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Examines the social and political circumstances and policy processes that underpin the recent curriculum reform Discusses its intended and unintended pedagogic and social outcomes, against Japan's history of curricula reform Incorporates perspectives from classroom practice and practitioner debates into theoretical analysis

Autorentext

Akito Okada is Professor at the Institute of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, where he coordinates the International Students' Education Program (ISEP TUFS), and is responsible for the supervision of students from undergraduate to doctoral level. As an alumnus of the Department of Education, Oxford University, he completed his DPhil in Comparative and International Education in 1998 under the supervision of Professors David Phillips and Roger Goodman. His research interests include: education policy and reform; comparative and international school education; intercultural communication; education for international understanding; and international student education. Sam Bamkin is MEXT Research Scholar, currently researching at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Education and Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. He is Churchill Fellow; Adjunct Research Fellow, Research and Clinical Center for Child Development, Hokkaido University; and Visiting Lecturer in Intercultural Communication, Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University. He was formerly Senior Lecturer in Education at De Montfort University. His research interests include: the enactment of curriculum reform; changes in the policymaking process; moral education policy and practice; and intercultural communication.

Klappentext

Japan s school curriculum, revised for the 2020s, introduces new subjects and, perhaps more importantly, a new vision for teaching referred to as 'active learning'. This book examines the social and political realities that provided space for this unprecedented curriculum reform; the policymaking process through which it was refined; its envisaged pedagogy, and the intended and unintended outcomes of the new requirements, both on the ground in each school subject and across the education system. Finally, the book steps back to consider the possible future of active learning and direction of the course of study in this decade and the next. This book will be of interest to those researching contemporary Japanese education, education policy, curriculum studies and equality of educational opportunity.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Reform Impact and Underlying Factors.- Overview: Revision of the Course of Study: Thirty Years of Education Reform.-Introduction of New Learning Method: Active Learning.-
Evaluation and Assessment to Improve Student Outcomes.- Three Case Studies: the Relativity of Revising the Couse of Study and Its Impact.- Equality of Educational Opportunity: Inequality in Japanese Education.- Conclusion: From Enthusiasm to Caution: The Future of Public Education in Japan.