Changes in descriptions of sound in courses of study and in junior high school home economics textbooks

Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) sets down the national courses of study, providing the foundations of the national school curriculum. The current 2011-approved textbooks include content relating to soundscapes and traditional culture as part of the 'connection between sound and life' in addition to content relating to noise and sound control. Having devised teaching plans relating to noise and sound control in junior high school home economics, it is considered that potential exists for developing educational materials for teaching sound that go beyond techniques for noise and sound control and that aim to deepen comprehension of the connection between sound and life.