What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?
An Approach to Assessing Modes of Human Rights Education
Bettina C. RabeW

ith large-scale projects such as the Programme for International
Student Assessment (pisa), Trends in International Mathematics
and Science Study (timss) and Progress in International Reading
Literacy Study (pirls), efforts to assess student achievement on an international level have gained much attention. While these programs focus on
traditional core subjects and competencies, viable benchmarks for moresocially oriented subjects have yet to be developed. This article describes
a research proposal that aims to construct categories for an assessment ofcontemporary human rights education – in Japan or other countries.
After establishing a Headquarters for the Promotion of the Plan of Action
for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (hereafter referred to as “Decade”) in December 1995, the Japanese government initiateda cascade of top-down implementation measures to guarantee a consistenthuman rights education policy throughout society. Until the end of theDecade, lasting from 1995 to 2004, annual Reports on the Implementation
Stages of the National Plan of Action for the UN Decade for Human Rights
Education (『「人権教育のための国連10年」に関する国内行動計画の推進状況』) were published on the government’s website.1 Under the auspices of the Ministries of Justice (MoJ) and of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (mext), White Papers on Human Rights Educationand Human Rights Awareness-rising (『人権教育・啓発白書』) have been
published for every fiscal year since 2001, initially with an abbreviated version on the internet and a full print version for sale.2 Japan consecutively
pledged commitment to the United Nations World Programme for Human
Rights Education.3
Japan’s positive attitude towards this international movement for human rights education heralded a nationwide shift from education for social
integration (同和教育, also known as dôwa education4) to human rights education per se. Yet, the historically grown mode of education for social integration is still a major issue in Japan and must on no account be neglected.
163

164

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

One way of evaluating Japan’s contemporary human rights education
policy would involve examining laws, plans and reports such as referred toabove; another way would include analyzing educational materials used ordevised for human rights-related education. When discussing human rights
education as an element of compulsory education, the most important developments have to be seen in the issuance of government-approved materials for moral education (道徳教育) in primary and lower secondary schools,
namely the Kokoro no nôto (『心のノート』, a series of four books –Notebooks on Morality – introduced in fiscal year 2002),5 and the Guidelines
for Human Rights Education Methodology (the so-called Torimatome,『人権教育の指導方法等の在り方について』, 第1~3次とりまとめ), which
serve as important sources for human rights education benchmarking inJapan.6 The first of the so far three Torimatome was published in June 2004
by the Research Council for Human Rights Education Methodology (人権教育の指導方法等に関する調査研究会議). While on the one hand theWhite Papers on Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awarenessrising mention the Kokoro no nôto as a medium relevant for fostering appropriate values in children, on the other hand the series has received a lot of
criticism that may or may not abate after a revision of its content.7
Accordingly, it may be assumed that Japan’s human rights education
policy impacted the delineation of the current national curriculum (現行
学習指導要領)8 – and is going to impact future curriculums, as well as thecomposition and approval of textbooks – or the upcoming design of the
Kokoro no nôto.
Rationale of the Present Approach
Once the researcher has ascertained the consistency of Japan’s efforts toimplement an educational policy for and about human rights, she has tolook for an appropriate sample, as well as an appropriate method to “meas­ure” human rights-related educational contents in teaching/learning materials. “Human rights” as a subject matter is expressly mentioned in Japan’snational curriculum for Civic Education (社会科の公民的分野) during thethird year in lower secondary school, which is also the last year of compulsory education. An examination of educational materials designed forstudents between approximately fourteen and fifteen years of age will provide an excellent profile of topical teaching/learning contents and methods.

