Importance Of Japan's Education System

Japan’s Educational System: An Admirable Method Most people would agree that the country of Japan is a world superpower that holds plenty of influence over much of the present world. Of course, the island country did not suddenly hold as much power as it currently does in a single day, nor did it have a lack of struggle to get to its current position. Japan has a long history that leads up to its current events, and a major portion of that history has contributed to the country’s current record of success is its educational system. Of course, being a foreign country, Japan’s current educational system is quite different from the approach of the United States of America (U.S.), and many people in the U.S. may find the foreign style appalling …show more content…
The first of the four cultural factors involves the geographical fact that Japan is an island nation. As such, the country has very limited natural resources, which led to an emphasis in the idea of people as prospective resources, which also involved education the people for the overall benefit of the nation as a whole (Whitburn, 1995). Resulting from this notion of literal human resources and the need to educate the citizens for the sake of the country, education became important for both personal and national expansion since it facilitated the creation of citizens capable of furthering the development of the country as a …show more content…
Passing down important moral values to children is the job of the school and parents (Whitburn, 1995), and one notable value that is portrayed in every Japanese school is the ability to cooperate with others well and efficiently. With this idea of a “group identity,” there is less of an emphasis on the individual, but more on the whole, which, according to Whitburn (1995), also helps contribute to “order and discipline not only in society but also in the classroom.” Again, the dependence on each other is included at schools, and since there is so much dependence on each other, the need for good cooperation increases. Along with this Japanese concept of a group identity lies many expectations held for the students in many of the school rules common to most, if not all, schools in Japan. According to an exchange student from Japan (K. Koda, personal interview, October 16, 2016), students are expected to wear their hair and required uniforms in certain ways and not to violate certain rules; many schools also require students to join clubs, or extracurricular activities, which are fun ways to get along well with other students and foster good relationships with certain faculty