ECOLOGICAL POSITION IN FORMING STUDENTS’ PERSONALITIES IN JAPAN

The article deals with the theoretical foundations of ecological education in Japan. Aspects of ecological education of the sustainable development of the modern world community have been studied, the process of an integral personality formation with a clear position in environmental issues has been investigated, and the ecological position of the students' personality formation in Japan has been highlighted. Materials of numerous conferences and available on this issue international standards allow to argue that: - ecological education is a continuous process, covering the whole life of the individual; - ecological education is both interdisciplinary and a single integrated process; - ecological education focuses on the relationships and interdependencies that exist between human society and the natural environment; - ecological education considers the environment in all its integrity and continuity, including such aspects as social, political, economic, technological, moral, aesthetic, spiritual and moral; - ecological education states that the energy, natural resources and materials are limited and require a rational and responsible use of them; - ecological education uses a wide range of methods and techniques of teaching and learning, focusing on the practical activities of students with research environment; - ecological education considers environmental problems at different levels of organization (local, national, global) and at their different temporal dimensions (past, present, future); - ecological education is linked with the creation of a new environmental ethic. The components of the ecological position in the development of the individual are determined the directions of environmental students' education realization and enable to define the criteria and the indicators of students' ecological culture: scientific knowledge about the world, attitudes toward the environment, environmentally appropriate behavior in everyday life At the organizational and activity stage of the research, the components of the ecological position of the students' personality formation have been determined. Ecological education in Japan is an important factor in the development of society and aims to achieve results in the students personality formation as conscious citizens who are responsible for economic and social development of their country, for the impact on the relationship between the nature and the man, for their own actions, for the ability to coexist and feel the nature, appreciate and preserve natural heritage.