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

165

Setting out from the first curricular period that is completely covered by
the Decade’s policy, the researcher has to identify the one Civic Education
textbook with the highest adoption rate in order to obtain a representative
specimen for an analysis of human rights-related teaching/learning contents and methods. Having been announced in December 1998, the curriculum was implemented on 1 April 2002.9 It was partially revised in 2003, andobviously designed to conform not only to general education benchmarks
but also to certain requirements arising from Japan’s current human rights
education policy. Based on the given curricular timeframe, the first editionof textbooks approved for use from 1 April 2002 entered its approval cycle in
2000, i.e., well within the Decade. 1 April 2002 was also the key date for theemployment of the Kokoro no nôto, the textbook series for moral education
whose conceptualization was mandated by the mext. In accordance withthe policy for approved textbooks, copies of this series were distributed to
all primary and lower secondary schools for individual use.10
After identifying curricular timeframe, year level and subject, the latter two points have to be expanded on, because Civic Education and Moral
Education are not equivalent subjects, nor is Moral Education as a subject
the same as moral education in a wider sense. Civic Education, a subdiscipline of the “triple” subject (教科) Social Studies (社会科 or 社会), is aclearly defined lower secondary school subject and demands textbooks (教科書) approved by the mext. Moral Education, on the other hand, is not a
subject with a subject teacher, but is usually taught by the homeroom teacher. Teaching/learning materials for Moral Education are therefore definedas supplementary materials (副教材 or 補助教材). For Moral Education,schools, teachers and educational councils are free to choose from a wide
variety of supplementary materials, statistics for which are hard to find.
Supplements are of course also allowed in addition to textbooks for regularsubjects. The corpus of regular textbooks is publicly announced after approval; guidebooks for teachers (edited by the respective publishers and not
subject to the approval process) have to be bought separately. It is different
with the Kokoro no nôto: firstly, the series was conceptualized by the mext
and distributed to students, the mext also published instructors’ guidebooks and distributed them to teachers; secondly, the series is also commonly available as an International Standard Book Number (isbn) edition;
thirdly, the Kokoro no nôto have been designed for moral education (notice
the lower case: here “moral education“ signifies “overall moral education”

166

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cincluding the subject “Moral Education”) across subjects and even outside
formal educational settings.11 The latter is in accordance with the endeavor
to teach about human rights-related values truly comprehensively. Kokoro
no nôto for lower secondary schools (i.e., chûgakkô) was devised to be employed through all three years, and will therefore provide data about educational modes during the final stage of compulsory education. Lastly, it has tobe pointed out that the Torimatome list Civic and Moral Education as model
subjects for human rights education;12 they also explain about a “sense ofhuman rights” (「人権感覚」),13 clearly denoting the attitudinal mode ofhuman rights awareness.
As to the measurement per se, the two textbooks in question, one being a representative sample for frequency reasons, namely Atarashii shakai– kômin (New Social Studies – Civic Education) for Civic Education, theother for reasons of relative importance, namely Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô
for moral education,14 were analyzed following a pattern of qualitative content analysis suggested by Lenhart.15
Taking a first step into basic education research about human rightsrelated contents and methods, the construction of the analytical instrument
will necessarily follow a strictly qualitative pattern. Lenhart does not elaborate on his methodological inventory but explains about his categories bydescribing the teaching/learning contents and methods of the materials he
examined. The analytical framework is based on the following eight major
categories:
Year level (学年)
Variables would be: preschool (幼児教育), primary school (小学校),
lower secondary school (中学校), higher secondary school (高等学校),
etc. The present analysis deals with samples for lower secondary school
education during the 1st to 3rd years for moral education and the 3rdyear for Civic Education.
Target actor (対象者)
Variables would be: designed for instructing (instructor-oriented, 教師向け), designed for learning (learner-oriented, 生徒向け), designed
for teaching and learning (designed for use by instructors and learners,両方向け), etc. The present sample deals with textbooks designed asWhat Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

167

learning materials to be presented to students and are therefore classified as learner-oriented.
The remaining six major categories are teaching/learning target, teaching/learning content, instructional design, account for methodological choice,values education approach, and assessment. They are explained in the following section.
Each of these categories demands a set of relevant variables, and again,
each of these variables needs a set of operational rules for coding and recording. A classical analysis of textbooks or other educational materials requires, of course, a description of the material itself, its production, designor lettering, the utilization of specialized didactics, and an examination of
its factual accuracy, visual language, vocabulary and style.16
Methodological Frame17
Sampling was conducted by relevance sampling.18 The population was
known for Civic Education: all textbooks for lower secondary schools approved for use from academic year 2002 until the end of academic year
2005.19 Judging from its adoption rate, the best representative of the textbook corpus in question is Tôkyô shoseki’s edition Atarashii shakai – kômin.20 For Moral Education (even more so for moral education) the population was unknown, because teaching/learning materials are defined as
supplementary. Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô was chosen because it represents
the government’s approach to human rights-related moral education.
The primary research question is: Which parameter values will result
from applying a specified tool for qualitative human rights education-related content analysis to a sample of teaching/learning materials? The respective research direction aims to investigate and describe what is being
communicated to students between approximately twelve and fifteen yearsof age – and how. Yet, in order to develop a feasible tool for analysis, its categories and variables have to conform to certain standards of reliability andvalidity. The present approach focuses on securing validity rather than reliability21 by means of communicative validation22 of the analytical construct
and the preliminary data.23

