Explain in details the system of education in Japan clearly in terms of structure, curriculum and organization

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Introduction:

The basic school system in Japan is composed of the following levels

1. Elementary school (lasting 6 years)
2. Middle school (3 years)
3. High school (3 years)
4. University (4 years)

• Education is compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school.
  
• The curriculum is designed in such a way that the children develop motor skills early on [an action that involves your baby using his muscles].
  
• Vocational education [education that prepares people to work in a trade, in a craft, as a technician, or in support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, or law.] is systematically planned to keep the students at par with the global standards
• There are entrance exams for students entering preschool, primary, lower secondary, higher secondary, and colleges/universities.
• Both public and private high schools in Japan require such tests and usually test the main five fields: Japanese, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

​Structure

Structure of Japanese Education

Pre-primary Education

• Education prior to elementary school is provided at kindergartens and day-care centers.
• Public and private day-care centers take children from under age 1 on up to 5 years old. The programmes for those children aged 3–5 resemble those at kindergartens
• These institutions are proposed to develop the cognitive skills [skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention] of kids from age one to five and therefore, to prepare them for the six years of compulsory elementary level of education
• The educational approach at kindergartens varies greatly from unstructured environments that emphasize play to highly structured environments that are focused on having the child pass the entrance exam at a private elementary school.
• The academic year starts from April and ends in March, having summer vacation in August and winter vacation in the end of December to the beginning of January.
• Also, there are few days of holidays between academic years. The period of academic year is same all through elementary level to higher educations nationwide

Primary Education (Elementary Education)

• Elementary education in Japan begins at the age of 6 and is mandatory for children to attend school for this  period
• Lower secondary education is the final stage of mandatory education and caters to students from 12 to 15 years of age.
• Education in elementary school consisting grades one to six. Elementary teachers are usually responsible for all subjects, and classes remain in a single room for maximum activities. All the teachers and professors are very well prepared

Lower-Secondary Education (Junior High School)

• Lower-Secondary Education covers grades seven, eight, and nine- children from the ages of roughly twelve to fifteen-with special focus on academic studies.
• Lower Secondary level of education is not compulsory in Japan, but almost 96% of students from primary level do go for secondary level. 
• At the lower secondary school, a teacher is assigned to teach one specific subject. Subjects covered in secondary level of education are mathematics, science, social studies, art and crafts, English, health, fine arts, physical education, music and other foreign languages too. Since 2011, English has been made compulsory in the school curriculum
• Some teachers are allotted to take the responsibilities for the classroom along with teaching a specific subject

Upper-Secondary Education (Senior High School)

• Upper-secondary education is not compulsory in Japan
• The curriculum includes basic subjects like Mathematics, Science, English and Japanese
• In the later years of high school education some vocational and technical courses are also included in the curriculum. Courses like business, fish farming, information processing, accounting and computers are quite popular among students.
• Upper-Secondary schools are structured into departments, and teachers specialize in their fields arena although they teach diverse courses within their disciplines. 

University/Higher Level of Education

• Japanese higher level of education has been highly treasured
• Normally, three to four year of university education makes a student graduate in Bachelor’s degree. Also, there are some professional degree/diploma courses spanning 5 to 6 years of education. Most popular subjects among students in Japan are Business Management, Accounting, Engineering, Law, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Organization

Comparative education: Japan VS Kenya

Education Finance

• Public schools are funded by a combination of support from the national, municipal and prefectural governments
• Schools receive enrollment support funds that they apply to the cost of their students’ tuition which equals about $100 a month, per student. However, if these funds are not sufficient, the students must make up the difference. If students come from a low-income household, the government provides further subsidies of up to $200 a month.
• Private schools also receive a great deal of public funding, with the Japanese government paying 50% of private school teachers’ salaries.
• Other forms of funding are capital grants, which go to private schools for specific costs, including new buildings and equipment.
• The focus of the funding is on teachers and students. In 2011, Japan spent 5.1% of its GDP on education 

School Management and Organization

• In Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) sets policy and curriculum, establishes national standards, sets teacher and administrator pay scales and creates supervisory organizations
• At the prefectural level, there is a board of education comprised of five governor-appointed members; this board is responsible for several activities, including appointing teachers to primary and lower secondary schools, funding municipalities, appointing the superintendent of education at the prefectural level, and operating upper secondary schools
• Within the municipalities, there are boards of education appointed by the mayor. These boards are responsible for making recommendations on teacher appointments to the prefectural board of education, choosing textbooks from the MEXT-approved list, conducting in-service teacher and staff professional development, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of primary and lower secondary schools
• In the schools, principals are the school leaders, and determine the school schedule, manage the teachers, and take on other management roles as needed.  Teachers are responsible for determining how to teach the curriculum and for creating lesson plans, as well as being in contact with parents.

