Toma de postura

Contents of This Chapter 1. 2-1 PRESCHOOL

1. 2-1-1 PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

2. 2-1-2 YŌCHIEN (PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN)

1. Sakura Preschool (Yōchien)

3. 2-1-3 HOIKUEN (NURSERY SCHOOLS)

1. Kiku Daycare Center

2. 2-2 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1. 2-2-1 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

2. 2-2-2 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EDUCATION

3. 2-2-3 AFTER SCHOOL

1. After-School Activities

2. After-School Programs

3. The After-School Program at Momo Elementary School

4. Private Lessons (naraigoto) and “Cram Schools” (juku)

5. Students At Home

4. 2-2-4 THE COLLAPSE OF HOMEROOM CLASSES (GAKKYŪ HŌKAI)

3. SUMMARY

Recently, yōchien (preschool and kindergarten) have become more like hoikuen (nursery school) by providing extended services for working mothers. Otherwise, because of the falling birthrate, it would be too difficult for the yōchien to maintain the number of children enrolled. Elementary schools have also confronted the problem of too many vacant classrooms by the decreasing number of students. In April 2002, the school week was reduced to five days. All elementary schools now have “integrated study” and course content has been reduced by 30 percent, in accord with the 1998 Course of Study. This chapter discusses the current state of preschool and primary school education in Japan.

2-1 PRESCHOOL

2-1-1 PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

More than 70 percent of three-year-olds, more than 80 percent of four-year-olds, and more than 90 percent of five-year-olds attend either preschool/kindergarten (yōchien) or nursery school (hoikuen) (Monbushō 1999b:270).1 Yōchien is the Japanese

equivalent of American preschool and kindergarten. Under the jurisdiction of the MOE, preschools teach three- to six-year-olds approximately four hours a day. Nursery schools provide full-time childcare for infants and preschoolers to the age of six whose guardians are unable to take care of them because of work, illness, or other reasons. Nursery schools began as a social welfare program for poor working mothers under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The local government had examined eligibility and assigned nursery schools before the 1997 Amendment to the Child Welfare Law allowed parents to select nursery schools. As the number of working mothers has risen, more mothers prefer nursery schools to preschools. Approximately 60 percent of first-graders graduated from preschools (yōchien) in 2003 (Monbukagakushō 2004a). The government plans to establish integrated preschool/nursery school facilities, which will accept children up to the age of five without the requirement of guardian’s work status and let part-time guardians use only during working days, if they want, after April 2006 (AS January 15, 2005).

In recent years, the government has become interested in preschool education and childcare. The government enacted the 1995 Child Care and Family Care Leave Law, the Angel Plan (1994-1999), and the revised Angel Plan (2000-2004) to provide favorable childbearing and childrearing environments for women, especially working mothers. This change in policy came after the government was alarmed by the

drastically decreasing birthrate (in 2003, 1.29 children per woman in her lifetime). The ever-decreasing number of newborns will reduce the number of productive

workforce-aged groups, and stall economic productivity. Moreover, a smaller pool of workers will have to bear the burden of supporting social welfare for a population that is both aging and living longer. Lawmakers have realized that they have to make it easier for women to balance their careers and motherhood if they want to prevent a further decline in population. The Child Care and Family Care Leave Law guarantees working parents childcare leave for newborns and toddlers. Beginning in April 1999, all companies must provide childcare leave up to one year after birth, and shorter working hours until the child enters elementary school, at the request of any employee (male or female).

Under the Angel Plan (1994-2004), the government subsidizes childcare facilities and childrearing expenses. First, the government launched the Five-Year Program on Emergency Measures for Nursery Care (Angel Plan) (1994-1999) which opened more nursery schools for newborns, extended the hours of daycare service, provided

temporary and emergency daycare service, created infant health daycare services, promoted after-school children’s clubs, and increased the number of multipurpose nursery schools and child-rearing centers. The conditions for childbearing and

childrearing are improving. However, the demand for nursery schools for newborns is still high. In practice, not many women take long-term childcare leave from work. Local governments regulate their own Angel Plans to meet demand at the community level. Many local governments provide incentives for women to have more children. The Marugame municipal administration enacted the Marugame Angel Plan (2000- 2004) to promote 1) health and medical care for pregnant women, newborns, and new mothers; 2) extended daycare service and temporary daycare service; 3) community support at child centers, mother’s clubs and child counseling centers; and 4) reduction of fees for nursery schools (Marugame-shi 2000). The administration waives half of the daycare tuition for the second child, and provides total daycare tuition for the third child.

