Interesting Facts about Japanese School System
The Japanese say that
if you teach what you learn, you will remember about 90 percent. If teachers
stand at the board and just lecture, through mere listening, the students will
retain far less — say, 40 percent — so it’s far more effective to have them
discussing problems and teaching each other. Also, it’s important to have
very little downtime or rest time and to constantly keep them motivated.
What makes Japanese school system so unique?
Japanese state education system is a national pride in this country,
with a traditional approach that has helped Japanese pupils easily outperform
their counterparts all around the world.
Japanese school system consists of:
- 6 years
of elementary school,
- 3 years
of junior high school,
- 3 years
of senior high school and
- 4 years
of University.
*The gimukyoiku (compulsory education) period is 9
years: 6 in shougakkou (elementary school) and 3 in chuugakkou (junior
high school).
How Do Japanese Schools Operate?
Most schools operate on a three-term system with new
school years starting every April. Except for the lower grades of
elementary school, an average school day on weekdays lasts for 6 hours,
making it one of the longest school days in the world.
Even after the school
ends, children still have drills and other homework to keep them busy.
Vacations are 6 weeks long during summer break and about 2 weeks long during
both in winter and spring breaks. There is often homework during
these vacations.
Every class has its own classroom where students take all the courses,
except for practical training and laboratory work. During elementary
education, in most cases, one teacher teaches all of the subjects in each
class. The number of students in one class is usually under 40. However, in the
past, because of the rapid population growth, this number was lot higher,
exceeding 50 students per class.
Here are some interesting facts about Japanese
schools:
- Nearly
all junior high schools require their students to wear a school uniform
(seifuku).
- In
public elementary and junior high schools school lunch (kyuushoku)
is provided on a standardized menu, and is eaten in the
classroom. That way, pupils and teachers get to forge better relationships
while eating together.
- Students don't skip classes in Japan, nor do
they arrive late for school
- Students
in Japan have a strong sense of belonging in school, they
don’t feel like outsiders, nor do they feel left out.
- Students
in Japan actually feel happy in school (85
percent of them).
- Around
91 percent of Japanese students reported that they never, or only in some
classes, ignored what the teacher lectured.
- Their
teachers never, or only in some lessons, have to wait a
long time before the students settle down.
- Students
spend on average 235 minutes per week in regular math classes (average
in other countries is 218), but they spend less time in language
and science classes – 205 and 165 per week respectively (in other
countries the average is 215 and 200 minutes per week respectively).
- A high
percentage of Japanese students attend after-school workshops where
they can learn more things than in their regular school classes, and some
do these workshops at home or at another venue.
- Pre-primary
education is of the utmost importance for Japan. Research
shows that students who attended preschool education tend to perform
better at the age of 15 than those who did not. Therefore, it’s not
surprising that 99 percent of Japanese children attend some kind of
pre-primary education.
- Japanese
students almost never repeat their grades in primary, lower secondary or
secondary school.
