Yutori education
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese education
policy which reduces the hours and the content of the curriculum
in primary education
. In recent years, the mass media in Japan have used this phrase to criticize drops in scholastic ability.
, primary education is prescribed by a teaching guideline called . Since the 1970s, the Japanese government gradually reduced the amount of class time and the contents given in the guideline, and this tendency is called yutori education. Especially in recent years, this has been a controversial issue.
Yutori education may be translated as "relaxed education
" or "education free from pressure".
and the collapse of classroom
discipline
became a big problem in junior high schools. So, the government revised the teaching guideline in 1977. The main purpose was to reduce education stress and to introduce relaxed classes called .
In 1984, during the time of Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone
, the was established as a consultative body. The council recommended that education
regard the individual personalities of each student as paramount. Two major revisions of the teaching guidelines in 1989 and 1998 were implemented following this announcement.
In 1987, declared four basic core principles to improve education in kindergarten
s, elementary schools, and junior and senior high schools
.
Under these principles, the teaching guideline were revised in 1989. In the lower grades of elementary schools, science
and social studies
classes were abolished and "environmental studies
" was introduced. In junior high school, the number of elective classes was increased to further motivate students.
From 1992, schools closed on the second Saturday of every month to increase student spare time in accordance with the teaching guidelines. From 1995, schools closed on the fourth Saturday also.
In 1996, when the 15th was asked about what the Japanese education of the 21st century should be like, it submitted a report suggesting "the ability to survive" should be the basic principle of education. "The ability to survive" is defined as a principle that tries to keep the balance of intellectual, moral
, and physical education
.
In 1998, the teaching guidelines were revised to reflect the council's report. 30% of the curriculum was cut and "time for integrated study" in elementary and junior high school was established. It was a drastic change.
The School Curriculum Council stated its goals in a report.
Around 1999, a decline in the academic abilities of university
students became a serious concern. Elementary and secondary education started to be reconsidered. This trend focused criticism on the new teaching guidelines and aroused controversy.
In 2002, schools were no longer compulsory on Saturdays.
In 2007, a was created.
Education in Japan
In Japan, education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Approximately 98% of all students progress to the upper secondary level, which is voluntary . Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper...
policy which reduces the hours and the content of the curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
in primary education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
. In recent years, the mass media in Japan have used this phrase to criticize drops in scholastic ability.
About
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, primary education is prescribed by a teaching guideline called . Since the 1970s, the Japanese government gradually reduced the amount of class time and the contents given in the guideline, and this tendency is called yutori education. Especially in recent years, this has been a controversial issue.
Yutori education may be translated as "relaxed education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
" or "education free from pressure".
History
In 1970s, school violenceViolence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
and the collapse of classroom
Classroom management
Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers;...
discipline
Discipline
In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order –...
became a big problem in junior high schools. So, the government revised the teaching guideline in 1977. The main purpose was to reduce education stress and to introduce relaxed classes called .
In 1984, during the time of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Yasuhiro Nakasone
Yasuhiro Nakasone
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...
, the was established as a consultative body. The council recommended that education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
regard the individual personalities of each student as paramount. Two major revisions of the teaching guidelines in 1989 and 1998 were implemented following this announcement.
In 1987, declared four basic core principles to improve education in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s, elementary schools, and junior and senior high schools
Secondary education in Japan
Secondary education in Japan is split into middle schools which cover the seventh through ninth grades, and high schools which mostly cover grades ten through twelve...
.
- To form people with strength, confidence, and open minds.
- To create self-motivated students able to deal with changes in society.
- To teach the fundamental knowledge needed by Japanese people and to enrich education to ensure it considers individuality as very important.
- To form people who fully understand international society while still respecting Japanese culture and traditions.
Under these principles, the teaching guideline were revised in 1989. In the lower grades of elementary schools, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
classes were abolished and "environmental studies
Environmental studies
Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
" was introduced. In junior high school, the number of elective classes was increased to further motivate students.
From 1992, schools closed on the second Saturday of every month to increase student spare time in accordance with the teaching guidelines. From 1995, schools closed on the fourth Saturday also.
In 1996, when the 15th was asked about what the Japanese education of the 21st century should be like, it submitted a report suggesting "the ability to survive" should be the basic principle of education. "The ability to survive" is defined as a principle that tries to keep the balance of intellectual, moral
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
.
In 1998, the teaching guidelines were revised to reflect the council's report. 30% of the curriculum was cut and "time for integrated study" in elementary and junior high school was established. It was a drastic change.
The School Curriculum Council stated its goals in a report.
- To enrich humanity, sociability, and the awareness of living as a Japanese within international society.
- To develop the ability to think and learn independently.
- To inculcate fundamental concepts in children at an appropriate pace while developing their individuality.
- To let every school form its own ethos.
Around 1999, a decline in the academic abilities of university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
students became a serious concern. Elementary and secondary education started to be reconsidered. This trend focused criticism on the new teaching guidelines and aroused controversy.
In 2002, schools were no longer compulsory on Saturdays.
In 2007, a was created.
Criticisms
Many people who oppose pressure free education worry that it may lower children's scholastic ability, and also create a widening gap in scholastic ability. Some criticism is based on a misunderstanding of Yutori education.- Japanese education performance test (PISAPisaPisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
) results are not keeping pace internationally. - Surveys of university students' math ability show very poor attainment
- Yutori education may be good in principle but has not been implemented successfully
- The workload of teachers has increased
- Insufficient attention to educational fundamentals.
- If state schools are insufficient, children will need to go to a JukuJukuGakushū juku are special private schools that offer lessons conducted after regular school hours and on the weekends....
, which costs a great deal. - Working classWorking classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
children will find it more difficult to progress to higher education and find good jobs.
Responses
- The drop in scholastic ability is natural because the society is more affluent. Students in OECD nations are comfortable and less motivatedMotivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
. - How should we define "scholastic ability?"
- Has scholastic ability really dropped?
- It is very difficult to judge scholastic ability objectively, so the results of tests don't necessarily indicate an overall drop in scholastic ability.
- Yutori education may reduce average scholastic ability, but it can develop the talents of a small number of gifted children.
- The criticisms lack adequate evidenceEvidenceEvidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
. - It is reported that achievement tests by the IEAInternational Association for the Evaluation of Educational AchievementThe International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement is an association of national research institutions and government research agencies related to education. The IEA is an independent organization. It was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Amsterdam...
and PISA both indicate Japanese students ability has continued to fall, but these two tests are different in what they intend to measure. - The IEA mainly checks students' ability to recall facts while PISA checks their "ability to survive" and "ability to think". PISA's tests have been done only twice, and in the second test, countries participating increased. Moreover in Japan, integrated studies were introduced in 2002, and PISA's test was done in 2003, so Japanese examinees had been under the new curriculum for only one year in junior high school. It is too early to determine whether integrated studies are successful.
See also
- History of education in JapanHistory of education in JapanThe history of education in Japan dates back at least to the sixth century, when Chinese learning was introduced at the Yamato court. Foreign civilizations have often provided new ideas for the development of Japan's own culture.-6th to 15th century:...
- Education in JapanEducation in JapanIn Japan, education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Approximately 98% of all students progress to the upper secondary level, which is voluntary . Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper...
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)The , also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government.The Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871....
- JukuJukuGakushū juku are special private schools that offer lessons conducted after regular school hours and on the weekends....