Philosophy and Practical
Strategies of School Reform
toward Learning Community:
A Grassroots Network against NeoLiberal Policies in Japan
Manabu Sato, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Tokyo
President, Japanese Educational
Research Association
Invited Lecture in Taiwan, May 2008
Introduction
This presentation displays the vision,
strategies and philosophy of building
learning community at schoolｓ in
Japan. The network I designed is
currently constituted of 100 pilot
schools nationwide and more than
3,000 public schools join the network,
with which they struggle against neoliberal educational policies in defense
of public education.
A Brief of Neo-Liberal Policies
The 1st stage 1984“The end of catch up modernization”
Propaganda of educational reform with mass
hysteria about “manufactured crisis (Berliner)”
The 2nd stage 1995Downsizing of public education for privatization
30% reduction of contents
Decentralization, Deregulation, School choice,
The 3rd stage 2001Discrepancy of educational opportunity, Revision
of “Educational Fundamental Law” (Closing of
democratic education since 1947), National
standardized test (2007), Merit pay, Audit
bureaucracy of school management
Rapid Change of Schooling
School choice system has been introduced
by 287 local governments (8%) during the
past 7 years.
Ability grouping spread among 73% of
elementary schools and 67% of junior
secondary schools from 2001 to 2004.
Teachers’ salary is declined nearly 20%
during the past 10 years.
More than 90% of prefecture boards of
education introduced “Standardized Test”
to plunge schools into “ranking game”
since 2001.
Collapse of Lifeline and Safety-net
of Public Education
30% children in Tokyo and Osaka live in
poor families or borderline. (Nearly 4 times
more than 10 years ago)
40% senior high school students in Osaka
can’t pay tuition because of poverty.
90% of youth labor-market disappeared
since 1992.
In the case of poor families (annual income
below $ 30,000), educational expenditure
occupies 60% of their housekeeping
money.
Escape from Learning among
Students and Humiliation of
Teaching Profession
30% of junior high school students and 40% of
senior high school students spend no time for
learning and reading outside school.
Teacher burn-out: Average of working time counts
52 hours per week without additional pay.
Trust between teachers and parents is seriously
destructed under neo-liberal policies, with which
teacher work is changed from “responsibility
based on public mission” to “accountable service”
to “tax payers” or “consumers”.
Crisis in dignity of teaching profession
Another Landscape: Democratic
Tradition and Its Renovation
The renovation movement of school as
learning community based on traditions of
progressive education and social
democracy. 1998100 pilot schools, 2,000 elementary
schools and 1,000 junior secondary
schools (10% of public schools) weave
their grassroots network.
Question is why so many schools are
renovating?
Origins of School as Learning
Community
John Dewey: Chicago Laboratory School (18981904) –translated into Japan in 1900
Progressive education movement in Japan (Taisho
liberal education) in 1920s
Post-war progressive education movement in the
late1940s and the early 1950s
The third tide of progressive education, 1995- (My
proposal of struggling against neo-liberalism and
of searching for school for the 21st century)
The following is my proposal to renovate schools
as learning community. 1995-
Foundations of My Idea about
School as Learning Community
Personal experience: During the past 28
years, I have learned from children and
teachers through visiting 2,000 schools and
observing 10,000 lessons at classrooms.
Progressive ideas and practice in Japan,
US and other countries. In particular, I have
learned so much from Debby Meier in US
and Reggio Emilia Approach in Italy.
Theory and philosophy of education,
humanities and social science. Especially
John Dewey.
Design and Proposal: Vision of
School as Learning Community
School as learning community is a place,
where children learn together, teachers
also learn together as educational
professional, and even parents and citizens
learn together through participating in
school renovation.
Collaborative learning at classrooms,
collegiality at staffrooms and cooperation of
parents and citizens with teachers are
fundamental components.
Vision: What is the School?
Public mission and responsibility of school
(or teachers) are to realize human right of
learning of every child and facilitate him/her
to pursue possible excellence in his/her
learning.
