Professor Masatsugu Mase

from Post-war Period to 1980s

Masatsugu Mase

編者按

Professor Mase是日本資深德育學者，現任東京都教育會會長、名古屋商科大學教授、日本道德教育學會及WEF（日本支部）常任理事。ProfessorMase在「回顧與前瞻日本的道德教育」一文中縷述日本自戰敗以後，如何發展其德育課程以重整自我和確立國民的道德價值取向，這些寶貴資料是很值得我們參考的；而文中提及的可行路向，正可供香港的德育教師借鏡。

(1) Early Post-war Period - Impact of the Occupation Policy of General Head-Quarters on Moral Education in Japan

World War II came to an end on 15 August 1945 when the Japanese government accepted the Potsdam Declaration of the U.S.A., England, U.S.S.R. and China. The timing was good for the schools because it was the summer vacation and the Ministry of Education had a preparatory period for changing over to the new educational policy. The Ministry of Education issued An Educational Policy for Building Up a New Japan (15 September 1945) and pledged 'the realization of various cultural and educational policies which will consolidate the basis of constructing a nation of culture and morality.'

The occupation policy of the General Headquarters (G.H.Q.) was very strict. They issued Four Great Instructions on Education from October to December and checked all textbooks of the post-war period eliminating any part of the text colored by militarism or extreme nationalism. Classes of 'shushin' (morals, with special reference to encourage reverence of the emperor and patriotism), Japanese history and geography were stopped for a while. According to G.H.Q.'s instructions, the Ministry of Education set up the Committee for Innovating Public Education. It produced The Teachers' Manual for Public Education (October 1946) which was based on the spirit of human rights, for national public schools, middle schools and youth schools. To improve educational courses in elementary and junior high schools, the government aimed to build up students' scholastic ability, improve scientific and technological knowledge and instituted moral education. The moral education program was composed of two approaches i.e. it permeated every activity in the school and it was also formally taught in one class hour per week throughout the year.

In order to avoid the misunderstanding that the moral education class took the role of 'shushin' as in pre-war days, it was incorporated into the curriculum as an independent subject. Moreover, to avoid the evaluation of children's character and learning ability, no textbooks were used and no examinations were given. The teaching was conducted by the homeroom teacher and not by specified moral education teachers. In this way, the setting up of a 'moral education class' played a supplementary and synthesizing role for moral education which permeated every subject.

The objectives of moral education were:

(a) to create a unique culture and develop a democratic nation and society; and

(b) to bring up Japanese children who would contribute to a peaceful international community, based on a spirit of respect for others.

The content of instruction included: learning a basic pattern of behavior in daily life; inculcating good moral sense and good judgement; development of the personality; creativity; and moral attitudes appropriate for members of a society and of a nation. Proposed teaching methods included discussions, questions and answers, story telling, use of reading materials, dramas and practical activities.

(2) 1950 to Early 1980's - Formation of a Moral Education Curriculum in Japan

In the period after the war, the word 'moral education' was taboo in the education world in Japan because moral education recalled the days of 'shushin' and militarism. In 1950, by the outbreak of the Korean War, Japan had moved towards economic independence. In the following year, Japan attained political independence, having concluded the Treaty of San Francisco.

At that time, refutation of moral education was very strong, both in education circles and in society in general. Therefore the Ministry of Education adopted a policy aimed to 'make a voluntary and autonomous people who have the ability of criticism and practice'. To do this, the school system was meticulously planned. The school curriculum, especially in the courses of social studies, was aimed to help students to contribute to a democratic society. Extracurricular activities had educational objectives particularly for the purpose of developing self-discipline in students. However, the Ministry of Education still considered that these efforts did not go far enough. So it instituted a new policy.

In 1958 there was a lot of controversy over the establishment and enforcement of classes in moral education. There were three issues. The most basic one was - to what extent the state (public power) should be allowed to interfere in moral education which is concerned with the conscience of an individual. The second issue was whether moral education should permeate the entire school curriculum or should it be taught in a special period. The third issue was whether moral education should be taught as a reflective life experience or according to a set of moral values.

When Tou Matsunaga was the Minister of Education in 1958, the Central Council for Education of the Ministry of Education enforced Means to Improve Moral Education in Schools. According to this, the basic policy of moral education in school was the same as before but it had the following contents as a concrete policy:

(a) To cultivate a respect for personal values in each individual.

(b) To make the best use of our country's culture and tradition, using selected examples from daily life as teaching materials.

(c) In view of Japan's position and mission in the world, aim to foster a fair patriotic spirit in students.

(d) To promote affective development through the appreciation of religion and art.

In order to implement this policy the following measures were enforced:

(a) Clearly set out the aims and major points in relation to children's developmental stages.

(b) Develop sufficient teaching materials for teachers' use.

(c) Encourage the use of appropriate moral reading materials for students.

At the same time, there were provisions for improvement in pre-service and in-service training for teachers, establishment of a school ground system, enhancing cooperation with homes and local communities and the reinforcement of guidance administration.

(3) Looking Ahead - Problems and Possible Solutions

In this way, moral education in schools in Japan changed from the 'shushin' moral lesson to the 'morals' lesson. The Ministry of Education reported that the 'moral education' lesson was incorporated into the elementary and junior high school curriculum and it was normally carried out with the aid of T.V programs and a supplementary reader.

However in spite of favorable comments on the development of moral education in present-day Japan, there is problematic behavior among students caused by fierce school entrance competition and an excessively intellectual curriculum and education assessment. In 1984 the Government established the Extra Central Council for Education to discuss various aspects of educational reform two of which will be discussed here.

Firstly, it was suggested that moral education programs should be viewed in the context of management of school activities. Lawrence Kohlberg introduced the concept of the 'just community' which establishes equal relationships between teachers and students and among students themselves. He advocated the promotion of moral conduct through informal human interaction such as open discussions between teachers and students to deal with problems within the school. In the case of Japan, it is impossible to get good results unless we practise moral education within a good school spirit which includes understanding and cooperation among the teaching staff and the principal. We have noted the significance of the hidden curriculum in students' development but how we can relate it to moral education is one of the important problems we have to face.

The second aspect of education reform regards the teaching methods to be used in 'moral' lessons. Teachers in Japan put a great deal of emphasis on exploring guidance skills. When we review 'moral' guidance, we will find three approaches. The first is the life-oriented approach which helps children to deal with problems in their daily lives. The second is the materials-oriented approach which tries to teach values through materials such as books, audio-visual aids etc. Recently this approach is changing to a values-oriented approach which aims to identify the central values in the materials, generalize them and through them, encourage self-reflection and establish a positive self-concept. Japanese teachers in general have inherited the traditional teaching methods of 'shushin' therefore they tend to imbue values. We think that our teachers need to develop counselling skills to promote empathy and understanding between themselves and their students. This would lead to the opening up of children's minds advocated by C.R. Rogers to form a genuine human relationship between teachers and students. Most important of all, if we can organize small group discussions as opposed to following a set pattern of thinking and can give individual attention to our students to guide them towards a desirable transformation of their thoughts and actions, then the result would be much more fruitful.

(4) Conclusion

I have considered moral education from the viewpoint of school education. If moral education is aimed at positive personality development, then it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive curriculum according to students' developmental stages. The theories put forth by Kohlberg and Rogers should be considered when we design our moral education curriculum in Japan in the years to come.

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