ISSA Activity Brief
Issue_04 Sep. 2020

HOW CAN ISSA REACT TOTHECOVID-19
PANDEMIC?

scientific, social awareness andfoster democratic citizens. Its vision
might be respect for social diversity,
criticalthinking,

exploratory

learning, and promotion of social

participation and so on. In particular,
I think that respect for diversity andcriticalthinking

arenecessarycountermeasures to COVID-19.

The new coronavirus infection（COVID-19）became a pandemic in2020, and has not only drasticallyreduceddomesticand

globaleconomies but also has greatly
affected communities and school
education due to restrictions on themovement of and meetings betweenpeople. At present, there is noeffective infection control and noprospectof

thedisease’stermination. How should social
studies education deal with thesecircumstances, and what can ISSA
do?

First of all, social studies

scholars and teacher educatorsmust

not lose sight of the mission

and vision of the subject in any

situation. Its mission is to form

As for respect for diversity,

empathy and care for minorities andthe weak are indispensable. Still, inreality, there are incidents ofharassmentandexclusion

ofmigrants and patients with COVID19. Also, countries are competing in
the development of vaccines anddevoting

themselvestotheprevention of epidemics on theirownterritory.

educators

must

Socialstudies

remember thehistory of minorities and vulnerable
people being sacrificed to eliminatesocial unrest and dissatisfaction in

the event of disasters and epidemics
and take care to protect vulnerable
groupsthroughcross-bordersolidarity. At the same time, wemust control the pandemic throughinternational cooperation, such asthrough WHO.

The importance of criticalthinking has been pointed out since
the establishment of social studies.
Still, as online classes using digital
resourcesaremeasureinevitableagainstasa

COVID-19,expectations for critical thinking are

higher than ever before. First, wehave to find and eliminate the fakefrom among the information on
COVID-19 flooding the web andobtain accurate information. This isbecause effective measures cannot

be taken without precise details.
Next,

digitalliteracyisindispensable in promoting digital

education. Still, it is not theoperation of the device, but thecritical thinking of the young people
referred to as digital natives. As
Professor Sam Wineberg (2016) ofStanford University points out in hisarticle “Why historical thinking isnot about history,” many studies
have shown that even digital natives
are not good at sorting andinterpreting information. Indeed, “itis one thing to be a digital native andquite

anotherintelligent.”

tobedigitally

ISSA is a network organization

41

managed by academic societies ofsocial studies education in Asiancountries. It does not have any force.

However, we can exchange accurate

information on COVID-19 responses

in each country or region and block
fake news. And we can empathizewith the infected and the needy andencourage each other to overcome
difficult situations. There is a sayingthat “a friend in need is a friendindeed.” I hope ISSA member
societies will be friends in need.

Tomohito Harada

President of the ISSAJSSEA VOL. 9 AVAILABLE
SOON!
We are pleased to announce

that JSSEA Vol. 9 will be available in
October.

Also,wesincerely

apologize for the delay in thepublication and appreciate yourunderstanding. The contents of thisvolume are as follows:●How Can Social Studies Relate toYouthCivic

Engagement?

Preparation for Informed Civic

42

Participation Through an Inquiry

Theme: How can social studies●Social Studies Education Utilising

SDG3―Teaching and Learning ofApproach: The Singapore Social
Studies Curriculum----Min Fui Chee
Children’s

Motivations:

Methodology to Connect ChildrenandSociety

DismantlingofThroughthe‘Performed

contribute to achieving Sustainable
Development

Goals?

“Health and Disease.”

Focus

on

Date: January 24, 2021 (Sun)Time: 15:00–16:30 (Japan)

14:00–15:30 (Singapore)Consensus’-----------Noboru Tanaka

Presenters and titles:------------Aekyung Park

Technological●Promoting Teachers’ Citizenship(1) Dr. Chew Hung Chang (National●BasicSingapore): What does future-readyby Participation in PLC ---------------Education

Curriculum

Reforms in Myanmar and the Role ofSocial Studies --------------------------Wint Zaw Htet

For reading the above articles

and reviews, please access tohttp://jerass.com/jssea/.

JERASS WILL HOST ANISSAAFFILIATED
WEBINAR
TheJapanese

Educational

Research Association for SocialStudies (JERASS) will host an ISSA-affiliated webinar next January.
Here are the details.

Institute of Education, Nanyang
University,social studies education look like?