In 1999, there were 5,069 children under the age of six in Marugame City, which had a population of 80,000. Fourteen public nursery schools operate for eight hours a day. Some of them provide service for 10.5 hours a day. Three private nursery schools operate 11 hours a day. Private nursery schools take care of infants and

provide temporary emergency daycare. In addition, there are five unlicensed nursery schools. There are eight public preschools and two private preschools that thus far do not provide extended childcare service. Six percent of newborns, 26.2 percent of one- year-olds, and 37.7 percent of two-year-olds are sent to nursery schools. Mothers and/or relatives care for the rest at home. Approximately half of all children between the ages of 3 and 6 attend preschools while the other half go to nursery schools

(Marugame-shi 2000).

2-1-2 YŌCHIEN (PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN)

Preschools provide two or three years of education for children before they enter elementary school. The first public preschool was affiliated with Tokyo Women’s Normal School in 1934. Since the 1960s, the number of private preschools has rapidly grown (Monbushō 1992:33). Most preschools operate four hours a day and lunchtime, and are finished by around two o’clock. Therefore, the children sent to preschools often have stay-at-home mothers, or working mothers whose relatives, usually a grandparent, can watch the children in the afternoon.

In 2003, 702,000 five-year-olds, 659,000 four-year-olds, and 400,000 three-year-olds attended 14,000 preschool, including 8,400 private preschools (Monbukagakushō 2004a). In 2002, the MOE allowed two-year-olds to attend preschool in special districts since many parents wanted their children to attend preschool before the age of three (AS September 27, 2002).

The ratio of enrollment in preschools and nursery schools has changed over the years, as more and more working mothers use nursery schools rather than preschools. Many preschools, especially private ones, are pressured to provide extended childcare hours in order to stay in business. Private preschools, approximately 60 percent of all preschools, receive less public funding than public preschools do, and have to rely primarily on tuition fees from parents.

With extended childcare service, preschools are becoming more like nursery schools. In 1997, about 30 percent of preschools, including almost half of all private

preschools, offered extended childcare services until the evenings (Kōseishō 1998:164). Extended childcare service in preschools was recognized as a part of preschool operations in the 1998 Course of Study for Preschool, which went into effect in 2000. For example, since 1999, Midori Preschool, which used to operate

from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., is now open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. They planned to have a daycare room for children from children up to the age of two by May 2000, responding to the request from the Setagaya Ward government in Tokyo.

Approximately 30 percent of preschools (4,197 preschools) have provided extended childcare service since 1997 (YS January 10, 2000).

Preschools with longer hours do not differ greatly from nursery schools (hoikuen), and it is expected that the current ministerial jurisdictions (the MOE and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) of two institutions will be phased out. Some local governments have already begun to integrate yōchien and hoikuen for childcare and preschool education. In 2003, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare deregulated in order to transfer some daycare center facilities for the preschool, while the MOE consider doing the same for nursery schools (AS October 22, 2003).

The average preschool has 23.9 students in a classroom, with 16.2 students per teacher (Monbukagakushō 2004a). Some classes have two teachers: a regular teacher and an assistant. Large classes promote interaction, socialization, and group consciousness among children. The assistant teachers help to meet a child’s individual needs.

Ninety-four percent of preschool teachers are female (Monbukagakushō 2004a), most of whom received a teaching certificate from a junior college. They generally remain in the classroom for less than five years, leaving either when they marry or when they have their first child. Recently, however, more preschool teachers have kept teaching because their earnings help the household income. Their salaries are decent, and the social prestige of being a preschool teacher is relatively high among female workers. Many female students wish to become a preschool teacher.

Japanese preschool education is child-centered and based upon the principle of “whole person education,” which focuses on social and emotional development, friendship and responsibility. The 1989 Course of Study for Preschool changed preschool education pedagogy from planned classroom teaching into child-centered education with minimal intervention from teachers. Children learn social skills through playing, while teachers create optimal environments for their development, and monitor their activities. Many preschool teachers were initially confused by this hands-off policy.

