Comments on the characteristics of the Japanese education system

After the Second World War, Japan's economy developed rapidly. After decades of hard work, in 1994 its per capita gross national product surpassed Switzerland's, reaching more than 31,000 US dollars, ranking first in the world. There are many reasons for Japan's high economic development, and we cannot ignore the importance of education. Through observation while studying abroad, I discovered the following characteristics of Japanese education. Education system: Japan’s higher education mainly includes four categories. Universities, junior colleges, colleges, and vocational schools. Universities also have graduate schools (graduate schools). According to statistics, as of 1990, the total number of universities in Japan was 507, including 96 Chinese universities, 39 public universities, and 372 private universities. Private universities accounted for 73.4%. The proportion of students enrolled in private schools is 75.4%, which shows that private universities occupy a very important position in modern higher education in Japan. Japan is a highly legalized society, and education is no exception. It implements guidance and control of higher education through educational regulations, implements local decentralization and democratic school running, and respects individual educational opportunities. It can be said that this is the consistent pattern of post-war Japanese higher education. principles and policies. Professor Principle: In terms of school management, although the internal administrative management of Japan's national, public higher education institutions and private higher education institutions is different, both national and private higher education institutions embody the principle of "professors run the school". Japan's national or private institutions of higher learning all have a Senate or a Professorial Council, which is the school's highest authority, and its members are mainly composed of prestigious professors. The Professorial Council is responsible for reviewing a series of major matters such as the university's subject setting, school running policies, personnel systems, financial budget settlements, capital processing, dissolution, and mergers. Professor *** sharing and re-appointment: The phenomenon of mutual part-time teaching and re-employment after retirement is relatively common in Japanese universities. This kind of mutual part-time teaching can break the boundaries between national and private universities, facilitate academic exchanges and save expenses. Private universities, on the other hand, take advantage of their system of having a later retirement age than national universities and hire professors who retired from national universities to continue teaching. This measure gives full play to the knowledge advantages of the relevant personnel to a certain extent, allowing a certain professional course to be taught by the best professors, and allowing the school that accepts the employment of retired professors to obtain the technical experience accumulated by the employed professors for decades to create new innovations. own new discipline. Because generally speaking, professors at national universities have rich teaching experience and scientific research results. Extracurricular activities and employment: Japanese students have rich extracurricular activities, and there are many types of student organizations, such as golf clubs, fishing clubs, various hobby clubs, stamp clubs, music lovers associations, etc. When it comes to campus celebrations and major festivals, various organizations come on stage one after another, playing, playing, singing, writing, directing and performing. Various snacks made by students gathered on campus. For a time, the campus became as lively as a market and a temple fair. At the same time, in order to guide students to successfully find employment or further study, in addition to the dedicated "Employment Guidance Department" in Japanese universities, each instructor also has information on the employment situation of the subject major over the years, including a special booklet on the employment situation of previous female students. The school also publishes a special issue in a timely manner to publish the employment status of all graduating students that year, which will help graduating students prepare earlier and better and fully arrange their future. Education methods and research: In addition to teaching basic knowledge and basic skills, today's Japanese universities pay special attention to the introduction and research of new information, new knowledge and new technologies in the world. Most courses in many universities do not use textbooks but designated reference books. Students read a large number of reference books according to the requirements of professors and acquire a wide range of knowledge. Students must judge the authenticity, evaluate the pros and cons, decide the choices and draw their own conclusions through their own independent thinking. This process is actually a process in which students repeatedly learn, a process in which students learn and acquire new knowledge, and a process in which students gradually develop independent and creative thinking abilities. The research institutions of Japanese higher education institutions are part of the entire Japanese scientific research institutions, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is specifically responsible for leading the scientific research work of universities. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s scientific research funds are the most extensive and important source of funds to support scientific research in institutions of higher learning. In addition, there are a large number of consortiums and foundations in Japan that support scientific research. A reputable professor can receive funding from 5-6 funds for one research project. Sufficient funds basically ensure the smooth progress of the research. In terms of the nature of research, Japanese institutions of higher learning are mainly engaged in basic scientific research. The basic unit of teaching and scientific research is the "lecture". Each lecture consists of a professor, an associate professor, a lecturer and a teaching assistant (assistant) as well as a number of graduate students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees. Form a research group that combines old, middle-aged and young people with sufficient reserves. In addition, several senior students participate in relevant experimental research work to complete their graduation thesis. The experimental time for senior students is about half a year or nearly a year. Japanese laboratories have a lot of external exchanges. They often use the opportunity of foreign scholars to travel to Japan or attend academic conferences to invite foreign colleagues to visit the laboratory for exchanges. These activities are tightly arranged and focus on practical results. The content is purely academic exchange and only tea, coffee and sandwiches are required. They do not waste money and time, but are also rewarding. One of the characteristics of doing research in Japan is practicality and efficiency.

This is based on efficient social services and complete logistical support. In Japan, scholars with more achievements can obtain research funds from multiple channels and can easily go abroad to conduct academic activities. They frequently participate in relevant domestic academic conferences to keep abreast of other people's research progress and introduce their own work. , and can purchase the instruments and equipment needed for scientific research in a timely manner. This can promote more results and form a virtuous cycle. Developed document support system: In terms of document services, Japanese universities have established a relatively complete mutual utilization service system. Each library has automatic coin-operated photocopiers for readers to use at any time. The literature retrieval system is also available for readers to operate by themselves. If you need to search for copied literature materials in other libraries, you only need to fill in a form in the school library and submit it to the staff. You can get the interloan books or books you need in about a week. Copied documents. You can pay and pick up the items when the time comes. These thoughtful and meticulous services and dedicated style ensure that college teachers can devote their main time and energy to teaching and scientific research, becoming the driving force for the development of the entire society.