In this book, Dr. Tsuneyoshi observes the educational approach of two nations, one most often cited as being the home of rugged individualism, and the champion of the free market, the other more often cited as being the most groupist amongst the industrialized societies, known for strong central guidance. He argues that American approach individualizes assistance, is competitive, focuses on the child's cognitive sphere, differentiates its faculty, and each faculty deals with the child in a specialized sphere. Meanwhile, the Japanese approach stresses the whole child, places children and faculty in close proximity with each other for extended periods of time in a cooperative framework, levels of self-containment are higher, collective goals, tasks, and reward structures are extensively organized, and the school provides the same treatment for all. Yet, despite such differences, Dr. Tsuneyoshi points out that we can notice many parallels, both in the contexts of education, and in the direction in which the two societies are headed. Dr. Tsuneyoshi brings to light both similarities and differences, asking and attempting to answer the difficult question all educators are asking: What do we need to teach children for the 21st century?

This book examines why Japan has one of the highest enrolment rates in cram schools and private tutoring worldwide. It sheds light on the causes of this high dependence on ‘shadow education’ and its implications for social inequalities. The book provides a deep and extensive understanding of the role of this kind of education in Japan. It shows new ways to theoretically and empirically address this issue, and offers a comprehensive perspective on the impact of shadow education on social inequality formation that is based on reliable and convincing empirical analyses. Contrary to earlier studies, the book shows that shadow education does not inevitably result in increasing or persisting inequalities, but also inherits the potential to let students overcome their status-specific disadvantages and contributes to more opportunities in education. Against the background of the continuous expansion and the convergence of shadow education systems across the globe, the findings of this book call for similar works in other national contexts, particularly Western societies without traditional large-scale shadow education markets. The book emphasizes the importance and urgency to deal with the modern excesses of educational expansion and education as an institution, in which the shadow education industry has made itself (seemingly) indispensable.

The History of Modern Japanese Education is the first account in English of the construction of a national school system in Japan, as outlined in the 1872 document, the Gakusei. Divided into three parts tracing decades of change, the book begins by exploring the feudal background for the Gakusei during the Tokugawa era which produced the initial leaders of modern Japan. Next, Benjamin Duke traces the Ministry of Education's investigations of the 1870s to determine the best western model for Japan, including the decision to adopt American teaching methods. He then goes on to cover the eventual "reverse course" sparked by the Imperial Household protest that the western model overshadowed cherished Japanese traditions. Ultimately, the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Education integrated Confucian teachings of loyalty and filial piety with Imperial ideology, laying the moral basis for a western-style academic curriculum in the nation's schools.

Japan's education system is one of the top performers compared to other OECD countries. International assessments have not only demonstrated students' and adults' high level of achievement, but also the fact that socio-economic status has little bearing on academic results. In a nutshell, Japan combines excellence with equity. This high performance is based on the priority Japan places on education and on its holistic model of education, which is delivered by highly qualified teachers and supported by the external collaboration of communities and parents. But significant economic, socio-demographic and educational challenges, such as child well-being, teacher workload and the high stakes university exam, question the sustainability of this successful model. Policy makers in Japan are not complacent, and as Japan starts implementing its Third Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education (2018-22), they are carefully analysing tomorrow's threats to Japan's current success. This report aims to highlight the many strengths of Japan's education system, as well as the challenges it must address to carry out reforms effectively and preserve its holistic model of education. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the education system delivers the best for all students, and that Japanese learners have the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need for the 21st century.

