The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings, June 1998

Chapter 1 - Introduction

(Part 3 of 3)

The Field Sites

The field sites for the case studies were selected in order to capture as wide a range as possible of the regional, class, and

ethnic diversity of Japanese society.

Naka City

Our primary site, Naka City, is one of the largest cities in Japan. As with most Japanese urban centers, the city is wellconnected to the rest of the nation via its port and airport, as well as by private and national railway lines. While Naka City is

generally prosperous, some wards of the city have high concentrations of low-income families as well as burakumin. No one

industry predominates: shipping, textiles, electronics, and automotive factories all play a major role in an economy where 24

percent of the labor force is employed in manufacturing and 23 percent in the service industries. The unemployment rate in

1992 was a little over three percent, and the median household yearly income was around $95,000 dollars (where 100 yen = 1

dollar). To help protect the identity of participants in this study, citations to literature which specify the locale or otherwise

might aid in the identification of participants and schools, are not provided in this report.

Naka is an international city. Exhibits from the United States, China, and other countries are on tour in local museums and in

the galleries sponsored by large department stores. Consumers can avail themselves of products from countries as diverse as

Germany and the Philippines. Yet in the cramped streets of the residential areas, a tiny family restaurant with only two booths

and three stools might offer its customers bowls of the local noodle specialty. Like many Japanese cities, the foreign

population is not readily evident outside of the central shopping areas or universities. In some parts of the city near the outer

perimeter, small tracts of land are still under cultivation. In the city center, space is at a premium and tiny, ancient shrines can

be found that are surrounded on three sides by massive skyscrapers.

Naka City is home to roughly 150,000 pupils enrolled at the elementary level, 75,000 at the junior high school level, and

90,000 at the high school level. The student population at the high school level is nearly equally divided between private and

public high schools which makes the number of students attending private high schools in Naka city higher than the national

average. Over 30 percent of high school students are enrolled in non-academic courses, somewhat higher than the national

average of about 25 percent (Monbusho, 1996). Official statistics show that at the elementary and junior high school levels

there were approximately 20 pupils per teacher in 1992. In reality, junior high school classes range from the midthirties to

over 40 students per class. Most schools, particularly those in the older sections of the city have very little physical space. Per

pupil funding for the city as a whole in 1992 was about $5,500 per child per year for both elementary and junior high schools.

Because the city is essentially one school district, there is no difference in per child allocations between more and less

affluent sectors of the city.

Kita City

Both of the secondary field sites, Kita City and Minami City, are regional hubs and the major cities in their respective

prefectures. Kita City lies far in the north and is home to world-class skiing while Minami City has a climate that residents of

the U.S. Deep South would find familiar. Both are connected by rail and air to the rest of the nation. While most young

Japanese speak only standard Japanese, older residents of Kita City speak a distinctive dialect quite distinct from standard

Japanese.

Kita city is home to less than 300,000 people compared with Naka City's millions. This gives Kita a more relaxed and open

feeling. Large, covered avenues hold a wide range of shops, and the central part of town can be traversed by foot in less than

an hour. Parks are abundant and offer spectacular views of the adjacent, snow-covered mountains. No one industry dominates

Kita's labor market. Unemployment data were unavailable. The per capita income in 1991 was about $30,000. Many family

farms still exist, and there is considerable emphasis in the winter months on tourism.

The official student-teacher ratio in Kita is similar to Naka: about 20 to 1 at the elementary and junior high school level.

Although classes tend to be larger than this, they are not as crowded as in Naka's schools. For Japan, the population density is

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 1 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12
quite low — only 600 people per square kilometer. Because land is not at a premium, schools tend to have large playgrounds

and activity areas. There were about 20,000 students at the elementary level, 10,000 at the junior high school level, and over

15,000 at the high school level in 1992. Per pupil funding in 1992 was about $7,000 per year for both elementary and junior

high school students.

Minami City

Minami City has a long history as a prosperous port city with a large fishing industry. Seven percent of the total population

works in manufacturing. The unemployment rate at the time of this study was just over 2 percent. Per capita income in 1990

was about $30,000 and the median household income around $75,000. The population density of Minami (around 3,500

people per square kilometer) is less than half that of Naka's over 6,000 people per square kilometer.

There were over 90,000 students in Minami's elementary schools and nearly 50,000 in its junior high schools. In 1993 the

high school enrollment was over 60,000. The student-teacher ratio is similar to Naka and Kita, but the per pupil spending was

somewhat lower: about $4,800 at the elementary and $5,500 at the junior high school level. Minami is home to several

universities and junior colleges.

