Fad Standards and Practice in Asian ducation Standards and Practice for K-12 Physical Education in Japan TAKASHI NAKAI MICHAEL W. METZLER In both content and approach, Japanese physical education exhibits similarities to, and differences from, physical education in the United States. The following two articles conclude this ‘two-part feature. In the August issue, after anintroduction by fea- ture editor Lynn Dale Housner, Guoli Liang, Richard T. Walls, and ‘Chunlei Lu discussed physical education in China. This was fol- lowed by Sang Suk Yoo ‘and Ha Young kim’s review of physical edu- cation in South Korea. Ed. JOPERD - Volume 76 No.7 September 2005 he national curriculum for Japanese schools has been revised by the Ministry Of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT) about once every 10 years since the end of World War Il. The fst post-war revisions were designed to change the schools from a militaristic educational system to a democratic system, with the main philosophy based on American educational values and ideals. In those revisions, the Japanese physical education system adopted the same main objectives for physical education that are used in the United States: education for physical, mental, and social development (Takahashi, 2000). To reflect this broad mission, Japanese schools also adopted the American multi-activity approach to phys cal education curriculum, much of it anchored in recreational activities. ‘The next revision to Japanese physical education came in 1958, when “culture. oriented physical education” took hold. This approach emphasized Olympic sports and other sport forms valued in the Japanese culture, in anticipation of the Summer Games in Tokyo in 1964. The 1968 revisions were based on “fitness oriented” activity for physical education in schools, motivated by decreasing levels of fitness in Japanese youths and the acceptance of the role of fitness and exercise science in the country and around the world, The next two revisions, in 1 and 1989, emphasized the learning of lifetime sports and games in the physical education curriculum. Special attention at that time was given to the development of sport skills and physical fitness, as well as to sport concepts, such as fairness, cooperation, and. responsibility. The national physical education curriculum in Japan was last revised in 1998 for elementary and lower-secondary grades and in 1999 for upper-secondary grades. The two main purposes of these revisions were to reduce the curriculum content and the time allotted to each subject in order to implement a five-day school week (in place of the previous six-day week) and to meet new social needs for education. It Is interesting that the changes in the major goals and objectives of physical education in the United States and Japan have been quite similar since World War IL However, in the United States these changes have 0 approach from teachers in schools and professional organizations. In Japan, the same changes were mandated by the government. ured as a result of a grass-roots‘The objectives and content of physical education pro- grams are determined by the national curriculum estab- lished by MEXT. Conceptually, this national curriculum sets, ‘minimum requirements and leaves discretion for creative practice in each school. However, the MEXT guidelines for teaching in physical education outline specific details about the content, teaching materials, and teaching methods to be used, Japanese children have compulsory education in elemen- tary school from grade one to six, and in lower-secondary schools from grade seven to nine, After finishing compulsory education, students voluntarily go to upper-secondary school for grades 10 to 12. Time Allocation and Class Size ‘The school year in Japan has three terms, beginning in April. Classes are 45 minutes long in the elementary grades and $0 minutes long at each of the secondary schoo! levels. ‘Thirty-five class hours of physical education count as one credit. In the transition toa five-day school week, the time allocation for physical education (including health educa- tion) in elementary and Iower-secondary grades was re- duced from 10S to 90 hours per year. In the lower-secondary grades, physical education and health are allocated 270 hours over the entire three years; 222 of those hours are for physical education and 48 hours are for health education. In the upper-secondary grades, physical education and health are allocated 315 to 350 hours (from 9 to 10 credits) over the entire three years; 245 to 280 of those (from 7 to 8 credits) hours are for physical education and 70 hours (2 credits) are for health education. This allocation includes both required content and additional “elective” content in each school’s curriculum. The school principle decides the number of elective hours to take place each week, and students then choose which classes to take beyond the required hours for physical education, health, and other subjects. Therefore, the number of hours for physical educa. tion and health varies