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Introduction
  
 Ed Culture

Ed System

Juku

Teachers

Preschool

Grades 1-6

Grades 7-9

Grades  10-12

Higher Ed

Employment

Reform

Implications

Japanese Education System
Overview of School System
Juku
Teaching Profession
Home, Family, and Pre-Elementary Education
Elementary School (Grades 1-6)
Lower Secondary (Grades 7 -9)
Upper Secondary Education (Grades 10-12)
Higher Education
Education and Employment
Education Reform

 

Japanese Education System

  1. Boxer, Charles R. The Christian Century in Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1951. pp. 190-198.
  2. Lach, Donald. Japan in the Eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968. pp. 688-706.
  3. Passin, Herbert. Society and Education in Japan. New York: Kodansha International, 1982. p. 31.
  4. Dore, Ronald. "The Legacy of Tokugawa Education." In Marius Jansen, ed. Changing Japanese Attitudes Toward Modernization. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. p. 100.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Anderson, Ronald. Education in Japan: A Century of Modern Development. Contract Study, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975. p. 36.
  7. Ushiogi, Morikazu. "Transition from School to Work: The Japanese Case." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 28
  8. Hess, Robert D., et al. "Family Influences on School Readiness and Achievement in Japan and the United States: An Overview of a Longitudinal Study." In Harold Stevenson, Hiroshi Azuma, and Kenji Hakuta eds. Child Development and Education in Japan. New York: W.H. Freeman, 1986. p.161.

 

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Overview of School System

  1. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. Education in Japan: A Graphic Presentation. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1982. p. 9.
  2. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science, and Culture. 1985 edition. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan, Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. p. 22.
  3. Material for this section was primarily drawn from: Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. "Development of Education in Japan 1981-84: Report for submission to the 39th Session of the International Conference on Education." Tokyo: The Ministry, 1984. pp. 44-48.
  4. Ibid. pp. 53-60.
  5. Keizai koho center [Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs]. Japan, 1985: An International Comparison. Toyko: The Center, 1986. p. 94.

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Juku

  1. Kitamura, Kazuyuki. "The Decline and Reform of Education in Japan: A Comparative Perspective." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 161.
  2. This and other data in this section based on Monbusho, Showa 60 nendo jido, seito no gakkogai gakushu katsudo ni kansuru jittai chosa sokuho [Preliminary Report on Students' Out-of-School Learning Activities]. Tokyo: Monbusho, Daijin kanbo tokeikyoku [Statistics Bureau, Minister's Secretarial], 1986.
  3. Mainichi Daily News, January 7, 1985, quotes 690 billion yen, while Japan Times April 25, 1986, citing a Japan Fair Trade Commission report, reports a figure of 870 billion yen.
  4. Saw Ada, Toshio and Sachino Kobayashi. "Gakushu juku no sansu, sugaku kyoiku ni tsuite no Bunseki"" [Analysis of Arithmetic and Mathematics Instruction in Juku] in Kokuritsu kyoiku kenkyusho kenkyu shuroku. Vol. 12, March 1986. Toyko: Kokuritsu kyoiku kenkyujo. [NIER]

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Teaching Profession

  1. Barro, Stephen. A Comparison of Teachers' Salaries in Japan and the United States. Washington, D.C.: Center for Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 1986.
  2. Hayakawa, Misao. "The Quality and Socioeconomic Status of Teachers in Japan." Paper prepared for the U.S. Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, February 1986. p. 23.
  3. Ministry of Education (Monbusho). Kyoiku linkai Geppo [The Board of Education Monthly Review], Nov.16,1985. p. 68.
  4. Ichikawa, Shogo. ed. Kyoshoku Kenkyu Jiten [Encyclopedia of Inservice Training]. Tokyo: Kyoiku Kaihatsu Kenkyujo, 1983. p. 41.
  5. Hayakawa, Misao. op. cit. p. 81
  6. Ibid p. 83.
  7. Mainichi Daily News, October 1, 1986.
  8. Cummings, William K. Education and Equality in Japan. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980.
  9. Rohlen, Thomas P. Japan's High Schools. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. p. 222.
  10. Tominaga, Ken'ichi, ed. Nippon no kaiso kozo [The Structure of Japanese Stratification]. Tokyo: Tokyo University, 1979.
  11. Thurston, Donald. Teachers and Politics in Japan. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973. pp. 213-214.
  12. Jinjiin Kyuyokyoku [Personnel Authority]. Minkan Kyuyo No Jittai [Survey of Wages] Tokyo: Jinjin Kyuyokyoku, 1984.
  13. Hayakawa. op. cit. p. 107-109.
  14. Barro. op. cit.
  15. Ibid. pp. 23-24.

