The Course of Study and the Curriculum

Article 52 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the School Education Act states that the elementary school curriculum shall follow the Course of Study that the Minister publicly announces as the standard for the curriculum (Article 74 for lower secondary schools). Article 16 of the Basic Act on Education sets principles of educational administration, Article 1 of the Enforcement Order concerns the school-age register, and Article 21 of the Local Educational Administration Act lists the duties of boards of education; none of these is the direct basis.

The preamble says it is important to realize a "curriculum open to society" (社会に開かれた教育課程), in which schools and society share the idea of creating a better society through better school education and pursue it through cooperation with society. The five-day school week is not stated as a principle in the preamble. Teaching by level of mastery appears only as one example of individualized teaching methods in Section 4 of the General Provisions. Unifying textbook content is not the principle either.

The preamble describes the Course of Study as broadly setting the standards for the curriculum, and says one of its roles is to secure the level of education nationwide in schools of a public nature. Each school compiles its own curriculum; the Minister does not approve it individually. The General Provisions state that the order of content items does not show the order of teaching, and schools may arrange timetables flexibly. The preamble also stresses that schools should make creative efforts that use their own character.

The elementary curriculum (Article 50) includes Foreign Language Activities, while the lower secondary curriculum (Article 72) consists of subjects, Moral Education as a special subject, the Period for Integrated Studies and Special Activities, with no Foreign Language Activities. Foreign Language Activities are taught in grades 3 and 4 of elementary school. Moral Education, Integrated Studies and Special Activities exist in both school types.

The note to Appended Table 1 (elementary) sets one unit hour at 45 minutes, and the note to Appended Table 2 (lower secondary) sets it at 50 minutes, so they differ. Each school may still decide the actual length of a lesson as long as it secures the annual class hours (General Provisions, Section 2, 3 (2) c).

Section 2, 3 (2) a of the General Provisions says lessons should be planned over at least 35 weeks a year (34 weeks for elementary grade 1), and the weekly hours should not overburden children. Lower secondary schools use at least 35 weeks in all grades. "Exactly 34 weeks" and "at least 40 weeks" are both wrong, and it is not true that there is no rule.

Appended Table 1 gives 1,015 for elementary grades 4–6, and Appended Table 2 gives 1,015 for each lower secondary grade. Elementary grade 1 has 850 and grade 2 has 910, so that choice is reversed. All three lower secondary grades have the same total. Elementary grade 3 has 980, fewer than the 1,015 of grade 4.

Appended Table 2 sets Integrated Studies at 50 hours in lower secondary grade 1 and 70 in grades 2 and 3, not 105. Appended Table 1 sets 70 hours for elementary grades 3 to 6, and there is none in grades 1 and 2. The 35 hours in grades 3 and 4 are for Foreign Language Activities, not Integrated Studies.

The ministry notices state that the elementary Course of Study takes effect on 1 April Heisei 32 (= Reiwa 2, 2020) and the lower secondary one on 1 April Heisei 33 (= Reiwa 3, 2021). From FY2018 there was a transition period, not full implementation. The choice that swaps elementary and lower secondary is wrong, and so is FY2022.

Section 1, 3 lists (1) acquiring knowledge and skills, (2) developing abilities to think, judge and express, etc., and (3) cultivating motivation to learn and humanity, etc. "Knowledge and understanding / skills and expression / interest, motivation and attitude" is not the wording of this provision. "Knowledge and skills / thinking, judgment and expression / attitude of independently engaging in learning" are the three assessment viewpoints, not the pillars themselves. "Solid academic ability / rich heart / healthy body" is not the wording of the three pillars in Section 1, 3 either.

Article 30(2) is an elementary school provision, but Article 49 applies it to lower secondary schools with "the preceding paragraph" read as "Article 46". So the same aim applies to lower secondary schools, and Article 48 says the Minister sets curriculum matters for lower secondary schools in line with it. It is wrong to say lower secondary schools have no such provision, or that only the Enforcement Ordinance or the General Provisions are the basis.

Section 1, 2 (2) is about cultivating a rich heart and creativity through moral education, hands-on activities, and varied expression and appreciation. Acquiring knowledge and skills and fostering thinking is item (1), and guidance on physical education and health is item (3). Language ability and the other competencies that are the foundation of learning are in Section 2, 2 (1), not Section 1, 2.

