24. Education in Japan: The “Nesting” of Children. Different stages of Japanese education. Costs and benefits of the system.

The 'Nesting' of Children

The number of children who, school over, make their way directly to tutoring school, then, once they reach home, retreat to their rooms to watch television and play video games, is on the increase. This phenomenon is referred to as the 'nesting' of Japanese children.

Psychologists say that children have 'develop-mental tasks-behavior’ to be learned appropriate to their age. And two of the 'tasks' put forward: children of primary school age learning how to get on with friends, and learning about the different behavioral patterns of boys and girls.

Children of various age groups used to play together in open spaces. There would always be one child who was the leader and the children would create their own kind of society. However, these days, it is difficult to find the leader in a group of playing children.

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Compulsory education begins in Japan for all children after they have turned six years of age. A majority of children also attend kindergarten (yochien -幼稚園【ようちえん】kindergarten). Approximately 80 percent of students at the kindergarten level are enrolled at private institutions, a number of which are selective. These selective kindergartens better the odds (вероятность, возможность, шанс) for parents wishing to have their children gain access to highly selective schools at subsequent levels of the education ladder. There are even pre-kindergarten classes available to help children prepare for the admissions tests.

Primary school (shogakko -小学校 【しょうがっこう】 primary school, elementary school) is six years in length (grades 1-6) and is for children between the age of six and 12. The vast majority of schools at this level are public (2003: 98.4%), but there is considerable competition to enter one of the small number of prestigious private schools, usually affiliated with a private university foundation, where entry virtually guarantees entry to affiliated schools all the way up to university.

There are no tuition charges for children attending public schools. At the end of primary school a certificate of completion is awarded. Attendance at primary school is almost universal (99.98%). Students who complete the primary cycle are automatically accepted into lower secondary school.

Curriculum: Japanese language (reading, writing, literature), mathematics, science (grades 3 to 6), social studies (grades 3 to 6), arts, music, physical education, moral education, home-making (grades 5 and 6), life environment studies (grades 1 and 2), special activities (includes periods for class activities and club activities) and periods for integrated studies to combine skills learned in different subject areas (grades 3 to 6).

Leaving Certificate: Shoggako Sotsugyo Shosho (Elementary School Certificate of Graduation). 卒業 【そつぎょう】 graduation, 証書 【しょうしょ】 bond,deed, certificate

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Secondary education is divided into two three-year cycles: lower and upper secondary. Lower secondary school is compulsory and enrollment is almost universal (99.98 percent). Although upper secondary school is not compulsory, 97.3 percent of lower secondary school students go on to enroll at upper secondary school. A number of private schools offer six years of continuous education, covering the lower and higher secondary cycles.

Lower Secondary School (Chugakko) 中学校【ちゅうがっこう】 junior high school.

The lower secondary stage (grades 7 - 10) of the education cycle, from 12 to 15 years of age, is a very important phase in the educational process for Japanese students. Results at lower secondary school can determine whether or not the student gains access to a good upper secondary school and by extension to a good university and career.

As at the primary level, the vast majority of lower secondary schools (97 percent) are public and tuition free. Private schools require students to pass an entrance examination. Entrance to public lower secondary schools is by allocation (распределение) of the local education board, except at national public schools — of which there were just 76 in 2003 — where entrance is by examination.

In the second and third year of the lower secondary cycle, attendance at Juku (塾【じゅく), or cram schools, is common as students prepare for the competitive upper secondary school examinations. Students completing the lower secondary cycle are awarded a graduation certificate and are eligible to take admissions examinations for upper secondary school.

Curriculum: Japanese (1st year 140*, 2nd & 3rd 105*), social studies (1st & 2nd year 105, 3rd 85), mathematics (105), science (105), music (1st year 45, 2nd & 3rd 35), fine arts (1st year 45, 2nd & 3rd 35), health and physical education (90), industrial arts and homemaking (1st & 2nd year 70, 3rd 35), moral education (35), special activities (35 — includes class activities, pupils’ councils, club activities and ‘school events’), elective subjects (1st year 0-30, 2nd 50-105, 3rd 105-165), foreign languages (105 — English and Chinese are most popular), and periods of integrated study (70-130).

*Number of yearly periods per grade (each period lasts 50 minutes).

Leaving Certificate: Chugakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho (証明書 【しょうめいしょ】 (n) certificate (of proof)) (Lower Secondary School Certificate of Graduation).

Upper Secondary Education (Kotogakko) 高等学校【こうとうがっこう】senior high school

Upper secondary education is divided into two basic streams: academic and vocational/technical. Since 1994, a small but growing number of schools have begun offering integrated programs that combine both academic and vocational classes. In 2003, 73 percent of students were enrolled in general academic courses, 24 percent were enrolled in specialized (vocational) courses and 3 percent in integrated courses. Since 1993, a small but growing number of schools have been offering credit-based courses as opposed to the school year-based system. This new type of school is designed to offer students the opportunity to study part-time or by correspondence as their needs dictate. Entrance to upper secondary school is based on competitive examinations and the strength of lower secondary school reports.

In 2003 there was a 70/30 split in the number of enrollments at public and private schools. Private schools at the upper secondary level are generally considered to be better at preparing students for university entrance examinations, hence the higher proportion of students attending private schools at this stage than at the lower secondary level. Although public upper secondary school is not free, the fees are considerably cheaper than in the private sector.

Admission to the academic stream is generally more competitive than to the vocational/technical stream. Schools in the upper secondary sector are ranked on a national basis according to the number of their students who are accepted to prestigious universities such as the University of Tokyo. There are elite and highly selective schools in both the public and private sector. As noted above, entry to the best upper secondary schools is increasingly dependent on the lower secondary school that students attend.

