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Houston, TX 77081
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We were told that Japanese are very eager for education.  They consider education as prime key to growth.  90% of  children are educated and the attendance rate is 90%.

Elementary Students arriving at school. There are many types of schools but the main stream ones are Kindergarten, Elementary, Lower secondary school, Upper secondary school and University as well as Special Education schools (ages 3-17).  Education is compulsory until Junior High School.  High school is optional.  98% of  JHS students continue to High Schools. They must take an exam at the end of JHS to determine which HS to attend.  55% of HS graduates go to College.  15% Graduate without HS Diploma.  School year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31.  The standard school days for 1st grade is 34 weeks. 35 weeks or 190 days for the rest of the grades in elementary and secondary schools. 

Students Clean Up Schools
Cleaning is called “Education of the Heart”
Purpose: “To nurture individuality and Spiritual Life”
Home Work
30+ hours/week
Classroom Corruption
High occurrence of behavior problems in JHS
Strongly frowned upon
Students are expected to be self-regulates

Students attend schools Mondays through Fridays 6 hours per day for most elementary schools. This include 2 hours for lunch, assemblies, and other activities. Class period is 45 minutes and 50 for high schools. Junior High School students in a Math Class

JHS CLASS SIZE

�       25.7 - Elementary

�       30.2 - Junior High

�       High School -  No statistics

�       40  - Public schools (by law)

•   56% of elementary students attend Juku or “cram” after schools  - for tutorials and to prepare for entrance exams.  Benefits:  Complete class objectives before they are taught in the classrooms.  Teachers also send their children to “cram schools”.

HS students in a math class

Boys are more pressured by parents to succeed.
Girls have more leeway and can exploit several options.
We were informed that presently, there is a decline in Japan’s birthrate.

SPECIAL EDUCATION IN JAPAN

I had the privilege to observe special education classroom settings in elementary, middle, and special school.  I noticed not much difference in the teaching strategies in Japan however, I noticed that the students were much more focused and creative.  There were less number of students in class and that in the special school; students were prepared for life outside the classroom by training them in more hands-on projects.  Example of those are: looms – I bought two scarves made by the students and they were beautiful, I noticed a lot of vocational work performed by the students such as woodwork, pottery making, and art that encourage students to develop their individual spirit of creativity.

TERMINOLOGIES DESCRIBING PROBLEMS FACING YOUTH
NEETS - Not in Education, Employment, or Training ( 0.5-1 million)

FREETERS - Living on Short-Term, Temporary Jobs (or job-hoppers on minimum wage) 2-4 million

Recipient of Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund
About Ms. Oyekan
Publications
Trip to Japan
Education in Japan
Japan Day at Cunningham
Social Studies Unit Plan
Cunningham Home
 

Last updated
04/22/2009
12:43 PM