Reports the results of a 1980 survey of teachers in Los Angeles (California) and Tokyo (Japan). Among the findings were that Japanese teachers identify with their schools and are committed to service, while American teachers are more independent and view teaching as a job. (Author/JM)

Selected students from elementary and middle schools serving American military personnel on Okinawa spend one week on a small island near Okinawa. During the week they study the environment of the island and join in Japanese cultural activities. (RE)

Strategies used by upper secondary school students to regulate their own learning processes were studied for 248 Australian students, 215 Japanese students in Japan, and 30 Japanese students in Australia. The pattern of strategy used varied for each cultural group, with Japanese students using memory strategies significantly more often. (SLD)

Describes the different social and cultural structures in East Asian countries compared to western countries. Discusses the ineffectiveness of imported educational theories in local practice. Compares the content of physics at the secondary school level in Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan. (Author/YDS)

Presents impressions of Japanese mathematics education from the viewpoint of a non-Japanese visitor, including classrooms, technology, students, attitudes towards mathematics and science, international contacts, and societal problems. (MKR)

Japanese, Germans, and Britons value the study of foreign languages, art, and music and favor long school years, state-supported preschool activities, and homework. Examining other nations' curricula is a valuable exercise that helps U.S. educators question the cultural values embedded in their own education system. (10 references) (MLH)

Proposes a system of achievement testing for all U.S. students rather than just those who are college bound. Criticizes present achievement testing as a patchwork system that fails to provide parents with information about how much their children are learning in comparison to others. Provides a sampling of national achievement test questions from…

Disagrees with the tone and conclusions of the special section on United States-Japan relations in the November-December, 1991 issue. Contends that the national interests of the United States were ignored to avoid "Japan Bashing" over trade and other economic issues. Calls for a more realistic view of Japan's trade policies toward the…

Compared Japanese and U.S. geometry curricula using the van Hiele model, U.S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, and Japanese Course of Study by Mombusho, examining how the students regarded van Hiele levels and determining differences in geometry instruction. Japanese curricula and students were ahead of U.S. curricula and…

An American teacher of deaf and hard of hearing teenagers describes her experience visiting schools in Japan, including a school for deaf students that utilized Japanese sign language. (DB)

Addresses the importance of emotions in relation to teachers' work in classrooms, to colleagues, and to communities, with implications for understanding the changing nature and organization of teaching in Japan. The paper analyzes five emotional geographies of teaching (moral, cultural, political, professional, and physical) in terms of Japanese…

Comments on "Teachers' Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany and Japan" (LeTendre, Baker, Akiba, Goesling, and Wiseman, 2001), applauding the blend of global culture and national culture perspectives, proposing a more systematic synthesis, discussing what it means to take both transnational parallels…

Critically examines the revisions of school education in Japan in general, and of science education and science teacher education in particular. Discrepancies between two national policies--namely the revision policy and science and technology as Japan's survival strategy--are examined from a sociocultural viewpoint. (Author/MM)

Used data from the Third International Math-Science Study to examine the working conditions and beliefs of Japanese, German, and United States teachers. Core teaching practices and teacher beliefs showed little national variation, but other aspects of teachers' work showed variation. Models of national cultures of learning may overemphasize…

Examines the educational effectiveness of a game named POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE for sex education in a Japanese high school. Compares the effectiveness of educational videos with game conditions and discusses results that show the value of playing the game in the role of the opposite sex. (Author/LRW)