As Japanese Ministry of Education educational mandates for implementation by 2020 press on public school administrators, teachers, students, and communities, the Sustainable Programming Education proposes strategies for addressing English and programming education curricula in the elementary and middle schools. Sustainability resides in the…

Scholars have called for ethnographers to reveal the emotional and controversial aspects of fieldwork. Through analysis of our fieldwork with teens in the United States and Japan, this article documents how we, two adult researchers, attempted to address adultism--a pervasive system of oppression that deems young people inferior. We discuss three…

With international exams (PISA and TIMSS) producing results every three or four years, there is near continual talk of East Asian dominance in mathematics education. Beyond the reporting of scores, some studies have compared mathematics teaching in these countries with U.S. instruction. However, researchers are not (usually) grade school math…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) identifies the strategic use of appropriate tools as one of the mathematical practices and emphasizes the use of pictures and diagrams as reasoning tools. Starting with the early elementary grades, CCSSM discusses students' solving of problems "by drawing." In later…

The aim of physics education is to generate understanding of physics and there is considerable anecdotal evidence that passing examinations in physics is not the same as understanding the subject. This paper describes how the areas of difficulties in understanding of physics were determined for pupils in Taiwan aged 13-15. Test material which…

This article describes a number of multiplication algorithms from different cultures around the world: Hindu, Egyptian, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. Students can learn these algorithms and better understand the operation and properties of multiplication.

These are exciting and challenging times for English language curriculum development for school-age learners. The global reach of English has spurred a rethinking of its role in education and, consequently, a rethinking of how to teach it. The accounts in this volume represent differences in educational systems, language teaching traditions,…

This article discusses mathematics in terms of how Japanese students learn. (Contains 11 figures.)

The "Burakumin," a culturally defined minority group among ethnic Japanese, face continued discrimination even as effective national policies and programs offering educational and social equity are terminated. Based on interviews and conversations in Japan with activist educators, teachers and administrators, the schooling for children…

This document reviews the Japanese educational system and examines middle school education in particular to identify cultural differences and help improve educational quality in the United States. Contents include: (1) "An Overview of Japanese Education"; (2) "Teacher Behavior in the Classroom"; (3) "Teacher Behavior…

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)

This bulletin discusses the educational conditions in Japan. Contents include: (1) General educational activities; (2) Elementary instruction; (3) Middle schools; (4) High schools for girls; (5) Higher schools; (6) Normal schools; (7) Special schools; (8) Vocational schools; (9) Technical continuation schools; (10) Higher education; and (11)…

An important aspect of Japanese schooling is the attention given to class management and student guidance, particularly at the elementary and lower secondary levels. The Japanese school curriculum for the elementary and the lower secondary schools consists of three areas: (1) regular subjects; (2) moral education; and (3) special activities. The…

Analyzes a bi-national survey about teachers' beliefs surrounding puberty; adolescent rebellious attitudes, and academics. Finds significant difference between Japanese and U.S. teachers. Explains teachers' impact on students shows cultural differences and cross-national trends. Discusses survey results in light of qualitative studies of Japanese…

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…