Innovative trials in cooperation between engineering and K-12 educations in Japan

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1 Innovative trials in cooperation between engineering and K-12 educations in Japan Hajime Fujita Director for International Affairs, Japanese Society for Engineering Education Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University Tokyo, Japan Abstract The decrease of population in young generation is a major problem, not only for engineering education but also for the whole social structure in Japan. The total capacity for freshmen in Japanese universities has now matched with the number of the candidates in this year. Therefore the pass rate of the entrance examination is now theoretically 1%. Many universities introduced various kinds of entrance examinations and some of them do not require enough mathematical nor scientific knowledge. Decrease of study hours in K-12 program and the decrease of 18 years old population both have severe effect on the freshmen education in engineering schools. In order to promote interests in engineering, it is important for young students to feel the wonderfulness of technology. However, the technology education is given only during 3 years of junior high school (the 7th to the 9th grade). In order to show the importance of technology education, a trial program of technology education throughout the 1st to the 9th grade was performed successfully. Industries and universities are making effort to appeal technology to young people by offering open house type seminars. Some case studies for innovative technology education in primary and junior high schools are discussed. Key words: Technology education, K-12 education, monozukuri, population decrease 1. INTRODUCTION Japan has been heavily dependent on the export of advanced industrial products. We now have about 2.7 million engineers and scientists but one institution predicts that the number would decrease to 1.7 million in 25. Major reason for this is the decrease of total number of Japanese population and secondary the young people s loss of interests in science and technology. Decrease of population means the wider gate of entrance examination to universities, resulting in the lowering of the student level in engineering school. Another problem comes from the change of K-12 education. The study hour in primary school has, for example, decreased considerably in the past 6 years. This is another reason to the lowering of the level of entering students to the engineering schools. In order to overcome these difficulties and keep good quality engineers, universities are trying to renew their curricula to cope with the new level of students. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has realized the problem in K-12 education, and the study hour will be increased in 21. However, there are no official curricula to increase young people s interests in science and technology. There are some innovative trials to overcome this difficulty in K-12 schools, universities and industries. This paper will describe the current trends and problems in Japan s population and educations in the first part, and in the second part, case studies of programs to attract young people to science and industries offered by these institutions. 2. TRENDS IN POPULATION AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION 2.1 Trend in Japanese population Figure 1 shows the population distribution as of 26, estimated from the 23 census. Dip at the age 6-61 is due to the end of the World War II when most of men are in the battle field, and the peak at the age 56 to 59 is due to the after the war effect. Many soldiers returned home and their wives produced babies. This generation

2 is called baby-boomers. They are now facing retirement age and this is causing many problems. Experienced engineers are retiring without enough successors, and important knowledge based on deep experience may disappear within a few years, not only in the engineering but in any fields. This is a general problem Japan is facing, but particularly serious one in engineering. Another peak around age 33 is the second generation of the baby-boomers but there is no peak for the third generation. A sudden valley at the age 4 is due to Hinoeuma year. It is one of the signs of the Chinese zodiac and women born under this sign are generally believed to be unyielding or sometimes kill their husbands. Many people avoided to have a baby under this sign. More serious problem is the estimated change of population structure. According to the estimation by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the population of productive age, 15 to 64, will decrease from 84.4 million in 25 (66.1% of total population) to 49.3 million (51.8%) in 25. Juniors, age to 14, will also decrease from 17.6 million (13.8%) to 8.2 million (8.6%) while seniors, age 65 and over will increase from 25.8 million (2.2%) to 37.6 million (39.6%). As the life time birth rate of a woman is around 1.3, the population will keep decreasing and we have to plan the social structure based on this fact Population [million] Age Figure 1 Population distribution of Japan, as of October, Trend in university education Figure 2 shows the trends of number of total university students from 196 to 26. The number sharply increased up to the year 2 but now it seems to have saturated. 3.5 Number of student [million] Figure 2 Number of total university students, 196 to 26

