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The Education System in Japan

Preprimary:

  • Common name: Yochien
  • Ages of attendance: As early as age 3 to age 5
  • Number of years: 1 to 3
  • Start of universal enrollment: Age 4
  • Compulsory: No

NOTE: Around 60 percent of 5-year-old students attend Yochien (kindergarten), while most others attend Hoikusho (nursery schools that infants and younger children can attend).

Primary:

  • Common name: Shogakkou
  • Ages of attendance: 6 to 11
  • Number of years: 6
  • Universal enrollment: Yes
  • Compulsory: Yes

Lower secondary:

  • Common name: Chugakkou
  • Ages of attendance: 12 to 14
  • Number of years: 3
  • Universal enrollment: Yes
  • Compulsory: Yes
  • Entrance/exit criteria: No, not to enter public schools for the majority of students. Private schools (whose enrollment accounts for 7 percent of all students) usually require a competitive examination for entry.

NOTE: Recently, secondary schools (Chutoukyoikugakkou) that unify lower and upper secondary schools have been introduced in Japan.

Upper secondary:

  • Common name: Koutougakkou
  • Ages of attendance: 15 to 17 (graduation generally at age 18)
  • Number of years: 3
  • Universal enrollment: Through age 17
  • Compulsory: No
  • Entrance/exit criteria: Yes, students in Japan are placed into upper secondary schools based primarily on test scores and school report cards from lower secondary school. Scoring well influences students' chances of attending the most prestigious upper secondary schools in their area.

NOTE: Juku refers to "cram school" or night school, which prepares
students for upper secondary school entrance exams and/or gives students remedial lessons. Students may also choose to attend College of technology (Koutousenmongakkou), which combines
3 years of upper secondary education with 2 years of higher education leading to the associate's degree. See below for details on Koutousenmongakkou.

Postsecondary and tertiary:

  • Common name: Tankidaigaku,Koutousenmongakkou, Daigaku
  • Ages of attendance: Varies
  • Number of years: 2 [Tankidaigaku (Junior colleges)],
  • 5 [Koutousenmongakkou (College of technology)], 4 [Daigaku (University), excluding medical and dental degrees], 6 [Daigaku (University), medical and dental degrees]
  • Universal enrollment: No
  • Entrance criteria: To enter national universities, most of the students take an entrance examination offered by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations and an examination conducted by the university itself. For many universities, entrance examinations are very competitive.

Common degree programs:

  • Jun-gakushi (at College of technology): 5-year programs for students to combine upper secondary education with vocational higher education. The first 3 years of these programs are spent at the upper secondary level and the last 2 earning a jun-gakushi (associate's degree). These programs are given at Koutousenmongakkou, in subjects like public works, mechanical engineering, and information technology.
  • Jun-gakushi (at junior college): Programs normally requiring
  • 2 years of study, taken at junior colleges (Tankidaigaku), that prepare students for a career in fields like home economics, humanities, education, and social science. Junior colleges have traditionally enrolled mostly women.
  • Gakushi: Academic degree normally requiring 4 years of study
  • that is similar to a bachelor's degree. Given at a Daigaku (college or university). Preprofessional programs in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine take 6 years.
  • Shushi: Graduate program taken at a Daigaku that normally requires 2 years of study beyond the bachelor's degree. Equivalent to a master's degree in the United States.
  • Hakushi: Academic graduate program at a Daigaku requiring at least 5 years beyond the bachelor's degree. This degree is the equivalent of a doctorate in the United States.

Sources:

Marlow-Ferguson, R. (Ed.) (2002). World Education Encyclopedia: A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide, Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). (2010). Tokyo: Author. Retrieved October 1, 2010, from http://www.mext.go.jp/list_001/list_016/__icsFiles/ afieldfile/2010/09/08/mext_2010_e.pdf.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (1996). Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators. Paris: Author.

Robitaille, D.F. (1997). National Contexts for Mathematics and Science Education: An Encyclopedia of the Education Systems Participating in TIMSS. Vancouver, Canada: Pacific Educational Press.