) The relation of dietary life with learning attitude andmotivation in elementary school children. Bulletin of Osaka Kyouiku University, Section II, 55-2, 35-44(in Japanese).
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2009) The national health and nutrition survey (NHNS). http://
www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2009/11/dl/h1109-1b.pdf (in Japanese).
NOBUNKYOU (1998) Shokunou Kyouiku (Food and Agric. Education). 1, 152 (In Japanese).
Suzuki, Z., Asaoka, Y., Kikuchi, Y. and Nomura, T. (2007) Regeneration of education by Shokunou.
NOBUNKYOU (in Japanese).
Web-syllabus of TUA (2010) http://sv1.all-campus.net/scl2/APM2P0201A.html?UPRM=tua (in Japanese).

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