The Schools

Given this general description of the system of education and the field sites, we now turn to the schools themselves. In Table

3, the schools and their relative academic standing are listed. The determination of the schools' academic level was made by

Professors Nagano and Sawada based on data collected on schools in Japan by the National Institute for Educational

Research. The academic standing of schools, particularly at the junior high and high school level, is primarily derived from

an analysis of students' high school and college entrance exam scores at each school. So for example, those schools which

ultimately send the largest percentage of their student body to top ranked universities are the most highly ranked schools in

Japan.

Table 3 — Sample schools and academic level

SOURCE: Third International

Mathematics and Science Study, Case

Study Project, 1994-95.

School Level

Elementary

Matsu Elementary High

Minami Elementary Middle

Tancho Elementary Middle

Kita Elementary Middle

Hasu Elementary Low

Junior High School

Chuo JHS High

Kita JHS High

Midori JHS Middle

Minami JHS Middle

Shimogawa JHS Low

High School

Meiji H.S. High

Kita H.S. High

Minami H.S. High

Arata H.S. Middle

Naka Vocational H.S. Low

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 2 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12
Japanese schools present a rather austere facade to the U.S. eye. The vast majority of schools are three-story ferro-concrete

structures with little or no external decoration. At most schools, the office is located near the main entrance which is marked

by a sliding iron gate. Figure 1 shows a copy of the floor plan of one of the high schools that we visited. This school, located

in one of the secondary sites, is also equipped with two gymnasiums, a martial arts practice hall, and a pool. The rooms

marked "3-1 HR" and so forth are the students' homerooms where they spend most of their day. As is typical in most

Japanese high schools, the third-year students all have their homerooms on the top floor and the first-year students on the

bottom floor. Special purpose rooms, such as the language laboratory, are located in a separate wing connected by a hallway.

In large, sprawling schools like Naka Vocational, the gym and various classroom buildings are connected by long hallways.

As is the custom in Japanese homes, street shoes are not worn in Japanese schools. Students and teachers have separate

entrances which are equipped with shoe boxes to store street wear and school slippers. Students must purchase a specific kind

of slipper — usually blue, green, or brown and made of tough plastic.

Day-to-day cleaning and maintenance of the schools and grounds are done by students and teachers, although most schools

employ one or two workers as custodians. Since many Japanese schools do not have central heating or cooling, classrooms

are heated by kerosene stoves. A few students from each class are responsible for making sure that the daily supply of

kerosene is delivered and the classroom stove is filled. There is also a daily cleaning period when students and teachers

sweep the floors, empty waste baskets, and dust the shelves. Once a month or so, the teachers organize a larger cleaning

period. At these times students may wax the hallway floors, clean out mud from the gutters around the edges of the buildings,

or pull up weeds and grass that have encroached on the large, sand-covered playing fields.

In most Japanese schools there is usually a large outdoor recreation area in front of or behind the school where students play

baseball, tennis, soccer, and other outdoor sports. In the rural areas and smaller cities where land is less expensive, separate

fields for soccer and baseball as well as tennis courts can be found. All of the schools we visited had playing fields of various

sizes. At elementary schools this area often is equipped with brightly-colored playground equipment for the benefit of the

smaller children. Students often use this equipment after school and on weekends.

Contrary to images common in western media, most Japanese students enjoy going to school, because it is a place for them to

meet friends and participate in extra-curricular activities. In sharp contrast to the often somber buildings, Japanese classrooms

are animated, lively places when students are relaxing between classes during their five or ten minute breaks. The rhythm of

life in Japanese schools is one where study time is punctuated with ample opportunities for socializing.

The schools in our sample are typical of public schools in Japanese urban and suburban areas. The schools run the gamut

from very old schools with long traditions to very new ones equipped with the latest conveniences. None of the schools

seemed extraordinary compared to the schools that we had visited on previous research projects.

Kita City Schools

Kita Elementary, with a student population of over 500, was tucked into a quiet neighborhood at the edge of the city, while

Kita Junior High School, which enrolled roughly 550 students, was more centrally located. Both of these schools have been

around for a long time: Kita Elementary has been preparing children for roughly a century and is one of the most respected

schools in the city.

The three schools in Kita City appear to be either average or outstanding in terms of the academic ability of their students. In

sharp contrast to the elementary and junior high school, Kita High School, with over a thousand students, is rather new and is

located in the recent suburban developments on the far outskirts of the city. As Kita is an advancement school, most of the

students hoped to attend 4-year colleges upon graduation. In the last 5 years, Kita High School has placed nearly 800 of its

graduates in national 4-year colleges and well over 1,000 graduates in private 4-year colleges.