Insights from teaching and learning
geography.

(2) Dr. Yoshiyasu Ida (University ofTsukuba, Japan): TBA
Language: English.

Registration for the webinar

will open in December. Please checkthehomepagesof(http://jerass.com/jssea/)

ISSAandJERASS (https://jerass.jp/) afterNovember 30, 2020.

LAST CHANCE! CALL FOR
THE SPECIAL ISSUE OFJSSEA VOL.10

Do not forget to submit yourpapers for JSSEA Vol. 10! In thisvolume, we are preparing a special
issue discussing“How shouldsocial studies deal with andcontributetoachievingSustainable Development Goals?”AnyarticleEducation,ofandSocialrelated

Studiesfields,including History and Geography
Education,

PoliticalEducation,

Global and International Education,
and Citizenship Education, are also

Additionally, we also want you

Japan. If you would like to check forand better. The following is an

homepage: http://www.essdra.fan-will be our way of getting better
connected and make ISSA bigger
example of an affiliated event.

ANNOUNCEMENTOUR MEMBERS

The submission deadline isforward to reading your work!

CALL FOR AFFILIATEDEVENTISSA is ready to support you tomakeyourassociation’s

othercountries

event

global. If you have any academic

FROM

On February 22–23, 2020, the31st annual conference of ESSDRA

was held at Okayama University ofScience,“Prospectswithof

thethemeSocialofStudies

our members for your successful
event.

ourofficial

Our academic Journal, Journal of

Research on Education in Social
published in December 2019. It

contains six peer-reviewed papers,
six book reviews, and a report on
the 30th conference.

2.
THEJAPANESEASSOCIATION FOR SOCIALSTUDIES (JASS)
Due to COVID-19, the Japanese

conference.

no ISSA-affiliated events at theThe 32nd annual conference

twosend/share the information withsite.net.

pleasethevarious committees, such as theIntelligence.” However, there wereplease let us know. We willattend,conference,about

Education towards Era of Artificial

will take place on February 13–14,

will

information

Association for Social Studies has

event that you hope scholars from

especially English-based sessions,

moreStudies Department, Vol. 31, was

1. THE SOCIAL STUDIESDEPARTMENTRESEARCHASSOCIATION (ESSDRA)

welcome!

November 30, 2020. We lookentrance examination schedule into plan these kinds of events. This2021. Because of the COVID-19
pandemic, it will be held online inparts,“symposium”

and“session by ESSDRA members.” Thedate might be changed dependingon the COVID-19 news or university

significantly changed its originalschedule this year.
Standing

Committee

All of theand

theEditorial Committee, held online

meetings. The two-day national
conference will also be held online,on November 28–29, 2020, hosted
by the University of Tsukuba. On thefirst day, a general meeting and aboard of councilors will be held. On43

thesecondday,

researchpresentations and a symposium willbe held.

The themes of the researchpresentations are as follows:schools have been greatly confused

online conference. Please check theremained steady and active.

ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIALSTUDIESEDUCATIONby the effects of COVID-19, ourmembers’

researches

have2) How is gender bias hidden in3.
THE
JAPANESEEDUCATIONALRESEARCHASSOCIATION FOR SOCIALSTUDIES (JERASS)

that fosters competencies in social

We are pleased to announce that1)

Howshoulddisasterprevention education be continued?

social studies education?

3) How should the unit design bestudies education?

the4) Considering the ideal way of
newschoolsubject,“Comprehensive Geography” and“Comprehensive“Public”

education.

withinHistory”
socialandstudies5) Considering the ideal way of

subject specialization in teacher
training of social studies education.

the 60th JERASS & 37th the Naruto
Association
EducationofSocial(NASSE)

Studiesannualconference will be held online from

October 24 (Sat) to November 3(Tue),

2020.

The

theme

is

“Responsibility for social studies

education: How to meet the broader

official website.

4.

THEKOREAN(KASSE)
KASSE will hold its 2020 winterconferenceinJanuary2021.

Because of COVID-19, KASSE could
nothaveanannualmeeting.

Therefore, the winter conference
will compensate for the canceled2020 summer conference. TheNational Research Foundation ofSouth Korea will support theconference.

*We are looking forward tohearing from the Indonesian Social

demand for education.”

Studies Association (APRIPSI)

discussion and October 24–25 video

Association (KASE) next time!

