This article aims to build a frame of reference to reconsider the meaning of knowledge in line with collective value formation and to regain lost popular knowledge in comparison with paternalistic or scientific knowledge. Following a brief introduction of Japanese social education and a critical/creative review of Freire's concept of…

In this essay, Karou Miyazawa reflects on how she was both insider and outsider during her fieldwork in Fukushima, Japan, between 2013 and 2016, after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant explosion devastated the region. During her time in Fukushima, Miyazawa experienced the emotions of community members as well as her own, which…

Both "disaster preparedness" and "public pedagogy" have been broadly defined and diversely utilised. Preparedness has been dealt with in disciplines such as civil engineering, the sociology of disasters, public health and psychology, rather than education. Recently, inquiries into the learning and teaching of preparedness have…

Japan stands as a rare country in which ESD has been incorporated as mainstream policy. However, looking back on the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), ESD has not brought about the transformation in Japan that one expects ESD to aim for, despite this support at the policy level. The cause may be that pouring…

This article is an attempt to develop a theory of peace education through an examination of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. It examines why Japan did not avoid this terrible nuclear disaster. This is an educational issue, because one of the major impacts of Fukushima's catastrophe is that it indicates the failure of peace education. In…

In order to contextualise the articles in this special issue, this introductory article surveys the relevant literature from recent disasters in mostly developed countries in order to explore the wider role of schools in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The first section argues that as schools are hubs of their communities, it is…

In the summer of 2011, the Forum on Education Abroad conducted its fourth State of the Field Survey. This survey is an annual or biannual assessment of the very latest trends and issues in the field of education abroad. As in the past, questions on new topics have been combined with questions that have been asked on previous State of the Field…

Schools in the areas afflicted by an earthquake disaster of unprecedented scale, already faced with the challenge of simply carrying out regular school education, also struggled with the problem of how to ensure the necessary psychological care for the damaged children. With regard to this, I undertook school support based on the following…