Minami City Schools

Minami Elementary and Minami Junior High School lie on the outskirts of the city in a mixture of farmland and suburbia

where new apartment complexes and green rice fields exist side-by-side. There were about 600 students enrolled in Minami

Elementary and about 730 in Minami Junior High School. Minami High School, on the other hand, is a large school with

nearly 1300 students located in a more developed portion of the city. It is one of the most prestigious schools in the area, and

each year many graduates go on to enter elite universities.

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 3 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12
Naka City Schools

High schools. Naka Vocational High School is a large ferro-concrete, three-story school just across the street from a

commuter railway line. The students are divided into several courses or lanes: mechanical, electrical/information (computer),

and chemical engineering. Of the school's nearly 850 students, fewer than 10 are female. Over 50 staff members are listed as

instructors in the school guide. The school also houses a night school which starts around 6 p.m. From 1994 on, the two

schools were given separate staff and administrators, although the same principal was in charge of both. We did not interview

students or staff at the night school.

In comparison with Naka's dilapidated exterior, Arata High School seemed to be an extension of the brand new sports facility

near the school. Arata is also a ferro-concrete structure, but has more amenities: there is a two-tiered gym which houses a

martial arts hall below and basketball courts above. Whereas the families of Naka Vocational could best be described as

"working class," Arata's parents seemed to be mainly from the middle class of store owners, clerical workers, and whitecollar workers (sarariiman). Over half of the 1,200 students at Arata are female. Nearly 60 staff members are listed as

"instructors," and the school offers a wide variety of clubs. Arata is generally considered a middle-ranked school, which

means that although most of its graduates go on to college, few are aiming for the best national or private universities.

Meiji High School is the oldest high school of the three. It boasts a long and venerated tradition of promoting students'

individual interests along with academic success. Last year, Meiji made the list of the top ten high schools in Naka City in

terms of sending students on to Tokyo, Kyoto, or other top-ranked universities. About 50 percent of third-year students go to

juku. Parental levels of income at Meiji seemed higher than at Arata, with more families at the professional-managerial level.

There are 40-44 students in a class, 10 classes per grade. Like Arata, the school is divided into two sections, literature and

science. Over 400 students enter each year from nearly 120 junior high schools: about one in 10 junior high school applicants

are admitted. Nearly 100 percent of Meiji graduates go on to some type of four-year college.

Junior high schools. Like high schools, Japanese junior high schools can seem rather austere. In the vast majority of schools,

one side of the classroom has large clear windows facing outside while the other has opaque glass windows which face the

corridor. There are no lockers, and students store their belongings either on hooks in the corridor outside the classroom, in

their desks, or in small cubbyholes built into the back of the room. In many schools there are little or no decorations in the

halls. Classroom walls tend to be taken up with chalkboards in the front and back; schedules and school announcements are

tacked up on the cork message boards. There is usually a class motto (e.g., Independent Spirit! or Never Give Up!) written in

calligraphy above the front of the class, and occasionally one sees certificates that class members or teams of members have

won in local contests.

Chuo Junior High School, at 30 years of age, enrolls over 350 boys and girls. The family economic background of the

students seemed quite high, with many families owning their own businesses in the multi-storied buildings of the surrounding

neighborhood. Shimogawa Junior High School is located in a much less prosperous part of town than Chuo. Like Naka

Vocational High School, Shimogawa is located in an area of older homes and working-class families. The school is a large

one, with over 800 boys and girls. Because of its 40-year history and large enrollment, the grounds are somewhat cramped.

Midori is the smallest of the three Naka junior high schools. The families seem to be somewhat more affluent overall than at

Shimogawa, and the houses in this area are larger than in Shimogawa and the gardens better developed. The school is nearly

50 years old and is experiencing declining enrollments.

Elementary schools. Similar associations between economic circumstance and school atmosphere were evident at the

elementary school level. Parents of Hasu Elementary students appeared to have the lowest level of income and most parents

work in small shops, factories, and the entertainment industry. In contrast, Matsu Elementary is located in an affluent

neighborhood near a major university. Tancho Elementary School's students come from a neighborhood of prosperous shops

and fine homes. These differences in neighborhoods have a relatively greater impact on the lives of children than on

adolescents, because children do not have the freedom to travel so far from home. Consequently, the students at Matsu and

Tancho played in quiet neighborhoods with numerous small, curving streets that reduced traffic hazards, whereas the children

at Hasu played in neighborhoods that were semi-industrialized.

Hasu is located near Naka's harbor in a working-class neighborhood. Many of Hasu's children come from single-parent

homes. Matsu Elementary is at the other end of the economic spectrum from Hasu. Located in a neighborhood of large

private homes with meticulously sculpted shrubs, students at Matsu enjoy a very high standard of living. The neighborhood is

also within walking distance of buses, the subway line, a university, and an upscale shopping district with fine restaurants.

