ベルギー教員志望者、3割が「米国の場所」不正解＝調査
［ブリュッセル ２３日 ロイター］ 将来ベルギーの教育を担っていく若者たちの間で、基本的な地理や政治などの一般常識が欠如していることが、２３日に発表された研究結果で分かった。
リンバーグ・カトリック・ユニバーシティー・カレッジの研究者らは、ベルギーで教員養成のための大学に通う学生１０００人を対象に調査を行った。選択式の問題を１１４問出題し、学生の一般常識レベルを測定した。
その結果、全体の３割が地図上で米国の位置を示すことができず、半数近くは太平洋の位置を知らなかったことが判明。さらに、中華人民共和国建国の父とされる毛沢東の写真を見ても３分の２は誰か分からず、北朝鮮の故金正日総書記だとの回答が最も多かった。
調査を行った研究者によれば、日ごろからニュースをチェックしたり、新聞を読んだりしている生徒は比較的良い成績だったという。2013年 01月 24日 14:15 JST
http://jp.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idJPTYE90N02L20130124
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A large number of Belgium's future secondary school teachers struggle with basic concepts of geography, politics and history, a study published on Wednesday has shown.
Among final year teaching students involved in the study, one in three could not identify the United States on a map and almost half did not know where the Pacific Ocean was.
Shown a picture of Mao Zedong, two in three could not recognise the Chinese Communist leader, with the most common response being that it was the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Researchers at the Limburg Catholic University College tested 1,000 students in eight teacher training colleges in Belgium's Flemish region.
The test, which asked 114 multiple choice questions, was carried out because students often showed gaps in their general knowledge, the researchers conducting the test said.
"Nobody is completely taken aback by the results," Erik De Winter of the Limburg Catholic University College said.
When asked which political ideology stood for the redistribution of wealth, higher taxes and state involvement only one in two answered socialism.
Students who followed the news and read newspapers scored better in the test than those who said they did not, De Winter said. He added the college would now carry out further research to see how the situation could be improved.
The Flemish education ministry said it was already rethinking the training of its future teachers and would, if necessary, make adjustments by summer 2013.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Paul Casciato)
http://news.yahoo.com/belgian-trainee-teachers-fail-basic-general-knowledge-230821214.html
