Japan+Educational+System


 * Japanese Educational System**

__School System__ Here is a chart showing the progression of Japanese schooling: (Anna)
 * They use a 6-3-3-4 system, which consists of 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high, 3 years of senior high school, and 4 years of University with reference to the American system.
 * Japan has one of the world's best-educated populations. High school (koukou) enrollment is over 96% nationwide. High school drop out rate is about 2%.
 * The Ministry of Education closely supervises curriculum and textbooks with similar content that is taught countrywide. This results in a possibility of high standard of education.
 * Japan is probably the country with the largest number of preparatory schools in the world.
 * School attendance rate for the first 9 years of schooling is 99.98%

__Student Life__ Here is a picture of the average classroom in Japan: (Anna) __Japanese Universities__ This is a picture of Keio University in Tokyo: (Anna)
 * Most schools operate on a three-term system with the new year starting in April and ending in the following March.
 * The higher grades usually spend an average of 6 hours of school on the weekdays, one of the longest school days in the world.
 * Summer vacation is 6 weeks long while winter and spring breaks are 2 weeks long.
 * Students are kept in the same room throughout the day, even eating their lunch in the classroom.
 * The number of students in each class is kept under 40.
 * Many students attend juku (cram schools) in order to have a private tutor help them to pass entrance examinations to get into certain schools. There are even entrance exams for prestigious kindergartens.
 * Japanese universities are usually 4 years, but medical and dental schools are 6 years and junior college is 2 years.
 * The first 2 years of a regular university focus on liberal studies while the second 2 years concentrate on the major subjects.
 * University entrance examinations are considered incredibly hard to pass, while the university itself is not considered hard to graduate from.
 * At universities, the percentage of male students is higher than that of female students.
 * The most prestigious universities are the University of Tokyo and the University of Kyoto.



__Japanese Curriculum__
 * The elementary school curriculum covers Japanese, social studies, mathematics, science, music, arts, and handicrafts, homemaking, and physical education. In the younger grades, much time and emphasis is given to music, fine arts, and physical education.
 * Moral education is a major focus for elementary students which is effectively carried on throughout the daily school routines and interactions during lunch and class cleaning.
 * Middle school curriculum includes Japanese, mathematics, social studies, science, English, music, art, physical education, field trips, and clubs. Pace is quick and instruction is mainly from textbooks because teachers must work quickly to cover the content while getting the students ready for high school entrance exams.
 * High school content may contain general or highly specialized subject areas depending on the type of high school.

__To Learn More Click These Links__: http://japanese.about.com/od/japaneselessons/a/061000.htm http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2150.html http://www.education-in-japan.info/sub1.html

Questions by Kayla:  Q: What is the literacy rate? A: 99% literate for those who are more than 15 years old.

Q: What time does school start?  A: For elementary and middle schools the students start around 8:30.

Q: What type of education do teachers need? A: Japanese teachers have either an Advanced, first- or second-class teaching certificate and are encouraged to receive higher levels of qualification.

Q: What percentage of students graduate from high school? A: Over 90%

Q: How many universities does Japan have? A: As of right now Japan has 726 universities.

Questions by Samantha: What is the school attedance rate after the first nine years?

Why are students kept in the same room all day long?

What grading scale is used in Japan?

What teaching methods are used?

What age is school required for students to attend?