Author Description

This Detailed Ethnographic Study Of Fifth- And Sixth-grade Classrooms Offers New Insights Into Japanese Culture, As Many Aspects Of Daily Social Life Are Embedded In The Educational System. Additionally, This Book Provides New Perspectives On Educational Reform In The U.s., Since Many Current Issues And Programs Focus On Notions Of Community, Collaboration, And Systemic Reform, All Of Which Are Central To Understanding Japanese Teaching-learning Processes In Schools. Cover -- Inside Japanese Classrooms: The Heart Of Education -- Copyright -- Contents -- Series Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Setting The Stage -- 2.1 Education-contemporary Japan -- 2.2 Education-contemporary United States -- 2.3 Overview Of Relevant Literature -- 2.3a Contemporary Japanese Education -- 2.3b History And Organization Of Japanese Schooling -- 2.3c Japanese Cultural Context -- 2.4 Conceptual Framework -- 2.5 Research Methodology-revelations About Japanese Schooling -- 3 School Settings, School Organization, And Teacher Work Arrangements -- 3.1 Neighborhoods -- 3.2 School Facilities And School Populations -- 3.3 School And Classroom Organization -- 3.4 Educational Materials -- 3.5 Teacher Work Arrangements, Roles, And Responsibilities -- 4 A School Week And A Year In The Students' Lives -- 4.1 Beginning The School Week: Whole-school Ceremony -- 4.2 Understanding Supervision As Interpersonal Relations: The Heart Of Teaching And Learning Processes -- 4.3 Threads Of Significance -- 4.4 School Week Continued: In The Classroom -- 4.5 Subject Matter Studies -- 4.6 Recess, Lunch, And Class Meetings -- 4.7 Grouping Patterns: Roles And Responsibilities -- 4.8 Extracurricular Activities And Responsibilities -- 4.8a Club Activities -- 4.8b Student Council Activities (iinkai) -- 4.9 The School Calendar -- 4.10 Interpretation -- 4.10a Basis For The Basics -- 4.10b Becoming A Connoisseur Of Standardization With Standards -- 5 Two Classrooms, Two Realities -- 5.1 Meet The Students -- 5.2 Detailed Accounts From Daily Research Notes -- 5.2a Umi, Mr. Seki's Classroom: Monday, January 25, 1988 -- 5.2b Mori, Mr. Ito's Classroom: Monday, February 1, 1988 -- 5.3 Meet The Teachers -- 5.4 Summary Of Classroom Observations -- 5.5 Teaching-learning As Intersecting Spheres Of Instruction: Teachers And Students Together And Apart. 6 Classroom Instruction -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Instructional Patterns -- 6.2a Underlying Principles For Teaching-learning -- 6.2b Kinds Of Spheres Of Instruction -- 6.2c Examples Of General Instructional Patterns By Subject Matter -- 6.2d Summary -- 6.3 Feedback And Evaluation Mechanisms -- 6.4 Authority And Control -- 6.4a Authority And Control In Action: Self- And Peer Supervision -- 6.4b Analysis: Mechanisms Of Authority And Control -- 6.5 Five Essential Elements: Facilitating Community, Enabling Connectedness -- 6.5a Variety In Intellectual And Representational Forms -- 6.5b Communication And Work Patterns -- 6.5c Congruence Between Adult World And Student World -- 6.5d Norms: The Ability Myth And The Labeling Dilemma -- 6.5e Sho Ga Nai, The Cultural Adhesive -- 6.6 Summary -- 7 Equality And Equity: The Japanese Case -- 7.1 Historical And Ideological Base -- 7.2 Equality And Equity In Japanese Elementary Schools -- 7.3 Inequality And Inequity In Japanese Elementary Schools -- 7.4 Genuine Community As Equity: The Art And Craft Of Teaching -- 8 Conclusion -- 8.1 Insights About Japanese Education -- 8.1a Educational Excellence Japanese-style: What Are The Basics? -- 8.1b Challenges For The Japanese -- 8.2 Implications For Contemporary Education: The United States And Japan -- 8.2a Lessons? New Visions? -- 8.2b Methodology-future Research -- 8.3 Education And Community -- 8.3a On Community -- 8.3b School As A Social Process: Complexities Of Constructing Community -- Appendixes -- A: School Calendars -- B: Research Instruments -- C: Data Map -- D: List Of Objectives For Moral Education Program -- E: Detailed Accounts From Daily Research Notes -- Bibliography -- Subject Index -- Author And Education Programs Index.