Schooling and Math Education

Education Ministry Perspectiveson Mathematics CurriculumYOSHIKAWA, ShigeoSenior Curriculum SpecialistMinistry of EducationTokyo, Japan Curriculum Standards in Japan

Schooling and Math Education • Kindergarten (under 6 years) • Elementary School (1st through 6th ) • Lower Secondary School (7th through 9th ) • Upper Secondary School (10th through 12th ) • University * Elementary and lower secondary level education is compulsory. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Schooling and Math Education • Mathematics is a required subject at elementary and lower secondary school level. Teaching contents described in Curriculum Standards are taught to all students. • There are no exit tests at elementary and lower secondary school level. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Schooling and Math Education • About 98 percent of lower secondary school students go on to upper secondary schools. • Some students take competitive entrance exams to enter upper secondary schools. Exams are conducted by local governments or schools. • Some part of math at upper secondary school level is required subject, other part is optional. Curriculum Standards in Japan

National Curriculum Standards • The Ministry of Education of Japan has set nation-wide standards for educational curricula since 1947. • Each school makes its own school curriculum according to the Standards. Curriculum Standards in Japan

National Curriculum Standards • The Ministry of Education determines standards for schools from kindergarten to upper secondary school level so that a standardized education is available anywhere in Japan. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Textbooks • Textbooks are written by private sector publishers. • The Ministry approves them in accordance with the Curriculum Standards. • Local boards of education determine which authorized textbooks to be adopted and used in the locality. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Textbooks • Textbooks at compulsory education level are offered to students free of charge. • Textbooks are main materials for teaching and learning in classrooms. • Some materials other than textbooks, such as exercise booklets, may be used in the classrooms by school’s judgment. Curriculum Standards in Japan

History of Revisions of the Standards Elementary school level • 1st 1947 • 2nd 1951 • 3rd 1958 • 4th 1968 • 5th 1977 • 6th 1989 (implemented in 1992) • 7th 1998 (implemented in 2002) Curriculum Standards in Japan

Structure of the Standards for Elementary School Level • Chapter 1 General Guidelines • Chapter 2 Teaching subjects • 1 Japanese Language • 2 Social Studies • 3 Mathematics • 4 Science • 5 Life Environment Studies • 6 Music • 7 Drawing and Handicraft • 8 Homemaking • 9 Physical Education • Chapter 3 Moral Education • Chapter 4 Special Activities Curriculum Standards in Japan

Lesson Hours in a YearElementary School Level • 1st grade 3rd grade 6th grade • Total 782 910 945 • Japanese 272 235 175 • Math 114 150 150 • Science 0 70 95 * One lesson hour is 45 minutes. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Structure of the Standards for Lower Secondary School Level • Chapter 1 General Guidelines • Chapter 2 Teaching subjects • 1 Japanese Language • 2 Social Studies • 3 Mathematics • 4 Science • 5 Music • 6 Art • 7 Physical Education • 8 Technology and Homemaking • 9 Foreign Language • Chapter 3 Moral Education • Chapter 4 Special Activities Curriculum Standards in Japan

Lesson Hours in a YearLower secondary school level • 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade • Total 980 980 980 • Japanese 140 105 105 • Math 105 105 105 • Science 105 105 80 * One lesson hour is 50 minutes. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Standards for Mathematics Structure of Standards for Mathematics 1. Objectives of teaching mathematics 2. Teaching contents for each grade 3. Some remarks on how to make teaching plans Curriculum Standards in Japan

Objectives of Teaching Math Four Elements in Objectives • Knowledge • Skills (ex. Computational skills) • Ability to think mathematically • Interest in math, willingness to learn math, attitudes toward math Curriculum Standards in Japan

Objectives of Teaching Math • Learn mathematical knowledge and skills with rich sense of number, quantity and geometrical figure • Think logically in good perspective • Find the pleasure of doing mathematical activities • Make good use of mathematics in daily life situations Curriculum Standards in Japan

Teaching Content Areas Elementary School level • Number and Computation • Quantity and Measurement • Geometrical Figure • Mathematical Relation Curriculum Standards in Japan

Teaching Content Areas Number and Computation Following three points are emphasized throughout the latest Standards: • Understand the meaning of computation • Consider computational methods • Get skills and make use of them Curriculum Standards in Japan

Teaching Content Areas Lower Secondary School level • Number and Algebra • Geometry • Mathematical Relation Curriculum Standards in Japan

Remarks on Making Teaching Plans Some examples of remarks for elementary school level: • Learn by doing mathematical activities • Develop logical reasoning and intuition • Develop problem solving ability • Connect mathematics with daily life situations Curriculum Standards in Japan

Remarks on Making Teaching Plans • Improve skills such as computation and measurement • Use estimation when considering the process or checking the result • Enrich sense of numbers, quantities and geometrical figures • Make use of soroban, calculators and computers when solving problems Curriculum Standards in Japan

Characteristic of Standards • Basically, the Curriculum Standards are to show objectives and teaching contents. • The main part of the Standards is the teaching contents. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Characteristic of Standards • Teaching methods and teaching plans should be devised by schools and school teachers. • For example, the use of calculators and computers in math class is up to the school and its teachers. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Characteristic of Standards • The Curriculum Standards have a characteristic of “minimal standards” • Each teaching content mentioned in the Standards must be taught in all the schools Curriculum Standards in Japan

