Title: Superpower
1Education in Japan
- Superpower
- or
- A Nation at Risk
- Presented by Lee Ann Graddy
- Spring 2010
2Japan
- Facts and Figures
- 4 major islands and over 4,000 smaller islands
- Primarily mountainous terrain
- Population 127,417,200
- Capital City Tokyo
- Currency Yen
- Language Japanese
- Religions Buddist and Shinto 85
3 Perceived Strengths ofJapanese Education
- Math and Science foundation of students
- Society committed to academic excellence
- Respect among students
- Teacher culture focused on designing and
implementing lessons
4Challenges Facing Japan
- Population decline
- Political Apathy
- Lack of will to reform
- Self-centered youth
5Reform Efforts
- Reduced Intensity Reforms
6Focus of Educational Reform
- Emphasis on Individuality - this is significantly
different from the current system that emphasizes
harmony and uniformity. They will focus on
creativity and have more hands-on activities for
children. - Emphasis on Life Long Learning - this will bring
about change in the current system from rote
memorization to learning how to learn and higher
level thinking. - Emphasis on preparing students who can plan and
cope with change and succeed in the information
age and global society - there is political
pressure for students to acquire the skills to
compete internationally. There is a move to
provide students with comprehensive international
learning to help students understand other
cultures, history, and values.
7Crisis in Education?
- PISA League Table
- 2000 Literacy 2003 Math
2006 -Science
Japan 8th
Japan 4th
Japan 3rd
U.S. 15th U.S.
24th U.S. 21st
Is the crisis in Japanese education real or a
ploy to incite panic within the nation?
8Structure and Governance of Schools
- System is organized as follows
- 6 years of elementary school
- 3 years of junior high school
- 3 years of high school
- 4 years of college
- Compulsory education from ages 5-14
- 240 day school year with a 6 day school week
approximately 30 days devoted to out of classroom
experiences - MEXT Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science, and Technology regulates educational
system -
9Japanese Culture
- The role of the family in education of children
is vital - The culture promoted within school focus on
- Cooperation
- Relationships
- Responsibility
- Following set rules and routines
- Values
- Punctuality
- Stewardship
- Loyalty
- Leadership subordinate roles
- Place a high value on economic success
- Confucius had a great impact on education in Japan
10School Finance
- National Government bears one third to one
half of the cost of education - 4.7 of the GNP is allocated to education
- Schools across the nation are viewed as equal.
There is little variation in quality of the
school due to area socio-economic factors.
11Public School Curriculum in Japan
12A Day in the life of a Japanese student
13Peace Curriculum
As part of the Peace Education Curriculum which
combines moral and political topics for Junior
and Senior High School students, a trip is made
to the Hiroshima Memorial. An inscription there
reads Hiroshima was the first city in the world
to suffer an atomic bombing. That terrible
experience gave us a new understanding of the
cruelty of war, the terror of nuclear weapons,
and the importance of peace. Until the day when
all people on Earth can live in peace, we will
continuously send messages of peace from
Hiroshima to the world.
14Special Education
- There are 995 schools for handicapped
individuals. -
- 70 schools for the deaf
- 107 for the blind
- 790 for those with disabilities
- This number is not seen as adequate to serve the
population of special needs in the country.
15Diversity and Equity
- There is a disparity between the percentage of
women and men who attend 2 year colleges.
Approximately 95 of those attending are women.
There is discrimination in the fields open to
women and the level of education they are
encouraged to pursue. - Changing roles for women may help address
problems with aging society. United Nations
report stated that Japanese women are falling
behind women in other countries in terms of being
able to participate in economic and social
activities. - Although, Japanese women are some of the most
highly educated in the world with 42.5 having
some post secondary education. - Most education settings are co-educational.
16Teacher Methods and Training
- Strong Professional Learning Communities among
teachers - Teachers have 4 year degrees and are licensed
through the government - Role of schools and teachers shifting in
discipline and motivation of students - Teaching methods have shifted with reform
efforts and movements, not a tremendous amount of
technology seen in classrooms. - Strive for democratic classrooms
- Moving away from skill and drill and are now
expected to respond to individual students needs
and encourage a zest for living. - Called to be facilitators of learning rather than
disseminators of knowledge - Post war teaching methods were designed to
organize and transmit large amounts of
information to large groups and was very
effective.
17Class size averages 28 students
- to be honest we dont always teach what we are
supposed to. We dont have enough time in the
schedule to teach math, so we use that morning IS
time for math. If we dont use that time for
math, we have to find other times to teach math.
- (Mr. Aoyama, 7th grade teacher)
- the Course of study contents have changed and
were reduced. The teachers have less material to
cover but they arent sure how to deal with the
changes. They have become rudderless, shifting
from one direction to another. They are under
pressure to raise students academic abilities,
which creates work and pressure. (Mr. Sekine,
9th grade teacher)
18Higher Education in Japan
- Japan is the worlds largest source of study
abroad students - Both younger and older students (ages 12 50)
- Economic downturn and need for life long
learning
- Growing dissatisfaction with challenges and
outcomes of higher ed. - Very little guidance in courses or career
paths - Attendance in class is poor and behavior is
often disruptive - There is a push to increase the number of foreign
exchange students - to aide in the development of Japan and
international relations. - The number grew from 10,000 in 1983 to
64,000 in 2000. - Rapid decline in birthrate has higher education
scrambling for ways to fill - future seats and find financial security.
19 Is American education following the same
path? NCLB HIGH STAKES TESTING COMMON CORE
CURRICULUM
20References
- Beauchamp, E.R. (2003). Comparative Education
Reader. New York, New York - RoutledgeFalmer.
- Bjork, C. (2005, April). Education reform in
Japan competing visions for the future. - Phi Delta Kappan, 619-626.
- Bjork, C. (2009). Local implementation of
Japans integrated studies reform a - preliminary analysis of efforts of decentralize
the curriculum. Comparative - Education, 45(1), 23-44.
- Deasy, R.J. (1986, September). Education in
Japan surprising lessons. Educational - Leadership, 38.
- Education in Japan. Retrieved March 16, 2010,
from http//www.education-in- - japan.info.
- Education System in Japan Facts and Details.
Retrieved March, 20, 2010, from - http//factsanddetails.com/japan.
- Gainey, P., Curtis, A. (2002). The Japanese
education system globalization and - international education. Japanese Studies,
22(2), 153-167. - Kai, K. (2009). The modification and adaptation
of Montessori education in Japan. - The International Journal of Learning, 16(7),
667-676.
21References
- Phillips, M. (2007, May). Backwards into the
future again. Phi Delta Kappan, 712- - 714.
- Schwartz, S. (2007, April). Educating the
heart. Educational Leadership, 76-78. - Takayamam, K. (2007, November). A nation at
risk crosses the Pacific transnational - borrowing of the U.S. crisis discourse in the
debate on education reform in Japan. - Comparative Education Review, 423-446.
- Web Japan. Japan Fact Sheet Education.
Retrieved March 20, 2010, from http//web- - japan.org/
- Wieczorek, C.C. (2008, Winter). Comparative
analysis of educational systems of - American and Japanese schools views and
visions. Educational Horizons, 99- - 111.
- Willis, D.B., Satoshi, Y., Rappleye, J.
(2008). Frontiers of education Japan as
Global Model or Nation at Risk?,
International Review of Education, 54, 493- - 515.