Education reform in occupied Japan
During World War II, many Japanese students were enlisted to actively help in the war effort, effectively turning schools into factories. Bombings destroyed many schools. After the war, this left a lot for the occupation forces to help rebuild.
The occupation team addressed the educational system. The Japanese methods were nearly opposite to that of the United States: control of schools was highly centralized, rote memorization of verbatim book knowledge without much interaction described the standard student-teacher relationship and the study texts were boring. The ratio of school years was made to resemble that of the United States' which was 6 years Elementary education : 4 years Secondary education : 4 years higher education. Over the period of occupation, these and many other trends were changed. A less centralized hierarchy of school administrators was introduced; totally unprecedented, parents were allowed to vote for school boards. A new textbook industry was created.
However, after the occupation faded out, Japan's educational system reverted to many of its old ways.
See also: Education of Japan, History of Japan, Occupied Japan
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