Research from Students in Japan

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Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Survey

3. Interview

4. Conclusion

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1. Introduction

The survey results and opinions of the Japan team are as follows. We conducted a survey to dozens of university students and interviewed four university professors. It turns out that students and teachers (professors) are aware of common issues. Also, we found that each of them have different perspectives, and make a different claim about it.

2. Survey

Based on our theme, we conducted a survey concerning the education system in Japan. The survey was sent to 52 university students in Japan from January 10, 2022 to January 13, 2022. According to the results, we analyzed what Japanese students think about the education system in Japan.

1) Demographics

What subject do you major in?

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　(N=52)

• Most of the respondents are students from the Faculty of Liberal arts or Social sciences or Humanities.

What grade are you in?

(N=52)

• Although we did not get answers from 5th and 6th years, we got a relatively wide range of answers.

• No answer from 5th grade and 6th grade students

Which age range are you in?

(N=52)

• Answers only from students who are aged 18-29.

2) Results

How do you find the Japanese education system?

(N=52)

• “Good”,”Nor bad” account for about 60% of the total.

• About 30% of the respondents chose “Not good”.

Do you think the Japanese education system needs structural changes?

(N=52)

• “Yes” accounts for 65%.

If you feel it is necessary, what kind of field or aspect is it?

(N=34)

• About 60% of the respondents answered "Educational activities aspects", which is the largest number.

• 17% of the respondents answered “School life activities aspects”, and 15% answered “Mental supporting aspects”.

• Other → “Tuition fee setting aspects”

• No answer for "Support and consideration for students with disabilities"

Do you think Japanese education has changed due to the effects of COVID-19？

(N=52)

• “Yes” and “A little” account for more than 90% of the total.

• No answer for “No”, “Neither”

Which aspect do you think has changed?

(N=48)

• “Equipment such as online environment" accounts for more than 80%.

• No answer for “Learning support system” and “Mental health supporting system”

What can we do to make Japanese education more inclusive in the future?

(N=52)

• “By strengthening learning school system” accounts for about 50%.

○“By improving school online environment” accounts for more than 20%, “By strengthening mental health support systems” accounts for 15%.

• (Other → “By reviewing the tuition fee setting, creating an environment where people who want to learn can learn”, “making it easier to change schools”)

3) Conclusion

Major view of respondents

A wide range of students suppose that the Japanese education system needs structural changes. In Particular, a number of students think that the Japanese education system needs a change in educational activities.

Possible ideas to make an improvement in everyday classes

According to this result, an ideal solution to create a structural change in Japan might be to improve the quality of everyday classes and teacher’s skills or put more tutors and so on.

• It is conceivable to place university professors as visiting staff to each school, mainly to strengthen their expertise in secondary education.

• In Japan, some students go to "preparatory schools" to prepare for university entrance exams. However, some students cannot attend the prep school because the monthly fee for the school is so high. Schools should improve their entrance examination measures so that they can prepare for university entrance examinations equally. One idea is to assign a teacher (a tutor / supporter) to prepare for entrance exams. For example, it may be good to assign faculty members who will respond to entrance exams preparation by subject field. In Japan, the methods of university entrance examinations are diversifying, so it is necessary to have a faculty member who specializes in teaching essays and writing.

Mental support for students

It deserves to be written down that a group of responses stressed it needs a change in Mental supporting aspects, strengthening mental support systems are necessary.​​ The cause for needing mental health support is considered to be caused by the feeling of loneliness due to the impact of covid-19. From this result, perhaps developing a mental support system at each school would be ideal.

Inclusive school fee and learning environment

Even though it was a minority answer, it needs to be stressed that some said “tuition (education) fee” setting is not ideal. Incentives for honors students should be expanded to support students who excel in studying or researching.

Also, it is interesting that some argued “an environment where people who want to learn can learn” is required. This kind of perspective must be related to the trend of modern society which emphasizes life-long education. It has already been done in some local areas, it would be better to open the school to adults and actively hold public lectures.

Specific structural problems and solutions

It may be a specific perspective that students in Japanese schools can feel that changing schools is not easy. ​​To make education more inclusive, aspects such as a structural change in entrance exams, job-hunting periods are also required.