168

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Although specific semantic and cultural differences between nations
have to be considered carefully, the overall pattern should be applicable torelevant materials regardless of language and national background. Using
Lenhart’s suggestions as a framework, all categories were constructed deductively and scaled nominally in order to conduct a structuring content
analysis24.
Units of analysis25 (分析単位) are defined for each variable as:
Sampling unit

Context unit

Coding unit

サンプリング単位

コンテキスト単位

コーディング単位

Single textbook

Teaching/learning unit as defined intable of contents

Proposition/phrase as identified bycategorical pattern

If more than one parameter value could be identified per variable and teaching/learning unit, a maximum of two values was recorded for “educational
domains”, “focus issues”, “selection criteria” and “account for methodologicalchoice” in order to optimize the respective profiles of analysis. The averageteaching/learning unit in Atarashii shakai – kômin consists of a two-pageset (with one-page introductions and evaluative assignments in nearly all
main chapters); Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô mostly displays two-page or fourpage sets per teaching/learning unit.
The classical way to assess textbooks would also imply a description ofsize and format, total number of pages and pagination, cover and binding,characteristics of print, graphics and design, language (e.g. usage of da/dearu or desu/masu style and furigana in Japanese materials), vocabulary, imprint and sources, etc.
The development of coding rules follows an interpretive quasi-hermeneutic spiral for each variable. As an illustration of this point may serve theconstruct for the cognitive domain (認知的領域): An extensional list26 wascreated for each of its elements as stated by Bloom et al.27, namely “knowledge (知識)“, “comprehension (理解)”, “application (応用)”, “analysis (分析)”,“synthesis (総合)”, “evaluation (評価)”. In order to secure intra- and intercoder reliability, an anchor phrase28 or a set of such phrases has to be identified:
For the given domain, the phrase「考えた理由を言いましょう」29 (“state
the reason why you thought”) refers to “comprehension” and may be used asa semantic anchor. Procedures for dealing with ambivalent teaching/learning contents or methods would make use of identifying default parametervalues and constructing coding rules from a set of educational standards, asWhat Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

169

can, for instance, be read from the national curriculum or the Torimatome;
they appear underlined in the following array of categories. 30
Major category: teaching/learning target (授業・学習目標)
variable: phrasing [yes/no] (明確化の有無)• subcategory: level of abstraction (明確化のレベル) è general targets, specific targets• subcategory: educational domains (教育領域) è cognitive, affective, psychomotor
Major category: teaching/learning content (授業・学習内容)• subcategory: focus issues (主題) è conceptual definitions, specificproblems, historical developments, rules, institutions• subcategory: selection criteria (主題設定の根拠) è topicality, situational specifics, relevance, basics
Major category: instructional design (指導方法)• subcategory: educational setting (指導形態) è e.g. group teaching, frontal teaching (= whole-class teaching), team teaching, cooperative learning, off-campus activities• subcategory: teaching activities (指導活動) è e.g. presenting, explaining, assigning, facilitating• subcategory: learning activities (学習活動) è e.g. formal learning,
discussion, simulation, role-play, community activity• subcategory: phasing (指導順路) è sequence of phases such as“cognize”, “express”, “gather”, “cooperate”, “answer”• subcategory: materials (教材) è e.g. textbook/recommended
supplementary textbook, worksheet, audio-visual media, pen andpaper
Major category: account for methodological choice (指導内容・方法の理由づけ)variable: developmental stage (発達段階)
variable: cultural background (文化的背景)
variable: situational background (状況の特性)
variable: individual vulnerability (特定のバルネラビリティー)
variable: societal conditions (社会上の背景)

170

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Major category: values education approach (価値教育へのアプロー
チ)variable: individual values-oriented approach (価値を自覚させるアプローチ)
variable: normative approach (教化的アプローチ)
variable: development-oriented approach (発達を指向するア
プローチ)
variable: discoursive approach (討議的アプローチ)
Major category: assessment (教育評価)
variable: formative assessment (形成的評価)
variable: summative assessment (総括的評価)
Neither of the two sample books displays regular assignments for evaluation within a given teaching/learning unit. The arrangement of assessment modules depends largely on the instructor’s strategies.
After successful coding and recording, the resulting parameter values will
convey information about patterns of instruction and about corresponden­
ces between teaching/learning contents and didactical modes. An analysisof selected sample pages is presented in the next section. When reading anddigesting the following tables however, one should bear in mind that theyshow preliminary results from a tentative application of an analytical tool
still under development. Coding procedures have to be optimized, larger
samples of consecutive context units have to be analyzed before statements
about educational modes can be made or conclusions about educationaltendencies can be drawn.

