A Historical Perspective of Science Education in Japan: Which Way is it Headed in the Future?

Abstract

Japan has achieved rapid modernisation compared with other Asian countries, and Japanese students often obtain higher scores on international science assessment tests than students from Western countries that have influenced Japan. The question of what led Japan to attain such a position and what can be expected in the future persists. To understand the future of science education in schools, called rika in Japan, as well as its complex and multi-layered status in schools, it is important to employ a historical approach. This study examines the following analytical points: the slogan “Science for all and for excellence,” the West’s influence, and social changes. This study also explores the pre- and post-World War II eras. Finally, expectations for the near future are discussed. It is known that Japan will continue to develop rika that encompasses both homogeneous and heterogeneous Western science education, considering the global trends in science education. Consequently, while the policy of “Science for all” will be maintained in the near future, “Science for excellence” programmes, such as the “Super Science High Schools” programme, can be extended in terms of the supply of future scientists and engineers. This can be partly at the request of the industrial sector to survive international economic competition based on scientific and technological innovation and to maintain its international status. An important lesson from history is that science, as a part of liberal education, is provided for the individual wellbeing of scientifically literate citizens, rather than for the nation’s benefit. Therefore, the duality of “Science for all and for excellence” should not be considered in terms of binary opposition; “for excellence” should be recognised as encompassed by and a form or part of “for all.”