from student to student, but all students must meet the minimum number of hours stated above for their grade level. In Japan, class size is regulated by the government, with the maximum number of students set at 40 for all subjects. Objectives and Outcomes Though MEXT has revised the national curriculum seven times since World War I, five groups of fundamental out- Japanese physical ‘education incorporates dance, seen here, from elementary ‘school through secondary school 18 ‘A teacher conducts a demonstration of tee-ball (left) and then gives feedback as students play a game (right). comes have remained in school programs (Takahashi, 2000): (1) democratic physical education, (2) culture-oriented physt- cal education, (3) fitness-oriented physical education, (4) physical education as preparation for lifelong sport particl- pation, and (5) physical education for mind and body. Table 1 shows how these fundamental outcomes contribute to meeting the physical education objectives in schools. The ultimate objective is to cultivate an attitude that will cause students to live a happy and cheerful life that is well inte- grated with physical activity and to acquire an understand ing of the value of health and safety. Through experiences in physical education, youths should develop a love of sport, and attain the level of personal fitness needed for a healthy life. In Japanese culture, body and mind are viewed from a holistic perspective, and this relationship must be main- tained in order to keep physical education in the schools ‘These goals represent the learning outcomes for physical education that are expected to be met in all Japanese schools; they differ from the standards used in the United States, in that they do not specify performance-related outcomes. Program Content Standards for physical education programs in Japan are expressed as content standards at each of the three school levels, These content standards are divided into different “strands,” each one representing a cluster of related activi ties, Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the implementation of these strands by grade level. The curriculum at each level includes a combination of compulsory strands, and some additional strands that students can select from based on their per- sonal interests. The “selective” plan and decreased class time are two of the most significant changes that have been ‘made in the national curriculum; both have wide implica- tions, including how teacher education is conducted. Status of Programs and Teachers Physical education classes are taught by classroom teachers at the elementary level. Early childhood teachers are pre- pared and certified to teach all subjects, including physical education, Asin the United states, physical education classes in Japan in lower- and upper-secondary schools are taught only by physical education specialists Physical education plays an important role in Japan by enriching schoo! life; ts viewed not only asa subject, but also asa part ofthe whole school educational plan, Japanese JOPERD Volume 76 No.7 = September 2005ee Teena kone Elementary School Overall Objective: To recognize the body and mind asa whole by gaining adequate experience in sport and an ‘understanding of health and safety, one should cultivate a love of sport in children, keep and promote their fitness level, and cultivate a healthy attitude to make life happy and cheerful. Lower (Grades 1, 2) 1, Cultivate a positive attitude aimed at practicing fundamental physical activities and games by devising simple ruiles and activities, thereby promoting children’s fitness. 2. Cultivate an attitude favorable to practicing physical activities while being friendly with everyone and paying adequate attention to one’s own health and safety. Middle (Grades 3, 4) 1. Cultivate a positive attitude toward playing sports by devising activities based on individual goals learn sport skils based on sports properties, and promote student fitness. 2, Cultivate an attitude of fairness and cooperation, and instill the desire to make a good effort while paying attention to one’s own health and safety. 3. Students should understand how to live a healthy life and achieve physical development, and they should cultivate an attitude that will make life healthy and cheerful. Upper (Grades 5, 6) 1. Cultivate a positive attitude toward playing sports, by devising activities based on individual goals, learn sport skills based on sport's properties and controlled conditions, and promote student fitness. 2. Cultivate an attitude of fairness and cooperation, and instill the desire to make a good effort while paying attention to one’s own health and safety. 3. Students should be able to understand how to prevent injury and diseases and work toward making their lives healthy and cheerful Lower-Secondary School ‘Overall Objective: To recognize the body and mind as a whole by participation in sports and through an understand- ing of health and safety, students should cultivate a positive attitude towards sports, promote their fitness, cultivate their ability to do something good for their health on their own, and develop an attitude that will make life happy and cheerful. 