The process of studying in a Japanese university = learning?
/a look from inside/

Most people that have never been to Japan for a substantial period of time, carry a strange, if not completely wrong, impression on the country and the people living there. Even people that have been, but didn't know the language cannot understand Japanese habits. By studying Japanese for more than a year here, I had quite a chance to look from inside in many matters, Japanese universities included. Before going straight on the topic, I would like to stress that even if this article looks at the bad sides of Japanese universities, I am quite pleased to be here and to have the chance for good experience, and of course I am very grateful to Monbusho for giving me this opportunity.

Comparing two things when you are not an expert in either is quite difficult task with doubtful meaning. That's why here I am using all my knowledge, what I have heard from other people- Japanese and foreigners, several materials from the U.S. Ministry of education, what has been discussed in "Japan and North America: A Cultural Comparison" class, and I will not make any comparison, just describe "the Japanese side" of university education.

In Japan the public universities are highly centralized and administered under the Monbusho. This is good to some extent as it produces a more coherent curriculum and comparative results. However, as opposed to private institutions, this also is a limitation to a certain extent. There are over 565 university level institutions, of which 415 private[1].

Based on what I experience everyday in my present university and on several conversations with other students, I can conclude that once Japanese enter university they are more than satisfied and don't feel the need to study or improve in other academic aspect. That is partly because Japan is still credentaialist society, i.e. once a Japanese is enrolled into a prestigious university (which is not always equal to high academic quality) s/he is almost guaranteed "financial security and social prestige"[2] for the rest of his/her life. Although the situation is slightly changing lately, this is still a major factor for the lack of motivation. In most of the classes a lot of students don't pay attention to what the teacher explains- they either sleep, study for some other subject test (on tests- see below) or talk with their classmates. In addition that, it is a common practice to enter the class late (even about the end), go out during the lesson (e.g. to talk on the mobile phone) or leave earlier (for lunch).

Another aspect of Japanese universities, and the society as a whole, is the general neglect for the individual as of its own. As a very group-oriented society, any system that appears to tolerate individual differences or distinguish between different academic ability in students is regarded as "unacceptable"[3]. In this respect for example, in my present university all students in my department are required to take the same level of foreign language classes, without regard of their knowledge and/or previous experience. Of course a lot of students are at the same level (in the beginning), but still there are some at quite different levels. With no placement test and no special classes, one has to conform and stop complaining; Japanese society tries to offer equal opportunity to everybody, which is usually bad for the "non-standard" cases (in the previous example- students above and below the average).

Going back to the title, the way Japanese perceive studying is as a continuous process with not so important outcome. "If you tried your hardest, it wouldn't matter if you succeeded or not."[4] That is the essence of a process oriented way of thinking. Of course, one can give a counter-example: exam and test scores. Although they are important to some extent, there are many subjects (in my university) where only class attendance makes up to 50% of the final grade. Of course one can sleep in class, nobody will bother him/her. The unfortunate outcome is that the general level of university education is comparatively low. However the good side is that if one is eager to learn, given the good facilities and the amount of money allocated toward research, one can be quite satisfied.

To sum it up, Japanese society and way of thinking has the dominant role in higher education. The group-oriented patterns, process vs. result and credentaialist society attitudes can easily be seen if one looks from inside. Then s/he will understand why there is a question mark in the title...

References:

[1] "Number of Institutions, Students and Teachers", Monbusho (May 1995)

[2] "Contemporary Research in the United States, Germany, and Japan: Japan", U.S. Ministry of Education (1996)

[3] "Education of gifted and talented students in mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan." Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Stevenson, H., Lee, S., and Chen, C. 1994

[4] "The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings", (June 1998), Chapter 3

The process of studying in a Japanese university = learning? /a look from inside/

References:

The process of studying in a Japanese university = learning?
/a look from inside/