Section 1, 2 (2) says moral education in school is carried out through all school activities with Moral Education as a special subject (道徳科) at its core, with appropriate teaching in each subject and activity. It is not limited to Moral Education lessons. It is career education that has Special Activities at its core (Section 4, 1 (3)). There is no rule making the home the main place of moral education.

The goal is to cultivate the moral character that is the foundation for acting on one's own judgment and living well with others as an independent person, while thinking about "one's own way of life" (自己の生き方) in elementary school and "one's way of life as a human being" (人間としての生き方) in lower secondary school. The reversed choice is wrong. "The power to live better" and "how to be and live as a human being" are not the wording of the moral education goal in either General Provisions. Saying there is no difference is also wrong.

The lower secondary General Provisions say this guidance should be given, not to mention in Health and Physical Education, Technology and Home Economics, and Special Activities, also in other subjects, Moral Education and Integrated Studies according to their nature. "Physical Education, Home Economics and Special Activities" is the elementary wording. There is no limit to only Health and PE plus Integrated Studies, or only Moral Education plus classroom activities.

Section 2, 2 (1) names language ability, information literacy (including information ethics) and problem-finding/solving ability, etc. as competencies that are the foundation of learning, and asks schools to organize the curriculum from a cross-curricular viewpoint. The other sets are not given in this provision.

Section 1, 3 defines "subjects, etc." as subjects, Moral Education, Foreign Language Activities, Integrated Studies and Special Activities in elementary school, and as subjects, Moral Education, Integrated Studies and Special Activities in lower secondary school. Foreign Language Activities exist only in elementary school. Special Activities and Moral Education are included in both. There is no rule that it means only elective subjects.

Section 6, 3 first names group overnight stays (集団宿泊活動) for elementary school and workplace experience (職場体験活動) for lower secondary school, and both then list volunteer activities, nature experiences and joining local events. The reversed choice is wrong. Volunteer, nature and local-event activities are common to both. Club activities are in Section 5, 1 c, not among the examples in Section 6.

Section 1, 4 defines curriculum management as improving the quality of education through (1) organizing content from a cross-curricular viewpoint, (2) evaluating how the curriculum is carried out and improving it, and (3) securing and improving the human and material resources needed to implement it. Textbook adoption is not part of this provision. Content shown in the Course of Study must be covered unless otherwise stated, so a school cannot cut it on its own. Each school compiles its own curriculum.

Section 5, 1 a says each school should carry out curriculum management under the principal's policy, with staff sharing roles based on the allocation of school duties and cooperating, and that school evaluation should be linked with curriculum management. It is not done by one teacher or by the board of education. Separating school evaluation from the curriculum is the opposite: compiling, implementing and improving the curriculum is described as central to education and school management.

Section 2, 3 (1) b says schools may add content not shown when especially needed, and may also go beyond the items showing the range and level of content. However, they must not depart from the aims of the objectives and content or overburden children. "Never under any circumstances", "requires the Minister's approval" and "must be taught to every child" all differ from the provision.

Section 2, 3 (1) e of the lower secondary General Provisions says schools may, considering the situation of students, the school and the area, set up subjects or specially needed subjects as electives, and that each school sets the name, objectives and content of a specially needed subject. The elementary General Provisions have no such rule. It is a "may" rule, so there is no duty to set them up, and the Minister does not set names uniformly.

Section 2, 3 (2) c says that when a specific subject is taught in short sessions of about 10–15 minutes, the time may be counted in that subject's annual class hours if, with a view of the unit as a whole, a system is in place in which the teacher (in lower secondary school, the teacher in charge of that subject) takes responsibility for deciding the content and checking and using the results. Because it can be counted under conditions, "never" and "always, without conditions" are wrong. Lower secondary schools have a provision with the same aim.

Section 2, 3 (2) d says that when activities in Integrated Studies can be expected to produce the same results as a school event in Special Activities, they may replace that event. The direction is "Integrated Studies replaces a school event", not that school events must replace Integrated Studies hours. Saying they can never replace each other, or that school events are part of Integrated Studies, is also wrong.

