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ERIC Number: ED424198
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1998-Apr-17
Pages: 20
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Reasoning of Teaching and Schooling in Japan: Using Foucault To Explicate Discourse.
Qi, Jie
This paper investigates how various technologies have constructed the reasoning of teaching and schooling in contemporary Japan. The paper contends that (1) the construction of the teacher and the student in Japan involves a complexity of power relations; (2) schooling is not simply controlled by the government through its sovereign power, but is shaped by multiple technologies; and (3) a variety of self-surveillance and self-disciplining techniques are a part of the schooling mode. The primary archives of this study are the most recent teacher guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education of Japan which include "Gakusyushidoyoryo" (the "Course of Study"), together with some other statements of guidance. The theoretical orientation of the study is Michel Foucault's conception of power. Foucault's notion of power is that a multiplicity of actions engenders power, and power operates through discourse associated with the constructions of knowledge. Moreover, Foucault's conception of "governmentality" allows the rethinking of relationships among self, other, and institutional discourse. This study concludes by pointing out the importance of being skeptical about educational reform regarding autonomy and freedom. Providing new space for teachers and students may only create new technologies that construct teachers and students according to new disciplinary modes. (Author/SM)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A