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Overview
Japan's
education system played a central part in enabling the country to meet the
challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science and
technology, and it was also a key part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic
growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
After
WWII, the Fundamental Law on Education and the School Education law were enacted
in 1947 under the direction of the Occupation forces. The latter law
defined the system that is still in use today: six years of elementary school,
three years of junior high school, three years of high school, two or four years
of university. Elementary and junior high school attendance is compulsory.
Education
prior to elementary school is provided at kindergartens and day-care
centers. Public and private day-care centers will take children from under
age one on up to 5 years old. The programs for those children ages 3-5
resembles those at kindergartens. The educational approach at
kindergartens various greatly from unstructured environments that emphasize play
to highly structured environments that are focused on having the child pass the
entrance exam at a private elementary school.
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HISTORY
Education in reading and writing has existed in
some form since the introduction of Chinese writing and Buddhism in the 6th
century. In 701, the Taiho Code established schools for the children of
the nobility, in both the capital and the provinces. Beginning in the
Jamakura period (1185-1333), an increasing number of the children of the
samurai received formal education, but it was not until the 250 years of peace
of the Edo period (1600-1868) that education became widespread among both the
elite and the common people.
Education in the Edo period was basically Confucian
concepts that emphasized rote learning and study of the Chinese classics.
Two main types of schools develops. The first type was the domainal
schools (hanko) that existed in more than 200 domains by the end of the period
and provided education primarily to children of the samurai class. The second
type the the terakoya schools, which enrolled the children of commoners as well
as samurai and concentrated on moral training and teaching reading, writing, and
arithmetic. Terakoya were usually run by a single teacher of a married
couple, and there were tens of thousands of these schools in existence at the
end of the Edo period.
Japan's literacy rate at the time of the collapse
of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 is estimated at 40 percent, a level that
compares favorably with many Western nations at the time. Without this
educational foundation, the rapid modernization achieved in the following years
would not have been possible.
The Meiji leaders wanted to develop
and begin an educational system that would make it possible for Japan to unite
as well as bring the country up to the western standard. Their system
established three levels: primary school, middle school,
and university. Both boys and girls were required to attend school at the
primary level.
The close World War II brought
about change in Japan's educational
system. With the assistance Occupation forces, two laws were enacted, the Fundamental
Law on Education and the School Education Law. The School
Education Law is the one that defined the current educational system in Japan. This
educational system includes six years of elementary school, three years of
junior high school, three years of high school and two or four years of
university. Elementary and Junior High attendance is required for all
students.
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SCHOOLS AND CURRICULA
There are three terms for most elementary, junior high,
and high schools, with April 1 being the beginning of the school year. The
three terms are from April to July, September to December, January to March.
Saturday morning attendance is still seen in some areas (as of 1998), but many
have changed to a five day school week and some schools have two terms instead
of three. In comparison to other industrial nations, the Japanese study
more than those elsewhere, but it is unknown whether this number is due to
shorter summer vacations or more homework.
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Preschool Education:
For those who wish to start their children in a
school environment early, kindergartens are available. There are also public and
private day-care centers that will take children who are less than a year old
and on up to five years of age. These programs, at least for the children in the 3-5 year range, are
comparable to kindergartens.
Kindergartens are not all alike and will vary from being very structured and
focused on learning, while others are more for social interaction or play and
are basically unstructured.
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Elementary Schools:
Elementary education is compulsory for all six years. The Ministry of
Education defines the elementary school curricula and makes it uniform
throughout Japan, thus all students in one grade are studying the same
subjects. The following subjects are included in the national
curriculum: Japanese language, social studies, arithmetic, science, life
environmental studies, music, arts and craft, physical education and
homemaking. In addition, there is an hour a week of moral education as
well as extracurricular activities. The most important part of the curriculum,
on the elementary level, is reading and writing. Not only are children
required to learn Japanese they are also required to learn, by the end of the
sixth grade, a minimum of 1006 Chinese characters.
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Junior High Schools:
Attendance is compulsory for the three years of junior high as well.
Although the subjects taught are specified by the Ministry of Education,
teachers are allowed leniency in defining the specific topics that are covered
in their classes. The standard curriculum for the junior high level requires the
following subjects: Japanese language, social studies, mathematics, science,
music, fine arts, health and physical education, and industrial arts or
homemaking. There are also electives in foreign language (usually
English), extracurricular activities as well as an hour per week of moral
education.
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High Schools:
Attendance in high school is not compulsory and most of the high schools are run
by prefectural boards of education. Entrance into high school can be
intensely competitive, especially in the popular schools, and is based on how
the prospective student performs on an entrance exam. The schools that are
the most popular tend to be the ones where graduates get into the
"better" universities. Enrollment is highest in general academic
courses, but other programs are offered like those specialized in the
vocational area. The curriculum for high school is comprised of required
subjects and electrives comprised of the following: Japanese language, geography
and history, civis, mathematics, science, health and physical education, art,
foreign languages and home economics.
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Universities: A little less
than half of all high school graduates attended a two-year junior college or
four-year university. Most of the junior college graduates are
women. Most of the universities and junior colleges are private and in
1996, almost 10 percent of the 4 year graduates went on fur further education
(graduate school).
Competition is intense for
top-level schools. The biggest factor creating this competition is the
name value associated with the university, the better the name the better the
chances of getting a good job after graduation. Competition is so fierce
that if a high school graduate doesn't get into the college of his/her choice,
they will study to try again the next year.
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ISSUES
IN JAPANESE EDUCATION
Examination Hell:
Competition is so intense with the high school and university entrance exams it
is called "examination hell." This competition is caused by wide
spread problems in the schools themselves and in society. The major
corporations in Japan do nothing to help this problem because they tend to chose
recruits from a small select group of universities. This then creates the
impression that if you want to get anywhere after graduation, you go to one of
those universities. Most of the admissions exams are simply multiple
choice questions, though a few many include essays or performance tests.
A large number of elementary and
junior high students attend schools in the evening to be tutored or to
"cram". They do this in the hopes that they will improve their
performance on the required entrance exam. Unfortunately, a side effect of
all this competition is severe stress that comes out by bullying, violence and
"allergies to school". Children are refusing to go to school for
emotional reasons, thus the saying "school allergy", as early as the
elementary school years! The bullying and violence are the causes of
suicide and murder in the junior and high schools across Japan. Some blame
the parents for this behavior and others blame the education system for it's
strictness and extreme pressure regarding examination performance.
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Information provided by the
Japanese Embassy
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