Though there has been much discussion on the academic aspects of Japanese education abroad (e.g., high scores on international tests, lesson study), there has been little information on the non-academic aspects of Japanese schooling. This non-academic aspect is called Tokkatsu (tokubetsu katsudo).Unlike math and reading, Tokkatsu is not confined to a certain period, but extends throughout the school day and even after-school activities — such as school excursions. It includes classroom activities such as classroom discussions, morning and afternoon meetings that take place daily, cleaning and serving lunch, school events such as sports day, school excursions, student councils, and club activities. Such activities occur every single day, throughout one's school years, from elementary school (actually, even kindergarten) to high school. They are, however, bound together by the common goals of the Tokkatsu framework.This book is the foremost attempt to address a gap in English literature on Tokkatsu.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the history and current status of policy, research and practices of curriculum, classroom instruction and assessment in Japan. It outlines the mechanism of curriculum organization and the history of the National Courses of Study, and assesses the theories of academic ability model. It also discusses in detail the history of "Lesson Study" – a characteristic teaching practice in Japan which utilizes groups, and reviews the history of educational assessment in Japan. Case studies on the practice of portfolio assessment in the Period for Integrated Study, as well as the practice of performance tasks in subject-based education are illustrated to show various examples of teaching practices. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Japan explores: • Child-centered Curriculum and Discipline-Centered Curriculum • Theories based on Models of Academic Achievement and Competency • Various Methods for Organizing Creative Whole-Class Teaching • Performance Assessment in Subject Teaching A good guideline for those who would like to use the idea of "Lesson Study" in order to improve their own teaching and management practices and a reference to all working in educational improvement, this book will be of interest to educators and policymakers concerned with curriculum practices or those with an interest in the Japanese education system. Chapters 2 and 5 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Offers an informative introduction to the subject of disaster risk reduction education and highlights key places of education such as family, community, school, and higher education. This book describes and demonstrates different aspects of education in an easy-to-understand form with academic research and practical field experiences.

This open access edited volume is a comparative effort to discern the short-term educational impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students, teachers and systems in Brazil, Chile, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the first academic comparative studies of the educational impact of the pandemic, the book explains how the interruption of in person instruction and the variable efficacy of alternative forms of education caused learning loss and disengagement with learning, especially for disadvantaged students. Other direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic diminished the ability of families to support children and youth in their education. For students, as well as for teachers and school staff, these included the economic shocks experienced by families, in some cases leading to food insecurity and in many more causing stress and anxiety and impacting mental health. Opportunity to learn was also diminished by the shocks and trauma experienced by those with a close relative infected by the virus, and by the constrains on learning resulting from students having to learn at home, where the demands of schoolwork had to be negotiated with other family necessities, often sharing limited space. Furthermore, the prolonged stress caused by the uncertainty over the resolution of the pandemic and resulting from the knowledge that anyone could be infected and potentially lose their lives, created a traumatic context for many that undermined the necessary focus and dedication to schoolwork. These individual effects were reinforced by community effects, particularly for students and teachers living in communities where the multifaceted negative impacts resulting from the pandemic were pervasive. This is an open access book.

Japanese Schooling is organized around important crosspoints for understanding the historic roots and contemporary features of Japanese education. These include (1) socialization for discipline at home and in school; (2) the impact of university examinations on educational equality and moral development; and (3) centralized control and national identity. Written by leading American and Japanese scholars, Japanese Schooling is uniquely informative and comprehensive, with wide-ranging and critical analyses of sensitive issues and traditional educational questions. Among the topics that highlight both strengths and weaknesses are: nursery schooling, pupil violence in junior high schools, the reasons for high achievement levels in mathematics, the textbook controversy and teacher unionism, the role of large class size in teaching cooperative behavior, gender issues, and special education. As one reviewer said, &“The book has no equal among recently published works which in comparison avoid sharp analysis and are narrowly focused.&” Another feature is the bibliography of more than 200 English-language sources on Japanese education published since 1972. It constitutes probably the most complete bibliographic research base currently available for those interesting in studying Japanese education. Overall, Japanese Schooling shows every promise of taking a place alongside Herbert Passin&’s Society and Education in Japan, published in 1965 and long-considered the classic reference for understanding the interplay between contemporary educational issues and the permanent patterns of Japanese culture.