Characteristics of Education and the Current State of Teacher Effectiveness in Japan: How Japan Has Been Improving Teacher Qualifications, Abilities, Educational Policies, and Measures

History Of Japanese Education

The end of The Second World War in August 1945 brought Japan under occupation by Allied forces. From this point onward, the national government was entirely under the control of the occupation administration until Japan became independent through the Peace Treaty of 1951. During this period, the Allied forces called for reforms in various fields, of which educational reform was one of the most important. The core of the reform was the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education, which was followed by the School Education Act, which established a new school system. As a guideline for the specific educational contents to be taught in schools after the war, the first “Courses of Study” were created with reference to the United States. The guideline is a standard for organizing the curricula, and it defines the goals and general educational content of each subject in elementary, middle, and high schools. It has been repeatedly revised almost every ten years, taking into account the social situation and the actual conditions of the children at the time.

According to the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) survey (Central Education Council, 2004), Japan ranked first in science among the participating countries, along with elementary and junior high schools, and excelled in mathematics, making it an internationally recognized leader. On the other hand, Japanese education also faced various problems. One was the emergence of dropouts. In Japan at that time, the rate of admission to high school and university increased, and meritocracy and educational inflation were pervasive. Among the problems, it was said that it was important to graduate from a top-tier university in order to join a top-tier company, and in order to enter there, it was necessary to be one of the winners in the fierce entrance examination competition.

This fierce competition was also known as the “examination war.” Students had to cram in a large amount of knowledge efficiently in order to pass their exams, which led to a situation known as “cramming education.” The problem was the increase in the number of dropouts who could not keep up with this excessive cramming and advanced content. In addition, problems such as truancy, school violence, and bullying caused by a dislike of school became frequent and serious.

In order to improve the negative effects of expanding the quantitative content of education and methods, around 1977, the realization of a more comfortable school life was promoted, and the burden of learning was reviewed and a move away from cramming was made. Specifically, with careful selection of educational content, the standard number of class hours for each subject was reduced, and the number of class hours that had been increasing after the war was reduced for the first time (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, 1977).