From: ASHLEY MENDEZ
Email:
Course: CD169: Childhood Motivation
College: San Jose State University
Instructor: Eugene Matusov
ClassWeb: http://www.ematusov.com
ChildrenObservations: No
Date: 24 May 1997
Time: 00:56:22
Remote Name: ww-ta03.proxy.aol.com
For this project I chose to look at the differenes between American educational systems and the Japanese educational systems. I have never studied any of the Asian cultures before and found this to be very interesting. Of course, there are many differnces between Japanese and American schools. I chose to focus many on the differnces of groupism vs. individualism. The Japanese culture believes that cooperation is important for education. America bbbelieves this as well, but focuses more on the individual succees of a student. This can be seen in the societies as a whole. The Japanense culture uses groupism when working on projects and in daily life. This subject will interest many, especially those of us who will become teachers. Teachers need to know the differences between cultures when teaching children. Children from different cultures act differently and have differnt values, not necessarily the same as Americans. Being familar and being able to identify some of the difference between children from differnt cultures will help us all.
For this project I chose to expand on the theory of groupism and individualism. My group project was on the differnces in the educational systems across cultures. We focused on childhood education. I chose to mainly focus on Japanese education. I find this interesting because the Japanese views of education seem to be opposite the American views. According to Neko, Japanese groupism and Western individualism mark one of the most conspicuous differences between Japanese and Westerners (Neko, 1997). America focuses on individualism and self pride. These values carry over from society to the educational system. The new thing for American school systems is cutting down class size. This will ensure a small child teacher ratio. This gives each child more one on one individual time and attention with their teacher on a daily basis.
In an American classroom students are taught to depend on the teacher for solutions to their problems. Children work against each other for grades, rather than with each other. Every once in a while there will be a group project. American teachers will get involved in student's problems with thier peers. The exact opposite is true for the Japanese culture. An individual in the Japanese culture is only important and significant if he or she represents the whole group. The class size for a normal Japanese elementary school is about 40+ children per teacher. According to Tobin, the Japanese teachers interviewed in the article said that larger classrooms are better for children (Tobin, 1991). The children need to have experience of being in a large group in order to learn to relate to lots of different kinds of children in lots of dfferent types of situations. This prepares children for the "real world." It is a high sign of intelligence for a Japanese to be able to focus on the needs of others and the group. Groupism calls for each member of the group, or classroom, to be held responsible for all others in the group. The Japanese teacher will not interfere with the group unless a child is in physical danger. The children have to work together to work out their own problems. Even the classroom arrangement and activities are set up to promote groupism and harmony in the Japanese classroom.
I got interested in this when we watched the video, Preschool in Three Cultures. I was amazed with the Japanese preschool class and how differnt it was from what I was used to seeing. Students were even laughing at some parts. A little boy by the name of Herki (or something along those lines) was a big toublemaker he liked to get attention. At one point he was throwing flash cards off the end of a balcony at school and another girl went to tell the teacher. The teacher said, "What do you want me to do about it?" I couldn't believe it. She told the little girl that if she wanted Heroki to stop throwing flash cards off the blacony she would have to tell him herself. The next incident showed Heroki being mischievious again. This time hhhe was playing with a little boy and got rough with him. The little boy started crying. Another little girl came around and comforted him and told him not to play with Heroki. The teacher never once got involved. I was amazed. I thought this was stupid at first, that the teacher did not get involved. I thought why was she even a teacher if she just lets the children act like that. Then I realized that she was teaching the children a very important lesson without even saying a word. She was teaching the children the lesson on how to work with others and work together. This is very important for children because this value is one of the most used values for later on in thier life. For this reason, I believe that the Japanese children have a jump on the American children. Isn't two heads better than one?
Another important differnce to take notice when looking at the differnces between the American and the Japanese school system is the differnce in the after school tutoring programs. Most Japanese children attend Juku classes after school and a half a day on Saturday to better their overall knowledge. Most American students do not go to after school tutoring sessions unless they need it. According to the San Francisco Examiner, an estimated 40 percent of Japanese children attend Juku lessons and 80 percent take other enrichment lessons (1989). Juku furnishes opportunities for Japanese students. Juku can be categorized into academic and non-academic. Academic classes prepare children for entry tests into high schools. Non-academic programs offer teaching for general enrichment purposes in a variety of areas. These include music, the arts, calligraphy and physical education. Juku proves to me that Japanese children are extremely motivated. Japanese students have to live up to the high expectations of their culture.
Parents expect the best from thier children. Most of these children do not choose to attend Juku. Most of the time it is just a given that they will go, their parents decide for them. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside souces. Most people have a blend of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational sources. The balance of the two is not all equal. I believe taht Japanese students do have a blend of motivaations, but are more extrinsically motivated. They receive motivation for their studies from thier parents and their peers. They are taught the better they do, the better the group does. These childrn find satisfaction when they are a successful member of a group. I believe American children are more of a blend when it comes to external and internal motivation. If I had to say whether they were one or the other, I would say that American children are more intrinsically motivated. Their motivation to do well in their studies comes more from within. They are under the pressure of trying to be the best. They compete with the other students for grades and to be the best or the top in the class.
Now that I have done this project it all makes sense to me. The way the children are taught in school is basically the way the society works as a whole. The Japanese society focuses on harmony and groupism. They want to better the group. I believe that is why that culture is so far advanced. Japanese people work together and end up very successful. They believe in cooperation. The American culture does use some groupism in some things, but mostly values indivdualism. American men and women believe that they can work faster and be more successful alone. The ideal society would have a perfect blen of the two culture's values. Groupism and individualism are equally as important, and used effectively one could be very successful.
References
Neko, Nagoya. Japanese Groupism, Cults, and Open Systems. http://www.smm.com.jp/forum/005701e.html 1997.
Osamu, Aridome. Signs of "Japan Pessimism." http:/www.geocities.com/Tokyo/7210/groupism.htm1. 1995.
"Same Ages, Different Worlds." San Francisco Examiner. pg. A-22. May, 1989.
Tobin, Jay. Class Size and Student/Teacher Ratios in Japanese Preschool. Comparative Educational Review. pgs. 533-547. 1987.