Five American middle school students went to Japan for two weeks in 1983 as ambassadors for American art education. Art education in Japan is much more centralized than in America. In addition to school study, children are exposed to traditional arts like the tea ceremony, calligraphy, and ikebana. (CS)

The common assumption that Japanese students do well academically because their schools are more academically oriented than American schools is misguided. Results of a study comparing middle-school teachers in Japan and the United States indicated that American teachers allocated a greater proportion of their time to academic work than did…

Computational strategies and estimating abilities of 466 Japanese students were tested and interviews with a subsample of that group were used to compare with a theoretical model based on a sample from the United States. Results of the comparison of computational and estimating abilities are presented. (CW)

Describes three episodes in Sendai, Japan: (1) reasoning with number patterns (grade one); (2) engaging in logical analysis (grade five); and (3) a reason to reason (grade five). Observation of these episodes reinforces importance of the teacher's patience in guiding the lesson and encouraging several alternative solutions from students. Lessons…

Sixth-grade teachers collaborated with staff development coordinators on a cooperative-learning project which taught social skills to 300 students and incorporated attributes of cooperative learning into teaching of all content areas. A primary benefit of the process was the collegiality and teamwork experienced between the teachers and staff…

Using Lickona's framework of morality, surveys of 1,650 Japanese students and 1,240 U.S. students in grades 5-8 examined student perceptions of moral expectations at home and school and of their own behaviors. Unexpectedly, determinants of moral behavior in the two societies were essentially the same, with school providing the primary influence on…

This volume contains 23 lesson plans that were written for middle school teachers to help students learn about East Asia. The lessons are organized across six themes: (1) "People, Places & Environment"; (2) "Technology, Production, Distribution & Consumption"; (3) "Cultures, Continuity, and Change"; (4)…

The four teaching units of this publication focus on Japanese constitutional law and history, while providing opportunities for comparison with the constitutional experience of the United States. The four units have been designed as a comprehensive course of study that emphasizes understanding of the historical and cultural context of contemporary…

This study explored middle school teachers' perspectives on and expectations of adolescence and puberty, using observations and interviews of 15 teachers in two Japanese middle schools and two United States (U.S.) middle schools, as well as a survey of teachers in selected schools in both nations. Teachers in the U.S. described puberty as being…

Describes a middle school program that integrates history/social studies, language, and visual arts. Describes how the program links two different middle schools through electronic mail in their study of world cultures. Includes examples of student writing and descriptions of classroom activities. (CFR)

This proceedings includes the following papers: "The 'Thoughtful' Health Practitioner: A Study of a Theoretical Basis for Critical Inquiry Regarding Liberal Arts in Health Professions Curricula" (Mary Jo Belenski); "Secondary School Vocational Program Performance Standards and Measures: Virginia's System of Locally Directed…