1. Through participation in sport, students should develop sport skills, gain pleasurable experiences by solving tasks, and consequently develop an attitude that will make life healthy and cheerful. 2. Through participation in sport, students should learn to control their own health by being aware of each physical ‘change, promote their fitness, and cultivate a strong mind and body. 3. Through competition and cooperation in sport, students should cultivate an attitude of faimess, a willingness to ‘obey the rules, and a desire to cooperate with one another in order to accomplish individual responsibilities. In addition, students should cultivate an interest in playing sport while paying adequate attention to thelr own health and safety. Upper-Secondary School Overall Objective: To recognize the body and mind as a whole by participation in sport and through an understand- ing of health and safety, students should cultivate a positive attitude toward participation in lifelong sports, promote ‘their fitness, cultivate their ability to do something good for their health on their own, and develop an attitude that will make life happy and cheerful. 1. Through participation in sport, students should gain pleasurable experiences by developing sport skills; promote their fitness; cultivate attitudes of fairness, cooperation, and responsibility; and cultivate a positive attitude toward lifelong participation in sport schools have many extracurricular events, including sport festivals, which physical education teachers play a central part in implementing. Some physical educators also coach, school sport clubs, which are the equivalent of intramural programs in United States schools. There are no interscho- lastic sports programs in Japan. Just as in the United States, there are some problems associated with the responsibilities JOPERD - Volume 76 No.7 = September 2005 of the teacher-coach dual role—some teachers spend more tme on their sport teams than preparing for classes. Some people now believe that competitive sport activities should. bbe shifted from the school to the community, that physical ‘educators should devote themselves to teaching classes, and that the mission of the sport clubs should be changed to the promotion of lifelong participation in physical activities. ”Fundamental Physical Activities Games Exercise Apparatus Gymnastics ‘Track and Field Swimming, Ball Games, Dance Health Education * Compulsory Instructional Methods Terms like ‘teaching skill’ (Rink, 2002; Siedentop &Tannebill, 2000) are widely recognized by physical education teachers, in Japan, Teachers are much less familiar with the concepts of “teaching style” (Mosston & Ashworth, 2000) or “instruc tional models” (Metzler, 2005). However, many physical educators teach in ways that resemble some styles and, models, such as the reciprocal style, and the cooperative learning, tactical games, or sport education models, Current Issues and Problems Government regulation of academic content plays an im- portant role in maintaining the national curriculum and standards for physical education, keeping a high degree of uniformity within the country. However, this same regula- tion impedes the formation of original curricula in schools, and hinders teachers’ acquisition of expertise. The govern- ‘ment regulations serve to maintain the physical education facilities and to keep a minimum amount of time allocated for physical education, but the strict regulation of the cur- riculum. promotes limited experimentation with instruc tional approaches, often restricting teachers’ development and innovation abilities, Progressive schools began to offer selective programs and ‘coeducational classes following the 1989 revision of the na- tional curriculum. A few elementary schools also offer some limited options to children (eg, selecting one event from track and field activities). However, most of the lower.secondary schools and even many upper-secondary schools do not offer wide choices—even though such choice is allowed by the curriculum. Limited staff development, facilities, and equip- ‘ment currently inhibit the expansion of the selective system. Improving physical education teacher education is the biggest challenge for Japanese physical education today. ‘The efforts of national and local boards of education to spread the content and methods of the newly revised cur- riculum have had little success. The development of effec- tive physical education programs depends on teachers’ aware ness of the possibilities offered by a new curriculum, and on their expertise in planning, implementing, and assessing this new content. In order to improve instruction, the present teacher education system in Japanese universities needs to be reformed to reflect the fundamental changes in P-12 programs. In addition, it is also critical that physical ‘education teachers reduce the scope of their responsibilities