Жапон білім беру жүйесінің оккупациялық реформалары (1945-1952)

Educational reform in occupied Japan (August 1945 – April 1952) encompasses changes in philosophy and goals of education; nature of the student teacher relationship; coeducation; the structure of compulsory education system; textbook content and procurement system; personnel at the Ministry of Education (MEXT); kanji script reform; and establishment of a university in every prefecture. The reforms were directed by the Education Division (Joseph C. Trainor) of the Civil Information and Education Section (CIE; Kermit R. Dyke, followed by Donald M. Nugent) of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP, in Japanese: "GHQ"). Also influential were the two Reports of the United States Education Mission to Japan (March 1946; September 1950).

During World War II, many Japanese students were mobilized for the war effort, practicing military drills, working in factories, while schools became factory like production centers. Bombings destroyed some schools, and others were used as refuge centers. After Japan's defeat, the occupation forces (SCAP) undertook the task of reconstruction. SCAP philosophy regarded a reformed educational system as vital for Japan to become a democratic nation. Traditional Japanese methods were nearly opposite to that of the United States: control of schools was highly centralized, rote memorization of book knowledge without much interaction described the standard student teacher relationship, and the study texts were described as boring. The ratio of school years was made to resemble that of the United States' which was 6 years Primary education (elementary schools) : 3 years Lower Secondary education (junior high schools); 3 years Upper Secondary education (senior high schools) : 4 years Higher Education (Universities or colleges). 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. Much of the reform was focused on conditioning students to more readily accept democratic, liberal and egalitarian ideals, directly competing with the prevailing hierarchical structures deeply ingrained in every level of Japanese society, from family life to government institutions. Classes became co educational single track system composed of 9 compulsory years, moving away from the former 6 year, single sex, multi track system. The use of kanji script was overhauled and greatly simplified, eliminating all but 1,850 more commonly used characters, referred to as the tōyō kanjihyō. Initially, before the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) and Allied command's Civil Information and Education Section (CI&E) produced new textbooks to replace them, narratives in existing Japanese textbooks found to extol feudalistic, nationalistic, militaristic, authoritarian, State Shinto religious, or anti American views were censored during class by students through a process of Suminuri Kyōkasho, or "blackening over textbooks" with ink, under orders of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP).

The Civil Information and Education Division (CIE) under SCAP followed seven principles for implementing education reforms in occupied Japan. The CIE's objective was to eliminate practices that contradicted the tenets of democracy and employ democratic models. Some of the CIE's concerns were the 6 3 3 4 school ladder, core curriculum, the program of tests and policies, graduation requirements, collaborative style of learning, and a new course in social studies. The primary strategy was to establish standards of education common among democratic societies. CIE was aware patterns built from these theories were relative to circumstances. Principles were general, but their expression was comparative. Eventually, these standards became benchmarks for the CIE to ascertain genuine progress in education reforms. The position was militarism and ultra nationalism (promoting Japanese cultural unity) must not be a segment of school curriculum. The Division removed the military from academic institutions. Decision making was left to the civilian population. The Americans decentralized administration and authority. At the same time, equality was practiced in education, and discrimination was eliminated. The basis of education must be facts and the experimental method applied whenever necessary. Last but not least teaching must be regarded as a profession that requires special training programs. These principles were published in three documents during the early part of the occupation: The Civil Affairs Handbook (1944), Education in Japan (1946), and Report of the United States Mission to Japan (1946). Efforts to develop a comprehensive program of a democratic educational platform had to be deferred until after The USA Education Mission to Japan headed by George D. Stoddard concluded its visit in March 1946. This delegation included 26 education experts sent by the government upon the request of occupation leaders. A Japanese team worked hand in hand with the American group.

Under the rule of occupation by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers after World War II and the reformed School Education Act of Japan, former secondary schools were converted into Upper secondary school (Japan) [jp], established as part of the democratization policy. At that time many public schools with single sex education were made into mixed sex education with exception of some local public entity|local government including Miyagi prefecture, Fukushima prefecture, Gumma prefecture, and Saitama prefecture. Most private schools applying single sex education reserved students' specification nationwide while they accepted conversion to upper secondary school, with cases of continued education through middle school and upper secondary school as a single system. Rare cases were seen with those administrations of Yamaguchi Prefecture, where former high schools were integrated with nearby former secondary schools and transformed into upper secondary schools under a new school system. A typical case of Osaka Prefecture converted those upper secondary schools under its administration into the new system; however, instead of integrating with neighboring junior/upper secondary schools, they replaced the whole population of students and teachers in school A with those who had belonged to school B.

Amami Islands left Japanese administrative power in 1946 (Showa 21), and the Provisional Government of Northern Ryukyu Islands (ja) introduced their new school system in 1949, delayed by one year.

Various transitional measures have been taken to alleviate the turmoil caused by major changes in the school system by the academic reform. A transitional system was applied between 1947 (Showa 22) and 1950 (Showa 25), when schools consolidated under the former and the new systems coexisted. There were cases that a fifth grader in the former secondary school of 1947 (Showa 22) was given choices whether to graduate with a diploma of former secondary school, or to transfer to the senior year in the secondary education in Japan, or (高等学校).

Under the system former to reformation, the last students were admitted in spring of 1948; Kyusei kotogakko was introduced in 1894 and expired in 1950 after the reformation in 1918, Kyusei semmongakko (旧制専門学校) in 1903 as a single major normal school specializing in elementary school education was called Shihangakko (師範学校) with Koto shihangakko (高等師範学校) for training educators for high schools and college level. Daigaku yoka (大学予科) along with Kyusei kotogakko had been established as the primary higher education for those who would continue to universities. For Kyusei kotogakko, the senior year graduates, or the 3rd graders who commenced from kotogakko in 1947 were the last generation finishing the full three years' term of high school education. Those freshmen entered in 1948 completed their first year under the former system, and as it expired at the end of the academic year 1948 or March 1949, they did not qualify to transfer for their choice of colleges under a new system, or shinsei daigaku (新制大学). They applied for admission examination and entered colleges and universities in the spring of 1949. The idea of 1949 educational system reform was to reform so called high schools under the old system as colleges and universities. As shinsei daigaku or universities under a new system, those high schools under the old system including single major semmon gakko and shihangakko for future educators were renamed. For students, those who had studied for the full four years' term and qualify as kyusei chugakko (旧制中学校) graduates in 1947 were offered two options. They either could enter kyuseikoko and transfer, or enter shinsei koko, the present day high school and continue to prepare for college/ university. As for special transition measure, those 3rd graders in old high schools were also given those two options. Like on the Komaba campus of University of Tokyo, there were rivalry seen among those high school students of Daiichi Kotogakko against the university students. While the last kyusei daigaku, or old system universities admitted students till 1950, there were considerable number of graduates of old system high schools who either failed at the admission examinations or postponed their applications. Universities established administered by the new system held special examinations for those graduates of past academic years as transfer students.