• First of all, the career paths of undergraduate graduates are very limited in Japan. Most undergraduate graduates spend a year doing "job hunting" in their third year and are interviewed by several companies. Some students majoring in science go on to graduate school, but students majoring in liberal arts rarely go on to graduate school. This is the same for high school students, and high school students who want to get a job would carry out "job hunting" in the third year and are interviewed by several companies. Few people spend a "gap year." as well.

• One of the reasons for this common practice is that Japanese companies are sticking to recruiting new graduates in bulk in the spring every year.

• It is possible that such practice affects the lives of students. If we can find employment more flexibly, education may become more diverse and inclusive

• Regarding "changing the school", there might be a stereotype among students that "changing the school is not easy" as confucianism still has an influence on Japanese society. Such ideas are important and should be protected, but we must be able to overcome this in order for a reform to happen. Systems should be urgently built to allow students to voluntarily improve school rules and school life, and teachers should support students rather than restrain their possibilities.

3. Interview

What I learned from my research is....

While the system is very progressive in many ways, and some students are taking advantage of it to have a great experience, there is a certain amount of capital disparity. Various minor barriers lead to a lack of motivation and sense of purpose among students, which hinders a better education.

About this interview

This interview was conducted via zoom or in person.

The professors in question are from Aichi University, three professors from the School of Business Administration and one from the School of International Communication.

The purpose of the survey was to ask the four professors some of the same questions, and to find out what is actually being thought about and tried to improve the quality of education. The following is a summary of what we heard from the professors.

Inequalities/troubles you felt when you were a student

Quality of faculty

• I didn't feel any inequality when I was an undergraduate student in Japan, but there were many practitioners who shared their experiences, and I wondered if the quality of education was maintained consistently. I felt that there was too much subjectivity in some parts.

• I think it is unfair that there is a big difference in the motivation to study depending on the teacher you meet in pre-university education.

• There was a time when a professor did not write on the board at all and almost abandoned the class.

Racial barriers

• When I was studying abroad, I had an experience that left a deep impression on me: I was provided with a very cursory education.

• I felt that there was still a certain amount of racism when I studied at a foreign university.

In this question, many professors talked about two main points.

Many of the professors recognized that a generation ago, there was a high degree of freedom for teachers but also a lack of quality assurance in the field of education.

In addition, all the professors who had studied abroad said that they felt a certain level of discrimination. Perhaps this tendency would be higher than today. In common with many of the professors, I also felt that what was important was not whether or not we had experienced inequality, but whether or not we could turn it into a positive fuel.

What changes do you see between now and then?

Changes in the learning environment

• Internet environment: This environment, where information from all over the world is available anytime and anywhere, is something that teachers could not have hoped for when they were students. However, the Internet is requiring different skills than in the past. It is the ability to scrutinize and understand information that we may have a hard time cultivating.

• There are more opportunities for presentations, but students are also highly motivated, so there should be progress in active learning.

Students' sense of purpose

• In Japan, the percentage of students going on to university has increased significantly over the past few decades, and this has led to a lack of sense of purpose among students themselves, which is a problem in education today. Some high schools also try to send students to universities for the sake of sending students off to higher education.

• There are many students who set the meaning of attending college as only obtaining an undergraduate diploma and do not use it as a time to learn and enrich their own lives, which is a waste. They should try their best to write reports, but some of them copy and paste or have an inappropriate attitude.

On the positive side, they mentioned that there are many easy ways to learn if you are willing to learn. Although this was not mentioned by the professor, I feel that support for students who want to study abroad and scholarships are also being developed. On the other hand, many of the professors answered that one of the negative aspects of this trend is that the large increase in the percentage of students going on to higher education has created a tendency for students to feel that they have to go to university.

What do you think are the barriers?

Lack of motivation to learn and sense of purpose due to capital disparity and other reasons

• There is disparity in learning opportunities due to capital disparity. Although the ability to attend cram school is a major factor, there are many other disparities in learning opportunities due to capital disparities. (In Japan, cram school is thought of as important to go to the University of higher level.)

• There are many people who are troubled by the differences in the environment outside of school.

• The content taught in each high school is often different, forcing some to create double-standard/triple-standard classes. There are high schools that develop curriculums for entrance exams, and there is clearly a barrier that has caused the study of economics to be diluted in universities.

