Studying In Japan

Masahiro Umemura, Mitsuhiko Watanabe and Yohei Takei / Yomiuri Shimbun

A draft version of a set of new teaching guidelines for high schools, unveiled last month by the education ministry, signifies an attempt to end the ministry's continued emphasis on cram-free education.

The draft calls for the removal of restrictions on teaching advanced content in science and mathematics, and discourages teachers from using Japanese to teach English class.

The government's envisioned course of study asks educators to make a major shift and is aimed at improving the nation's academic standards.

"It's outrageous that we can't mention [Nobel Prize laureates] Hideki Yukawa and Shinichiro Tomonaga in a physics textbook," said an employee of a textbook publishing firm in reference to provisions that ban schools from teaching advanced content. Such provisions prevail in the cram-free education system.

"It's entirely natural for teachers to try to inspire students by telling them about Japan's great forerunners. But it's been impossible to do this satisfactorily because of the government's course of study," the employee added.

One of the company's textbooks was rejected in Autumn 2005 by the Textbook Authorization Research Council--an Education, Science and Technology Ministry panel charged with textbook screening. The company had cited the achievements of Japanese Nobel laureates in physics in a chronology appended to its Physics I textbook. But the council reportedly asked the firm to revise the book, claiming the inclusion of the laureates' names and achievements was irrelevant to its main content.

The council reportedly felt the chronological information went beyond the bounds of high school education and infringed educational provisions.

In the past decade, however, a considerable number of high schools have moved away from cram-free education.

Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Science and Technology in Koto Ward, which aims to train skilled scientists and engineers, has drawn up a curriculum that goes beyond the recommended course of study, such as by offering a special program with university professors as guest speakers.

Established in 2001, the school respects the provisions' upper limit on a level of study, while offering "super high-school-level" education that inspires students, according to one of the school's teachers.

In a class held on Dec. 22 titled "The Forefront of Physics: Get Closer to a Nobel Prize," an elementary particle researcher was invited as a guest speaker. Students were given the opportunity to learn about the study of CP violation by Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Masukawa who won last year's Nobel Prize in physics.

The school's principal, Kimikazu Tatsumi, 56, welcomed the draft revisions to the teaching guidelines. "If students become interested, they'll want to learn more than the textbooks can offer. It would be great to see the provisions go," he said.

Boosting English education

Under the new draft guidelines, the number of English words studied through high schools would be increased to 3,000 from the current 2,200. This increase of about 40 percent might leave some students nonplussed.

However, a 41-year-old teacher of a Tokushima prefectural high school said: "To prepare for university entrance exams, we presently teach 5,000 words. It's difficult to teach [properly] as [the reality] is far removed from the teaching guidelines. [With the revisions], it would become easier for us to teach [more effectively]."

Since the course of study was revised in 1978 following criticism of cram-style education and extremely competitive entrance exams, the number of English words studied at schools has continued to decrease. In the early 1970s, more than 4,000 English words were taught at many schools, with a higher rate of students going on to higher education. But a 1989 revision slashed the number of English words to 2,400, and another 200 words were cut in a 1999 amendment.

The ministry's attempt to significantly boost the number of English words was apparently prompted by an increased focus on English education in South Korea and China.

"With the 3,000 [English] words, we can stand on an equal footing," a ministry official said.

For the first time, the draft guidelines have asked teachers to conduct English classes in English. However, this has sparked concerns in the field.

"I'm not sure if this is doable. It'll depend on the teachers' skills," a teacher at a Saitama prefectural high school said.

The nation's English education has not focused on verbal skills, instead stressing grammar and reading. This is a reflection of the entrance exams, most of which previously did not test speaking skills.

One public high school teacher said, "Unless the entrance exams system changes, we can't respond to a call to suddenly start focusing on speaking."

Teachers' verbal skills would be an issue as many have no experience of studying abroad and are not accustomed to communication in English. With the new guidelines, both public and private schools are likely to seek new teachers with higher levels of spoken English. But such a move likely will affect the recruitment of teachers.

History requirements

The new draft teaching guidelines for high schools, however, stop short of making Japanese history a required subject, despite calls for this from some prefectural boards of education.

Though the draft made clear the need to learn world history in the context of Japanese history, advocates for such a change have been disappointed by the draft.

"We regret the decision because we've been speaking with one voice in making the request," said Masahito Yamamoto, head of the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, which has been asking the central government to make mandatory the study of Japanese history.

The prefecture has stressed the importance of learning the history and culture of one's own country in the era of globalization. Based on this philosophy, the prefecture is planning to set up a course on its own, combining Japanese history with modern and contemporary world history.

In March 2007, the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education also filed a request with the central government to set up a new course on contemporary history by merging the world history and the Japanese history courses and making it mandatory.

Many local governments, including Ishikawa and Ibaraki prefectures, expressed their strong desire to make Japanese history a required course, even though they may not be as passionate about it as Kanagawa and Toyama prefectures.

In the first place, Japanese history is a very popular course among entrance exam takers.

It came to light three years ago that many high schools in the country failed to teach world history despite the subject being mandatory.

Although many students are familiar with Japanese history as they have studied it through classes in primary and middle school, most high schools usually have to teach world history from scratch.

As a result of many universities allowing applicants to write entrance examinations on Japanese history, many high school students are reluctant to study world history.

Students' preference for Japanese history is a contributing factor to the calls by prefectural governments to make the subject a required one.