Trends in Research on Teaching and Learning Spatial Cognition in Elementary Social Studies in Japan: A Systematic Review from 1989 to 2019

This paper is a systematic review of scholarly articles published in Japan from 1989 to 2019 that discuss instruction regarding the formation of spatial cognition in the context of elementary school social studies. This study aims to examine the trends, transitions, and challenges of this field of research and clarify the backgrounds of these studies. Based on the results of the review, four research themes were determined: “objectives, principles, and curriculum,” “lesson design,” “maps and globes,” and “learning assessment.” For the continued development of this field, we assert the need for further research into (1) the construction of a lesson model that encourages participation in community development and its actual practices based on children's formation of their worldview; (2) collaboration between researchers and teachers to investigate actual situations and obstacles to teaching and propose strategies for teacher competence development based on evidence; and (3) assessment of the relationships between geography, geography education, and social studies, and consideration of curricula and learning instruction with respect to the formation of children's spatial cognition, via collaboration among researchers involved in these fields.