171

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

Sample Analyses
Atarashii shakai – kômin

Chapter 2.2—1, pages 30-31
Human Dignity and the Constitution of Japan – Human Rights and theConstitution of Japan – Considering Human Rights
Salient points and visuals

human rights games31 (“Acceptable & Unacceptable Differences”, “TwoDonkeys”); unidentified male character32

Reference pages

n.a.

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: none•
educational domains: cognitive, affective (albeit with a considerable
psychomotor proportion)

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: specific problems, rules
selection criteria: relevance172

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c•
Instructional design

•
•
•
•

educational setting: group teaching, frontal teaching, cooperative
learning
teaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning, discussion
phasing: gather—cooperate—answer—express; gather—cognize—express—cooperatematerials: textbook, pen and paper

Account for methodological choicedevelopmental stage

Values education approachdevelopment-oriented approach

Assessment

n.a.

Other observations

The 2002 edition presents card five in “Acceptable & Unacceptable
Differences” with a different text:「Bさんは中学校卒業後すぐ就職したが、Cさんは高校へ進学した。」(“B-san founda job soon after graduating from lower secondary school, while C-sanproceeded to higher secondary school.”).33 The topics may have been
exchanged for various reasons – to offer just two of several possible
explanations: Finding a job soon after graduating from compulsory
education is neither better nor worse than proceeding to a higher level offormal education; one may also feel inclined to doubt that it is meaningful
to rank educational levels according to their acceptability or “usefulness”.

173

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

Chapter 2.2—2, pages 32-33
Human Dignity and the Constitution of Japan – Human Rights and theConstitution of Japan – The History of Human Rights and the Establishmentof the Constitution of Japan

Salient points and visuals

human rights timeline 1200-2000, French Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen, entry into force of the Constitution of Japan in
1947, Satoshi & Kaori, pinboard, triangle assignment34

Reference pages

French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Meiji
Constitution and modern Constitution of Japan; cross reference to unit
about social rights

Terms explained

campaign for universal suffrage

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: none•
educational domains: cognitive

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: historical development, rules
selection criteria: basics

174

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Instructional design

•
•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teachingteaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning
phasing: gather—cognize—answer
materials: textbook

Account for methodological choicedevelopmental stage

Values education approachnormative approach

Assessment

n.a.

Other observations

The idea of human rights is being depicted as a concept of definitely
Western provenance. It would be a challenge to trace indigenous,
historically grown human rights-related institutions and customs in Japanin order to examine those factors that sever the mainstream concept“human rights” from indigenous concepts about “freedom” or “justice”.35
The textbook makes use of simplified terms; to the Basic Law for theFederal Republic of Germany36 (ドイツ連邦共和国基本法) for
instance it refers as “Bonn Basic Law” (「ボン基本法」).

175

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

Chapter 2.3—8, pages 54-55
Human Dignity and the Constitution of Japan – Human Rights and a
Harmonious Society – The International Community and Human Rights
Salient points and visuals

collage of photographs and illustrations pertaining to the unit’s topic, Kaori& Satoshi, pinboard, short story, triangle assignment

Reference pages

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights37

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: none•
educational domains: cognitive

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: specific problems, rules
selection criteria: basics, relevance176

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Instructional design

•
•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teaching, cooperative learningteaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning, discussion
phasing: gather—cognize—answer; gather—cooperatematerials: textbook, newspapers

Account for methodological choicedevelopmental stage, situational background

Values education approachnormative approach

Assessment

n.a.

Other observations

Here, the topic of indigenous peoples is not explicitly raised for Japan;
the authors cover issues like “Ainu people”, “buraku discrimination“,
Okinawa’s culture and nationality or ethnicity elsewhere in the textbook.

177

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

Chapter 2.3—*, page 56(opposite page introduces a new chapter, featuring Kaori & Satoshi)
Human Dignity and the Constitution of Japan – Human Rights and a
Harmonious Society – What We Have Learned
Salient points and visuals

two charts, explanatory diagram

Reference pages

n.a.

