This study makes a comparison between what literature on Japanese Lesson Study suggests are key elements of a good mathematics lesson and what junior high school mathematics teachers in Japan value in planning their lessons. The teachers' strong consensus in their endorsements of these key elements explains why Japanese teachers strongly support…

Japanese lesson study has attracted many international educators who have been impressed by its capacity to foster student learning and sustained professional growth of teachers. This paper reports a study on its cultural orientations that may explain why lesson study works seamlessly in Japan. Hofstede's dimensions of national culture are…

The purpose of this paper was to explore high-school (grades 10-12) technology teachers' attitudes toward nuclear energy and their implications to technology education. A questionnaire was developed to solicit 323 high-school technology teachers' responses in June 2013 and 132 (or 41%) valid questionnaires returned. Consequently, the following…

Although there has been much interest in the United States about Japanese education, few studies have examined the Japanese school system from the teachers' perspective. This study investigated 143 Japanese and 386 U.S. high school teachers' attitudes concerning their work conditions, roles and responsibilities, and work experiences. An…

This study examines how a group of Japanese teachers cooperatively designed lessons using a television program and other materials for social and environmental studies. Teachers started the design by identifying their aims of instruction through examining the contents of an educational television program. This program described how a group of…

This paper reports results of a series of intense post school follow-up interviews conducted during 1989-90 in southern Japan with mothers (and one father) of 12 young adults, who had been labeled severely or profoundly handicapped when in school. The interview process is described in some detail to underscore the importance of accommodating…

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…

This paper describes the development of a case-based system for information technology (IT) education, to be used in high schools across Japan, so that teachers can share a common knowledge about IT education. The first section covers the study purpose and describes the case-based system, including registration of cases, searching cases, and…