Education in Japan

By Nick Clark

The Japanese education system is modeled on and heavily influenced by its American counterpart. The Fundamental Law of Education, passed in 1947 under American occupation, introduced the 6+3+3+4 structure of Japanese education: six years of elementary education, three years at lower secondary school, three at upper secondary school followed by four years at university for those in the academic stream. [Continued]

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European Ministers Call for Curricula Reform to Match Structural Reform Under Bologna European ministers of education gathered in Bergen (Norway) in May for their biannual Bologna meeting to assess the achievements of the European education reform movement and to set the direction for the next steps toward the desired goal of a common European Higher Education Area by 2010. As with other meetings, a communiqué was issued to highlight the major findings. The Bergen communiqué states that legislative reforms toward the implementation of the two-cycle degree are largely in place “with more than half of the students being enrolled in it in most countries,” and now is the time to “optimize the impact of structural changes on curricula,” ensuring that changes are consistent across the continent. [Continued ... read full story in the Europe section]

Japan and Transnational Higher Education

By Fujio Ohmori

As early as this year, the Japanese government is expected to implement new policies to recognize transnational higher education both domestically and internationally. On March 29, 2004, the Ministry of Education published its study group’s report on quality assurance of transnational higher education. The group, consisting of experts and stakeholders in higher education, recommended that the ministry radically change its regulatory framework for transnational provision. [Continued]

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