Re-Examining Patriotism in Japanese Education: Analysis of Japanese Elementary School Moral Readers

Autor/in	Anzai, Shinobu
Titel	Re-Examining Patriotism in Japanese Education: Analysis of Japanese Elementary School Moral Readers
Quelle	In: Educational Review, 67 (2015) 4, S.436-458 (23 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-1911
DOI	10.1080/00131911.2014.975783
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Patriotism; Elementary Education; Moral Values; Values Education; Politics of Education; Reading Materials; Friendship; Altruism; Educational History; Instructional Materials; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5; Grade 6; Individual Characteristics; Citizenship Education; Japan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Patriotismus; Elementarunterricht; Moral value; Ethischer Wert; Werterziehung; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Freundschaft; Altruistic behavior; Altruismus; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Lehrmaterial; Lehrmittel; Unterrichtsmedien; School year 01; 1. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 01; School year 02; 2. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 02; School year 03; 3. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 03; School year 04; 4. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 04; School year 05; 5. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 05; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; Personality characteristic; Personality traits; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Citizenship; Education; Politische Bildung; Politische Erziehung; Staatsbürgerliche Erziehung
Abstract	In 1947 the Fundamental Law of Education (FLE) defined the pacifist principles for post-war Japanese education and was revised in 2006 for the first time in nearly 60 years. The revised FLE stipulates the importance of teaching love for country and region and Japanese culture and traditions with special emphasis on moral education. Today, this moral education is regarded as an essential program for promoting patriotism among children in line with the revised FLE. Critics, however, fear that the revision is a revival of pre-war patriotism and a rightward shift in Japan's education. Their fear resurfaced more recently when Shinzo Abe, who carried out the revision of FLE during his first term as prime minister, was elected to his second term in December 2012. As Abe emphasized the importance of teaching patriotism in schools, the international media came to report that Japan's education was taking a turn to the right under his administration. While critics expressed their concern that Japan's education was becoming too patriotic, there was a lack of empirical inquiry into the issue of whether patriotic education had materialized in the classrooms. This study examined this issue by analyzing the content of moral readers currently used throughout Japan. The findings suggest that, contrary to the critics, the content of these readers does not emphasize patriotism. Instead, the readers seek to promote basic moral values such as faithfulness and friendship and sympathy and kindness. The findings are discussed with reference to social and educational contexts in Japan. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01