Examines the historical and sociocultural context of Japanese residential child care. Presents three case studies of institutional child abuse to explore its socio-cultural causes. Concludes that lack of leadership in public homes, the wrong leadership authorized unprofessionally in private homes, and the lack of universal systems of public…

Examines experiences of a 5- and 7-year-old entering a U.S. early childhood program in context of child development theory, constructivist philosophy, and the Japanese social teaching model. Urges educators to consider alternatives to "tourist approach" in multicultural education and ways to translate individual differences into learning…

Discusses an issue that balances a knowledge of science and technology with that of the humanities and arts. Describes Japan's case including its school system, second language learning, and traditional values. Suggests that United States could understand and maintain the link without mimicking the Japanese. (YP)

Describes how Japanese teachers present written language using the observations of 40 kindergarten and primary classrooms. Discusses the process in terms of classroom organization and instructional practices as well as the influences of the Japanese language and culture. Recommends effective aspects of this process and identifies those U.S.…

Examines the experiences of Japanese "returnees," native Japanese who have returned to Japan after an extended stay abroad, focusing on the linguistic and cultural challenges faced by ethnic Japanese children and adolescents who must reacculturate themselves in Japan. (33 references) (MDM)

Presents results of a study examining the cultural generalizability of the negative relationship between depression and self-enhancement in Japanese and U.S. students. Reports that Japanese students were found to be more depressed and less self-serving than U.S. students. Concludes that, relative to U.S. students, Japanese students had a negative…

Japanese higher education functions primarily as a filter to certify students for entry into corporations or government. Scientific inquiry and professors' ability to produce knowledge, especially in the social sciences, are severely restricted by utilitarian conceptions of higher education. Nevertheless, some individual scientists linked to…

In Japan, not attending public school is stigmatized, and alternative education is in its infancy. Reviews free spaces, which are not schools, but places for traumatized students to recover; home schooling networks; government-approved independent alternative schools; alternative after-school programs; and innovative programs within the system.…

Review of Japanese studies on attitudes toward persons with mental retardation first notes origins in increased support for special classes in schools. Reported findings focus on items most affecting attitude differences, gender differences, effect of contact, educational differences, and age differences. A unique sociological study in a fishery…

Describes an on-going action research project in which information and communication technology (ICT) is being employed to equip students with the tools for autonomous learning. Results of surveys given to determine previous experience and attitudes towards ICT and language learning--both before and after intervention--are reported. (Author/VWL)

Japanese students often feel it difficult to acquire communicative skills in English at school. Although many of them appear to have positive, favorable attitudes towards learning English, their annual Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) total score means has been consistently low. The present paper discusses this paradox from two points…

Burakumin, Japan's largest minority group, have been discriminated against throughout Japanese history for engaging in jobs that were considered to be defiling, e.g., slaughterers, tanners, and undertakers. Specifically, burakumin played the social and occupational roles despised by the majority Japanese, but those without which the Japanese…

This cross-sectional study examined Japanese children's action-related beliefs about school performance and compared them with comparable data available from studies of German, Russian, and American cultures. A total of 817 Japanese children aged 8 to 13 years completed the Control, Agency, and Means-Ends Interview (CAMI), which assesses general…

A workshop on Global Perspectives on Early Childhood Education brought together leading experts on preschool education and early learning in other countries. The workshop was intended to stimulate the exchange of ideas on early childhood education by providing an opportunity for early childhood educators, researchers, and policy experts from…

This paper, using five examples (Kenya, Japan, Malaysia, the Soviet Union, and the United States), explores some patterns of interactions among social, political, and economic activity (SPEA) and seven influences affecting the character of national systems of education. The educational change and improvement efforts in the five countries are…