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: yes (assessment)•
level of abstraction: general•
educational domains: cognitive, affective

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: conceptual definitions, specific problems
selection criteria: relevance178

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c•
Instructional design

•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teaching, cooperative learning, groupteaching
teaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning, discussion, simulation
phasing: gather—cognize—cooperate; gather—(cooperate—)cognize—answer
materials: textbook, material of choice

Account for methodological choicedevelopmental stage, situational background

Values education approach

discoursive approach

Assessment

summative assessment

Other observations

n.a.

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

179

Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô

Chapter 4.0, pages 78-79
Living as a Social Being – 4th Set of Keys: Involvement with Groups andSociety38
Salient points and visuals

poetic introduction (“freedom”), colorful design

Reference pages

n.a.

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: none•
educational domains: cognitive, affective

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: conceptual definitions
selection criteria: none

180

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Instructional design

•
•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teachingteaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning
phasing: gather—cognize—answer
materials: recommended supplementary textbook

Account for methodologicalchoicedevelopmental stage

Values education approachnormative approach

Assessment

n.a.

Other observations

Poetic citations about “freedom” appear out of context and might be interpreted
in a tendentious way.

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

181

Chapter 4.1, pages 80-81
Living as a Social Being – 4th Set of Keys: Involvement with Groups andSociety – After All, You Are Never Alone
Salient points and visuals

illustrations of units and their respective components

Reference pages

n.a.

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: none•
educational domains: affective

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: specific problems
selection criteria: situational specifics

182

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Instructional design

•
•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teachingteaching activities: presenting, explaining
learning activities: formal learning
phasing: gather—cognize
materials: recommended supplementary textbook

Account for methodologicalchoicedevelopmental stage, situational background

Values education approachnormative approach

Assessment

n.a.

Other observations

n.a.

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

183

184

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Chapter 4.3, pages 86-89
Living as a Social Being – 4th Set of Keys: Involvement with Groups andSociety – No, We Do Not Want to Be Constrained, But … – 15th Key: Towards
a Law-abiding and Harmonious Society
Salient points and visuals

collage of illustrations and photographs (“rules & regulations”, “rights &obligations”)

Reference pages

n.a.

Terms explainedn.a.

Teaching/learning target

phrasing: yes (given by key title/subtitle)•level of abstraction: specific (by key title/subtitle: Towards a Lawabiding and Harmonious Society/ Understanding the
Meaning of Laws and Rules, and Improving Public Orderand Discipline)•
educational domains: cognitive, affective

Teaching/learning content••

focus issues: rules
selection criteria: basics, situational specifics

Instructional design

•
•
•
•
•

educational setting: frontal teachingteaching activities: presenting, explaining, assigninglearning activities: formal learning
phasing: gather—cognize—answer
materials: recommended supplementary textbook

Account for methodologicalchoicedevelopmental stage, situational background

Values education approachnormative approach

Assessment

formative assessment (diary style)

Other observations

n.a.

One additional issue must be mentioned here, even if it may seem to constitute a digression from the given set of analyses: When dealing with human rights education or human rights-related education, the medium itself
should abide by human rights standards. This point has to be emphasizedwith regard to a rather conspicuous citation in Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô:
One of its introductory chapters presents selected results from an international survey on young people’s dreams for the 21st century.39 What isrendered in the US version as “You want to find someone to love” reads inWhat Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

185

Japanese:「すてきな異性を見つける」(“[You want to] find a nice personof the opposite sex.”). While the Japanese term “isei” definitely refers to aheterosexual partner, the English word “someone” is gender-neutral. The
first flaw lies in an inaccurate translation (from Japanese to English), thesecond flaw consists in presenting a heterocentric choice option in a medium expressly devised for adolescents.
Perspectives
Valid and reliable instuments to assess human rights-related teaching/learning contents and methods could not only be applied to analyze materials
across curriculums, subjects or publishers, but also across cultural spheres.
While an analysis across curriculums, subjects and publishers would assist
in identifying educational policies and trends within a given cultural or national entity, an international analysis and coherent interpretation could offer a first step towards a harmonization of educational benchmarks – and of
the presentation of “self ” and “other”. The self/other dualism for instance isonly one cause of the ongoing international history textbook controversies.
For Japan, such an instrument could prove to be useful during thephases of textbook approval and adoption, or serve as an analytical tool tocanvass the development of the Kokoro no nôto and the Torimatome. Whenapplied to the national curriculums, even the extent of the current trend towards a stricter mode of education (with its catchphrase「ゆとり教育からの脱却」,“policy to abandon the present rather permissive style of education”)
would be identifiable if a comparative analysis “permissive vs. stricter styleof education” were conducted.
It goes without saying that a qualitative content analysis of humanrights-related educational materials cannot be realized by using one single,
uniform analytical tool. Within the given paradigm, research rationale andmethodological frame will remain congruent, but perspectives, levels of examination and variables have to be customized for each sample type. National
curriculums, the Torimatome and similar documents do require a different
set of variables than school textbooks and related materials. Moreover, after identifying the qualitative patterns of target samples, a meta-analysis ofquantifiable (or quantified) data could result in an evaluation of profiles forteaching/learning contents, methods and education requirements.

