Educating Hearts and Minds
Reflections on Japanese Preschool and Elementary Education
Published on 27. January 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
262 pages
978-0-521-45832-0 (ISBN)
Description
How do children become eager, motivated learners and caring, responsible citizens? Educating Hearts and Minds, first published in 1995, is a portrait of Japanese preschool and early elementary education which examines these questions. Its thesis - which will surprise many Americans - is that Japanese schools are successful because they meet children's needs for friendship, belonging, and contribution. This book brings to life what actually happens inside Japanese classrooms. What do children learn? How do they learn? What values are emphasised, and how are they taught? In a sharp departure from most previous accounts, this book suggests that Japanese education succeeds because all children - not just the brightest or best-behaved - somehow come to feel like valued members of the school community. Ironically, Japanese teachers credit John Dewey and other progressive Western educators for many of the techniques that make Japanese schools both caring and challenging. This book brings to a wider readership the voices of Japanese classroom teachers - voices that are at once deeply consonant with Western aspirations and deeply provocative.
Reviews / Votes
"...a major contribution to the study of early childhood education. This book is useful in a wide variety of instructional settings: from basic courses on Japanese culture to introductory education classes. I would especially recommend it for use in preservice teacher development courses, as the book not only demolishes many pernicious myths about Japan, but also raises fundamental questions about American assumptions regarding early childhood education." Education About Asia "With this remarkable book, Lewis joins the top rank of Americans writing about Japanese education. Her book is accessible and engaging, written in a personal, clear, and jargon-free style, and is filled with lively examples. It overturns many assumptions and cliches....Libraries that hold only a few books on contemporary Japanese education should have this one alongside seminal works of Thomas Rohlen, Merry White, Joy Hendry, Lois Peak, and Joseph Tobin." Choice "Lewis has made a real contribution to our understanding of early school education in Japan, and by implication, how children become Japanese." Kyoko Inoue, Curriculum Studies "Lewis brings forth these themes and conveys them through the use of indigenous paradigms and metaphors. She offers the average student some simple yet powerful ways to make sense of modern Japanese culture." Gerald LeTendre, ResourcesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
8 Tables, unspecified; 9 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
430 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-45832-0 (9780521458320)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Catherine C. Lewis
Educating Hearts and Minds
Reflections on Japanese Preschool and Elementary Education
Book
01/1995
Cambridge University Press
€49.60
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Catherine C. Lewis
Educating Hearts and Minds
Reflections on Japanese Preschool and Elementary Education
Book
01/1995
Cambridge University Press
€49.60
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
Introduction; 1. A brief background on Japan's educational system; 2. The preschool experience: play, community, reflection; 3. The whole child goes to elementary school; 4. The small group: home-base for children; 5. The roots of discipline: community and commitment; 6. Discipline: how peers and teachers manage misbehavior; 7. Learning and caring; 8. What is a successful school?; 9. Summary: questions to ask ourselves.