Teaching and Learning in Japan

Major scholars on Japan explore the Japanese style of learning in this important volume.

Thomas P. Rohlen (Edited by), Gerald K. LeTendre (Edited by)

9780521651158, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 January 1999

412 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.6 kg

"Teaching and Learning in Japan resonates within the scholarly tradition of Robert Bellah's landmark study of the relationship of Japanese religion to the evryday lives of people in the Tokugawa period." James J. Shields, Journal of Japanese Studies

Major scholars on Japan explore the Japanese style of learning in this important volume, drawing upon ethnographic and experimental studies of learning throughout the lifespan. The reader will get an inside view of Japanese teaching methods, where the emphasis is on the process of learning, rather than the end product. Applications across contexts - from religion to music, to mathematics, to guidance - are very differently handled than in the West. Contributors analyze various models of learning within and without the Japanese school system. The examples considered here allow us to understand better the rich coherence and variety of educational experiences in the broader social context. A carefully articulated introduction and conclusion by the editors provide salient comparisons of East and West and caution, that we do not simplify our model of either one. Teaching and Learning in Japanwill be of interest to educators, Japan scholars, and to educational psychologists.

List of contributors
Introduction: Japanese theories of learning Thomas P. Rohlen and Gerald K. LeTendre
Part I. Fundamental Approaches: 1. Teaching and learning in the Rinzai Zen monastery G. Victor Sôgen Hori
2. Building character Thomas P. Rohlen
Part II. The Emotional Foundations of Early Learning: 3. Fostering social and intellectual development: the roots of Japanes educational success Catherine C. Lewis
4. '… And Tomoko wrote this song for us' Lauren J. Kotloff
5. Honoring the individual Nancy Sato
Part III. School and Classroom Models: 6. Teachers and teaching: elementary schools in Japan and the United States Shin-Ying Lee, Theresa Graham and Harold W. Stevenson
7. Responsibility and learning: some preliminary hypotheses about Japanese elementary classrooms Ineko Tsuchida and Catherine C. Lewis
8. Cultures of mathematics instruction in Japanese and American elementary classrooms James W. Stigler, Clea Fernandez, and Makoto Yoshida
9. The Kumon approach to teaching and learning Nancy Ukai Russell
Part IV. Path and Guidance: 10. Shidô: the concept of guidance Gerald K. Letendre
11. The path to adulthood according to Japanese middle schools Rebecca Irwin Fukuzawa
Part V. Artistic Pursuits - Old and New: 12. Try,. try again: training in Noh drama Tom Hare
14. The Suzuki Method of music instruction Lois Peak
Conclusion: themes in the Japanese culture of learning Thomas P. Rohlen and Gerald K. LeTendre
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Education [JN]