Survey by Hiroshima board of education finds more elementary students know time of atomic bombing
Mar. 9, 2016
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
On February 22, the Board of Education of the City of Hiroshima announced that a survey of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders on peace issues has yielded the correct date and time of the atomic bombing in 75.3% of the respondents. The survey was carried out by the board of education last November, in the year marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, and involved students who attend public schools in the city. The percentage of 75.3% was called the highest rate of accuracy since the survey began to be conducted in 1995. The accuracy of students at junior high schools and high schools improved as well. (The survey of high school students began in 2010.) A board member explained, “We believe that our efforts, which include providing materials for peace education that have been created by the city, have shown a positive impact.”
The survey has been carried out every five years. For this survey, six questions were posed to 2,091 elementary school students from the fourth to the sixth grade, at three schools in each of eight wards of the city; 1,457 junior high school students at two schools in each of eight wards; and 777 high school students at all eight municipal high schools.
Among the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who took part in the survey, 1,575 answered that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima took place “at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945.” The rate of accuracy jumped by 42.3 points from 33 percent in the last survey, and exceeded the first survey, which had recorded the highest rate in the past, by 19.6 points. Junior high school students totaled 78.3 percent, the highest of all student groups, and up 22.6 points from the previous survey. High school students, too, produced a high of 76.7 percent, up 10.4 points from last time.
In response to the results of the last survey, which recorded the lowest rate of accuracy among elementary school and junior high school students, the board of education launched a program at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels in 2013 which makes use of the “Hiroshima Peace Notebook,” materials about the damage caused by the atomic bombing, and teaches peace studies in a more systematic fashion. Another board member commented, “These results were achieved because of the stronger efforts made by all the schools, such as conducting class activities with the use of the Peace Notebook, listening to the accounts of A-bomb survivors, and visiting the Peace Memorial Museum. We plan to continue strengthening these efforts.”
The board of education is compiling the survey responses, including to questions on the death toll of the bombing and Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. It expects to release a report around April.
(Originally published on February 23, 2016)
On February 22, the Board of Education of the City of Hiroshima announced that a survey of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders on peace issues has yielded the correct date and time of the atomic bombing in 75.3% of the respondents. The survey was carried out by the board of education last November, in the year marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, and involved students who attend public schools in the city. The percentage of 75.3% was called the highest rate of accuracy since the survey began to be conducted in 1995. The accuracy of students at junior high schools and high schools improved as well. (The survey of high school students began in 2010.) A board member explained, “We believe that our efforts, which include providing materials for peace education that have been created by the city, have shown a positive impact.”
The survey has been carried out every five years. For this survey, six questions were posed to 2,091 elementary school students from the fourth to the sixth grade, at three schools in each of eight wards of the city; 1,457 junior high school students at two schools in each of eight wards; and 777 high school students at all eight municipal high schools.
Among the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who took part in the survey, 1,575 answered that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima took place “at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945.” The rate of accuracy jumped by 42.3 points from 33 percent in the last survey, and exceeded the first survey, which had recorded the highest rate in the past, by 19.6 points. Junior high school students totaled 78.3 percent, the highest of all student groups, and up 22.6 points from the previous survey. High school students, too, produced a high of 76.7 percent, up 10.4 points from last time.
In response to the results of the last survey, which recorded the lowest rate of accuracy among elementary school and junior high school students, the board of education launched a program at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels in 2013 which makes use of the “Hiroshima Peace Notebook,” materials about the damage caused by the atomic bombing, and teaches peace studies in a more systematic fashion. Another board member commented, “These results were achieved because of the stronger efforts made by all the schools, such as conducting class activities with the use of the Peace Notebook, listening to the accounts of A-bomb survivors, and visiting the Peace Memorial Museum. We plan to continue strengthening these efforts.”
The board of education is compiling the survey responses, including to questions on the death toll of the bombing and Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. It expects to release a report around April.
(Originally published on February 23, 2016)
