Adriana Contreras

Coralie Scherff
Jonathon Vargas
Linda Guzman
Comparative International Schooling; Japan and Finland

For the comparative international schooling approach, we are going to look at the
education systems of Japan and Finland. It is important to examine the education methods of
other countries so that we can compare alternatives to the way school is done here in the United
States. From looking at these countries methods we can pull strategies and pedagogy that might
help us to become better teachers. Both Japan and Finland have scored near the top of the
international PISA testing, which is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate
education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. This
assessment has more than 70 countries, including the US, participating.
Japan is a country well known for having top class students. It is a country that
encourages rigorous studying and learning. Being a predominately Buddhists country Japans
education and opportunity are functions of merit or karma. Japan has three years of optional
kindergarten, six years of primary school, three years of lower secondary school, and three years
of upper secondary school. Students are required to attend schools for at least nine years.
Confucianism has played a large part in shaping the way education is taught in Japan. The
teachings of Confucius can be seen in the hard and diligent work of the Japanese student.
Finland is known for their free education. It is not only free for their citizens, but for
everyone who wants to attend. There is only one standardized test and students take this at the
end of high school. Children attend pre-primary education at the age of 6 and go to basic

education after that. Around the age of 16 they have finished this and they will go to secondary
schools (age 16-19). When they have finished that, students can attend schools to get a
bachelors degree and eventually a masters degree. They dont have any honor societies or
school sport teams and they dont award students with being a valedictorian or getting sports
scholarship. Finland is counted among the worlds high technology leaders, with a very modern
economy centered on the telecommunications, consumer electronics, forest products and metals
industries.

Bibliography
(2004). Curriculum. In F. N. Education, National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2004
(pp. 7-10). Finland.
Burridge, T. (2010), Why Do Finlands Schools Get the Best Results? BBC News [Online] 7
April, Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8601207.stm.
This news report includes an explanation of how the Finnish education system has been
so successful. It includes videos of teacher, student, and parent interviews. It describes
the philosophy in the education system in Finland.
Center on International Education Banking (2015). Finland. Retrieved from:
http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/topperforming-countries/finland-overview/
This website gives an overview of the education system in Finland. It includes
history, statistics, learning approach and other useful resources.

Education in Finland. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.minedu.fi/pisa/piirteita.html?lang=en

Okano, Kaori, and Motonori Tsuchiya. Education in Contemporary Japan: Inequality and
Diversity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1999. Web.
This books goal is to contribute to the existing knowledge of Japanese schooling by
showing nationwide tendencies. It does this by showing the diversity and inequality in
the schooling process through the lens of the students. It also talks about Japanese
criticism of their own education system, and features that they like about their system.
Murphy, Katy. "The Japanese Classroom." Japanese Classroom. San Jose Mercury, 30 Mar.2012.
Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
In this article you will find that schools in the Bay area are trying to find new ways on
helping their students learn. Some ways that these students are finding help is by using
Japanese school methods. Some of these new methods include students and teachers
collaborating with one another, and students doing their own practices on assignments.
"NCEE Japan." NCEE. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncee.org/programsaffiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/japanoverview/>.
This website is a great resource for all things having to do with Japanese education. It
has history, teaching methods, how schools are structured, and lots of other general
information about how Japanese schools operate.
"The Japanese Classroom." Japanese Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
This source you will find what kind of environment a typical classroom in Japan looks
like. One of the things that this website concentrates on is the classroom and what role

both students and teachers play. Another thing are the activities students do after school,
what time they go into school and their attendance.
TEDx Talks. (2011, October 22). TEDxDirigo Alan Lishness Indigenous
Innovation: How Small Places can Change the World [Video File]. Retrieved
from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6scW2p90ps