Japanese children reading in class. Image courtesy of John Donaldson's site with pictures of Japan.
The elementary school
system of Japan was founded in the early Meiji Era
(1868-1912). The
educational system was reformed after World War II and
changed to a 6-3-3-4 system (6 years of elementary school, 3 years of
junior high school, 3 years of high school, and four years of university).
The 6 years of shogakko
(elementary school) are mandatory, or part of
Gimukyoiku
(compulsory
education). Most elementary schools are on a three-term system with the
new school year starting in April and except
for the lower grades, there are an average of six hours of school every
weekday. Students must go to classes every second Saturday and some are
tutored
on Sundays as well. There are 240 school days per year in Japan, compared
to
between 180 and 195 in North America. Usually, each class has its own room
where all the courses are taken and each class has one teacher that
teaches all subjects. Classroom size is kept under forty students, and is
usually around thirty students. In Japan, every child goes to elementary
school and every child can read. Enrollment and literacy rates are both
100%.
In the 1980s, educators
and researchers proposed education with yutori,
or flexibility.
This educational reform tried to lower the educational level that both
children and adults saw
as
too high. It was also expected to lessen competition among students. Some
researchers argue,
however, that education with yutori may lower academic
ability and influence children's learning. Nonetheless, the
government plans more yutori reforms for elementary school
in
2002.
For
example, about thirty years ago during six years of elementary school,
students took 628 hours of science classes. In 2002, the hours will be cut
to 350.
Chart
on Development of School Education
Now, the social
requirements for schools have been expanded to make room
for an increasingly globalized world. Children's elementary
school life, however, is rigidly controlled.
Traditional
elementary education has become out of date and too boring for children.
Class size is too big. This has led to
problems such as truancy, bullying, and classroom disintegration. For more
on this, see Social
Problems.
There have been some
recent efforts to reform the elementary
educational
system. In 1985, at the Ad Hoc Educational Council, the Japan Teachers'
Union proposed a smaller class size. Unfortunately this never happened,
but there have been recent proposals to make smaller study groups within
the classes of forty. Other suggestions have included the hiring of more
teachers to encourage more diverse educational techniques. A new technique
that is being used to update elementary school in Japan is "integrated
study." According to researcher
Reiji Takashina, it has four main objectives:
Abe, Namiko. 2000. "The Japanese Education System." Retrieved November
19, 2001.
(http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa061000.htm)
Takashina, Reiji. "Questioning Educational Issues: How to Establish
Independence in Learning." Child Research Net. Retrieved November
25, 2001.
(http://www.childresearch.net/CYBRARY/EVISION/2001/TAKASHINA2.HTM)
Tomoda, Yasumasa. 1966. "Recent Trends in Educational Sociology in Japan."
Sociology of Education 39(Autumn):397-406
More Resources (pdf annotated
bibliography)
Integrated studies
encourage students to make their own decisions. It
challenges children to pursue what they want and
helps them acquire social behavior through encounters with adults.
Sources for this Page:
The purpose of this site
is to inform web users on the status and
lifestyles of children in Japan. This site
was designed by Joanna Boyle, Rachel
Riezman,
Hannah
Wolod, and
Ellen Vollmers as part of a collaborative web project for the first
year
writing seminar Children & Society at Tulane University taught
by Professor
April
Brayfield.