The students at Tancho Elementary also come from well-to-do homes. This is, again, a prosperous neighborhood, and

teachers noted that there were few student problems.

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 4 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12
School Summary

The fifteen schools in Kita, Minami, and Naka Cities are representative of the differences found within the Japanese public

school system. While the national and local governments make great efforts to ensure that the curricula offered in elementary

and junior high schools are the same across the region and neighborhood, the neighborhoods are important in determining the

kinds of academic and cultural opportunities children have outside of school. Smaller cities like Kita lack the large juku,

which offer the best college preparatory courses. The children of affluent neighborhoods like those around Chuo Junior High

School and Matsu Elementary have more money to spend on sports equipment and access to better parks and recreational

facilities. The students at Hasu Elementary do not have the luxury of trying to catch minnows in the irrigation canals that

flood the rice fields around schools like Minami Elementary.

At the high school level, the effects of neighborhood become less significant. Students compete inside large school districts

for entrance into high school. Any school with a good reputation will draw students even if, as is the case with Meiji High

School, the school is not located near train or subway lines. Students at a given high school tend to come from the same

family backgrounds — not because students all come from the same neighborhood, but because the entrance exams and

school hierarchy function to stream students with similar academic abilities and backgrounds together. Regional effects are

still strong because high school students in small cities do not have access to large juku or to the many cultural and athletic

facilities available in large urban areas like Naka City.

The Current Climate in Education

Reforms in education generate enormous debate in Japanese society. In the recent past, the Ministry of Education's

reintroduction of moral education created a national controversy. Attempts to reintroduce symbols or materials that had

connections with the war-time government, such as the national anthem and saluting of the national flag, met with stiff

opposition in the schools. The question of what should be taught in social studies and moral education courses remains a

source of significant discontent among many Japanese. Parents and teachers alike are critical of the examination system, the

juku, and the perceived lack of individuality in the classroom.

Most educators are keenly aware of the fact that around the world Japanese students are regarded as good at taking tests in

math and science but unable to apply their knowledge creatively to new situations. There is significant discontent among the

population in general with the lack of creativity in the schools and the difficulty that individuals have in expressing their own

ideas given the pressure of studying for the entrance exams. To provide students with more time to call their own, the

Ministry of Education has asked schools to foster individual differences (kosei kyo iku) and has begun reducing the number

of days per week that students go to school. Currently, students get two Saturdays off each month with the long-term goal of

no-school on Saturday to be implemented at an unspecified future date. But because of the complexity of Japan's education

system, even such straightforward measures as reducing the number of school days in order to give students more free time

can have paradoxical effects. While many parents are dissatisfied with the lack of time for individual expression in schools,

they also want teachers to assure their sons' and daughters' success on the entrance exams. Teachers are now caught in a bind

— they must reduce the school week, but they must still cover the same amount of material. In many schools, the result has

been for teachers to propose eliminating club activities or "free periods" (yutori jikan) from the school week, an action most

teachers recognize as having a negative effect on their ability to foster individual expression and creativity in school.

Outline of This Volume

Interviews and observations conducted at these 15 schools provide the core of the data used in this volume. The chapters are

arranged by topic, and each author focuses on different details or aspects of the education process of education.

Douglas Trelfa discusses the effects of national standards on education at the primary and secondary level. Some of the

central questions addressed in this chapter are: How are standards understood within the culture? How are standards

implemented and who is responsible for this implementation? What is the effect of standards on the science and math

curriculum.

Hidetada Shimizu probes the topic of individual differences, addressing how Japanese schools deal with each individual

learner. This chapter also deals with the broader issues of tracking and individual inclusion in classrooms. Shimizu discusses

how individuality and creativity are constructed in significantly different ways in Japan using examples from classrooms to

illustrate these points.

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 5 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12
Gerald LeTendre examines adolescent lives, focusing on the intricate relations between peer groups, the family, and life

inside and outside of school. He addresses how adolescence is conceptualized in Japan and the role school plays in the lives

of young Japanese. In this chapter, the stresses and problems of students are discussed as well as how students view math and

science.

Finally, Carol Kinney looks at the day-to-day lives of teachers and analyzes how Japanese views of work and

professionalism affect teaching. She details the day-to-day work of teachers, their working conditions and discusses their

status in society. She also looks at teacher training and investigates how, and in what way, teachers learn their profession.

-###-

[Chapter 1 - Introduction (Part 2 of 3)] [Chapter 2 - The Development and Implementation of Education

Standards in Japan (Part 1 of 5)]

The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings - Chapter 1. Introduction (Part 3 of 3) Page 6 of 6

http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081605/http://www.ed.gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter1b.html 08/30/12