Characteristic of Standards • A teaching content not mentioned in the Standards may be added in each school curriculum as an advanced learning material or a supplementary material, based on the needs of each students. • Recent Ministry’s survey shows that, after the implementation of the latest Standards, more school teachers are teaching advanced materials in math classes. Curriculum Standards in Japan

The Committee in the Ministry The Central Education Committee The School Curriculum Committee Special Committee for Math Ed * Committees are open to public Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • The Central Education Committee is Education Minister’s consultation organization. • The School Curriculum Committee is a subcommittee of the Central Education Committee. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • The basic philosophy of the revision of the Curriculum Standards is to be discussed in the School Curriculum Committee. • The School Curriculum Committee has several subcommittees. Mathematics education special committee is one of them. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • The members of the special committee are: college faculty- mathematician and mathematics educators, school teachers, local government’s education board officials, businessmen working as a computer engineer, an architect, or an insurance researcher. (representative from the Parents Association, educational program TV director, and so on) Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • The special committee makes reports about their ideas on math education and the next curriculum revision, and submits the reports to the School Curriculum Committee. • The School Curriculum Committee and special committees exchange their opinions and negotiate to make final reports. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • The final report of the School Curriculum Committee is submitted to the Central Education Committee, and to the Education Minister. • The Ministry of Education determines the Curriculum Standards according to the final report of the Committee. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • Several working groups are set up in the Ministry to establish each subject part in the Curriculum Standards for each school level. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • Working group for elementary school mathematics • Working group for lower secondary school mathematics • Working group for upper secondary school mathematics Curriculum Standards in Japan

Revisions of the Standards Elementary school level • 1st 1947 • 2nd 1951 • 3rd 1958 • 4th 1968 • 5th 1977 • 6th 1989 (implemented in 1992) • 7th 1998 (implemented in 2002) Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of Curriculum Reform • 1989 March/ Release of the 6th Standards • 1992 April/ Implementation of the 6th Standards • 1993-1995/ Nation-wide survey on students' achievement • 1996 August/ Report of the Committee • 1998 July/ Report of the Committee • 1998 December/ Release of the 7th Standards • 2002 April/ Implementation of the 7th Standards Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of Curriculum Reform • 1998 July/ Report of the School Curriculum Council • 1998 December/ Release of the 7th Standards • 2002 February/ Nation-wide survey (tests) • 2002 April/ Implementation of the 7th Standards • 2004 February/ Nation-wide survey (tests) • 2005 March/ Education Minister’s consultation Curriculum Standards in Japan

Process of the Revision • Committees are open to public. • Committees accept opinion papers from academic circles, teachers unions, parents associations, labor unions, and so on. • The Ministry conducts several surveys and gathers data on the actual circumstances in education. Committees can use the results in the process of discussion. Curriculum Standards in Japan

National Tests in Mathematic • The Ministry of Education conducts nation-wide tests in mathematics, Japanese language, science, social study and foreign language. • The purpose of the tests is to gather data on the effectiveness of the Curriculum Standards. Curriculum Standards in Japan

National Tests in Mathematic • About 10 percent of students from 5th through 10th grade take the tests in this survey. • Only nation-wide results are to be announced, local results are not. • The test results have been used in the discussion in the School Curriculum Committees. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Features of the Latest Curriculum Revision • The latest version of the Curriculum Standards was released in 1998 and implemented in schools in 2002. • There are some big changes in the latest Curriculum Standards compared to the previous one. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Features of the Latest Curriculum Revision The changes were inevitable because of: • Introduction of five-day school week system • Introduction of the new teaching subject called “integrated learning” • Reduction of the teaching hours as well as the teaching contents of each subject Curriculum Standards in Japan

Features of the Latest Curriculum Revision Change of mathematics teaching hours: 1011 --> 869 (1st through 6th grade) 385 --> 315 (7th through 9th grade) The volume of teaching contents of mathematics mentioned in the Standards was reduced according to the reduction of teaching hours. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Features of the Latest Curriculum Revision • There was debate about the reduction of mathematics curriculum in academic circles. • Mathematicians and mathematics educators were generally against the reduction. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Features of the Latest Curriculum Revision • Many school teachers, parents and people in society were not strongly against the reduction of mathematics curriculum. • Some school teachers who insist the importance of mathematics were against the reduction. • In 1998, the School Curriculum Committee came to the conclusion that all the subjects should be reduced. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Debate about Mathematics Curriculum According to public opinion polls: • Before the latest revision in 1998, rather many people said that school mathematics was too difficult and too heavy for students. • Right after the latest revision, people in general said they ware satisfied with the new Curriculum Standards. Some people said they felt uneasy because of the reduction of mathematics. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Debate about Mathematics Curriculum According to public opinion polls: • These days, more people say much emphasis should be placed on mathematics teaching in schools. • Some people say they are afraid that students’ mathematics achievements might go down in the near future. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Education Minister’s consultation • In March 2005, the Education Minister asked the Committee to discuss the improvement of the Curriculum Standards. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Education Minister’s consultation • The Minister’s concern includes: how to improve Japanese language education, how to improve mathematics and science education • The review of the teaching hours and teaching contents in mathematics is one of the discussion themes in the Committee. Curriculum Standards in Japan

Challenges in the Near Future • We expect several discussion themes to appear in the School Curriculum Committee and in the mathematics education special committee. • Discussion themes are… Curriculum Standards in Japan

Challenges in the Near Future Discussion themes: • For what reason is mathematics placed in school curriculum? What relations does mathematics have with other subjects? • What portion of the total teaching hours in school curriculum should be assigned to mathematics education? Why? Curriculum Standards in Japan

Schooling and Math Education