186

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

In the approach described above, the construct for values education
was derived from purely Western classification schemes. It would be mostconducive to modify the given methodological frame and integrate elementsfrom Mori Minoru’s works40 – or, more generally, notable elements of values
education from all over the world – into the analytical pattern, in order tocreate a truly appropriate tool.
Endnotes
1 Reports from fiscal year 1997 to fiscal year 2004 at www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/
jinken/index.html. [All URLs verified on 14 February 2011.]
2 The first online edition at www.kantei.go.jp/jp/kanpo-shiryo/2003/0423/
siry0423.htm#mokuji1. Some of the print versions, the first of which appeared in
2003, were complemented by a CD-ROM. The current version is hosted at www.
moj.go.jp/JINKEN/jinken129.html. Modes of publication have been altered over
the years. Each White Paper recapitulates key events of the past and may announce
those projected for the near future (even outside its reporting period), but the focusof these documents is on reporting about human rights education-related initiatives
per fiscal year.
Note on behalf of the Editor: cf. Akuzawa Mariko, “Whither Institutionalized
Human Rights Education? Review of the Japanese Experience”; in Human Rights
Education in Asian Schools, 10, pages 175-184; at www.hurights.or.jp/archives/
pdf/asia-s-ed/v10/17Whither%20Institutionalized%20HRE,%20Review%20of%20
Japanese%20Experience.pdf.
3 Online at www.mofa.go.jp/Mofaj/Gaiko/jinken/kyoiku/index.html. A concise
English language page about Japan’s major human rights issues at www.moj.go.jp/
ENGLISH/HB/hb-01.html (「啓発」being translated as “encouragement”).
4 Note on behalf of the Editor: “Dowa education is defined as an umbrella
concept referring to all forms of educational activities by both government andthe Buraku movement to solve the problems of Buraku discrimination. It is now
considered to be one pillar in the broad-based human rights education initiative inJapan.” Cited from Mori Minoru; Hirasawa Yasumasa, “Dowa Education and Human
Rights”; in Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, 1, page 11; at www.hurights.
or.jp/archives/human_rights_education_in_asian_schools/section2/1998/03/dowaeducation-and-human-rights.html. [The authors decided not to indicate the long
first syllable in “dôwa”.] Cf. also Shinpo Makiko (romanized: Makiko Shimpo), “Fifty
Years of Human Rights Education in Osaka”; in Human Rights Education in Asian
Schools, 7, pages 37-41; at www.hurights.or.jp/archives/human_rights_education_
in_asian_schools/section2/2004/03/fifty-years-of-human-rights-education-in-osaka.html.
5 “The Kokoro no nôto” always refers to all four textbooks, whereas a single textbook is referred to by its specific title (cf. endnote no. 14). First editions according
to NDL catalog data:『こころのノート』: 小学校1・2年, 『心のノート』: 小学校3