3 Figure 3 shows the trend of undergraduate engineering students. The number of undergraduate engineering student peaked around 2 and started to decrease gradually, however, the percentage of the engineering student over the total number peaked much earlier, around 197. Many young people are losing interest in technology. One reason is that they were not exposed to the joy of monozukuri in childhood. Monozuuri is a word expressing the concepts of Production, Manufacturing, or Handcrafting, but it has rather wide and deep meaning and it cannot be expressed in one English word. Another reason is the time consuming study in engineering school compared with humanity and social science fields. Students in engineering school must have clear decisive objective for study. This decisive will sometimes comes from the strong interests in technology in the childhood. We used to enjoy making model cars and airplanes, or other handcrafting, but today children are playing with computer games without reality of life. Another problem comes from the K-12 education, described in section 2.3 below Number of Eng. students [thousand] Number %Eng % of eng. students vs total Figure 3 Number of undergraduate engineering student, 196 to 26 Figure 4 shows the trend of master level graduate engineering students. The increase rate of master level engineering student is much higher than that of undergraduate. Industry recognized the importance of master level student and now large industries hire mostly graduate students. That is the reason of keeping 4% vs. total number of student and this trend is suppose to continue for some time. The most urgent problem for universities to cope with is the decrease of the population of 18 years old as shown in Figure 5. After peaking as 2 million in 199, it is continuously decreasing and it will be 1.2 million in 21, and the numbers of candidates to enter universities will match the capacity of the freshman of the entire universities in Japan. This means that the pass rate of the entrance examination to universities would be 1% in 21, or even before if the capacity is increased. It was foreseen in the last decade and universities have been making every effort to keep enough students. This attitude of universities also created problems by themselves by introducing various kinds of entrance examinations, some of which don t require enough mathematical or scientific knowledge to enter to engineering schools. All these trends described above will endanger the quality and quantity of engineers in Japan, and there are some counter measures to overcome these difficulties. Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE) was established in 1999, and started accreditation in 21. JABEE was accepted to the Washington Accord as a provisional member in 21 and as a signatory member in 25. Establishment of JABEE is strongly tied with the reformation of Professional Engineer s Law. The certificate of Professional Engineer (PE) is now recognized as an important certificate with the increase of international activities, or globalization in engineering. The PE Law was substantially amended in 2 linked with the establishment of JABEE. The Institute of Professional Engineers (IPEJ) is the representing engineering

4 association in Japan organized under the PE law. The graduates of JABEE approved programs are now exempt from the preliminary examination. JABEE and IPEJ will be the core to keep quality of Japanese engineers [1]. Trials to motivate young people s interest in technology will be described in Capter3 below. 7, 7. 6, 6. Number of Eng. Master students 5, 4, 3, 2, Number %Eng % Eng. students vs total 1, Figure 4 Number of master level engineering students, 196 to 26 Population x 1 4, Pass rate[%] 3 25 Population Pass rate Figure 5 Population of 18 years old and the pass rate to the university entrance exam. 2.3 Problems in primary school education Primary and high school education in Japan used to be very dense and high level in knowledge base but was considered to be ineffective to develop creativity. The study hour was reduced gradually from 196 to 2, as shown in Table 1. Although Art and Crafts is included in technology related subject, most activity is drawing figures rather than monozukuri. In 2, new guideline for K-12 education was introduced. It is so called Enjoyable Education in order to promote the development of creativity in the early stage of life. Study hours of mathematics and science were greatly reduced compared with other subject. New education programs, however, seem to have resulted in premature scientific education for high school graduates. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has realized the problem in K-12 education, and the study hour will be increased in 21. However, the technology related subjects will not resume the level of 198.

5 Technology related subjects Math. Science Arts & Crafts Other subjects Total * * *No Science taught in the 1st and the 2nd grades Table 1 Study hours of primary school (for 6 years). 3 CASE STUDIES IN K-12 TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION 3.1 Activity in JSEE One of the main activities of JSEE is the Business Planning Committee which consists of Directors and prominent members of JSEE. It has three working groups and one of them is The Cooperation between K-12 and Engineering Educations, and the present author is a member of this WG. The lack of smooth connection between the K-12 educations to the university education is considered to be one of the problems to cause difficulties in university engineering education. Although this WG has not concluded yet, they realize that there seems to be three important subjects for promoting young people s interest in technology. These are Continuous technology education throughout K-12 educations, Support from industries as a part of CSR (Corporate social responsibility) activities and Appeal from universities: what students can learn in engineering schools. Case studies for these subjects are described below. 3.2 Science Seminar for junior high schools provided by an industry The MERL (Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd.) was established in 1966 in Tokyo as a core laboratory of mechanical engineering technology for Hitachi corporate group. MERL moved to Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1974 and moved again to Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki in 25. They started this Science Seminar in order to help better communication between the local area and the laboratory, and promote young people s interests in science and technology. It is also considered as a part to fulfill CSR for the local area. From 3 junior high schools, 39 students and 5 teachers participated in the program divided into 2 days in August, 27. General response of the students was quite positive as follow. I had better understanding of Hitachi. This experience will be useful for future study. Subject of science became more attractive. Discussion with research scientists was enjoyable. Explanations were easy to understand. Description of the subjects and the typical responses are given in Table 2. Subject Typical response of attendee for each subject 1 Cyclone vacuum cleaner Principle of the cyclone was well understood. 2 Automatic teller machine Mechanism on ATM was well understood and the convenience of using it was realized. 3 Driving simulator Danger of car driving was realized by operating the simulator. 4 Earthquake proof structure Structure for earthquake proof building was well understood through the experiments. 5 Anechoic room Visualization of the sound field was fantastic. 6 Temperature and humidity Controlled room Super cooling, a wonder of water, was astonishing. Table 2 Science Seminar subjects and responses of students

