Distance Education for Japanese Students

Justin Patterson, Marisa Ruiz, Calesha D. Turner-Aaron

University of Phoenix - Online

Courseware Authoring

EDTC 570

Dr. Andrea Edmundson, Facilitator

May 14, 2007

OverviewOverview

Education is very important to the Japanese society, which began with the adoption of Chinese culture in the sixth century (Education in Japan, n.d.). The e-learning market within Japan is rapidly expanding, with course content more than double from $25 million in 1999 to $60 ,million in 2000. By 2110, the market is expected to reach $10 billion with the largest segment coming from the corporate market (Mosnaim, 2001).

Cultural Competency Training Cultural Competency Training JapanJapan

Overview•Cultural color preferences•International perceptions of teachers•Global classroom interaction•Delivery of distance education•Graphics•Gender roles•Preferred music•Language barriers

Cultural Color PreferencesCultural Color Preferences

Before one can understand color preferences, one must realize the significance of the colors that are traditional to the Japanese

YellowYellow – a sacred color in the Far East, or treachery for those in the West.

Red- Passion

Orange- Knowledge and Civilization

Violet- Royal

Blue- Passive or Fidelity

Green- Restful and Fresh

White – Purity and Truth

Black- Gloom (Thompson, 1998)

Cultural Color PreferencesCultural Color Preferences (continued)

Below is a sample of traditional Japanese colors:

(Thompson, 1998)

Consider these choices and the aforementioned meanings when

designing the course structure and layout.

International Perception of TeachersInternational Perception of Teachers

•Japan is a high power distance culture.

•In high power distance cultures, the teacher’s position is highly respected and he/she is expected to strongly guide the student to knowledge.

•Knowledge is often seen as being transferred from teacher to the student, rather than discovered or “constructed”.

(Aoki & Bray, n.d., p. 14)

International Perception of TeachersInternational Perception of Teachers

(Aoki & Bray, n.d., p. 14)

•The desire for a professor who is an expert in his/her field would be likely in a student that sees the professor’s knowledge as an important factor in his/her success.

•Disagreeing with or questioning those in authority is not common when high power distance is the rule.

International Perception of TeachersInternational Perception of Teachers

(Aoki & Bray, n.d., p. 14)

•A “teacher centered” lecture format or a small group teacher led class is more conducive to this view of learning than a student-centered “teacher as facilitator” approach.

International Perception of TeachersInternational Perception of Teachers

(Aoki & Bray, n.d., p. 15)

•The preference Japanese distance education universities have for designing their courses around video broadcasts of lectures may have less to do with a lack appreciation of the benefits of asynchronous modes of instruction than with a strong positive belief in the need of teachers to lecture in order to express character, moral authority and life wisdom.

Global Classroom InteractionGlobal Classroom Interaction

In today's global economic competition, we must regard lifelong learning as an instrument for raising the quality of life and workforce.

Lifelong learning should be a keynational priority (Tuijnman 1996, p7).

Global Classroom InteractionGlobal Classroom Interaction

We believe that open and distance learning certainly play a strategic role to meet the

demands of lifelong learning as well as human resource development in an era, where globalization, technological change and

population aging converged to produce a new situation (Tuijnman 1999, p7).

Global Classroom InteractionGlobal Classroom Interaction

Perceived Administrative Styles of Openand Distance Learning Institutions in

Asia

China Directive & Bureaucratic

Hong Kong Bureaucratic

India Bureaucratic

Indonesia Bureaucratic

Japan Directive

Philippines Directives(Tsui, Zhang, Jegede, Ng, & Kwok, 1999, p.5)

Global Classroom InteractionGlobal Classroom InteractionApplication of Communication and Technology

China Varied progress in application of technologiesImportant roleImprove effectiveness of work and qualityof teaching

Hong Kong Very important roleImprove effectiveness of work and quality ofTeaching

India Supportive roleStreamlining proceduresEasing communication

Indonesia Mixed viewsImportant roleSupportive role

Japan Mixed viewsNot widely used except for TV and radioBroadcastsSupportive role

Philippines Important role

(Tsui, Zhang, Jegede, Ng, & Kwok, 1999, p.7)

Delivery of Distance EducationDelivery of Distance Education

As Japan’s education ministry currently allows universities credit for online courses (Brender, 2001), the best delivery for this form of education would be in the Web Based Training (WBT) format:Features

Video correspondence

Bulletin board-based virtual classroom

Downloadable video/audio lectures from saved correspondence

PowerPoint demonstrations, lectures, and instructions

Multisensory experience for learners

Grades and assistance remarks with quick turn around time

GraphicsGraphics

Japanese art covers a wide range of styles and media.

Painting is the preferred artistic expression.

Woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e produced colorful prints of everything from the news to schoolbooks.

While China is considered the teacher of art to Japan, the Japanese have developed their own, different style.

Japanese art can be seen as miniaturized, irregular, and subtly suggestive.

Japanese art reflects a natural flow, odd numbers, and a “pull” to one side giving a 3D illusion (Japanese Art, n.d.)

Gender Roles in Japan

• You may be thinking that traditional Japanese society is still very conservative and patriarchal. Well, this very well may the case in some sectors, but it is changing in Japan as it has/is in most industrialized nations. In America since the late 1970s studies have shown that there has been a growing cultural shift in the perception of what occupational roles to which each gender may aspire. Traditional roles of nursing and teaching were highly chosen career paths for young women, but these roles have since opened up to a more balanced influx from both males and females.

