This paper discusses the role of culture in educational development, especially as it applies to the adoption of systems from one culture to another. This study stems from the Project on Human Potential, a study of educational development from the perspectives of the social and behavioral sciences. The major message was that there is no one way to…

The consensus among Japanese that education is important is the single most important contributor to the success of Japanese schools. Other factors include institutional centralization and centralized fiscal support, the valued role of maternal support, and the strong supportive learning atmosphere at home and in the classroom. (CMG)

Sets forth the essential characteristics of Japan's approach to education, including the content, structure, and objectives of public schools; teaching conditions, teaching methods, and the characteristics of teachers; the role of parents; the role of supplemental private education; and the cultural factos that underlie the system's…

Japanese children's performance in school is a product of a social consensus favoring attention to children's learning, a set of cultural values focusing on the commitment of effort, and a psychological milieu in the family which encourages achievement in a safe and nurturant atmosphere. This paper treats especially this latter environment, that…

Because Japanese society has traditionally emphasized the group rather than the individual, less research has been done to understand how Japanese culture conceptualizes the individual and how that individual develops within the society. This paper focuses on the individual in Japanese society. Following an introduction (Section I), Section II…