Japanese vs. Canadian Schools

With the development of a progressive and civilized society, education becomes a greater priority. In separate countries, there are distinct differences in the systems and methods by which education is practiced. The Canadian secondary school educational system is different from the Chinese education system in four main areas: the subjects offered for study, requirements for graduation, the authority of the teachers and the physical aspects of the institutions.

The average point differential between Japan and Canada on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions is 35.6. The largest differentials between the two cultures are pragmatism (52), uncertainty avoidance (43), and masculinity (42). Given that individualism has the largest differential in favor of Canada, as well as being Canada’s highest scoring dimension, it will be included for analysis as well. (The Hofstede Centre)

Young children are assigned to a classroom where they complete most of their subjects with the same teacher often split into smaller groups for work. Older children in middle and senior students walk from classroom to classroom taking lessons from many different teachers. Japan and Australia also share similar lessons, the core subjects are the same in both countries; Maths, Science, Japanese (like we have English), an external language usually English, sport, social studies (like SOSE), music, and art. This was quite surprising to me, when I thought about researching Japanese schools I expected to find many examples of how different they are from schools in Australia and it was very interesting to find that the core curriculum for both countries are almost identical. It helps to reassure your belief in the school system, if the same subjects are taught the same in many countries it is obviously very important in the development of young

In “The Trouble with Talent”, Kathy Seal, who frequently writes about children and education in magazines, wrote about the way of education in the U.S. which only focused on the value of inborn aptitude could breed children to become artful people and waste many of American children’s potential. At the beginning of this article, Seal told about an experiment of Jim Stigler, who was a UCLA psychologist, which tested the persistence of Japanese and American children by solving the math problem. While the American kids solved the problem for a short time and quickly gave up, the Japanese kids still kept on their work. Stigler stated that Asian education focused to

According to Kyoko Mori, what are the major differences between the Japanese and American educational systems? Summarize them.

With the development of the modern state, education has been a decisive factor in affecting the international status and impacts of a country. People pay more attention to education quality and provide advanced study facilities so that their country can have a faster development. With many conflicting different education forms, it is necessary to compare and contrast them for getting a better understanding of the education system in the world. The education here refers to teaching quality, different education level system, the policy and the well-being from the government about education. I will explain the similarities and differences about the education in Finnish and Japan.

By overcoming cultural beliefs, people would be able to think beyond what their culture says. The authors says that Americans sees education as a top priority for them. However, the authors also says that a classroom setting can change someone’s mindset to the point where it can block talents and

Since both the United States and Japan have very contrasting styles of education, many different outcomes arise from each of these styles. For instance, since the educational system of Japan is so strict and structured, students are gradually chiseled into very responsible and disciplined individuals who are very skilled when it comes to things such as standardized tests; however, much is unseen about this transformational process to the American eye. In Kyoko Mori’s essay “School,” her firsthand experience of the Japanese educational system is shared. She states that “You can never question the authority of the teacher, whom you address simply as ‘sensei,’ literally, ‘one whose life comes first’… The teacher is like the biblical God, whom you cannot name” (Mori 136). When authority cannot be questioned and is to be treated like God, how are students expected to comprehend every detail taught by their instructor? If the students can’t quite grasp an idea, how are they supposed to completely master it without the aid of their so-called “godly” instructors? The Japanese answer to this solution is simple: “Memorization and repeated practice” (Mori 132). In Japan, students are drilled into the ground by constant memorization and repeated practice, and without the aid of their teachers, they have to claw their way up a mountain to acquire every single answer.

Individualism is a habit of being self- reliant. A cultural value is a persons desired and preferred way of acting. Every culture has their own cultural values and individualism but whether individualism is their cultural value is up to the person entirely. This could pose a conflict when persuading the wrong culture especially a culture as diverse as the American culture. Poranee Sponsel is a born and raised Thai who is now a professor at a university in Hawaii and gives us the outsider’s perspective of the American culture. In Sponsel’s article “The Young, the Rich, and the Famous: Individualism as an American Cultural value” Sponsel

It is a significant struggle for many first or second generation of Asian-American who need to fit in two different culture and expectations sets, especially for who born from early 1980s to late 1990s. On one side, we have to get into the American culture. On other side, we are encouraged to preserve our traditional personality and keep our Asian ethnicities alive. Fail to keep either side of expectations can lead to rejection or culture crisis.

At the morning assembly, the author notices that there are no Japanese children present: “I discover later that they have their own morning assembly in another field in the back of the school. It is obvious that we do not mix classes. They have their own classes and classrooms, and we have ours, although we are all the same school. A few years later, they will build a new school somewhere outside the town, exclusively for themselves.”

Canada and Sweden are both wealthy countries without any major issues such as natural disasters or dictatorship. These circumstances have made it a lot easier for the countries to develop good school systems. Because these countries are so similar and because they have developed in the same pace, the school systems are very similar. I have chosen to focus on the differences and similarities between these two countries when it comes to the first six years of education including preschool.

With the focus on academics, “More than 90% of all students also graduate from high school and 40% form university or junior college” (“Education In Japan”). The success rate is influenced also by the teachers. The student have one teacher and some might argue that the teacher doesn’t master everything she teaches because “70% of teachers teach all subjects as specialist” (“Education In Japan”), she create student teacher relationship with is the key to the success of many students. The student behave differently because of the cultural influence.

The comparison between Japanese and North American educational systems is often used. The Japanese system, along with other Asian cultures, places importance on the group and the interdependence of its members (Cole & Cole, 2001, p. 541). The North American model, in contrast, focuses on the ideals of individuality and independence (Cole & Cole, 2001, p.541). This contrast is due to a conflicting cultural/social structure and outlook of the world. Japanese look at the development of self as doubled sided: the inner self and the social or public self (Hoffman, 2000, p.307). Within the Japanese education system, the teacher's goal is to develop and cultivate both layers.

     For years, people have always felt that the Japanese school system was superior or more effective than that of the United States. Although some feel this way, others feel that the Japanese system is too strict and not flexible enough for those who may need extra help along the way. Through researching two different case studies, and also reading other materials, I have found many similarities along with many differences between the two, including teaching methods, overall emphases, and student involvement. Both countries have developed very effective and intricate systems of teaching, which compliment, and clash against one another. The Japanese system is not in all ways