The 1998 Course of Study for Preschool Education remains child-centered, but provides more teacher guidance. According to the 1998 Course of Study, preschool education should help children develop healthy bodies and minds while exposing them to a range of experiences. The Course of Study does not mention the cognitive and academic development of preschool children. Preschools are considered to be places for fun and socialization, not for academic study (Monbushō 1998c). Preschool education is the first step in children’s socialization. Teachers instill an appreciation of friendship and cooperation. Children develop their creativity and sensitivity through crafts, drawing, playing music, dancing, caring for plants and animals, and making friends. Children learn about cooperation and responsibility by participating in small group (han) activities. Peer interaction sharpens their

interpersonal skills. Teachers take a low profile, seldom scolding or punishing mischievous behavior. Teachers let children play and settle their own conflicts. The children take turns as task monitors so that every child has an opportunity to lead the class.

Comparative ethnographic studies of preschools show that the Japanese preschool focuses more on teaching social skills and fostering a collective identity, unlike the American preschools, which place a premium upon individualism and independence. The Japanese preschool keeps teachers at a low profile, and lets children monitor themselves. In contrast, the American preschool establishes a dyadic relationship between a maternal type of teacher and the children (Tobin et al. 1989:63, 70).

According to another cross-cultural survey, preschool education in the United States focuses on cognitive and academic stimulation. About 30 percent of class time is allocated to teaching academic materials in American preschools. On the other hand, only 20 percent of class time is allotted to teaching academic materials in Chinese preschools, while less than 5 percent is used in Japanese preschools (Stevenson and Stigler 1992:78-79). Three percent of Japanese mothers and 28 percent of American mothers expect kindergarten to provide their children with academic experience. Almost all Japanese mothers and 55 percent of American mothers expect kindergarten to help their child’s social and emotional development (Bacon and Ichikawa

1988:380). Japanese mothers teach their children basic reading and counting through reading books and playing with numbers at home. Most children can read the

Most preschoolers are indulged by their parents and family members. According to a cross-cultural study, Japanese mothers are much more likely than American mothers to give in to their child’s wishes. For example, 68.4 percent of American mothers stated that they would force an unwilling child to go to kindergarten, while only 37.4 percent of Japanese mothers would (Bacon and Ichikawa 1988:381).

Sakura Preschool (Yōchien)

In April 2000, Sakura Public Preschool, established in 1898, had 121 preschoolers between the ages of 3-5 in five homeroom classes with five teachers and three assistant teachers.2 The city assigned two of the assistant teachers to two disabled children. Sakura Preschool operates from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The facility is closed on the second and fourth Saturdays. Children bring lunch boxes on Mondays and Thursdays, and have school lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays. Parents/guardians are required to take their children to preschool in the morning and pick them up in the early afternoon. Approximately 70 percent of the children’s mothers are stay-at-home mothers. Parents/guardians read the teachers’ daily journals every day, and cooperate with teachers. The preschool has a 40-day summer vacation and two weeks of winter and spring vacation, like public primary and secondary schools. The monthly tuition amounts to 6,000 yen. By comparison, a nearby private preschool costs 14,500 yen per month, more than twice as much as the Sakura Public Preschool.

Sakura Preschool emphasizes child-centered education and learning through experience (social experience education). According to the preschool’s brochure, “Preschool education helps raise children to be healthy and strong in their bodies and minds, to have basic life disciplines and group norms, to be sensitive and love nature, to be thoughtful toward friends, to be creative, and to be persistent in accomplishing goals.” The children learn interpersonal skills, group rules, and affection by playing with friends, nurture affection for animals and plants by caring for school rabbits and plants, and develop creativity and artistic abilities by drawing, crafting, singing and dancing. Teachers organize students into groups of six or seven in order to build their sense of cooperation and responsibility.

Ten years earlier, the pedagogy changed from teacher-centered to child-centered, following the Course of Study. Five-year-olds used to learn the Japanese alphabet and

counting by studying workbooks, but now they learn the Japanese alphabet and counting indirectly, through drawing and crafting. The new methods of pedagogy perplexed some teachers, and initially the child-centered curriculum created discipline problems in the classroom. The 1998 Course of Study reflects the overemphasis on child-centered education, but adds the importance of the teacher’s leadership in children’s education. Teachers need to find the best methods of guiding children in their activities.

