Tag - education

 
 

EDUCATION

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 6, 2014
Range of services rush to fill gaps in Japan's after-school care market
As the government moves to widen access for older children, the private sector offers flexibility and a focus on areas such as English and sports.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Oct 5, 2014
Educator reverses school's fortunes by reviving progressive principles
When Evernote Corp. CEO Phil Libin visited Tokyo's Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin in May, the combined junior and senior high school for girls came under the media spotlight — not only because it was unusual for a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur to visit a girls' school, but also because of the progressive...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 5, 2014
Families run into twin 'walls' as they seek after-school care
The gulf between day care for preschoolers and after-school care for elementary school students can come as a major shock to the system for parents and children alike.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2014
Poorer students dropping out
More and more students are being forced to drop out of universities, colleges and vocational schools because they cannot afford tuition. Can Japan's institutions afford not to provide greater financial assistance to stop this waste of talent?
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2014
Four Japanese universities slip in annual global ranking
The University of Tokyo holds onto its title as Asia's No. 1 institution of higher learning while four of its domestic contemporaries lose ground.
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2014
Weaker case for the law schools
Reform of the nation's system for training legal professionals — introduced a decade ago to draw people from more diverse backgrounds into the legal professional community — is under scrutiny as the ratio of applicants passing the national bar exam falls to a record low.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014
Student generation fuels Hong Kong's 'umbrella movement'
They are dubbed the "umbrella generation" — teenaged students who have stormed the streets of Hong Kong in their tens of thousands and electrified a long-running protest campaign against Beijing's attempts to control the financial hub.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2014
Closing the education gap
The ability to use new technologies to build borderless networks among schools offer opportunities for students in low-income countries to learn from teachers in advanced countries — and vice versa.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 28, 2014
Eikaiwa, deal with sexual harassment of teachers before it's too late
If English schools in Japan do not take firm steps to protect teachers, it may only be a matter of time before another Lindsay Hawker is murdered — this time on their watch.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2014
In praise of what looks like China's new norm
Based on the rising share of labor's national income, the decline in global demand, the aging population, rapid urbanization and education dividends from younger workers, China's annual growth rate over the next decade is forcecast to average 7.3 percent — which would still be the envy of the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2014
Human pyramids at school sports days spark safety concerns
As school sports days get underway, students have resumed making large human pyramids, raising concerns about the risk of serious injury.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 24, 2014
Job insecurity among Japan's university teachers is a recipe for further decline
Increasing the number of academic working poor hired as part-time teachers flies in the face of the education ministry's call to build universities that 'can compete on the world stage.'
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 21, 2014
The town that's battling the demographic tide
On Oki Islands off Shimane Prefecture, a bold wave of reform seems to be having a positive effect.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2014
Shaming students' teachers shows little class
The Finns, known for having the world's best schools, would be aghast at the thought of revealing the names of teachers alongside their students' annual achievement test scores — a future possibility in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 14, 2014
All-Japanese families take a chance on international schools
In a notoriously homogeneous society where parents can face criticism for going against the grain, what drives these parents to shun local schools and instead seek out what the education ministry calls 'foreigner schools'?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 14, 2014
KidArt seeks to coax out Japanese students' neglected creativity
Disappointed at the lack of creativity in the English curriculum in Japanese schools, Jonathan Genji Abbott founded KidArt International in 2012.
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2014
Test scores can't tell all about kids
The education ministry's decision to make public, prefecture by prefecture, the average scores of annual nationwide achievement tests carried out in April for junior high and elementary school students is problematic.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Sep 7, 2014
Yoko and author's other furry friends help kids cope with childhood challenges
Rosemary Wells' stories — including a series about a Japanese kitten's experience at an American school — have been delighting children and adults alike around the world for over 40 years.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it