There is an increasing urgency, driven by global geopolitical, ecological and climate crises, for geography teachers to use their subject expertise as agents of change to empower children and young people with the knowledge and skills needed to think geographically and better understand our complex and rapidly changing world. This paper brings our…

Countries consider curriculum reform as an important and necessary measure to make schools enter the 21st century and respond to a fast-changing world. In recent years, many OECD countries have engaged in curriculum reform as a way to equip children with the knowledge, skills and competences needed for tomorrow. However, how to initiate such…

Kaizen is the combination of the words kai (change) and zen (better) in Japanese. It means change for the better, continuous improvement (Albayrak, 2019). In Japan, Kaizen is a task for all staff and stakeholders. Kaizen can be regarded as the reflection of two different perspectives on management in terms of two distinct cultures. The difference…

The new national educational policy was implemented at secondary schools in 2002 in Japan. The revised Course of Study for foreign language education corresponding to the national educational policy decreased the number of English lessons per week from four to three at the junior high school level, which resulted in a 25% decrease in English…

The last two decades have seen unprecedented interest in science curricula, with many governments seeing improvements in the performance of their school students in science as key to future economic prosperity. We present the results of an analysis of the curriculum documents for primary and secondary science in Australia (New South Wales and…

To support the review of the National Curriculum, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by the Department for Education in the spring of 2011 to produce a report detailing curricular arrangements in a number of high-performing educational jurisdictions. The principal source of information for this report has been…

While numerous studies in mainstream education have drawn on the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate curriculum impact, in English Language Teaching contexts such research is scant. This study applies the theory to anticipate the impact of the Japanese national curriculum for English, by exploring the beliefs of senior high school teachers…

Compulsory moral education has been included in the Japanese national curriculum since 1872. Recent demographic trends have created an unstable society, and with the increase in heinous juvenile crimes, urgent demands are being made for a more effective program. Japan's Education Reform Plan for the 21st Century has as its second major strategy…

Describes the New National Curriculum of Industrial Arts Education that is used in Japan. Discusses the administration and content of the program and how it will continue into the twenty-first century. (JOW)

In revising their kindergarten curriculum, Japanese educators have adapted Western ideas of creativity and expression. Explains that this is especially visible in the goal of "expression" in the current kindergarten curriculum. Provides details on the new curriculum's aims, specifically in relation to the use of Japanese paper and…

A distinctive difference between Japanese and most Western education is the breadth of curricular offerings in Japanese schools, which all include academic subjects, moral education, and special activities. Teacher training programs include specially developed courses that address moral education and special activities as well as regular academic…

In Japan, objectives and content of high school language courses are stipulated in the National Curriculum of Japan or The Course of Study. The last major overhaul of this curriculum in language learning occurred in 1989, and it aimed at the enhancement of communicative competence and understanding of international relations. Accordingly, now…

The 2002 restructuring of the national curriculum in all Japanese public elementary and secondary schools includes a reduction and reallocation of instructional hours, and the addition of a new "integrated studies" course, with an emphasis on more individualized, cross-curricular thematic projects. This reform comes at a time when a…

As the second volume of a seven-volume series, this book describes curriculum development as three interrelated processes: planning, enacting, and evaluating. Curriculum development is a dynamic process that happens among learners and teachers in the classroom. In this volume, readers will encounter teachers, curriculum developers, and…

Describes observations of art education in a Japanese junior high school during a three-month period in 1990. Discusses the teacher's role, classroom environment, course objectives, and teacher-student interaction. Identifies cultural differences and how they affect instructional methods and student achievement. (CFR)