Analyzes videotaped lessons of 5th grade students on equivalent fractions from seven American and six Japanese classrooms in terms of a recurrent pattern in public discourse among a teacher and students. Found two approaches to the teaching-learning of the criteria for evaluating mathematical arguments. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/ASK)

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…

A mathematics achievement test was taken by 132 U.S. and 110 Japanese fifth graders. Scores were higher for the Japanese, and relatively better for computation than problem solving. The reverse was true for the U.S. students. Results are discussed in terms of amount and kind of exposure to mathematics. (SLD)

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…

The reasons 184 American and 399 Japanese fifth-graders gave for achievement and good conduct in school were compared. Responses of Japanese children may reflect stronger identification with adult authority. Japanese children gave fewer external reasons for actions than their American counterparts. Implications for the study of motivation are…

Efforts of 10 Japanese and 9 American teachers in Chiba City (Japan) and Ann Arbor (Michigan), respectively, to socialize their students and the 407 Japanese and 207 American students' judgments of norms were compared. Four domains of classroom life were studied: academic performance; academic procedures; social procedures; and morality. (SLD)

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…