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

187

・4年, 小学校5・6年, 中学校 (all Tôkyô: MEXT, 2002 [no statement about authors or

editors]). “Notebook(s) on Morality” was suggested by Hirasawa Yasumasa of Ôsaka
University; a more literal translation would read “Notes to Take to Heart”.
6 Cf. www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou/024/index.htm. Following
a suggestion by Hirasawa Yasumasa, “Guidelines for Human Rights Education
Methodology” was recommended by the Editor; a more literal translation would read
“Reports on Desiderata for Human Rights Education Methodology”.
7 The White Papers on Human Rights Education and Human Rights Awarenessrising usually refer to the Kokoro no nôto in their sections about “Children” (「子ども」) or “School Education” (「学校教育」). In July 2008 the MEXT establisheda Cooperation Council for the Revision of the Kokoro no nôto (『心のノート』の改善に関する協力者会議), cf. www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou/055/
gijiroku/08100908.htm.
8 Cf. www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shuppan/sonota/990301.htm.
9 Cf. www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shuppan/sonota/990301/03122602.htm.
10 About the distribution of the Kokoro no nôto cf. www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/
hyouka/kekka/03073102/008.pdf, pages 36-37. About the provision of school textbooks cf. www.mofa.go.jp/POLICY/human/econo_rep2/article13.html.
11 In order to distinguish between the two terms in Japanese,「道徳の時間」
may be used to explicitly refer to “Moral Education”, while「道徳教育」denotes“moral education”.
12 Besides Special Activities (特別活動), in keeping with the curricular guidelines for lower secondary schools (Torimatome 1, pages 10-11, and Torimatome 2,
pages 30-31). The Torimatome also emphasize that moral education pertains to all
subjects (Torimatome 1, page 10; Torimatome 2, page 29). Torimatome 1 at www.
mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou/024/report/04062501.pdf; Torimatome 2at www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou/024/report/06012408/001.pdf.
13 Cf. Torimatome 1, page 3. For further details cf. Torimatome 1, page 5;
Torimatome 2, pages 7-8.
14 Textbook for Civic Education (Atarashii shakai – kômin): 田邉 裕 (Tanabe
Hiroshi), 著作者・代表,『新しい社会・公民』(Tôkyô: Tôkyô shoseki, 2005; 平成
13年3月30日検定済,2東書公民902). Publishers update and revise the content ofapproved textbooks annually, even within a given textbook adoption period. The
2005 version differs slightly from the 2002 edition, but these differences do notbear any consequences for the rationale of the given analytical pattern. For details
about sampling methods cf. “Methodological Frame”. “New Social Studies – Civics”
was suggested by Hirasawa Yasumasa, while an alternative translation would read“New Textbook for Social Studies – Civic Education”; “New Social Studies – Civic
Education” combines the two versions.
Recommended supplementary textbook for moral education (Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô):『 心のノート・中学校』(Tôkyô: MEXT). No authors, editors or year of
publication stated. Copy for use from academic year 2002 kindly provided by the
Nara Prefectural Office/Department for Compulsory Education in December 2005.

188

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

15 Cf. Volker Lenhart, Pädagogik der Menschenrechte (Opladen: Leske +Budrich, 2003) pages 45-88; the present analysis is based on a slightly modified version of Lenhart’s pattern.
16 Cf. Falk Pingel, UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook
Revision. Studien zur internationalen Schulbuchforschung Vol. 103 (Hannover:Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1999).
17 Basic references were:
Benjamin S. Bloom; J. Thomas Hastings; George F. Madaus, Handbook on
Formative and Summative Evaluation of Student Learning (New York: McGraw-Hill,1971).
For a digest in Japanese cf. 梶田 叡一 (Kajita Eiichi),「教育目標の分類体系(タキソノミー）」. In: 梶田 叡一; 加藤 明 (Kajita Eiichi; Katô Akira), 監修,『実践教育評価事典』(Tôkyô: Bunkeidô, 2004) pages 248-249. Also: 多鹿 秀
継 (Tajika Hidetsugu), 編著,『認知心理学からみた授業過程の理解』(Kyôto:
Kitaôji shobô, 2002) pages 20-26.
Uwe Flick, Qualitative Sozialforschung. Eine Einführung (Hamburg: Rowohlt,
2005).
平山 満義 (Hirayama Mitsuyoshi), 編著,『質的研究法による授業研究—教育学・教育工学・心理学からのアプローチ』(Kyôto: Kitaôji shobô, 2003).
Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis. An Introduction to Its Methodology(Thousand Oaks/Ca., London, New Delhi: Sage, 2004).
Philipp Mayring, Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken(Weinheim, Basel: Beltz, 2003).
M. David Merrill, “Psychomotor Taxonomies, Classifications, and Instructional
Theory”. In: Robert N. Singer, editor, The Psychomotor Domain – Movement
Behaviors (Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1972) pages 385-414.
Paradigm for phasing (指導順路 or 発展方法): 南山 晃生 (Minamiyama Teruo),「社会科の授業づくりと評価の実際」. In: 梶田 叡一; 加藤 明 (Kajita Eiichi; Katô Akira), 監修,『実践教育評価事典』, op. cit., pages 120-123.
Fritz Oser; Wolfgang Althof (with a contribution by Detlef Garz), Moralische
Selbstbestimmung. Modelle der Entwicklung und Erziehung im Wertebereich(Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1992).
18 Rationale as described above. Cf. Krippendorff, pages 118-120.
19 About the scheduling of textbook production cf. www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/
shotou/kyoukasho/kentei/06032710.htm.
20 Cf. 渡辺 敦司 (Watanabe Atsushi),「前年度比15.3%増の4330万冊に―扶桑社は公民を合わせて1400冊:新課程の中学校教科書採択状況―文科省まとめ」.『内外教育』No. 5251 (Nov. 20, 2001) pages 2-4. [Reported adoption rate of
60.1%.]
21 Cf. Krippendorff, pages 211-214.
22 Cf. Flick, pages 325-326; Mayring, page 112.
23 The overall research design has been discussed with educators and humanrights education staff in Tôkyô, Kyôto and Nara City between Dec. 2005 and Dec.
2007. Further resources for ascertaining a higher level of reliability, e.g. intercoding,were not available.