Section 2, 4 (1) asks schools to build on the "picture of children at the end of early childhood", and especially at the start of school to center on Life Environment Studies (生活科) with integrated and linked teaching and flexible timetables, so that what children developed through play connects smoothly to learning in each subject. Japanese-only drill, ignoring early childhood experience, and a fixed 90-minute unit centered on Special Activities all differ from the provision.

Section 3, 1 (1) defines "perspectives and ways of thinking" as the viewpoints and ways of thinking for understanding things according to the nature of each subject, and asks for learning in which children use them to link knowledge and understand more deeply, examine information and form ideas, find problems and think of solutions, and create based on their ideas. It is not about writing lesson plans, assessment methods or the order of content.

Section 3, 1 (2) asks schools to prepare a suitable language environment and, with Japanese at the core, to enrich children's language activities according to the nature of each subject, and also to enrich reading activities. It is not limited to Japanese lessons, and the core is not Foreign Languages or Special Activities.

Section 3, 1 (3) of the elementary General Provisions asks schools to prepare an ICT environment and, according to the nature of each subject, to plan (a) activities to learn basic operations such as typing and (b) activities to gain logical thinking while experiencing programming. The lower secondary Section 3, 1 (3) also covers preparing and using ICT, but does not list activities (a) and (b). There is no rule limiting use to certain grades.

The notice organized the viewpoints into three: "knowledge and skills", "thinking, judgment and expression" and "attitude of independently engaging in learning". The set of four including "interest, motivation and attitude" is not the set in this notice. "Knowledge and skills / abilities to think, judge and express, etc. / motivation to learn and humanity, etc." are the three pillars of competencies, worded differently from the viewpoints. Sensitivity and consideration do not suit assessment by viewpoint and are seen through individual-referenced assessment and the like.

The notice says this viewpoint should be assessed including whether students are trying to adjust their own learning in the course of persistent efforts to gain knowledge and skills and develop thinking. It is not judged only by formal behavior such as raising hands or handing in notebooks. Sensitivity and consideration are parts that do not suit assessment by viewpoint and are seen through individual-referenced assessment. It is not judged by test scores alone either.

Appendix 1 (elementary) says the overall grade is recorded for each subject from grade 3 up, as 3 for "fully satisfactory", 2 for "generally satisfactory" and 1 for "needs effort". Appendix 2 (lower secondary) says required subjects are graded on 5 levels (5 to 1). Elementary grades 1 and 2 have no overall grade. The choice that swaps the numbers of levels is also wrong.

The appendices say that for Moral Education, the student's learning in class and growth in moral character are described in words as individual-referenced assessment. No A/B/C, numbers or overall grade are used. Saying it is not assessed at all is also wrong.

Section 4, 1 (1) says children's development is supported by both guidance, which gives needed teaching and support mainly in group settings, and counseling, which responds individually to the issues each child has, based on their diverse situations. The reversed choice, the "school counselors only" choice and the choice that splits them by school type are wrong. The provision exists in both elementary and lower secondary schools.

Section 4, 1 (3) says both school types should enrich career education, with Special Activities at its core and according to the nature of each subject, so children gain the foundation for social and vocational independence while seeing how learning connects to their future. Lower secondary schools are also to give organized, planned career guidance through all school activities so students can think about their way of life and choose their path on their own. The core is not Integrated Studies, elementary schools have the provision too, and career guidance is not left to one homeroom teacher.

Section 4, 2 (1) d says schools should try to create and use individualized education support plans and individualized teaching plans for children with disabilities, and that for children in special needs classes or receiving resource-room instruction (通級による指導) they shall create and effectively use them. The special curriculum of special needs classes includes the independent activities shown in Chapter 7 of the Course of Study for special needs schools. In resource-room instruction, teachers should cooperate, for example by linking it with regular subjects.

Section 5, 1 c of the lower secondary General Provisions says club activities, joined voluntarily by students, should be linked with the curriculum as part of school education, with a sustainable management system. The elementary General Provisions have no rule on club activities. Support for children not attending school (Section 4, 2 (3)), Japanese language teaching (Section 4, 2 (2)) and exchange and joint learning (Section 5, 2 b) appear in both.