to that of teaching only—eliminating the current teacher- coach role conflict found in so many schools. Summary As one might expect in today’s global society, physical ‘education in Japan has many similarities to, and differences with, programs in the United States. Many of the main objectives for the school curriculum are the same; both systems promote major outcomes related to fitness and lfelong sport and physical activity participation. The Japa- nese system promotes two outcomes that many physical educators in the United States espouse, but are rarely in- cluded in official curiculum documents: making a mind- body connection and learning to live a happy and cheerful life, Most of the movement content taught at each of the three schoo! levels js included in American schoo!s at those same levels, but the two secondary school levels in Japan imclude cognitive content on the social and cultural aspects cof sport, motor learning, and the affective outcome of leam- ing physical activity for personal meaning in comparison to the United States, there are major diferences in the way curricular policies are decided in Japan, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology determines both the objectives and the Content for school programs forthe entire country; this acts to restrict the kinds of instructional approaches that are used by teachers. The United States does not have anything that approaches this level of centralized policy-making— most states outline a serles of outcomes that should be learned in physical education, which is included in a cur- riculum guide for all, However, most of the day-to-day decisions about program content and instructional ap- Proaches in the United States are made by teachers in Schools—ither individually (most P-S programs) or in teams (amide and high school programs). There s no doubt that policy makers and physical educators in both countries hhave much to lea about each other. ‘Teammates learn to work together in a game of tee-ball (left) and huddle to devise tactics for another game (right). {OPER - Volume 76 No 7 = Septerber 2005.Strand Content Selection of Strands 2nd year Ast year 3rd year_ A: Exercise Exercise for releasing body and mind Fitness training * (both) * (both) * (both) B: Apparatus Gymnastics Mat work QHorizontal bar Balance beam ‘Vault horse C: Track and field Short distance run and relay, or long distance run or hurdle run Long jumping or high jumping D: Swimming Crawl stroke Breast stroke Back stroke Butterfly stroke ASidestroke Selection of 1 or 2 items each from strands B, Cand D E: Ball Games Basketball or handball Soccer Volley ball Tennis, table tennis, or badminton softball F:Budo G: Dance QJudo QKendo sumo creative dance Folk dance ‘Dance with modern rhythm Selection of one item each from strands F and G Selection of 2 items each from E,FandG H: Theory of Physical Education Characteristics of sport, and. hhow to learn it ‘Meaning of exercise for releasing, body and mind, and fitness training and effect of sport * (both) * (both) * (both) * Compulsory JOPERD - Volume 76 No.7» September 2005 2Strand Content Selection of Strands 2nd year Ist year 3rd year A: Exercise Exercise for releasing body and mind Fitness training * (both) * (both) * (both) B: Apparatus Gymnastics. Mat work OHorizontal bar Balance beam Vault horse C: Track and Field D: Swimming Strokes: crawl, breast, back, butterfly, side E: Ball Games Basketball QHanabalt soccer Rugby Volley ball Tennis QTable tennis QBadminton softball F: Budo Qyudo Kendo G: Dance Creative dance Folk dance Dance with moder rhythm GRunning, jumping, throwing Selection of 3 or 4 items each from, strands B to Selection of 2or 4 items Selection of 3or4 items each from | each from strands Bto | strands B G. G toG. Strands For G| strands F or | Strands F or should be | G shouldbe | G should be included. | included. | included, 1H; Theory of Physical Education to learn sport Meaning of exercise for releasing body | _* (all) ‘and mind, and how to improve fitness Social change and sport Structure of motor skill, and how * (all) al) * Compulsory References Metzler, M. W. (2005). Instructional model for physical education (2nd ed), Tempe, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway. Mosston, M., & Ashworth, S. (2000). Teaching physical education (Sth ed), New York: Macmillan, Rink, J (2002). Teaching physical education for leaming (Ath ed). Boston: McGraw-Hill Sledentop, D., & Tannehil, O. (2000). Developing teaching sis in physical education (th ec). Calformia: Mayfield. Takahashi, T, (2000). Perspectives of school physical education curicu lum in japan: Analyzing changes in the Japanese education ministry's ‘course of study after World War apanese Journal of Sport Education Stes, 20(2), 91-98, Takashi Nakai (nakai@nara.edu.cc.jp) is an associate professor of sport pedagogy at Nara University of Education, Nara, Japan, and ‘Michael W. Metzler (mmetzler@gsu.edu) iso professor at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. JOPERD Volume 76 No. 7 » September 2008