RIE SUGIURA (TOKAI UNIVERSITY)
NORIKO IMAI (Kochi University)

THE SDGS AND HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN GOVERNMENT-AUTHORIZED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS IN JAPAN : CURRICULUM AND MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

This study examines the incorporation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into government-authorized English textbooks for upper-secondary schools in Japan. The SDGs have become a prevalent topic in commercial and daily conversations within Japanese society. In the educational field, Japan’s current National Curriculum Standards emphasize the development of each student as a leader in fostering a sustainable society (MEXT, 2018). Recognizing the importance of textbooks as learning resources for students, Sugiura and Imai (2023) found that 16 out of 24 English textbooks for the compulsory subject “English Communication I,” designed for upper-secondary first-graders, explicitly address the role of SDGs as learning resources. Continuing with the textbook analysis, this study examines 24 English textbooks for “English Communication II,” intended for second-graders. The analysis procedure involves three key steps: (1) confirming which textbooks explicitly address the SDGs; (2) listing output activities in the textbooks; and (3) categorizing output activities based on a revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing (Anderson et al., 2001). Based on the textbook analysis, this presentation will report on the themes and approaches related to the SDGs in these textbooks.

Rie SUGIURA is a professor at the International Communications Department of Tokai University in Japan. She received her MA in TESOL from Wollongong University in Australia. Her research interests include task-based language teaching, teacher training, and CLIL.

Noriko IMAI is a professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kochi University in Japan. Her areas of professional interest are second language acquisition and task-supported language teaching in EFL contexts.