Education Reform in Japan: Competing Visions for the Future

Abstract

Competing Visions for the Future Although much of the world regards the Japanese education system as exemplary, in Japan itself there was growing dissatisfaction with the system in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, the education ministry introduced a series of reforms that are currently in effect. Now, as Mr. Bjork and Ms. Tsuneyoshi report, Japanese stakeholders are debating the merits of those reforms.

A historical overview of mathematics curriculum reform and development in modern Indonesia

“…It should be noted that content reduction in mathematics curriculum was also reported in many other countries especially in Asian countries including China, Japan, and Singapore around the same time (Bjork & Tsuneyoshi, 2005;Wu & Zhang, 2006). For example, in Singapore, the government announced in 1998 that there was a 10%-30% content deduction in most school subjects including mathematics with the purpose of providing room for teachers to implement the new initiatives in schools, such as the development of thinking skills, integrating the use of Information Technology, and the delivery of the National Education (Singapore Ministry of Education, 1998) in school education.…”

The Association of Intended and Attained Curriculum in Science with Program for International Students Assessment

“…Moreover, these examinations provide useful benefits for the teachers and schools to renew themselves and increase the quality of education they give. Contrary to this belief, some researchers (Bjork & Tsuneyoshi, 2005;Lisle, Smith, & Jules, 2005;Youell, 2005) argue that central examinations may have negative effects on teachers' teaching methods and students' learning. Teachers give up student-centred teaching and active learning techniques in order to make their students answer more questions correctly and teach them test techniques because teachers' achievements are directly related to how many questions their students answer correctly at the central examinations.…”

‘Feeling bad’ or ‘being bad?’ The trapping effect of effort in academic failure in a Confucian cultural context

“…The so-called 'examination hell' (Frost, 1991;Li, 2012;Zeng, 1999) and cramming into the after-class 'juku' for private study to gain entry to top colleges has taken a toll on many students' psychological and physical well-being (Bossy, 2000). The government has launched a series of education reforms since the 1990s aimed to relax strict educational standards to relieve the stress caused by high-stakes testing, long hours spent in school and rote learning (Bjork & Tsuneyoshi, 2005). However, the gradual decline in Japanese students' academic performances on international assessments such as PISA has prompted a counter-reform to increase the importance of academic achievement in school subjects, long school hours and national assessments to student learning outcomes (DeCoker & Bjork, 2013).…”