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Japan Lower-Secondary School
Lower-secondary school covers grades seven, eight, and
nine--
children between the ages of roughly twelve and
fifteen--with
increased focus on academic studies. Although it is still
possible
to leave the formal education system after completing
lowersecondary school and find employment, fewer than 4 percent
did so
by the late 1980s.
Like elementary schools, most lower-secondary schools
in the
1980s were public, but 5 percent were private. Private
schools were
costly, averaging ¥558,592 (US$3,989) per student in 1988,
about
four times more than the ¥130,828 (US$934) that the
ministry
estimated as the cost for students enrolled in public
lowersecondary schools.
The teaching force in lower-secondary schools is
two-thirds
male. Schools are headed by principals, 99 percent of whom
were men
in 1988. Teachers often majored in the subjects they
taught, and
more than 80 percent graduated from a four-year college.
Classes
are large, with thirty-eight students per class on
average, and
each class is assigned a homeroom teacher who doubles as
counselor.
Unlike elementary students, lower-secondary school
students have
different teachers for different subjects. The teacher,
however,
rather than the students, moves to a new room for each
fifty-minute
period.
Instruction in lower-secondary schools tends to rely on
the
lecture method. Teachers also use other media, such as
television
and radio, and there is some laboratory work. By 1989
about 45
percent of all public lower-secondary schools had
computers,
including schools that used them only for administrative
purposes.
Classroom organization is still based on small work
groups,
although no longer for reasons of discipline. By
lower-secondary
school, students are expected to have mastered daily
routines and
acceptable behavior.
All course contents are specified in the Course of
Study for
Lower-Secondary Schools. Some subjects, such as Japanese
language
and mathematics, are coordinated with the elementary
curriculum.
Others, such as foreign-language study, usually English,
begin at
this level. The curriculum covers Japanese language,
social
studies, mathematics, science, music, fine arts, health,
and
physical education. All students also are exposed to
either
industrial arts or homemaking. Moral education and special
activities continue to receive attention.
Students also attend mandatory club meetings during
school
hours, and many also participate in after-school clubs.
Most lowersecondary students say they liked school, although it is
the chance
to meet their friends daily--not the lessons--that is
particularly
attractive to them.
The ministry recognizes a need to improve the teaching
of all
foreign languages, especially English. To improve
instruction in
spoken English, the government invites many young native
speakers
of English to Japan to serve as assistants to school
boards and
prefectures under its Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
By 1988
participants numbered over 1,000.
As part of the movement to develop an integrated
curriculum and
the education reform movement of the late 1980s, the
entire Course
of Study for Lower-Secondary Schools was revised in 1989
and took
effect in the 1992-93 school year. A main aim of the
reform is to
equip students with the basic knowledge needed for
citizenship. In
some measure, this means increased emphasis on Japanese
history and
culture, as well as understanding Japan as a nation and
its
relationships with other nations of the world. The course
of study
also increased elective hours, recommending that electives
be
chosen in light of individual student differences and with
an eye
toward diversification.
Two problems of great concern to educators and citizens
began
to appear at the lower-secondary level in the 1980s:
bullying,
which seemed rampant in the mid-1980s but had abated
somewhat by
the end of the decade, and the school-refusal syndrome
(toko
kyohi--manifested by a student's excessive
absenteeism), which
was on the rise. Experts disagreed over the specific
causes of
these phenomena, but there is general agreement that the
system
offers little individualized or specialized assistance,
thus
contributing to disaffection among those who can not
conform to its
demands or who are otherwise experiencing difficulties.
Another
problem concerns Japanese children returning from abroad.
These
students, particularly if they have been overseas for
extended
periods, often need help not only in reading and writing
but also
in adjusting to rigid classroom demands. Even making the
adjustment
does not guarantee acceptance: besides having acquired a
foreign
language, many of these students have also acquired
foreign customs
of speech, dress, and behavior that mark them as
different.
Data as of January 1994
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