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Home, Family, and Pre-Elementary Education

  1. Statistics Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency, Japan. Japan Statistical Yearbook 1984. Tokyo: The Agency, 1984. National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Vital Statistics of the United States 1980 Volume 111: Marriage and Divorce.
  2. Statistics Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency, Japan. op. cit. p. 48.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living. Changing Lifestyles in Japan Volume 2: Japanese Women in Turmoil. Tokyo: The Institute, 1984. p. 142.
  5. Yamamura, Kozo and Susan B. Hanley. "Ichi hime ni taro: Educational Aspirations and the Decline in Fertility in Postwar Japan." Journal of Japanese Studies Vol. 2, No. 1, Autumn 1975, pp. 83- 125, quoting research by Fujin ni kansuru shomondai chose kaigi [Conference on Research on Women's Issues] Gendai nihon josei no ishiki to kodo [Consciousness and Behavior of Modern Japanese Women], 1975.
  6. Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living. op. cit. p. 57.
  7. Mainichi Daily News, February 8, 1985 p. 9, quoting Hiroshi Minami, director of Japan Psychology Center.
  8. Taniuchi (Peak), Lois. "Interrelationships between Home and Early Formal Learning Situations for Japanese Children." Paper presented at Annual Conference, Northeast Region, Comparative and International Education Society, Nov. 26, 1984, City University of New York.
  9. Kodama, Taketoshi. "Preschool Education in Japan." NIER Occasional Paper. Tokyo: National Institute for Educational Research. March 1983. p. 3.
  10. Tobin, Joseph, D. Davidson, D. Wu. "Ratios and Class Size in the Japanese Pre-school." Unpublished paper, Dept. of Human Resources, University of Hawaii, 1986
  11. Lewis, Catherine "Cooperation and Control in Japanese Nursery Schools." Comparative Education Review, Vol. 28, No. 1, February 1984. p. 69-84.
  12. Kodama. op. cit. pp. 7-8.

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Elementary School (Grades 1-6)

  1. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science and Culture. 1985 edition. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. p. 102.
  2. Monbusho. Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokoku sho [School Faculty Statistical Survey Report]. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1983. p. 86.
  3. Ibid. p. 86.
  4. Ibid. p. 97.
  5. Fiske, Edward B. "Japan's Schools Stress Group and Discourage Individuality." New York Times July 11, 1983. p. 1, A-6.
  6. Monbusho. Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokokusho. op. cit. p. 97, and Stephen Barro. A Comparison of Teachers' Salaries in Japan and the United States. Washington, D.C.: Center for Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 1986. p. 21.
  7. Monbusho. Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokokusho. op. cit. p. 86.
  8. Ibid.
  9. NHK [Nippon Hoso Kyokai: Japanese National Public Broadcasting Service]. NHK School Broadcasts 1986. Tokyo: NHK, 1986.1986.
  10. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. "Development of Education in Japan 1981-84: Report for Submission to the 39th Session of the International Conference on Education." Tokyo: The Ministry, 1984. p. 38.
  11. Stevenson, Harold. "Classroom Behavior and Achievement of Japanese, Chinese, and American Children." In Robert Glazer, ed. Advances in Instructional Psychology. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1985. In press.
  12. Peak, Lois. "Classroom Discipline and Management in Japanese Elementary School Classrooms." Paper prepared for the United States Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, October 1985.
  13. This and other descriptions of the curriculum for the various subjects are drawn from Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Course of Study for Elementary Schools in Japan. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1983.
  14. Stevenson, Harold. "An Analysis of Japanese and American Textbooks in Mathematics." Paper Prepared for the U.S. Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, October, 1985.
  15. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science, and Culture. 1985 edition. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. pp. 136-7.
  16. Research by Nomura sogo kenkyusho [Nomura Research Institute]. Sumai bunka ni kansuru kihonchosa [Basic Survey on Home and Daily Life and Culture]. Reported in Asahi Shinbun, November 26, 1983. p. 11. Survey done for Sumai Bunka and Kyanpeinu suishin iinkai [committee promoting the campaign on Home and Daily Life and Culture].
  17. Stevenson, Harold, et al. "Learning to Read Japanese." In Harold Stevenson, H. Azuma, and K. Hakuta. Child Development and Education in Japan. New York: W.H. Freeman, 1986. p. 225, 226.
  18. Ibid. p. 233.
  19. Data in this section based on Monbusho. Showa 60 nendo jido seito no gakkogai gakushu katsudo ni kansuru jittai chosa sokuho [Preliminary Report on Students' Out-of-School Learning Activities]. Tokyo: Monbusho, Daijin Kanbo tokeikyoku, [Statistics Bureau, Minister's Secretariat] 1986.
  20. Data from statistics provided by Embassy of Japan, based on Monbusho. Kaigai shijo kyoiku no genjo [Situation of Education of Overseas Children], 1982 and 1983.

