We Are Tomodachi Autumn 2017

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10Sharing Japanese-Style Education AbroadThe Japanese education system is receiving much attention. This all started in 1964 with an international math education study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). In the 1964 study, Japan placed second in mathematics and came first in the following study. As a result, researchers from industrialized nations flocked to Japan, and various comparative studies between the systems in the United States and Japan launched in the 1980s, while the movements for standardizing the schooling curriculum thrived in the United States. In the 1990s, research on comparative math education made clear that the secret behind the scholastic achievements of Japanese students was Japanese-style education, especially the teaching of problem-solving in brainstorming sessions to stimulate alternative methods, and the lesson study (jugyo kenkyu) that teachers were encouraged to engage in. In subsequent studies, Japan has maintained a position in the top five rankings.“We are helping others introduce a Japanese-style system of education, and we are very happy when we hear how children in countries that have actually adopted such a system look forward with enthusiasm to going to school every day,” recounts Masami Isoda, director of the University of Tsukuba’s Center for Research on International Cooperation in Educational Development (CRICED). CRICED was founded in 2002 with the objective of providing aid to foreign countries by sharing the Japanese educational model.The aspect of Japanese-style education that first caught the attention of overseas educators was its lesson study. Teachers research instructional materials together, and observe one another’s teaching during open classes. Their consultations with one another over methods of instruction help refine teaching materials Feature: Hand in Hand for a Better WorldLessons in problem solving stimulate a varied approach to debating. In Thailand, Japanese-style instructional systems can now work on their own and help engross children in mathematics lessons.