This conference will consist of a

A theme of the symposium issymposium (October 24 Zoom

and the Korean Social Studies

social participation?” Free research

Although the online conference wasa reluctant choice for us in the face

Our members’ new
PUBLICATION WRITTENIN ENGLISH

online, its duration can be extended.

1. DONG-MIN LEE(DECEMBER 2019)“How will social studies lessons

change by using the viewpoint ofpresentations will be made on theweb.

On the other hand, academic

journals

havebeenpublishedsmoothly. As usual, three journals

were published this year. Although

44distribution) and paper sessions.

of COVID-19, there have been
unexpectedbenefits.

By

going

We look forward to welcoming

you to our innovative, dynamic

Dong-MinLee,AssistantProfessor of Catholic KwangdongUniversity, published the following
article:Lee, D-M. (2019). Cultivatingpreservice geography teachers’
awareness of geography using

Story Maps. Journal of Geography

in Higher Education 44(3), 387405.

The purpose of this study is toanalyze the potential of Story Maps
toimprove

geography

theawareness ofamongpreservice

geography teachers (PGTs). To

conduct the research, this study

proceduralandscientificprominent improvements in theirawareness of geography. In addition,
one PGT (Type C) showed little
improvement

inawarenessofgeography. These results suggest
potential

education

implications
basedonfor

PGT

geospatial

technologies and spatial narratives.

2. JINICHIRO SAITO(MARCH 2020)
Jinichiro

education:

30

journals and were analyzed using
thesevenstepsofanalysis.

Participating PGTs deepened theirawareness of geography as theycreated their Story Maps, which led
toimproved

awarenessofgeography education. Many PGTs
(TypeA)developeda

highlyTokai

AssistantphenomenographicforofSaito,Saito, J. (2020). Maintaining

plan

thenational standards. In recent years,

learning, while some other PGTs

collected via participants’ reflective

lessonexplores(Type B) showed comparatively lessconcepts, theories, and teaching andProfessor

beginning PGTs. The data werearticlerelationship between the freedom

ofplanned a Story Maps-based full-semesterThis

geography

understanding

University,

published the following article:
national

engaging

standards

culturally
A

while

relevant

comparative

analysis of citizenship education

granted to teachers for shaping
curriculaandthefunction ofmany countries have begun to

introduce standards-based reformsin education. As cultural diversity
withinschools

increases,

thetension resulting from catering tosuch diversity while maintaining
standards is also rising. This article

offers a comparative analysis of thecontexts in the U.S. and Japan.

The first half of the paper

focuses mainly on the U.S. example.

In the U.S., debates and conflicts

between supporters of standardsbased

reforms

multicultural

andthoseeducation

ofhavesurfaced. In this process, creative
strategies

suggestprovidingteachers with the freedom to shapecurricula for children of diverse
foreign heritages.

The second half of the paperin the United States and Japan,

focuses on the contexts in Japan,

51.

theEducational Studies in Japan:

International Yearbook, 14, 39-such as history and characteristics

of courses of study, regulation bynationalgovernment,

andsuggestive citizenship education45

lessons for immigrant children inHiroshima is a place whereJapan. The implication is thatdifferent memories collide. In Japan,

Japan, similar controversial issues

More Hiroshima.” In the U.S.,

although the U.S. has a higher
degree of cultural diversity thanwill also surface for the Japanese
educational system soon. Therefore,
this article advocates the need for abalance between regulation by thenational government and teachers’
own

initiatives

increating

citizenship education curriculum.

a3. JONGSUNG KIM& KAZUHIRO KUSAHARA(MAY 2020)
Jongsung

Kim,AssistantProfessor of Hiroshima University,and Kazuhiro Kusahara, Professorof Hiroshima University, publishedthe following article:

Kim, J., & Kusaraha, K. (2020).

What is the lasting impact of theuse of nuclear weapons during
WWII in Japan? In B. Maguth & G.

Wu (Eds.), Inquiry-based global

learning in the K–12 social studies
classroom (pp. 139-154). NewYork, NY: Routledge.

