EDU-JPN: Moral Education and the Difficulties of Assessing Students

Education in Japan (Natalie Collar)

In elementary and junior high schools throughout Japan, children are given a special lesson in morals once a week. This subject, called dōtoku in Japanese, has great merit in teaching students to think about how individual actions affect others. The goal of this subject is to develop students’ abilities to see the world in a holistic way, where they recognize differences in values and points of view.

Although moral education is not yet an official subject within the curriculum and students do not receive an official grade for their participation, it will become a graded subject beginning in the 2018 school year. In preparation for this curriculum change, MEXT recently held its second forum in Tokyo to discuss the evaluation of this subject. Roughly 300 instructors and administrators participating in the meeting to speak of their experiences in evaluating students and make suggestions for official grading standards. There was also a panel discussion among three specialists who attended this meeting. They exchanged opinions about how a curriculum ought to be established.

Currently, most teachers face difficulty in uniformly evaluating their students, because moral education is a qualitative class, opposed to most other subjects, which are quantitative in nature. From the experienced teacher’s perspective, there are many legitimate concerns. Some instructors have noticed that if their feedback is too general, students don’t experience personal growth. Other teachers question how important the issue of empathy is in evaluating students, are they trying to see the value of others’ opinions? Another worry teachers have is whether students who are quietly pondering ideas expressed in class may receive a lower grade if the evaluation guidelines are made to reflect those of quantitative subjects. Suggestions of written activities were made in order to give these students a chance to express their ideas and provide content for evaluation. 

Although teachers and school administrators all over Japan are taking great steps toward establishing acceptable evaluative guidelines, this is an ongoing, important task that will likely take more time. However, because of the information-filled society of today, there seems to be some doubt concerning the teachers’ abilities to effectively teach the content and assess students appropriately.

• YOMIURI ONLINE「３００人参加しフォーラム、道徳の評価方法議論」, 2016/12/26. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20161226-OYT1T50072.html
• 産経ニュース「道徳の成績評価　教師の力量こそ問われる」, 2016/07/25. http://www.sankei.com/column/news/160725/clm1607250001-n1.html

EDU-JPN: Japanese University Entrance Exams

Education in Japan (Natalie Collar)

The end of the calendar year is often thought to be a joyful season in Japan. New Year holidays are usually filled with family time, delicious food, and relaxation. While most people are optimistically thinking of what the New Year will bring, third-year high school students are in a different boat. It marks the beginning of the most difficult period in their lives: university entrance exam season. Almost as a rite of passage, exam season puts great pressure on students to perform well enough to get into a top university. 

Most high school students will find themselves taking a general exam, similar to the SAT or ACT that many American students take, at a testing center. This exam is held once a year, and all students throughout the nation take the exam at the same time. This year’s exam will be held on January 14th and 15th. Over the course of two days, students will be tested on a variety of subjects such as math, Japanese, English, science, and history to name a few. Once the exam is over, answers will be published in the following day’s newspaper, and students are responsible for checking their own answers; the testing centers do not provide score reports.

Immediate access to test answers is so important to students’ abilities to accurately estimate their scores that Yomiuri Newspaper has created a webpage dedicated solely to providing the most up-to-date information concerning this process. The webpage will provide answers and explanations on the evening the final exam. Looking over the correct answers so soon after the exam will give students a very good idea of their overall score. Knowing one’s total score is important when deciding on which university to apply to, because most universities have a range of acceptable scores. Upon grading their exams, students can assess their performance with the universities of their choice and decide whether they ought to apply or not. Application deadlines for most public universities are usually about a week after the exams, so students have ample time to make their decision. 

What is especially unique about this process is that there is only one chance per year for students to take the general exam. If they fail to attain a score high enough to apply to the university of their choice, they have two options. These students can either change their mind and apply to a less prestigious school, or they can become a “rōnin” for a year and dedicate their lives to earning a higher score on the next year’s exam. The latter option is a significant financial burden for the students’ parents, so it goes without saying that all involved parties would prefer students study hard and receive a sufficiently high score on their first try.