6 The program was partly supported by the Japan Society for Mechanical Engineers and was practiced with the cooperation of Hitachinaka City Board of Education. It was quite successful for both purposes and they will continue and try to improve this program in future. Many industries now realized the importance of appealing technology to young people. The retirement of the baby boomer may be a good chance to utilize the power of these senior engineers for this purpose. 3.3 Trial of continuous technology education through primary and junior high schools As mentioned above, technology education is taught very little in primary school. In order to show the importance and the effectiveness of technology education in early period of study, a trial program was proposed and practiced by Professor Sadato Yamazaki, Joetsu University of Education for the academic years of This program was devised after careful examination of technology educations in Japan and England [2][3][4], and was supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Subject No One primary and two junior high schools with approximately 1,2 students were involved. The scope of the study was as follows. Society and Technology Design Technical knowledge and skill This scope was subdivided into Materials and processing, Information, system and control, Energy transformation and Vegetable growing. Student levels were divided into four stages, grade 1 and 2, grade 3 and 4, grade 5 and grade 6, and grade 7 to 9. The target and the contents of each scope for each student stage were carefully prepared. Table 3 shows the target of the Society and Technology scope and Design scope for each stage as an example [5]. Stage Society and Technology Design Grade 1 & 2 To enjoy monozukuri by touching and To understand the rough idea of the shape and using various materials and tools. structure of the target object and to be able to make Grade 3 & 4 Grade 5 & 6 Grade 7 to 9 To make daily play and life more enjoyable through monozukuri. To be able to make things that will improve their life after careful observation of their school and local area. To understand the role of technology, and possess the will to sustain and create social life with others, and to be able to choose necessary technology to achieve these. it by considering the procedure. To be able to make target object by predicting and estimating the process of monozukuri and the usage after finished. To be able to complete the object by predicting and estimating the process of monozukuri and the usage after finished, considering various conditions. To be able to design and make objects and systems necessary for social life, by considering various conditions. Table 3 Target of the Society and Technology and Design scopes for 4 stages. Among 1,2 students, 9% of them expressed satisfaction in the program. Based on these experiences and results, Prof. Yamazaki and his colleagues developed a new curriculum for technology education through K-12 and the new text for the curriculum. 3.4 University s effort An open seminar named Power of Science was performed on November 3, 27 at Funabashi campus, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University during the Student Festival Open House. Contents were as follows. (1). Lecture about flow. (2). Make model of air plane or cars. (3). Put model into wind tunnel. (4). Measure flow around model by High speed camera and PIV. (5). Convivial meeting with cookies. (6). Awarding future Doctorate. Twenty five persons (1 from senior high schools, 8 from junior high schools and 7 including family and small children) participated. Among them, 15 persons responded to the Questionnaire and the result is shown below.

7 Q1: How do you feel about science in the event? Q2: Do you want to attend next event? Found interest in science 9 Yes 9 Lost interest in science No No change 6 I don t know 6 Q3: How did you know this event? Q4: Why did you attend the event? Poster 4 Contents 8 Teacher 5 Want to study at CST-NU 8 University web site 4 Free of charge 2 Friend 2 With friend 2 Had a time to do something 1 Table 4 Answer to the questionnaire of Nihon University Power of Science (multiple answers allowed) The college of Science and Technology, Nihon University has attached senior and junior high schools and primary school adjacent to the Funabashi campus, and students of these attached schools are walking passing through the Funabashi campus every day but they don t have a chance to look into the university activities on daily bases. The university should make every effort to appeal the importance of technology to young people and this kind of program should be expanded 4 CONCLUDING REMARKS Decrease of population, particularly that of productive age and the loss of interests in engineering among young people endanger the quality of engineers in Japan. Various efforts to overcome this difficulty are being sought. Three case studies, one each open seminars from and industry and from a university, and a trial program development for technology education in K-12 are presented. These case studies show the possibility of improving technology education both inside and outside of the schools. Acknowledgements Thanks are due to the Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd., to Professor Yamazaki of Joetsu University of Education and to Prof. Takei of Nihon University for providing materials for the case studies described in this paper. Thanks are also due to Mr. Yamana, Chair, and all the members of the K-12 WG of the Business Planning Committee, JSEE for fruitful discussions concerning the subject described in this paper. Reference [1] Hajime Fujita, Current status of engineering education in Japan and the role of JSEE, Proc. SEFI 26 Annual Conference, CD-ROM [2] Masataka Isobe and Sadato Yamazaki, A Comparative Study on National Curricular Scopes and Sequence of Technology Education between Japan and England, Proceedings, International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE), 23, Penang, Malaysia, pp , 23. [3] Masataka Isobe and Sadato Yamazaki, A Comparative Study on Assessment Criterion in Technology Education between Japan and England, Proceedings of the 4th International Primary Design and Technology Conference, University of Central England, England, U.K., Center for Research in Primary Technology (CRIPT), pp.77-82, 23. [4] Masataka Isobe and Sadato Yamazaki, Evaluation Criteria for Developing, Planning and Communicating ideas for Design and Technology in the Revised National Curriculum of 1999 in England, International Journal of Curriculum Development and Practice, Japan Curriculum Research and Development Association, Volume 6, Number 1, pp.1-7, 24. [5] Sadato Yamazaki, Development of a curriculum for technology education through K-12 with emphasis on the technology literacy, Report on the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Subject No , for the second year, 27.