Japan, Gifted Education

The Modern Education System in Japan

The modern Japanese school system began in 1872. The framework of postwar educational system in Japan is based on the Fundamental Law of Education (kyoiku kihon ho) and the School Education Law (gakko kyoiku ho) enacted in 1947. Kindergartens are 1- to 3-year courses for 3- to 5-year-old students for their physical and mental development. Compulsory education is 6 years of elementary school plus 3 years of junior high school. The ages that children begin and end compulsory education are strict—all children begin their elementary school at the age of 6 and complete their junior high school at the age of 15.

High school (3 years) is not compulsory even though most students move to high school after junior high school graduation. The type of high school that students attend depends on the results of high school entrance examinations as well as their performance in junior high school. High schools include academic track and vocational areas. Higher education includes universities and colleges, junior colleges, colleges of technology, and professional training colleges.

The School Education Law mandated that teachers must use textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The Courses of Study document provides schools with the standards for courses. Students follow the same curriculum with national standards as others in the same age group nationwide until they complete junior high school. Teachers focus on all students rather than on students with gifted or lower abilities.

Private Education Industry

Although official schools do not offer gifted education, many parents seek supplemental opportunities for their children's education from the private-sector educational institutions after school or during holidays.

Students need to take entrance examinations to be admitted to high schools and universities. In [Page 502]addition, students need to take entrance examinations to attend private elementary and junior high schools. Students' future success depends on the universities they attend. To pass top universities' entrance examinations, students need to go to top academic-track high schools. Because the entrance examination system has been criticized for a long time, many universities have various student selection systems instead of traditional styles of academic examinations. However, many students still need to take entrance examinations, and they prepare for these examinations within the private educational industry.

The juku is the supplementary school for study and preparing for entrance examinations. Some parents even send their children to juku at an early age to prepare for kindergarten or elementary school entrance examinations. Students can spend additional time based on their abilities at juku, preparing for entrance examinations. More than 50 percent of junior high school students attended juku three to four evenings per week, and approximately 30 percent of high school students attended juku in 2000. Many families invest a large amount of money for their children's education, but opinions regarding juku vary in Japan.

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