Japanese Educational Productivity.

• Author: Khactu, Dominique N.

As our readers may remember, in 1983, President Reagan of the United States and Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan initiated a cooperative research project designated to enable the two countries to better understand one another's education system. In Japan, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture was responsible for the study of the U.S. education. In the United States, the Department of Education was responsible for studying the education system of Japan. Such a cooperative project results in the publication of two research volumes from the U.S. part: Japanese Education Today, the first report, is now widely considered the most informative and readable summary of the Japanese education in cultural context that is currently available in English. This present volume, Japanese Educational Productivity, is the second and final report; it does represent the official completion of the joint cooperative research project on education of the two countries.

Why is a second report on educational productivity needed? The answer lies in the editorial introduction of the book itself. To many Americans, Japan represents a case of special importance: it has risen from the ruins of World War II to be viewed today as an unchallenged economic power in the world market. It exemplifies an exceptional progress without any precedent in our modern times. Is there a possible connection between Japan's labor productivity and the education of its youth? One is willing to believe that Japan's education has played a partial but vital role in transforming a weakened and defeated Japan into an economic powerhouse of today. Thus, this second report of the U.S. Department of Education makes an attempt to bring to the surface the hidden qualities of Japan's education system that produces core of high school students with impressive test scores in science and mathematics, and supplies masses of skilled workers with high degrees of adaptability to complex and highly competitive modern factory management.

There are 10 chapters (a collection of selected research papers) in the Japanese Educational Productivitity, each focusing on some aspect of productivity in education. The book contains significant expositions but it still remains a collection of independent works on the central theme. For that reason, some of the worthwhile contributions to the literature contained in this volume may be lost to the hurried reader. The reader may open this book to some specific piece of...