This process is the most basic of those students face during exam season. In some cases, there are second exams and even interviews that are required. For students applying to very prestigious schools, there is often a specific exam given by the university. These exams are usually much more difficult than the general exam. As one can imagine, this is a long and arduous process for students and their supporters, so having the correct information, studying hard, and planning ahead are essential to success. With these ingredients and a bit of luck, most students accomplish their dreams of getting into a good school and the next part of their future begins.

• YOMIURI ONLINE「大学入試センター試験、ＹＯＬで解答速報」, 2016/12/28. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/kyoiku/ichiran/20161228-OYT8T50114.html?seq=01
• 河合塾Kei-Net「大学入試の基礎知識」. http://www.keinet.ne.jp/basic/

教育動向: 2017年教育動向予想

アメリカの教育動向(久原みな子)

公共ラジオ局NPRで長年教育ニュースを追ってきた記者クラウディオ・サンチェス（Claudio Sanchez）が、昨年に続き今年も2017年に注目すべき教育動向予想をまとめた。また、カリフォルニア州の高校教師で、教育分野の著作もあるラリー・フェルラッゾ（Larry Ferlazzo）も同様の教育動向予想を発表している。トランプ大統領の就任によりどのような影響が予想されるのか見てみよう。

まず、サンチェス、フェルラッゾともに、学校選択を後押しする大統領とチャーター・スクール支持者の教育長官就任により、公立学校が弱体化することを懸念している。オバマ政権時に成立したNo Child Left Behind Act（どの子も置き去りにしない法/NCLB法）に替わる、Every Student Succeeds Act（すべての生徒が成功する法/ESSA）の下で、州や学区の裁量が大きくなったが、低所得家庭からの子どもの学習を支援するための連邦資金が、学校選択制を推進することでどのように配分されるようになるのか、注目される。

また、両予想が、教員組合の動きにも注目している。米国の2大教員組合がトランプ政権の教育政策のほとんどに反対を表明しており、教員組合による反対運動が活発すると予想される。また一方で、教員組合の組合費徴収と団体交渉権をめぐる争いが激化し、教員組合の団結力が試されることにもなると予想している。

さらに、サンチェスは、トランプ政権下で予測される教育財政の削減により、オバマ政権下で充実を目指していた幼児教育が犠牲になると予測している。

加えて、フェルラッゾは、トランプ大統領が、2012年に成立した、不法移民の子どもの本国強制送還遅延と労働許可を定めたDACA（Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals）プログラムを廃止した場合、不法移民の子どもたちや、DACAプログラムで教師として働く者たちにどのような影響が出るのか、注目している。

• Valerie Strauss. “A teacher makes eight education predictions for 2017 — some of them dire.” Washington Post, 2016/12/17.
•  Claudio Sanchez. “5 Education Stories To Watch In 2017.” NPR News, 2017/01/03.

EDU-JPN: Asbestos Problems in Japanese Schools

Education in Japan (Natalie Collar)

In November of 2016, it was announced that many Sapporo-area elementary and junior high schools contained asbestos in their insulation materials. This caused a suspension of school lunches in thirty schools for a couple weeks.

The Board of Education in Sapporo examined each school and determined whether the asbestos found presents major dangers to the students and staff. Upon verification that the asbestos was harmless, many of the schools were permitted to return to normal daily activities within a week or two of the initial asbestos discovery, and school lunch was reinstated. However, almost half were left with little idea of how they would furnish school lunch in the near future.

Less than a month later, nearly seventy additional schools in Sapporo were found to have asbestos appearing in its walls and stovepipes. This news was announced just as students were dismissed for the winter holidays, but there was no mention as to how the situation will affect the normal operations of schools. While the results of the rest of the city’s schools are yet to be announced, the city says that it will set out to repair all chimneys containing asbestos over the new few years.

Hokkaido is not the only region in Japan experiencing asbestos outbreaks. Nearly 1,500 kilometers away in Osaka, Kanaoka high school was discovered to have over 100 places with traces of asbestos. The school closed off areas containing blue asbestos, a more hazardous form if inhaled in large amounts. Because these findings also occurred just before the winter break, these areas in the school are able to be properly cleaned and restored before students return.