What Do Textbooks Teach – and How?

189

24 Cf. Mayring, pages 82-99.
25 Cf. Krippendorff, pages 98-103.
26 Cf. Krippendorff, pages 133-135: “In such lists, the analyst enumerates all the
instances that define each category.” (ibid., pages 133-134). Coding of the element“knowledge (知識)” for instance was operationalized by listing a set of synonyms inorder to facilitate matching a unit’s nominal or verbal phrases with the analytical
pattern.
27 Cf. Bloom, Hastings, Madaus (appendix), pages 271-277.
28 Cf. Mayring, pages 96-98.
29 Cf. Atarashii shakai – kômin (2005), page 30.
30 In the following array, the arrow symbol indicates a set of variables withina subcategory; the sequence of these variables does not signify any kind of ranking.
31 It is not clear whether these two games have been conceptualized by theauthors or whether they have been adopted from third parties. Detailed information
about the authorship seems to be inaccessible.
32 Besides chapter headings and page numbers, the table of contents (Atarashii
shakai – kômin (2005), pages 2-4) gives additional information about integrated topical sections, such as “Challenges for Citizens” (「公民にチャレンジ」) and “Public
Access” (「公民にアクセス」), and an explanation about symbols (pinboard, shortstory, pencil). It also introduces Yumi, Satoshi, Kaori and Yôsuke, four student-likecharacters, albeit by name only.
33 田邉 裕 (Tanabe Hiroshi), 著作者・代表,『新しい社会・公民』(Tôkyô:Tôkyô shoseki, 2002; 平成13年3月30日検定済, 2東書公民902) page 30.
34 The triangle symbol appears frequently, but its meaning is not explained
anywhere in the textbook (Atarashii shakai – kômin (2005)).
35 For background reading cf. 網野 善彦 (Amino Yoshihiko),『無縁・公界・楽 :日本中世の自由と平和 』(Tôkyô: Heibonsha, 1996). Such a project, however, would
entail a shift of research paradigm and methodology.
36 Cf. www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80201000.pdf.
37 These two covenants are referred to by a single Japanese term. Cf. www.
mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/kiyaku/index.html.
38 Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô explains about its contents on pages 2-3 and additionally on pages 8-9, where the concept of “sets of keys” and “keys” is illustrated.
39 Cf. Kokoro no nôto/chûgakkô, page 19:「日本青少年研究所『21世紀の夢に関する調査』平成11年実施」. The official English title reads “Survey on Juniorand Senior High School Students’ Dreams toward the 21st Century”. Cf. http://essrc.
hyogo-u.ac.jp/jedi/handle/10479/JEDI.102 for the US data set; http://essrc.hyogo-u.
ac.jp/jedi/handle/10479/JEDI.101 for the Japanese data set.
40 Cf. 森 実 (Mori Minoru),「同和教育実践が人権教育をひらく」, pages 166179. In: 森 実 (Mori Minoru), 編著,『熱と光にみちびかれて・・・同和教育実践がひらく人権教育』(Ôsaka: Kaihô shuppan, 2002) ibid. (rendered into English:
Empowered by Warmth and Brightness – Pioneering Human Rights Education Via
Practice of Dôwa Education).