A collection of materials to help teachers and students learn how the relationship of the Japanese people to their natural surroundings is integral to an understanding of Japanese culture. The materials are organized into the following sections: (1) Introduction: Ura ni wa Ura ga iru (The reverse has its reverse side); Kami-sama no Kuni (Land of…

The activities in this book focus on teaching about Japan within the context of larger social science units. Several of the lessons can be taught within the context of the humanities and fine arts. The book's 18 classroom activities are organized into three sections. Section 1, "Society and Culture," contains four activities in which…

Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP), a peer-reviewed, Internet-only journal sponsored by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE), covers topics related to the development, care, and education of children from birth to approximately age 8. ECRP emphasizes articles reporting on practice-related…

Used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how 40 Japanese mothers from working-class and middle-class backgrounds supported their child's transition to first grade. Found that mothers reported higher self-efficacy if they had one child, if their child was a boy, and if they had memories of being more frequently rejected by their own…

Japan's economic success may have its origins in its educational system, which instills the values of persistence and hard work in children. This process is begun by Japanese mothers, continues throughout preschool and school, and is reinforced by cultural beliefs and practices. In one study, task persistence was significantly greater among…

This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," analyzes the policies and practices for educating high-ability students in Japan, Taiwan, and China. It reports on studies over the past 11 years of East Asian children's academic achievement. In the first…

This document contains issues 83-93 of the curriculum newsletter of Lehigh University's Science, Technology, and Society (STS) program. Each issue contains articles addressing issues relative to STS, course syllabi, reader responses, and announcements. Issue No. 83 discusses establishing an interdisciplinary minor in technology studies at…

This paper provides a window into Japanese learners' thoughts about what it is necessary for teachers and learners to do in order to foster Japanese learner autonomy--and why Japanese learners would find this so difficult to do. There are numerous student journal and interview excerpts providing interesting insight to what Japanese learners think…

Discusses the role of television in constructing social reality and teaching children to participate in society, examining Israeli research on the role of television fiction and news in parent-child interactions. The article notes how family cultures affect the way television is incorporated into the socialization process in all households. (SM)

The Japanese model of business management and Total Quality Management principles being applied to higher education as well as businesses are often ineffective because of the application of packaged ideas without consideration of the subtleties of individual organizations. The cowboy model of teamwork stresses the individual's role and better fits…

This book examines how culturally specific aspects of Japanese preschool children's narrative discourse skills develop and eventually lead to literacy. It discusses how language shapes and is shaped by culture-specific experiences, analyzing how young Japanese children develop narrative structure and how Japanese parents guide their children in…

Examines the experiences of ethnic Koreans and the Korean language in Japan since 1945, focusing on Japanese attitudes toward Koreans and the Korean language, provisions for Korean and bilingual education, and the increasing influence of Koreans in Japanese society. (18 references) (MDM)

The nine papers in this anthology present cases studies showing how culture influences the social role of higher education in various nations. It examines how environments get defined and how they shape universities , and how knowledge and academic work interact in national contexts. This book focuses on how both developed and developing…

Examined 30 Japanese and 30 American preschoolers' responses to hypothetical interpersonal dilemmas as a function of culture, gender, and maternal child rearing values. Found that American children showed more anger, more aggressive behavior and language, and underregulation of emotion than Japanese children. Children from both cultures appeared…

The thesis discusses some difficulties involved in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Japanese universities and proposes cooperative learning techniques as a partial solution to these problems. This recommendation is supported by a selective review of the literature on group work in second language teaching and research on the…