Although these detections of asbestos are likely to be handled promptly, the sudden increase in affected schools creates some questions concerning its impact on students’ education in the near future.

• YOMIURI ONLINE「札幌アスベスト問題　煙突劣化、新たに６８校」, 2016/12/28. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/hokkaido/news/20161228-OYTNT50015.html
• YOMIURI ONLINE yomiDr.「アスベスト問題で停止の給食、１７校で復活へ…残る１３校めど立たず」, 2016/11/4. https://yomidr.yomiuri.co.jp/article/20161104-OYTET50008/
• 産経WEST「大阪の高校でアスベスト検出も『学校生活に支障なし』と府教育庁」, 2016/12/29. http://www.sankei.com/west/news/161229/wst1612290037-n1.html

EDU-JPN: How will English Education Change in Anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

Education in Japan (Natalie Collar)

Although students in Japan begin learning English while they are in elementary school and continue studying it through high school and often college, fluent Japanese speakers of English make up less than ten percent of the country’s population. Anyone who has visited Japan knows that national interest in English is high, but the inability of Japanese to converse in English is somewhat surprising. Taking note of this inconsistency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has conducted a series of meetings and hearings to devise a plan to improve the linguistic abilities of its citizens. In fact, Minister of MEXT, Hirokazu Matsuno, recently announced plans for a completely revamped curriculum that will begin in 2020.

 

In hopes of Japan being recognized as the most innovative nation when it hosts the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, MEXT has laid out various suggestions for educational reform. The major theme, across all subjects, is an “active learning” approach. This technique would involve less of the traditional one-way communication model of education, in which the teacher sends information and students receive it with little interaction. Instead, the recommended approach would require teachers to make sure students possess an awareness of essential information and knowledge in each subject. Through experiments and observations, the Ministry is seeking an education that will result in well-rounded and fulfilled experience for students. The specific details about how such an environment will be created and how the curriculum will be changed are expected to be further discussed in the upcoming school year.

As far as English education is concerned, MEXT announced a few major changes. The most striking one is the inclusion of speaking and writing segments on university entrance examinations beginning in 2020. Although 2020 is just three years away, changes to high school curriculums will be put in place to improve students’ speaking and writing abilities starting in the fiscal year of 2022. This leaves some questions as to how MEXT expects high school students to perform at a higher level on entrance exams given the same expectations of the current curriculum.

In addition, MEXT also recommends the inclusion of English language activities in the curriculum for third and fourth grade students in elementary school and that English be a regular subject for fifth and sixth grade students. MEXT also announced that it would like to see additional subjects added to the curriculums of all three school levels, including various history classes and civilian studies. Given these suggested changes, many schools and teachers are wondering how they ought to change their classes to meet the guidelines. Nonetheless, this preliminary announcement from MEXT is just that, and there are many specific details to be settled later in the coming fiscal years. School dministrators, teachers, students, and parents will likely take an interest in the coming announcements as such big changes will affect them greatly.

This is not the first announcement by MEXT regarding curriculum changes. One school in Toyama Prefecture is being recognized for its curriculum and pedagogical changes made at the beginning of this school year based on previous statements by MEXT supporting curriculum reform. Katayama Gakuen middle and high school Principal Mochizuki explains the changes his school has made in its educational techniques, highlighting the ways in which the teachers use an “active learning” approach in all subjects of every grade. Like many schools in Japan, English language classes are taught jointly by a Japanese speaker of English and native speaker of English. Great efforts are being put toward establishing an English speech contest, so that students can express their own opinions and experiences in a second language. In addition to pedagogical changes made in the classroom, the school is creating opportunities for students to apply the information from classrooms in extracurricular activities. During the annual school trip, some students were seen initiating conversation with strangers in English and introducing them to Japanese culture, cuisine, and famous places.

Katayama Gakuen has also incorporated the use of a reflection sheet, in which students evaluate their individual performance and understanding of the material after each class. Principal Mochizuki believes that, through this activity, students have changed their attitudes in class because they are able to understand what they have accomplished after each class. He also believes that the overall atmosphere of the school has lightened, and many students and teaching are enjoying school life more because of these changes.

