Our principal objective is to explore if interculturality is relevant for the success of a bilateral student mobility program, Mexico-Japan Technical and Academic Exchange Program (MJTAEP). First, the authors explain their methodology and objectives of field work. Second, they situate their analysis within a framework of growing academic…

This book advances discussion and disseminates knowledge and global perspectives on what school leadership looks like, how it is enacted and under what circumstances, and when or where lessons might be portable. This book has wide appeal for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners considering school leadership and how to support it…

Considering the great impact the first PISA-results caused in Germany and Japan, this study seeks to provide an explanation for the continuous higher achievement rates of students in the PISA-winner country Japan compared to their German peers. Another great difference between the two participants that was detected in PISA is the correlation…

This policy profile on education in Japan is part of the "Education Policy Outlook" series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge base, the…

Cultural capital has been an important but often elusive concept in the study of educational processes and social class reproduction. The authors suggest that this is partly because a country's educational system and ways of evaluating students at different educational transitions set the context for the mechanisms through which embodied and…

The recent "Nationwide academic achievement and study situation survey" was clearly influenced by the idea of "authentic assessment", an educational assessment perspective focused on "quality" and "engagement". However, when "performance assessment", the assessment method corresponding to this…

For decades Japan has remained at or near the top of international assessments of student learning; and in the past decade, students in Japan have become more engaged in learning. However, the government aspires to improve learning outcomes even further. "Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for…

This study seeks to identify factors influencing East Asian international students' choices of Canadian graduate schools, to assess the strengths and dynamics of the factors influencing enrolment decisions, and to describe possible implications both for the Canadian government and for Canadian universities offering graduate education. The research…

The current preoccupation in the United States with test-based accountability is founded on a set of faulty assumptions--about education practices elsewhere in the world, about international test score comparisons, and about the extent to which test scores are valid indicators of the quality of education or the state of the economy. For example,…

Contrasting American education with that of other countries, compares systems that differ profoundly in objectives, values, and organization. The American decentralization, lack of a national examination system, and values of egalitarianism, utilitarianism, and individualism work against the single-minded concentration on academic goals of other…

Private supplementary tutoring has long been a major phenomenon in parts of East Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In recent times it has grown dramatically in other parts of Asia and in Africa, Europe and North America. The factors underlying the growth of private tutoring vary, but in all settings it has major…

This study examined how Department of Defense (DoD) schools have attained high achievement levels among all students, emphasizing Hispanics and African Americans. Researchers investigated organizational and governmental structures linking the daily operations of DoD schools and districts to policy-setting authorities; the nature and quality of…

Compares the educational productivity of the United States with that of Japan and explains how confusion of policies, lower standards, and demographic trends have contributed to this situation. States that, given the willpower, we can utilize research findings to increase our national achievement standards. (MLF)

The current emphasis on excellence, it is suggested, is used as an excuse to exclude. The more people who are educated, the greater the possibility that collective decisions will be of better quality. Higher education must become more open and more inclusive. (MLW)

Examines the effects of culture on educational practice in Japan, focusing on three salient aspects of the cultural basis for achievement: (1) teachers and parents stress educational environments conducive to learning; (2) achievement is attributed to effort, not to innate ability; and (3) group expectations and standards are considered paramount.…