• Students' negative image of studying has led them to close themselves off from learning opportunities.

• Many students do not have a sense of purpose because their parents pay for their tuition, so they are not looking for quality education.

• The quality of the education they receive varies greatly depending on the faculty member in charge. On average, the quality of education is currently low, so there is a large inequality in the availability of such teachers.

"Some students struggle with educational opportunities for capital reasons, but the system is actually very generous, and many students may be unaware of this and lose themselves out on opportunities due to a lack of motivation to learn.”

There are so many things students can learn at university, but they’re only thinking about getting credits and not really learning." I heard many such comments from the professors.

What do you think should be done to overcome this?

• The number of students who want to study abroad is on the decline, regardless of Covid-19. This suggests that Japanese students are losing motivation to broaden their horizons and make independent choices about their future, so it is necessary to improving their motivation.

• The English word "educate" means to draw out, and I believe that better education can be realized if schools are responsible for this. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for learning institutions at all levels to take care of students outside of school.

I think the answer was already half stated in the previous chapter, but I can say that what is needed to break through is considered to be the motivation of students to learn and to have a sense of purpose. They seem to feel that it is necessary to convey the significance of studying, such as how many wonderful things there are in studying. Perhaps because of this awareness, there are professors at Aichi University who deviate from lectures in class to talk about such things, and professors who introduce TED speeches that have impressed them, and I feel that I have been positively influenced by them.

Covid-19's impacts

Decline in comprehension and difficulty in teaching due to change in distance

• In English classes, I used to plan the pace of the class based on the students' level of understanding, but I can no longer do that.

• There is no problem for students who are proactive, but for those who are not, their level of understanding has dropped significantly.

• The environment is such that it is impossible for students who are seated next to each other to encourage each other.

• I find it difficult to communicate with students because I can't see their responses and only see their names on the black screen.

All the professors were consistent on this topic, and I heard that the problem was the students' lack of understanding. On the positive side, I was able to ask about a few minor issues, but overall, the negatives were very significant. In the atmosphere of the discussion, I felt that the professors themselves must be struggling to maintain their motivation, as they said they did not want to just talk on a black screen.

Summary

By interviewing the four professors, I found that there are various minor barriers that, if they could be broken down, would change education for the better. While there are major inequalities in developing countries, such as large differences in educational opportunities due to capital reasons and gender inequalities, there was a common understanding that such major issues do not exist in Japan. However, there is a certain inequality that can be seen in the future depending on whether or not there are students attending cram schools or other people around them who are conducive to educational effectiveness. If such an environment can be improved and more people can have a positive image of learning, I believe that a major change will occur. Efforts are being made little by little to achieve this. Also, remote learning as a countermeasure against a coronavirus pandemic was that many professors were concerned about the level of understanding.

4. Conclusion

Based on the results of a survey of university students and interviews with professors, we found out issues with the education system in Japan.

Structural change of educational activities aspects

The needed actions of the education system in Japan include the structural change of educational activities. In the survey, a lot of university students indicated that changes were necessary in the learning system. Therefore, it is considered that students are looking for learning support systems and related environments in education institutions like schools. However, in the interview, several professors pointed out that learning support systems and environments in schools exist already. In short, it means students don’t find and actively use them practically. Based on these results, it is clearly believed that structural change of education activities is required in Japanese education, but how do we make the initiatives? According to the results, first of all, it is necessary for students to utilize the existing system. Specifically, it is necessary to inform students about the existing system and environment first. In order to achieve that, it is important for schools and students to communicate more with each other. In addition to informing students, existing systems and environments need to be upgraded. In fact, learning support and active learning initiatives are being implemented in universities. However, these supports are not so advanced in secondary education, so a variety of initiatives such as placement tutors and highly specialized teachers and setting up various specialized classrooms should be activated.

Change in education field due to COVID-19

After 2020, COVID-19 suddenly started to give education fields a significant impact in Japan as well. Although not all of them are bad influences, in fact, many university students indicated that they are affected by it in the survey. It is an interesting fact that there are some who say that online classes have made a positive difference in their learning system. Therefore, we believe that further diversification and improvement of the learning environment will enable more people to receive education. Also, it is considered that these initiatives lead to the above described structural change of education activities aspects as well.