School Education in Japan

December 7, 2024, 9:30 am–12:00 pm ET

This professional development course offers educators a comprehensive exploration of Japan’s education and school system through an engaging mix of online lecture, documentary screenings, readings and interactive Q&A sessions. Participants will gain insights into Japan’s unique educational landscape and examine how these insights can inform their understanding of the broader global context.

2.5 CTLE credit hours are available for in-service NY state teachers. A letter of completion is available for non-NY state teachers. Non-teachers are welcome to join.

Topic 1: Education System in Japan: A Quick Overview
Instructor: Dr. Robert Fish, Dean of Global Studies, The Masters School

How do school systems in the U.S. and Japan compare? Participants will examine and question how school education impacts students to become who they are in the U.S. and Japan. Key topics explore basic school structures, homeroom classes, teaching approaches & values, exams, school lunch and extracurricular activities as well as teachers’ responsibilities and expectation for teachers. Join special speaker Dr. Fish, who has taught both in Japan and the U.S., as he shares his experiences and insights into this comparative study.

Topic 2: The Making of a Japanese: Film Screening
Participants will watch a 50-min. excerpt from the documentary film, The Making of a Japanese, under the CTLE credit hours.

The Making of a Japanese 『小学校～それは小さな社会～』
Shot over the course of a single scholastic year, Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s The Making of a Japanese concerns itself with the formative qualities and values instilled by the country’s education system. Documenting first and sixth grade students in Tokyo suburb of Tsukado, housing one of Japan’s largest public elementary schools, this rare snapshot into the country’s schools is full of revelations as it courses from one spring to the next. Following the lives of both teachers and students, and their subsequent development as individuals as well as their struggles, Yamazaki’s intimate eye captures what it means to learn and become a member of Japanese society.

Dir. Ema Ryan Yamazaki, 2023, 50 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles.

Japan Society’s Professional Development Programs are made possible by a generous grant from an anonymous funder.

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Education and Family Programs are generously supported by an anonymous donor; ORIX Corporation USA; Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas); public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; The Masako Mera and Koichi Mera, PhD Fund for Education and the Arts; The Norinchukin Foundation; Ms. Tomoko Hamada-Dougan; and Family and Education Circle members.