Based on MEXT’s continued announcements, it is clear that curriculum change is on the horizon in anticipation of the publicity brought on by the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Only time will tell if MEXT can create curriculum guidelines that allow teachers and students to live up to its expectations.

• 文部科学省「松野博一文部科学大臣記者会見録（平成28年12月22日）」, 2016/12/22. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/daijin/detail/1380844.htm
• YOMIURI ONLINE「授業を変え、生徒を変えた二つの改革…片山学園」, 2016/12/23. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/kodomo/jyuken/information/CO006631/20161222-OYT8T50041.html
• The Japan News by Yomiuri Shimbun, "Panel suggests more English at elementary school ", 2016/12/22. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003420536

教育動向：カリフォルニア州、“英語オンリー”政策に終焉

アメリカの教育動向（久原みな子）

11月に大統領選と合わせて行われたカリフォルニア州の一般投票で、提案58（Proposition 58、多言語教育法案）が賛成多数で支持を得、18年間にわたって行われてきた公立学校での“英語オンリー”政策に終止符が打たれることになった（2017年施行予定）。ヒスパニック系人口の多いカリフォルニア州では、公立学校の生徒のおよそ23％、140万人が英語を母語としない英語学習者（English Language Learners、ELL）であるとされる。

今回の投票は、移民人口が急増していた1998年に一般投票で可決された提案227を覆すものである。提案227により、カリフォルニア州では、公立学校の授業はすべて英語だけで行われる“英語オンリー”の政策が取られ、英語以外の言語、つまり英語学習者の母語（主にカリフォルニ州ではスペイン語）を使って生徒の理解を助けるバイリンガル教育を原則として禁止してきた。“英語オンリー”の支持派は、バイリンガルの教室では移民生徒が必要な英語を十分に学ぶことができないとしてきた一方、バイリンガル教育の支持派は、複数の言語・文化を学ぶことの意義を強調してきた。今回の投票結果により、バイリンガル教育を行うかどうかは各学区、学校が決定することになる。

• Jazmine Ulloa. “Bilingual education is making a comeback in California. But some educators say the fight is just beginning.” Los Angeles Times, 2016/11/22.
•  Claudio Sanchez. “Bilingual Education Returns To California. Now What?” NPR News, 2016/11/25.
•  Marissa Cabrera and Maureen Cavanaugh. “Proposition 58 Passed, Now What?” KPBS, 2016/11/30.

EDU-JPN: Digital Textbooks in Japan

Education in Japan (Natalie Collar)

In the age of technological developments, the use and sales of paper books are declining rapidly due to advances in digital media. Not only are digital copies of popular novels and magazines selling more than paper versions, but they can also be accessed from various devices and provide larger text for readers with vision impairment. Along with these reading materials, school textbooks are also becoming available in electronic versions.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan has recently considered the use of digital textbooks in schools across the country. In its final report on this issue, MEXT mapped out a plan to integrate digital textbooks into classrooms to help students with visual impairments as well as those with hearing problems. MEXT plans for schools to make use of both paper and digital textbooks starting in 2020 after it outlines national guidelines for their use. The digital textbooks will likely supplement a specific part of the lesson or chapter in the paper textbooks. As for the education of students with disabilities, the organization believes they ought to take measures to ensure the digital textbooks are used in a proactive way.

Although the specific details of this change will not be settled for a couple of years, it is likely that elementary, middle, and even high schools will have similar guidelines for using digital content. In Japan, high school is not mandatory, so students are responsible for the expenses of textbooks and other electronic equipment. The incorporation of digital textbooks in a looser fashion was considered for high school curriculum, but the opinions expressed at public forums supported by the schools and the board of education opted to treat students in high school the same as students in middle and elementary schools.

• 日本経済新聞(電子版)「デジタル教科書『積極利用を』文科省会議」, 2016/11/30. http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASDG30HEB_Q6A131C1CR8000/
• 時事ドットコム(電子版)「高校も紙と併用で=デジタル教科書で最終報告―文科省会議」, 2016/11/30. http://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2016113000728&g=soc