Write a short note on educational reforms in Japan.
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11th. History (इतिहास)
Answers
Japan is currently undertaking reforms in school education toward twenty-first century education. These comprehensive reforms include a wide range of changes, such as reform of national curriculum standards, a new school evaluation system, introduction of a national academic performance test, teacher training, reforms in university entrance examinations and admission policies, and improved coordination between schools and society.
These reforms aiming to better prepare students for the twenty-first century began in the 1980s. The starting point was a report by the Ad Hoc Council on Education set up by the Prime Minister in 1984. The report stressed that respect for the individual should be the fundamental principle upon which education reforms are built. It urged Japan to shift its focus from standardized, conventional rote learning towards learning that would help children develop the flexible and independent mindsets needed to think, judge, and take responsibility for their actions. After the report, Japanese education began to steer towards twenty-first century education with comprehensive policies to ensure the success of new approaches to teaching and learning.
However, the process of transforming into a twenty-first century education system has not been without challenges. For example, when Japanese students scored low on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) in 2003 and 2006, the public blamed the curriculum reform as the main reason for the decline and claimed public education should focus on helping children acquire academic knowledge. Nevertheless, Japan didn’t alter the direction of its educational reform. Instead, in response to mounting public criticism, the National Assessment of Academic Ability was introduced in 2007. The purpose was to assess children’s academic performance as a basis for further reforms. Since 2009, efforts such as employing more teachers, including assigning more teachers to schools with academic and behavioral problems, and introducing morning reading sessions at schools were implemented nationwide and have begun to demonstrate success. In 2012, Japanese children achieved the highest total PISA score among all the member states of the OECD.
On the other hand, although students’ academic performance had improved, issues such as low motivation to learn and self-esteem remained. Further, the government had to consider making further changes to social and employment structures to prepare for anticipated technological advancements (such as artificial intelligence [AI]) and discussions of the OECD Education 2030.
With these conditions in mind, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) thoroughly reviewed the abilities and skills which children should aim to acquire and subsequently revised the National Curriculum Standards. The new standards will be implemented from 2020 to 2022 and include active learning (i.e., independent and interactive in-depth learning) in all school courses. The standards also include new subjects such as scientific exploration, general exploration, public comprehensive history, and comprehensive geography. The government has also improved university entrance examinations by reforming the selection process to evaluate applicants’ broader competencies beyond academic ability and the mere quantity of their knowledge.
Furthermore, MEXT implemented reforms in teacher training programs in line with changes in the National Curriculum Standards: launching the induction training system; introducing the teacher’s license renewal system; and improving training programs for working teachers to enhance their skills and abilities.
As for coordination between schools and society, the government established the School Management Council System (Community Schools) to incorporate local communities’ needs into school management. Additionally, a reform of the teaching certificate system aimed to employ people who were in non-teaching careers as full or part-time teachers.
The reform toward twenty-first century education is closely connected to the transition underway in the larger Japanese society. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when Japan became a modern nation-state, Japan focused on industrialization as a mean of national development to “catch up” with Western developed countries. A similar process has also occurred with the Japanese education system before and after World War II. In the 1980s, when Japan’s GDP was the second highest in the world, Japan had to begin setting its own goals for prosperity without imitating the model of Western countries.
Recently the world has also undergone a great transformation due to globalization and the development of information and communications technology (ICT), including AI. To adapt to these major social changes and establish a twenty-first century education system, Japan has continued to prioritize education reforms.