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Transitions from Preschool to Primary School Education in Japan

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Transitions from Preschool to Primary School Education in Japan 人文科学研究 No.16, pp.183ｰ195 March 2020 Transitions from Preschool to Primary School Education in Japan Ryoko Kodama (Ochanomizu University) Motoko Ohta (Wako University, Emeritus) Sachiko Asai (The University of Tokyo) 1. Introduction This study aimed to identify different types of transitions from kindergarten to elementary school by examining the practices of three laboratory kindergarten and elementary schools: Ochanomizu University kindergarten and elementary school, Kobe University kindergarten and elementary school, and Wako Gakuen kindergarten and elementary school. We examined the ways how each of these traditional laboratory schools enables its children to transition from kindergarten to elementary school. OECD recommends “child-centered transitions” from early childhood education to primary education (OECD, 2017). In many countries, however, there is an increasing tendency toward “schoolification.” At Ochanomizu, kindergarten and elementary school teachers collaborated to create child-centered transitions. Teachers at Kobe University kindergarten conducted research to clarify their students’ readiness for elementary school education. Transition issues at Wako Gakuen were similar to those of Kobe, but after a setback in the 1990s, the school changed its practices. We collected and analyzed reports on students’ transitions published by the three laboratory kindergarten and elementary schools. In this paper, we first explain the background of the study, focusing on the revision of the National Course of Study for kindergarten in 1989. Next, we examine the case of Ochanomizu kindergarten and elementary school. We then examine the cases of Kobe kindergarten and elementary school and Wako Gakuen kindergarten and elementary school. 2. Historical changes in the National Course of Study for Kindergarten This section describes the historical changes that have been made to the National Course of Study for Kindergarten, focusing on the concept of “area.” In the Japanese Course of Study, “aims and content” are listed for each “area.” The following five areas are currently adopted: health (physical and mental health), human relationships (relationships between the child and others), environment (children’s surroundings and their relationship with them), language (the process of ― 183 ― language acquisition), and expression (feelings and expression). However, the concept of “areas” in kindergarten is different from that of “subjects” in elementary school. What, therefore, is an “area”? Three major revisions have been made to the Course of Study. The meaning of “area” differs in each of these revisions and has been influenced by research at laboratory kindergartens. The following discussion traces the “area” concept over the various revisions of the Course of Study. The concept of “area” first appeared in the 1956 revision of the Course of Study for Kindergarten. Before this revision, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) guidelines implemented in 1948 were used, which listed 12 activities as “the joyful experience of early childhood” to represent curricula content (observation, rhythm, rest, free play, music, story, painting, handicraft, nature observation, make-believe play/play/puppet play, health care, and annual events). The 1956 Course of Study, on the other hand, included six areas. In the 1989 revision, “aims and content” were organized according to the five areas that are currently in use (Figure 1). The Course of Study has been revised every ten years since 1989, but the five areas have not changed. ⑴ The 1956 Course of Study As mentioned above, six areas were established in the 1956 Course of Study: health, society, nature, language, musical rhythm, and drawing and handicraft. These areas replaced the 12 activities from the 1948 guidelines. With the number of kindergartens rapidly increasing, the ministry was asked to present systematic guidelines that would serve as clear standards (Ohka 2012a). According to the School Education Law (1947), the purpose of kindergarten education was to “[n]urture infants and provide them with an appropriate environment to facilitate their physical and mental development.” The following five goals were set to achieve this purpose: 1. To cultivate daily habits necessary for children’s health, safety, and happiness and encourage them to engage in physical activity. 2. To provide children with experiences in group activities and nurture a spirit of willingness to participate with cooperation and autonomy. 3. To foster children’s understanding of and attitude toward social life and events. 4. To guide children’s correct use of language and foster their interest in stories and picture books. 5. To encourage children to be interested in creative expression through music, games, paintings, or other means. Figure 1 Areas of the Course of Study for Kindergarten in Japan ― 184 ― Transitions from Preschool to Primary School Education in Japan Six areas were created by dividing the fifth goal in two. These six areas were aligned with elementary school subjects. Although it was noted that “specific life experiences of young children” covered multiple areas, the six areas served as an opportunity to expand instruction in each of the elementary school subjects. Curricula that were published in magazines for kindergarten teachers increasingly included plans for each area (Ohka 2012b). According to one teacher, some kindergartens constructed their timetables by area in line with elementary school subjects (Tampo 2004). Sakamoto (1964), a policy maker and researcher, stated that it was problematic that children’s activities had become fragmented and that research into activities that cross areas such as free play had become less popular. The 1956 Course of Study was criticized for developing school-like education for kindergartens. ⑵ The 1964 Course of Study The Course of Study was revised in 1964. The problems of the contemporary Course of Study were recognized, and the revision intended to clarify the “significance and uniqueness of kindergarten education.” According to Moriue (1989), while the areas of the 1956 Course of Study were derived from the goal of the School Education Law, the areas of the 1964 Course of Study were the result of extracting and classifying the aims of “desirable experiences or activities.” Specifically, those who participated in the revision considered the comprehensive life experience of children covering all areas and examined how children are raised through experiences and activities. The revision committee identified 137 different paths of child development. The 1964 Course of Study was structured through “attainment targets” that were allocated in the six areas. However, the intentions of the revision committee may not have sufficiently penetrated the areas of early childhood education because the same six areas were established. Instruction manuals were prepared for each area, not for a comprehensive educational experience. ⑶ The 1989 Course of Study The Course of Study for Kindergarten in Japan was revised significantly in 1989. Moriue (1989), who participated in this revision, explained the process as follows. Under the traditional Courses of Study, teachers were expected to plan and offer “desirable experiences and activities” to children. The new Course of Study, on the other hand, emphasized that activities should be created by the children themselves, not by teachers. As mentioned earlier, in the 1989 Course of Study, “aims and content” were organized in five areas. The five areas were positioned as the “perspective of understanding the development.” Morimoto and Kawakami (2008) pointed out that the essence of the concept of “area” itself had not changed: in both the 1964 and the 1989 Courses of Study, “areas” represented goals. What did change was the ways in which areas were organized. In the 1964 Course of Study, areas were defined in reference to elementary school subjects. In the 1989 Course of Study, areas were defined in reference to the aspects of child development. The 1989 Course of Study was highly praised for supporting child-centered kindergarten ― 185 ― education (Hamaguchi 2014) and for clearly defining kindergarten education (Shiomi, Matsumoto, Takada, Yaji, & Morikawa 2017). On the other hand, critics asserted that the gap between kindergarten education and elementary school education had widened, causing first-year elementary school children to fall behind (Shiomi et al. 2017). ⑷ The 2017 Course of Study The Course of Study has been revised three times since 1989: in 1998, 2008, and 2017. The concept of “area” in the 1989 version remained present in the future revisions, and the current Course of Study is based on the 1989 version. However, changes have been made that are consistent with the current state of primary school education. The 2017 Course of Study specified “Ideal states of the child at the end of early childhood”（ Figure 2） and referred to the necessity of assessments. Although the wording of the guidelines is ambiguous regarding the subject being assessed, there is a tendency to interpret this “assessment” as an assessment of children’s development based on the “10 ideal states.” Based on the above discussion, we summarize here what the concept of “area” represented in each version of the Course of Study. In the 1956 Course of Study, “area” referred to “Subject Content.” Consistency with elementary school education was ensured by systematically dividing the content of kindergarten education into areas. In the 1964 Course of Study, the six areas
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