The Japanese Education System

The Japanese educational system is very affected by Western influences. This is due to the reforms of the educational system by the Americans after the second world war. 

Getting a glimpse of the Japanese educational system

Yes! Manners prevail in schools too!

The academic path of a Japanese youth would be spending the first six years in elementary school (Also known as "Shogakkou" in Japanese). This is commonly acknowledged by the Japanese people as a time where the fundamentals towards holistic growth are built, and thus the Japanese government has passed laws making this one of the two compulsory levels of education. The provision of public elementary school education is free to Japanese citizens.

After clearing the six years in elementary school, regardless of academic achievements, students are pushed up to the next compulsory level of education: Junior high school (Also known as "Chugakkou" in Japanese). At this stage, the curriculum starts to shift from one that is more focused on the students' growth in moral values to one that is more academic. Education in mathematics and Japanese language is continued with the introduction of other subjects such as English, music, art and physical health. Junior high school is no longer free and students are to spend 3 years in this institution.

Emphasizing heavily on the sciences and math, the third level of education in Japan is the High school (Also known as "Koukou" in Japanese). Highly competitive and ranked in terms of academics, students have to rely on academical achievements to get into a high school of their choice. Preparations for the university entrance exams are done over a period of 3 years where students study the regular curriculum as junior high, but at a much more advanced level. Some schools also include vocational training in various areas such as Business and Industrial work.

Another educational institution closely tied with the high school would be cram schools (Also known as "Juku" in Japanese). Whilst serving even elementary school students, a larger percentage of cram school students are from high schools as they prepare to get into universities. Cram schools offer additional lessons in relation to the curriculum covered in regular classes, and are highly similar to formal tuition centres.

The last leg of the Japanese youth's education would be university (Also known as "Daigakkou". Entrance exams are held every year where students try their best to get into the public universities, educational institutions more highly regarded than foreign universities. The most prominent universities in Japan are Tokyo University and Kyoto University.

Reference:

Japan - Elementary School. Retrieved on 8th December 2010, from http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-7144.html

Living in Japan - Education. Retrieved on 8th December 2010, from http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2150.html

Japanese Schools (2001). Retrieved from http://educationjapan.org/jguide/school_system.html