Accountability and Incentive Systems

• Schools are evaluated and inspected by municipal and prefectural board of education supervisors, who are expected to provide external guidance on school management, curriculum and teaching. Typically, these board of education supervisors are former teachers and administrators
• As of 2009, teachers are also required to renew their education personnel certificates every 10 years, after undergoing professional development to ensure that their skills and knowledge are up to date. This new system ensures ongoing professional development, and also provides schools with the ability to remove teachers who are not willing to upgrade or renew their certifications.

Curriculum

• The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology prepares guidelines containing basic outlines of each subject taught in Japanese schools and the objectives and content of teaching in each grade. Revised every 10 years or so, these guidelines are followed by schools nationwide
• All elementary, junior high, and high schools are obliged to use text books that have been evaluated and approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The textbooks used in each public school district are chosen from among governmentauthorized candidates by the local board of education based on a review by the prefectural board of education. At private schools, the school principal is responsible for the choice.
• The detailed curriculum in each school level, the general objectives of each subject, and aims and contents of each school year for each subject are precisely controlled by the National Course of Study. It may seem that the national government limits and controls the contents of education and its teaching methods; however, the Course of Study only presents the frame structure of the teaching and the classroom teacher has the liberty of the details presented.
• The elementary school curriculum covers Japanese, social studies, mathematics, science, music, arts and handicrafts, homemaking and physical education. At this stage, much time and emphasis is given to music, fine arts and physical education. Once-a-week moral education classes were re-introduced into the curriculum in 1959, but these classes together with the earlier emphasis on non-academic subjects are part of its "whole person" education which is seen as the main task of the elementary school system. Moral education is also seen as more effectively carried on through the school routine and daily interactions that go on during the class cleaning and school lunch activities.
• To stimulate an interest in the science, study guidelines for physics, chemistry and math have been introduced that are illustrated with cute female characters in short skirts and French maid outfits.
• Many low achievers, including LD [learning disability] children, go to low-ranked academic or vocational high schools, evening high schools, correspondence high schools, and vocational-training schools. Others enter the workforce.

Outline features of Japan education that Kenya can borrow

• Secondary schools in Japan, a teacher only specializes in one subject. In Kenya secondary school teachers specializes in two subjects. Specialization brings forth efficiency and consistency of performance of a teacher and Kenya should borrow this
• Vocational training is very popular in Japan, where students learn courses like fish-farming, In Kenya only a few schools are able to offer vocational and technical courses like Home science, Computer studies, Electricity etc. Kenya should equip more secondary schools to offer these type of studies
• The Japanese education funds students in private schools and gives grants to all private schools to buy facilities and improve infrustructure. In the Kenyan context, private schools are not funded; this makes education in private schools very expensive for needy students thus Kenya needs to reconsider the private schools policy
• Despite a strong economy, Japanese spend 5.1% of their GDP to fund education. Kenya uses 5.50% but its a weaker economy which translates to underfunding. Kenya therefore needs to up budget in the education sector
• Schools are run and inspected by proffessionals in the educational sector like former teachers in Japan: In Kenya, any university graduate can be chosen in the national, county and school level [BOM] to manage the affairs of education systems even those without interllectual academic expertize, Kenya should learn to elect credible and qualified people to run educational affairs
• In Japan teachers are required to renew their education personnel certificates every 10 years, after undergoing professional development to ensure that their skills and knowledge are up to date. In Kenya, there no such developments, thus making it hard to solve educational challenges and problems
• In Japan, teachers are well paid and motivated, in Kenya, teachers are seen as liabilities to the government
  

APA Reference

1. Education in Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan
2. Hays, J. (n.d.). SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN JAPAN. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat23/sub150/item2789.html
3. Japan: System and School Organization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/japan-overview/japan-system-and-school-organization/
4. Kids Web Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/index.html
5. ​Structure of Education System in Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.japaneducation.info/Education-System/Structure-of-Education.html
   

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