Gender Roles in Japan

• Japan’s perceived patriarchal nature has been supported by institutionalized Confucianism. This religion teaches, among other tenets, obedience to authority and encourages a hierarchical society with men holding sway over women and children.

Gender Roles in Japan

• Traditional Japanese values such as harmony, solidarity and loyalty were reinforced when the country became a global technological leader. These vales found themselves being played out in gender roles that divided men and women between office and house work. Men were dedicated to their jobs which they often had at the same company for life, working in a team environment where loyalty was unquestionable. Women had dominion over the home, making all financial decisions so that men could devote all their energy to their jobs.

www.spraguephoto.com/stock/images/001_499/016.jpg

Gender Roles in Japan

• But over the past twenty years government statistics show that women have gradually been moving to work outside the home. Reasons for this include women’s rights movements and the need to maintain living standards. Most importantly, modern-day Japanese are putting off marriage or deciding to stay single. Most women cite the desire for marriage at some point but within an egalitarian household, while men desire traditional wives.

Gender Roles in Japan

• The Western idea of the macho male does not hold credence in Japanese society, Their Confucian sensibility seeks a more well-rounded male who is well-educated in literature and the arts and is physically well-trained. Another element in the mix is that women now outnumber men in higher education, and their numbers are climbing in the Japanese workforce.

• Gender roles in Japan are only a part of the larger cultural system that is defined by group dynamics and obedience to a higher authority.

Gender Roles in Japan

• In the online classroom, it is important to keep the larger cultural context of groups in mind. Group projects and assignments done by consensus would be a natural fit for this society.

Preferred Music

• Japanese taste in music runs the gamut from traditional to pop music.

• Gagaku: music which was performed at Court among the nobility.

• Noh: Drama developed in 14th century with its own music called Nohgaku. there had developed the artistic Noh Noh is highly stylized and symbolic drama, and is usually performed by a few male actors and musicians (Japanese music, n.d.).

Preferred Music

• Popular Music: The Japanese love of jazz was interrupted during WWII while it was banned. After WWII the Japanese resumed their interest in various musical styles ranging from samba to American jazz

• In more recent times influence from the United Stated is arguably dominant. Rock, soul, and folk music from the U.S. are widely appreciated by the Japanese (Japanese music, n.d.).

• For further information the following Web site is a good resource:

• http://www.bridgewater.edu/~dhuffman/soc306/S98grp1/music.html

Shamisen

• The shamisen is a Japanese three-stringed instrument

• The shamisen isshamisen is used for accompaniment of two types of vocal music: melodious singing and narrative singing.

• Click on the following link for an example of shamisen playing:• http://www.youtube.com/v/q

WJrMA3zJ5o

J-pop

• Japanese pop or J-pop refers, in general terms to Japanese pop culture that is Western-influenced. Initially spurred on by rock n’ roll, the craze for pop music with a Western sound started in 1956

• Initially cover bands created their own version of Western hits which inspired, arguably the future success of karaoke (J-pop, 2007).

Japanese Slang

• Slang can easily have two or more different meanings to the untrained ear. To give you a sampling of the way the Japanese use slang, consider the following example:

• Salaryman is the Japanese term for a going-nowhere white-collar worker. This word is pronounced in English by the Japanese to denote someone who is a cog in the system, and is being worked to death. This is just one of the many insights I am sure instructors of Japanese peoples may come across (Salaryman, 2007).

Conclusion

To close, it is the unique pieces of individual groups that make up a “culture.” For designers looking to develop materials for educating those in a foreign land, consider this competency and make it a point to explore the culture thoroughly. It will only make the eventual class that much more of a success!

ReferencesReferencesAoki, K., & Bray, E. H. (n.d., December 12). Learning styles of distance learners in Japan:

Cultural considerations. Retrieved May 14, 2007, from http://aide.nime.ac.jp/research/aoki%20%&Bray%.pdf

Brender, A. (2001) Japan Will Allow Universities to Grant Credit for Online Courses The Chronicle for Higher Education Retrieved May 13, 2001 from http://chronicle.com/free/2001/03/2001032901u.htm

Education in Japan (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2007 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan

Japanese Art. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2007 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art#Aesthetic_concepts

Mosnaim, I. (2001) Gilat Communications to provide e-learning solutions toInterlect Japan The Street Retrieved May 13, 2001 from http://www.thestreet.com/tech/themarker/1376879.html

Thompson, G. (1998) Retrieved May 14, 2007 from

http://www.temarikai.com/meaningoftraditionalcolors.htm#Generalized%20Color

References (continued)

Tsui, C., Zhang, W., Jegede, O., Ng, F., & Kwok, L. (1999, April/May). Perception of administrative styles of open and distance learning institutions in Asia - a comparative study. Retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/CRIDAL/papers/tsuic2.pdf

Tuijnman, A. C. (1996). The expansion of adult education and training in Europe: Trends and issues. Retrieved May 14, 2007, from http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/CRIDAL/papers/tsuic2.pdf

Tuijnman, A. C. (1999, June). International perspectives on lifelong learning. Retrieved May 14, 2007, fromhttp://www/ouhk.edu/hk/CRIDAL/papers/tsuic2.pdf