Actualizing Hope and Joy in Education Through Daisaku Ikeda's Human Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Cultivating Equitable Education Through Philosophies of Curriculum (Table 17)

Abstract

Lacking experience in incorporating humanity in the K-12 curriculum makes teachers wonder how to engage students in learning about humanity. To fill the gap, we first synthesized the eighteen chapters by twenty-two pioneer scholars in Ikeda studies, published in the book Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda across Curriculum and Context. Based on the synthesis, we then selected six children’s stories developed by Ikeda to design lessons. We conducted surveys with ten K-12 teachers across disciplines and school districts to explore their perspectives toward humanity and their feedback on our lesson design. The participants offered critical information to advance understanding of what efforts need to be made to increase the likelihood of implementing the humanity curriculum.

Authors

• Nai-Cheng Kuo, Augusta University

• Amy Kersey

• Kyra Williams