In order to complete an upper secondary school full-time course, a student must earn 80 credits or more, one credit consisting of 35 class hours (one class lasts 50 minutes). Students in a specialized course must earn 30 or more credits in vocational or specialized subjects.

As at the lower secondary level, a majority of students take extra classes at juku (cram schools) to prepare for the all-important university entrance examinations. Many students who fail the university entrance examination on their first attempt spend a full year at full-time cram schools known as yobiko to improve their chances on the re-sits (see below in the Admission to Higher Education section for more).

Academic Upper Secondary School

Duration of Program: Three years (minimum 80 credits)

Curriculum: Japanese language I & II (18 credits), plus Japanese classics (8 credits); world history (2 to 4 credits); Japanese history or geography (2 to 4 credits); civics — contemporary society or ethics, politics and economics (4 credits); mathematics (16 credits); two sciences (4 to 8 credits); physical education (7-9 credits) and health (2 credits); music, fine arts, crafts or calligraphy (2 credits); a foreign language (8 to 16 credits); and a home economics subject (4 credits).

Leaving Certificate: Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho (Certificate of Secondary Education). All students who hold the certificate are eligible to take the university entrance examination, known as the Examination of the National Center for University Entrance.

Technical/Vocational Upper Secondary Schools

Students who enter the vocational stream are required to choose an area of specialization in which they must take subjects worth 30 credit points. They are also required to take a number of general education subjects to bring their number of credits to 80 over three years of study. Subjects studied tend to be fairly specialized and the training provided is quite job specific. Students are admitted either on the basis of a recommendation from their lower secondary school, or through an entrance examination.

Duration of Program: Three years (minimum 80 credits)

Curriculum: Students must choose a field of specialization from seven major areas: agriculture (11.5%*), industry (35.7%*), business (32% *), fisheries (1.2%*), home economics (6.6%*), nursing (1.6%*), welfare (0.4%*), and other (11.5%*). General education subjects: Japanese, a foreign language, mathematics, science, social science, art and physical education).

* Percentage of students in the vo-tech stream specializing in this field.

Leaving Certificate: Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shosho ( Certificate of Secondary Education). This is the same qualification earned by students in the academic stream, and no distinction is made on the certificate. As in the academic stream, holders of the certificate are eligible to take the national university entrance examination; however, for university admissions students from the vocational stream are at a significant disadvantage as the entrance examination is based on the content of academic courses.

Other Upper Secondary Level Programs

In addition to three-year vocational upper secondary schools, secondary-level educational opportunities are also offered at colleges of technology and specialized training colleges (described below in Non-University Higher Education section).

HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education in Japan is provided at universities (daigaku), junior colleges (tanki daigaku), colleges of technology (koto senmon gakko) and special training schools and colleges (senshu gakko). Of these four types of institution, only universities and junior colleges are strictly postsecondary providers.

With 77.1 percent of all tertiary-level enrollments, the private sector in Japan plays a key role in postsecondary education. At the university level there are a wide variety of institutions, from the very large to the very small, and from the very specialized to the multi-faculty, multi-campus university.

In 2004, there were a total of 709 universities in Japan, comprising 87 national universities, 80 local public universities and 542 private universities. There has been a significant year-on-year drop in the number of universities at the public level in the last two years as the government begins to enact reforms prompted by the declining number of high school graduates. Although Japan’s population is stable, the proportion of college-age children is declining, with the number of high school students dropping from more than five million in 1985 to under four million in 2002.

In April 2003, a three-year plan of mergers began and at least 35 of Japan’s 100 national universities have merged or are in the process of doing so. Between 2003 and 2004, the number of national universities dropped to 87 from 100. No merger plans have been announced by Japan’s private universities, which are relatively autonomous of the ministry. The number of private universities continues to grow at a rate of approximately 16 a year.

While total enrollments at national universities have been climbing in recent years, there is a definite prospect of declines, as there is at private universities. It is the largely private junior college sector, however, that appears to be bearing the brunt of the declining numbers of college-age students. Between 1998 and 2004 the number of junior colleges dropped from 585 to 508 (-13.6%), while enrollments over the same period have plummeted from 416,825 to 233,749 (-44%). As universities continue to search for students to fill classrooms, they are increasingly accepting transfer credits from junior colleges, something that would not have even been considered ten years ago. Many junior colleges provide specialized training and certification, yet increasing numbers of employers in specialized fields now prefer to hire people with university degrees, which is further decreasing the appeal of a junior college education.

The ministry’s program of university mergers is part of a larger overhaul of the higher-education system, which includes plans to make national universities more self-supporting financially and more autonomous in their decision making. The cornerstone of these reforms is an authorization for national universities to incorporate as public corporations with a board of trustees, independent of the ministry. This has implications for faculty hiring and firing practices, curriculum content and research capabilities.

National universities have traditionally been supervised by the ministry and largely financed from the national budget. Local public universities are generally funded from prefectural budgets. Private institutions derive the majority of their income from tuition and student fees, but also make up to 20 percent of their budget from the ministry. Under the reforms universities that fail to meet government-imposed enrollment targets will lose ministry subsidies. If imposed, the financial penalties may prove to be the final nail in the coffin of many private universities, already buckling under the strain of decreasing enrollments.

Each of Japan’s 47 prefectures has at least one national university, which generally offers a wide variety of programs at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level. Local public universities offer mainly undergraduate programs.