Learning and Working in Japan.

EDUCATION; COLLEGE entrance examinations; EDUCATIONAL anthropology

Many Americans envy the results of the Japanese educational system. But the question remains: can we copy it, must we make better use of the cultural resources we have, or is it best to use a little of each? Japan is by many measures the most modern country in the world. And yet, after the glitter of Tokyo's Ginza has faded in the experiences of everyday culture shock, one cannot help noticing that modern doesn't have to mean Western. Learning from Japan is not like technology transfer. But many of us are indeed dazzled by the results of Japanese educational mobilization. It has been said that the Japanese high school graduate is as well educated as an American college graduate. College entrance examinations in Japan in science and math test high school seniors at a level about equivalent to the third year of specialized courses in an American university. There is the expectation on the factory floor that any worker can understand statistical material, work from complex graphs and charts, and perform sophisticated mathematical operations. The consensus that education is important, however simple it may sound, is the single most important contributor to the success of Japanese schools. Across the population, among parents, at all institutional and bureaucratic levels, and highest on the list of national priorities, is the stress on excellence in education--and this isn't just rhetoric. These results make many Americans uneasy, especially those affected by tradeway politics, the declining American economy, and resultant protectionism. Volatile and ambivalent attitudes toward Japanese successes make some Americans blame Japan for their own problems. Before these people say that the Japanese child isn't fair--just as they say that the Japanese automobile industry isn't fair--we need to see a more complicated perspective on the challenge Japan offers, to emphasize cultural factors. Chief among these, and at the base of Japanese educational strengths, are two fa... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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