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Lower Secondary (Grades 7 -9)

  1. "Educational Use of Microcomputers in Japan." Unpublished report of a committee set up by the Ministry of Education to discuss the fundamental policy and strategies in reforming primary and secondary education to meet the information age, 1985.
  2. Monbusho. Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokokusho, 1983. p. 42.
  3. Ibid. p. 42.
  4. Ibid. p. 104.
  5. Current information provided by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
  6. Ibid.
  7. Sakamoto, Takashi. "The Diversity of Teaching Institutions: The Japanese Experience." Paper Presented at the 13th International Council for Distance Education World Conference, Melbourne, August 15, 1985. p. 3.
  8. Becker, James M. "The Japan-United States Textbook Study Project" The History Teacher, Vol. 16, no. 4, August, 1983. p. 565-566.
  9. Fiske, Edward B. Japanese Schools: Intent about the Basics." New York Times, July 10, 1983. p. A1, 28.
  10. Stevenson, Harold W. "An Analysis of Japanese and American Textbooks in Mathematics." Paper prepared for the United States Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, October 1985. pp. 29-32.
  11. Based on IEA data provided by the Center for Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  12. Ibid.
  13. Based on a description provided by Patricia Horvath, Fulbright Scholar. National Institute for Educational Research, Japan. July, 1986.
  14. Seimei hoken bunka senta and Nihon seishonen kenkyusho. Nichibei chugakusei liahaoya chosa hokukusho [Report on Japanese and American junior high school students and their mothers]. Seishonen kenkyusho, Tokyo. 1985. p. 23.
  15. Monbusho. Showa 60 nendo jido, seito no gakkogai gakushu katsudo ni kansuru jittai chosa sokuho. [Preliminary report on students' out-of-school learning activities]. Monbusho, Daijin kanbo tokeikyoku, 1986.
  16. Ibid.
  17. The Daily Yomiuri, December 15, 1985.
  18. Rohlen, Thomas. Japan's High Schools. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. p. 122.
  19. Ibid.
  20. Ibid. pp. 127, 128.
  21. Ibid. pp. 123,
  22. Ibid. p. 127.
  23. Ibid. p. 126.
  24. Ibid. p. 308.
  25. Ibid. p. 127.

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Upper Secondary Education (Grades 10-12)

  1. Rohlen, Thomas. Japan's High Schools. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. pp. 121-2.
  2. Cummings, William K. Education and Equality in Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980. p. 140.
  3. Amano, Ikuo. "Educational Crisis in Japan." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 28.
  4. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science and Culture, 1985 edition. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. pp. 42, 43.
  5. 1983 tuition data reported in Monbusho tokei yoran, [Statistical Abstract] Monbusho, Daijin kanbo chose tokeika [Statistics Office, Minister's Secretariat]. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. pp. 148, 149. Average family income reported in Keizai Koho Center . Japan 1985. An International Comparison. Tokyo: The Center, 1985. p. 37.
  6. Amano, op. cit. p.28.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Sakamoto, Takashi. "The Diversity of New Distance Teaching Institutions: The Japanese Experience." Paper presented to 13th World International Council for Distance Education Conference, Melbourne, August 15, 1985.
  9. Rohlen. op. cit. pp. 172-3.
  10. Ibid. p. 175.
  11. 1980 data from Japanese National Institute for Educational Research quoted in Stephen Barro, A Comparison of Teachers' Salaries in Japan and the United States. Center for Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, September, 1986. Monbusho data quoted in Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokokusho [School Faculty Statistical Survey]. Monbusho, 1983 (p. 143) suggests a slightly lower average of 14.3 hours.
  12. Monbusho. Gakko kyoin tokei chosa hokokusho, op. cit. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1984. pp. 128-129.
  13. Monbusho. Course of Study for Upper Secondary, Schools in Japan. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1983.
  14. Horvath, Patricia. "Reflections on Mathematics Education in Japan." Unpublished manuscript. Tokyo, 1986.
  15. Rohlen, op. cit. p. 40.
  16. Monbusho. Gakko kihon chosa hokokusho, op. cit. (volume II) Tokyo: The Ministry, 1984. pp. 100-101.
  17. Amano, Ikuo. "Educational Crisis in Japan." In William K. Cummings et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 39.
  18. Rohlen, op. cit. p. 309.
  19. Monbusho. Gakko kihon chosa hokokusho. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1984. p. 524.
  20. Rohlen, op. cit. pp. 330-331.
  21. Stocking, Carol. "Comparing Youth Cultures: Preconceptions in Data. " In William K. Cummings, et al. op. cit. p. 145.
  22. Rohlen, op. cit. p. 295.
  23. Ibid. p. 293
  24. Somucho [Administrative Management Agency]. Seishonen Hakusho [White Paper on Youth 1985]. Tokyo: Somucho seishonen taisaku honbuhen, 1985.
  25. Ames, Walter L. Police and Community in Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981. p. 83.
  26. Ibid.
  27. Cohany, Sharon R. "What Happened to the High School Class of 1985?" Monthly Labor Review, Volume 109, Number 10, October 1986. pp. 28-30.

