児童の愛他的態度育成のための直接体験授業と間接体験授業の効果 The impact on pupils' altruistic attitudes: a comparison of the effects of direct activity and indirect interventions

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact on pupils' altruistic attitudes of participating in either direct experiential activity or indirect interventions. In the direct condition, 4th grade pupils interacted experientially with kindergarten children in naturalistic social settings; in the indirect condition, the older pupils read a story about social interaction to the kindergarten children and discussed it with them afterwards. Seventy 4th-graders took part. After they participated in one of the two conditions, the 4th graders completed a questionnaire that measured altruistic attitudes at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and one month later. The results are as follows. The 4th graders involved in the direct experiential condition maintained their scores on altruistic attitudes after the activity; those that were involved in the indirect condition, on the other hand, demonstrated reduced scores on altruistic attitudes following the intervention. The results are discussed and practical suggestions are made on ways of using moral education to encourage children to act altruistically towards one another.