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Purpose: This study was conducted to understand students' achievements in learning and to improve the overall curriculum of the first-year experience course. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, a series of questionnaire-based surveys were conducted on students enrolled in the Introductory Seminar for Policy Science, a mandatory first-year experience course offered in the first semester (from April to July) at a university in Japan. The studies were conducted in 2015 (n = 29), 2016 (n = 29) and 2017 (n = 31). Findings: Results revealed that, regardless of the year, students deepened their understanding of policy science and gained increased confidence to explain what group works and reports are throughout the semester. In addition, students' level of worry about life at the university decreased throughout the course in all three years. A stepwise multiple regression analysis (n = 84) revealed that those students who knew what policy science was (B = 0.271) and had the confidence to write their opinions in reports (B = 0.264) more likely answered that they knew what they wanted to study over four years at the university. Originality/value: This study revealed that the mandatory first-year experience course taught by the same instructor generated similar educational effects for different students in different years. The results elucidated the progressive effects of different components of the course, eliminating possibilities of any bias or specific characteristics of a single group of students.

In many coastal areas of Japan, local fishermen manage fish and other marine resources in a sustainable manner. Such areas are referred to as "Satoumi". In this study, we focused on Hinase Junior High School in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, which is implementing a proactive marine education program in collaboration with local fishermen to maintain "Satoumi". We conducted semi-structured interviews with the students (n = 108; thirty-six students in each grade [seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders]) at Hinase Junior High School. Using the grounded theory, we identified students' perceptions of this program as well as of the sea. The results revealed that the program appears to have changed students' perceptions, such as recognizing the importance of the sea and eelgrass as well as their behavior such that they no longer throw waste into the sea. The higher the grade level was, the more that students felt close to and were willing to care for the sea. Our study suggests that the program has helped to develop individuals who are knowledgeable about the fishing community of Hinase, fishermen's roles, and activities that would contribute to biodiversity conservation and who are motivated to conserve "Satoumi" in the future.

Human-wildlife conflicts are common in agricultural communities and mountainous villages in Japan. Tochigi prefecture has one of the highest amounts of agricultural damage caused by wildlife in the country. To reduce conflicts, the Nature Preservation Division of Tochigi Prefecture launched a wildlife damage prevention program. We evaluated the effects of this program on residents' attitudes and behavioral intentions by comparing a model district receiving the treatment program to a nearby control district. We conducted a survey of all households registered either in the residential organization or telephone book in each district (n?=?423), with a 46% response rate. The model district did not differ from the control except for greater perceived behavioral control regarding wildlife damage among residents in the model district (F?=?3.83, df?=?1, p?=?0.05). An unanticipated outcome was the development of a community-based wildlife group in the model district. In both model and control districts, subjective norm (perceived social pressure to engage or not to engage in a behavior) was the strongest predictor of behavioral intentions, unlike results of studies conducted in the US.

Co-existing with wildlife and maintaining rural livelihoods are common challenges in remote villages in Japan. The authors assess the effects of the Monkey-Persimmon Environmental Education Program developed to reduce wildlife conflicts and to revitalize a community in Nagano Prefecture. Development of a logic model helped guide interviews with staff and villagers about program outcomes. Household interviews revealed that 83% of respondents knew about the program and, of these, 90% had positive attitudes toward activities. Recommendations to monitor and improve program effects are based on the environmental, economic, and social components of education for sustainable development. (Contains 3 tables.)