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Higher Education

  1. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. Education in Japan. A Brief Outline. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1986. p. 9.
  2. Taira, Koji and Levine, Solomon B. "Education and Labor Force Skills in Postwar Japan. " Paper prepared for the U. S. Study of Education in Japan U.S. Department of Education, January 1986. p. 25.
  3. Amano, Ikuo. "Educational Crisis in Japan." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 35.
  4. Ibid. p. 39
  5. Ibid. p. 35.
  6. Fiske, Edward B. "Japan's Schools: Exam Ordeal Rules Each Student's Destiny," New York Times. July 12, 1983. p. A1.
  7. Vogel, Ezra F. Japan as Number 1: Lessons for America. New York:Harper & Row, 1980. p. 162. Originally published in Cambridge by Harvard University Press, 1979.
  8. Reischauer, Edwin. "Introduction." In Benjamin Duke, The Japanese School: Lessons for Industrial America. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. xviii.
  9. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science and Culture. 1985 edition. Tokyo: The Ministry 1985. p. 82.
  10. Amano, op. cit. p. 35.
  11. Galtung, Johan. "Social Structure, Education Structure and Life Long Education: The Case of Japan." In Reviews of National Policies for Education: Japan. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1971. p. 140.
  12. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. The University Research System in Japan. Tokyo, 1986. pp. i, 5 and 7.
  13. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. The University Research System in Japan. op. cit. p. 8-9.
  14. Ibid. p. 13.
  15. Amano, op. cit. p. 33-34.
  16. Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan. Statistical Abstract of Education, Science, and Culture. 1985 edition. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1985. p. 138, and Keizai Koho Center [Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs]. Japan 1985: An International Comparison. Tokyo: The Center, 1986.
  17. Ibid.
  18. Education in Japan op. cit. p.10.
  19. Grayson, Lawrence P. "Japan's Intellectual Challenge: The System." Engineering Education, January 1984. p. 19.
  20. Esaka, Akira. "The Decline of the Academic Elite." Japan Echo, Volume XII, Number 3, 1985. p. 57.
  21. Ibid. p. 57.
  22. Ibid. p. 57.

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Education and Employment

  1. Inoue, Ken. Manpower and Development in Japan: A Study of Japanese Education and Training System. Paper prepared for the World Bank, 1984, p. 59
  2. Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. Education in Japan. A Graphic Presentation. Tokyo: The Ministry, 1982. p. 60.
  3. Inoue. op. cit. p. 60.
  4. Ibid. p 37
  5. Horvath, Patricia J. "Career Counseling for Non-college Bound High School Seniors in Japan." Paper prepared for the United States Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, 1985. pp. 9, 10, 11.
  6. Taira, Koji and Solomon B. Levine. "Education and Labor Force Skills in Postwar Japan." Paper prepared for the United States Study of Education in Japan, U.S. Department of Education, 1986. p. 14 and Ushiogi Morikazu. "Transition form School to Work: The Japanese Case." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. pp. 204-207.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Cited in Muto, Hiromitsu. Education and Training in Japan in the Cybernetic Age. Program Report No. 85-B2. Institute for Research on Educational Finance and Governance, Stanford University, August 1985. p. 31.

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Education Reform

  1. "Examiners' Report and Questions." In Reviews of National Policies for Education: Japan Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1971. pp. 45-112.
  2. Kitamura, Kazuyuki. "The Decline and Reform of Education in Japan: A Comparative Perspective." In William K. Cummings. et al., ems. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 156
  3. Asahi Shinbun public opinion poll reported in Kitamura, Kazuyuki. op. cit. p. 156.
  4. Beauchamp, Edward R. ~Reform Traditions in the United States and Japan." In William K. Cummings, et al., eds. Educational Policies in Crisis. New York: Praeger, 1986. p. 10.
  5. Quoted in Beauchamp, Edward R. op. cit. p. 10.
  6. Kitamura. op. cit. p. 154.
  7. Provisional Council on Educational Reform. First Report on Educational Reform. June 26, 1985. pp. 68-69.
  8. Beauchamp. op. cit. p. 11.
  9. Provisional Council on Educational Reform. op. cit. pp. 4-5.
  10. Ibid. p. 4.
  11. Koyama, Ken'ichi. "An End to Uniformity in Education." Japan Echo Volume XII, Number 2, 1985. p. 49.
  12. Ibid.

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