Learning to Be Modern

by Marshall, Byron K.

• ISBN13: 9780813318912
• ISBN10: 0813318912
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-05-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

In the increasingly global economy, commentators often cite education as a key source of competitive advantage for nations locked in economic contention on the world stage. Byron Marshall examines the evolution of Japanese schools over the past 120 years. Emphasizing the political discourse and conflict that have surrounded Japanese education, the author focuses on the three main issues of central versus local control, elitism versus equality, and nationalism versus universalism. The prewar education system in Japan was formulated in the 1870s and modeled after the Western system of public education. After World War II, the American Occupation authorities attempted to reform this system further, but how much discontinuity with the past was produced by the postwar reforms is still an open question.Of course, the dilemmas facing Japanese schools are endemic to all modern school systems, and Marshall's broad historical survey provides a valuable case study of Japanese attempts to strike a balance between equality and excellence, individual creativity and team cooperation, standardization and innovation, and internationalism and cultural identity. The book thus provides a valuable historical perspective on contemporary American issues of "political correctness" such as gender and ethnicity.As we head toward the "Pacific Century," this book gives readers the background and insight necessary to make informed judgments about the relative strength of Japanese education and the merits of various school reforms.

Author Biography

Byron K. Marshall is professor of history at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of several books and articles on Japan and Asia, including Academic Freedom and the Japanese Imperial University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. xi
List of Figures	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Basic Premises	p. 1
Limits on Focus	p. 3
Clarifying Loyalty and Filial Piety: 1800-1850s	p. 5
The Decentralized Tokugawa State	p. 6
Nationalism and Tokugawa Ideology	p. 9
Elitism and Schooling	p. 15
The Tokugawa Legacy for the Modern Era	p. 21
Conclusion	p. 23
Knowledge from Throughout the World: The Reforms of the 1870s	p. 25
Early Ideological Conflict	p. 27
Centralized Government Planning	p. 32
Access to Educational Opportunity	p. 40
The Failure of the First Central Plan	p. 47
Conclusion	p. 50
Assimilating the Elements: 1879-1905	p. 51
Renewed Ideological Struggles	p. 52
Elitism and Multitracking	p. 62
Central Government Control	p. 80
Conclusion	p. 88
To Liberate Education from Bureaucratic Control: 1905-1931	p. 91
Schools and Access to Opportunities	p. 93
New Ideological Conflict	p. 101
The Reassertion of Central Control	p. 106
Conclusion	p. 116
Mobilizing the Spirit of the Nation: 1931-1945	p. 119
Control of Dissent	p. 120
Ultranationalist Values	p. 131
Structural Changes	p. 137
Conclusion	p. 141
Stamping out the Bad, Stamping in the New: 1945-1950	p. 143
Educational Administration	p. 144
Other Political Players	p. 150
Ideological Reform	p. 155
Expanding the System	p. 161
Conclusion	p. 165
Warfare Waged Between the Entrenched: 1950-1969	p. 167
The Warring Camps	p. 168
The Battle Rejoined	p. 174
The Expansion of Educational Opportunities	p. 195
Conclusion	p. 204
The Challenge of a New Era: 1970-1989	p. 207
Changes Within the Camps	p. 208
Morals Revisited	p. 212
Renewed Calls for Reform	p. 238
Conclusion	p. 248
Our National Identity as Japanese: Post-Showa Japan	p. 249
The End of an Epoch?	p. 249
Persisting Dilemmas	p. 252
Notes	p. 257
Bibliography	p. 283
About the Book and Author	p. 305
Index	p. 306
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