On a sunny day in February 2001, children came to preschool between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., and put their bags away in their classroom. Then the children and their teachers played on the playground until 10:30 a.m. Between 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., all children stopped playing so that they could take physical exercise. All children engaged in fitness exercises set to music and then ran around the playground and/or played jump rope. At 11:00 a.m., all the children returned to their classroom and sang, listened to picture book stories, drew pictures, made crafts, or watched videos under the supervision of their teachers.

In a class of 17 three-year-olds, the children practiced songs with a piano played by their teacher, and danced to music together with their teacher. Then they practiced skipping to music. The teacher asked the children what they had done with the class of five-year-olds during a field trip to a nearby castle a few days previously. The children said that they had played games with their five-year-old “big brothers and sisters.”

Around 11:30 a.m., the children prepared for lunch. They washed their hands, and arranged several long tables and their chairs for lunch. The two children in charge of the day’s task force cleaned the tables. All children put napkins over the desk, and the children in charge distributed hotdogs and milk. Then, two children of the day’s task force said, “Please eat now!” The rest of the children replied, “Thank you. We will eat now. Please eat, Dear Monitor” “Thank you. We will eat now.”

After lunch, they put away the dishes and brushed their teeth. Then they played in the playground or in their classrooms until 1:30 p.m. The teacher took charge of the class from 1:40 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. by singing, reading stories, and informing them about upcoming events.

In another class, four-year-olds sang a song and listened to stories told by their teachers. The class of five-year-olds practiced dancing for the upcoming 100th-year celebration of a nearby elementary school. Around 2:00 p.m., the mothers and guardians of the children arrived to pick them up.

2-1-3 HOIKUEN (NURSERY SCHOOLS)

Nursery schools (hoikuen) were established under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (now the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) as a part of the social welfare programs for working mothers. Nursery schools tend to newborn babies, toddlers, and preschoolers to the age of six whose guardians are unable to take care of them because of work, health problems, or responsibilities to sick or elderly family members. As more mothers work outside of the home, the number of children enrolled in nursery schools has risen. Prior to the revised 1997 Child Welfare Law, local governments had designated certain nursery schools as a part of their social welfare program. Since April 1998, parents/guardians have been able to choose nursery schools. Since April 2000, businesses, private preschools, and individuals can establish their own nursery schools. The local government sets tuition fees for

licensed nursery schools, taking into consideration the annual income of parents/guardians and the age of the child.

In April 2003, approximately 1,990,000 children received nursery care at 22,355 licensed nursery schools (AS August 20, 2003). The prefectural and municipal governments together share half of the expenditures for nursery schools. Nursery schools regularly operate eight hours a day on the weekdays all year long. Parents apply for daycare at their municipal office, which determines whether their child can be taken care of at a daycare center, depending on their needs. The fees for nursery schools are based upon the income of the family or guardian. National and local governments subsidize both public and private nursery schools (about 60 percent of nursery schools are public).

Nursery schools, which provide extended childcare service and care for newborn babies, are in high demand. Many nursery schools accommodate working mothers who cannot pick their children by 4:30 p.m. by offering longer service hours. However, many caregivers are themselves mothers, and cannot work early in the morning or late in the evening. The local government subsidizes these extended

services, especially for children under the age of two, because many newborn babies are on nursery schools’ waiting lists.

In 1999, the national government established a 200-billion-yen grant to counter the plunging birthrate. The grant money is distributed to local governments to use at their discretion. In many cases, local governments subsidize preschools and nursery

schools. About 70 percent of the grants are used to build facilities and purchase equipment for preschools and nursery schools (AS January 14, 2000). Since 2000, public subsidies for childcare have been extended to children under elementary school age. Originally these subsidies were only granted to children under three years old. One of most serious childcare problems is the shortage of caregivers for newborn babies, toddlers, and children before and after regular business hours. If working mothers cannot find a daycare center, they have to bring their children to an

unlicensed daycare center or to a daycare home. In 1998 there were 9,644 unlicensed