AJ Diaz and Soph Dvinskikh

 Japan Higher Education

Positives of Comparative education

    There are four types of institutions in Japan: universities, junior colleges, vocational/technological colleges, and professional graduate schools. Undergraduate degree is bachelor’s, and the postgraduate ones are master’s and doctorate. There are private and public institutions, but the line between them is blurred due to the autonomy of the public institutions in terms of finance, staff, self-assessment. There are 1217 colleges, universities, and other institutions providing higher education, in which 4,033,000 students are enrolled, 123,829 of them are international. (http://www.chronicle.com/academicDestination/Japan/33/)

    In order to get in the higher education institution, students have to complete 12 years of the elementary and secondary education (6 years each), after which 70% of students choose to take higher education.

    Grading

Grade	4-scale	description
A	80-100	very good
B	70-70.99	good
C	60-69.99	average/pass
F	0.00-59.99	fail

    Types of the institutions:

• Universities - 4 years (except for the medical specialty, dental medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary science department which require 6 years)
• Junior colleges - 2-3 years (mostly home economics, education, nursing, humanities and sociology)
• Professional Training Colleges - mostly 1-2 years of training for a life skill. These colleges teach you one main skill to use in the workforce after completion.
• Colleges of Technology - 5 years (engineering field, merchant shipping and other related areas of study)
• Graduate Schools - depends

The academic accomplishments of students in Japan are higher according to the international criteria. The Ministry of Education controls the growth and development of the higher education in Japan, even though majority of the institutions are self-sufficient and do not need the government’s support. The average score of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for students in Japan was 540, which higher than the average of 497. (http://www.japaneducation.info/Higher-Education/index.html)

    One of Japan's greatest strengths is its ability to learn what does and does not work and cut out what does not work as soon as possible. They will change anything they see from when school starts to when schools ends to how long school days are to get optimal results out of there education. They also keep their students highly motivated throughout the school year which helps keep grades up throughout the entire year. Compared to other students Japanese students have a much higher will to succeed in school and do well in school throughout the entire year.

Negatives about Japanese Higher Education Education: Students must endure rigorous testing to make it secondary level schools. The tests are much harder than the test in the united states and all students must take all the tests. Less than half do well enough to get into a four year university. The value of creative classes is very low in Japan. Japan does not take creative classes or classes that let you express your individuality in a high regard so students who may prosper in classes like this do not get the chance to showcase these abilities. Japan is more strict on classes mostly pertaining to core subject classes. Math, sciences and different social studies classes are focused on more than others. In Japan there are no remedial classes so if there is a student struggling they have to go a ‘jukus” school. These schools will help you to understand your classes better if you do not understand certain topics. These classes run after school hours so they do not interfere with regular school times. Also universities do not usually provide “undecided majors” you need to know what you want to do when you come into any university in Japan. This can be a major downfall in some cases because some people need time to figure things out and learn what they like and do not like and do not always get that opportunity in Japan.

    Also changing your major can be quite the problem. For example say you are in university to become a chemist but you realize you have a strong love for math and you want to do something in engineering. This could lead to you having to drop out of school retaking your tests to get into school again and declaring your new major.

Competition:

Japanese students like all higher education students have a high level of competition to get into highly regarded school. There is only so much room in schools so doing well on your entrance test is very important. Getting into a well recognized school gives students the best opportunity to do well later on in life so the competition to have that kind of luxury is very high in Japan.

History of Japanese education

    Japanese higher education was based on the Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism philosophy, and in 19-20th centuries, the education was altered to make education more focused on originality, individuality, and internationalization, as well as make it equal for all, not only the elite.

    During WWII, Japanese education was focused on training elite leadership for government, business, and society, but the major reforms took place after the WWII, increasing the number of the universities and creating the junior colleges.

    After world war two there was a lot of changes that took place in the education system in Japan. There was a big reform in public schooling and training teachers in public schools so they could teach at a high level just like any other teacher.  Japan also adopted teacher unions and parent teacher groups.

Japan developed thirty universities to help aid foreign students wanting to come to japan to receive higher education. Their main goals being making an environment suitable to for all foreign kids. English classes for students to learn English and speak English well. Also to have a great staff and support of staff of Japanese and foreign teachers.

How Japanese culture affected the education

    After the WWII, the reforms were made to make sure that the education in Japan is more general, including such courses as arts and sciences. Because of that, many students started seeing university as a way to rest, while others (mostly the ones studying medicine and engineering) had to work hard to graduate. Until then, the education is Japan was not popular and mostly given to the elite instead of being accessible for all students in the country. However, the chances of being admitted in a university are higher for those from rich families, as the national policy is not interested in special treatment of students from poor families or disadvantaged groups.

    Even though women have an equal chance of being admitted in a university, only a small part of them chooses to enroll, making 10% of students at the University of Tokyo.

(http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed9.htm)

Financial cost of higher education in Japan:

The cost to go to school in Japan is extremely low compared to the united states. College only costs around five thousand to ten thousand dollars. Depending on which route you take when you choose higher education. Public schools cost closer to the five thousand range. While private four year schools cost closer to the ten thousand dollar range. Students pay for education the same way in America through their own money or a loan. This is an extremely low price for higher education compared to the united states which can be around thirty thousand dollars for private schooling. Also even public schooling is much more expensive being an average of eighteen thousand dollars. It is lower if you stay in state at around twelve thousand dollars.

Best Universities in Japan:

The university of Tokyo, Kyoto university and Osaka university, are the three best universities in Japan. They all rank in the top two hundred best global universities. The university of Tokyo is one of the best colleges in the entire world ranking forty four globally. Here at this university they have some of the greatest ranking science classes in the world from engineering to psychology. They also rank as the number one school in Asia and japan. Kyoto university has one of the best chemistry programs in the entire world ranking seventeenth overall globally. Osaka university has one of the top immunology programs in the world ranking nineteenth overall. 

     References

Academic Destinations Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/academicDestination/Japan/33/

Best Global Universities in Japan. (2017). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/university-of-tokyo-500248

Deady, C. (2015, January). The High Cost of Higher Education: Financing Models from Japan, Norway, England and the United States. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://pellcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Higher-Ed-Affordability-FINAL.pdf

Higher Education in Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.mext.go.jp/en/policy/education/highered/title03/detail03/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/06/19/1302653_1.pdf

Higher Education System in Japan. (2012). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.japaneducation.info/Higher-Education/index.html

Japanese Education System - Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed9.htm

Wieczorek, Craig. C. (2008, Winter). Comparative Analysis of Educational Systems of American and Japanese Schools: Views and Visions. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ781668.pdf