46

the city is recognized as a place ofdisseminating the message “Nodropping the atomic bomb in
Hiroshima is controversial; oneargues the bombing was necessary,

but the other disputes that there
were alternatives. Other countries,

such as Korea and China, view
Hiroshima based on the history ofcolonization by Japan. Likewise, theunderstanding of the use of thenuclear weapon during WWII incompelling question “What is thelasting impact of the atomic bomb

during WWII in Japan?” This unit
culminates

anauthentic

performance task to re-design thelast 10 feet of the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum with historicalfactsandunderstanding.

theirhistorical

4. KAWAGUCHI HIROMI& JONGSUNG KIM(JULY 2020)
HiromiKawaguhi,

Associate

Japan varies based on the individual

Professor of Hiroshima University,

learning opportunity for viewing

published the following article:

country’s context.

In this chapter, we suggest awhat happened in Hiroshima frommultipleperspectives

anddeliberating how to remember thehistory. With the learning materials
that cover from the historicalbackground of the use of the nuclear

weapon and the catastrophe inHiroshima caused by the atomic
bomb to the recent Hiroshima visitof former President Obama andpeople’s reactions in a different

context, students will answer theandJongsung

Kim,AssistantProfessor of Hiroshima University,Kawaguchi, H., & Kim, J. (2020).
Beyond the pendulum?: Social

studies curriculum in Japan. In K.

J. Kennedy (Ed.), Social studies
education in East Asian contexts(pp. 19-35). New York, NY:
Routledge.

After the sheer madness of theSecond World War, social studies
has been introduced as a principal

subject for promoting democratic

should change its role to encourage

citizenship as a new social norm inschool subject has been the same, its

teachers to conduct curriculum

forms, curriculum, and pedagogy

5. JONGSUNG KIM,

has reflected diverse competing& SHO MURATA(JULY 2020)

Japan. Although the goal of thehave constantly changed because it

visions of the future like a mirror.
This chapter uses the following

three tensions as a framework tosuccessfullyFlexibility

studiesandRigorousness

andRelevance,

Japanese social studies seems toease the aforementioned tensions

and acts as a regulator, or goesbeyond the pendulum because thenew national curriculum tries toconcepts

thatareregarded as opposing or conflicting.

Social studies teachers in Japan
newcoordinating

Assistantand Sho Murata, a graduate student

curriculum, the current reform ofaKim,

responsibility

diversetoconflicting

concepts in their own curriculum,

and, thus, teacher education forboth pre- and in-service teachers

HiromiKawaguchi,

Associate

Professor of Hiroshima University,

at Hiroshima University, publishedthe following article:

Kim, J., Kawaguchi, H., & Murata,

S. (2020). “This is a matter ofsurvival”:

Theissues related to the disasters, andhow

socialsuchasstudies

educationpriori. In a disaster-prone country

Standardization,

curriculum:

Comparing to the past national

have

Jongsung

survive natural disasters and to

make a reasonable decision on thecollaborates with the whole-school

Professor of Hiroshima University,

Transmitting and Transforming.

integrate

KAWAGUCHI HIROMI,

theextract

characteristics of the Japanesesocialdevelopment.

aimed at preparing students tocollaboration

Japan,

Educationformatter,

but

also

Disaster Prevention is “a matter ofsurvival.” Not only do school
subjects

extracurricular activities and eventhose outside of school contributeto students’ safety.

Social studies education has

playedanessentialrolein

Education for Disaster Prevention
because it deals with natural

disasters and how people cope withthem. In this article, with an

between education for disaster

exemplary lesson, “Let’s Find theKennedy (Ed.), Social studies

educators connect the subject toRoutledge.

illustrateprevention and social studies
education in Japan. In K. J.

education in East Asian contexts(pp. 115-124). New York, NY:
Thischapter

clarifies

thecharacteristics of Education forDisaster Prevention in Japan, which

Secrets of Sendai Castle Town!” wedescribe

howsocialstudies

Education for Disaster Prevention.
Based on the case study, we also
education

howcansocial

createstudies

win-winsituations through collaboratingwith cross-curricular and wholeschool priori.

47

INTRODUCING OUR ISSA
AND
JSSEA
ADMINISTRATORS

widely known.

I am looking forward to hearing

your ideas on how to carry out
public relations.

My name is Yu Osaka. I am an

assistant professor at Tokuyama

University in Japan. I have beenworking as the chief of public
relations for JSSEA since JSSEA Vol.
7.

My main work is to maintain andupdate the JSSEA/ISSA website andto promote JSSEA to JERASS andothersocialstudies

educationorganizations in Japan. Occasionally,
I also assist in the proofreading
process. I will continue to promote

activities to make JSSEA more

48