School should be a place where every
teacher learn to be autonomous
professional through opening his/her
classroom and building collegiality.
School should provide every parent with
ample opportunities to cooperate with
teachers and to join school renovation.
Three Cannons of School as
Learning Community
“Public philosophy”, “democracy” and
“excellence” are three philosophical
cannons of school as learning
community.
The “publicness” is a spatial concept.
School should be opened inside and
outside to exchange different voices
through dialogic communication.
Opening Classrooms is the First
Step
I do not admit a public teacher who
does not open his/her classroom at
least once a year, even if he/she
performs excellent practice. Because,
he/she privatizes students, classroom,
school and his/her profession.
Opening classrooms should be the
first step of school renovation.
Philosophy of Democracy
Main mission of public education is to
prepare a democratic society, so that
school itself must be a democratic society.
Democracy in education is not a political
procedure, but “a way of associated living”
as Dewey defined.
At a democratic school, student, teacher,
principal and parent are all “protagonists”,
who participate in school management with
different roles and responsibilities.
Pursuit of Excellence
Teaching and learning essentially
demand excellence. In this case, the
excellence does not mean advantage
in comparison with others, but doing
best of his/herself in a given situation.
Excellence doing best procreates
modesty, that is the most significant
trait for learner. I propose “leaning as
jumping” in pursuit of this excellence.
Listening Pedagogy
“Listening other’s voice” is the first priority
in my approach to construct learning
community
Learning starts from listening other’s voice.
As Debby Meier described, “teaching is
mostly listening”.
An old proverb of ethnic minority (Ainu) in
Japan also says that, “God created two
ears and one mouth”.
Listening Relationship Prepares
Dialogic Communication
John Dewey described in 1927
“The connection of the ear with vital and
out-going thought and emotion are
immensely closer and more varied than
those of the eye. Vision is a spectator;
hearing is a participant”.
Listening relation generates dialogue, and
dialogic communication constructs learning
community.
Redefinition of Learning
Learning as dialogic communication
Three aspects of learning practice
① Dialogue with objective world (content,
subject matter) = Cognitive practice
② Dialogue with others = Social practice
③ Dialogue with oneself = Existential or
ethical practice
Learning = Retexturing of meaning and
relations
Active, collaborative and reflective learning
should be organized at classroom.
Redefinition of Teaching
Teaching is prone to be regarded as an
“easy work” even by teachers.
Teaching should be transformed from
“technical practice” to “reflective practice”.
(Donald Schon 1983)
Contemporary teacher should be redefined
not only as teaching profession but rather
as “leaning profession”.
Case conference of lesson study is a
strong vehicle with which teachers build
collegiality and develop their professional
competence and practical wisdom.
Strategies: Activity System of
Learning Community
Active, collaborative and reflective learning
at classroom: Collaborative learning by
small mixed group (4 students)
Lesson study (one hour observation and
two hour discussion by colleagues) should
be organized at least 30 times per year, as
a core of school management.
Ample opportunity for parents to cooperate
with teachers (“Learning Participation”)
Case I: Hamanogo Elementary
School (1): The First Pilot School
Hamanogo Elementary School was
established by Chigasaki City Board of
Education as the first pilot school as
learning community in 1998.
During the past 10 years, more than
20,000 teachers nationwide visited the
school, 100,000 teachers read the books
which document renovation of the school,
and currently 2,000 schools are renovating
through adopting the “Hamanogo Style.
Hamanogo School (2): Impression
Hamanogo School is not a razzle-dazzle
school but an ordinary one. You can’t find a
“knock down” teacher or a “superb” student.
The school does not offer any pompous
curriculum or grandiose practice.
The visitors are firstly surprised at its
calmness. Tender voices sound like as
whisper of wind. Indeed, no one has said
“be quiet” at the school for 9 years.
Hamanogo School (3): Landscape
The visitors are impressed with natural,
flexible, comfortable and sensible voices
and behaviors of children and teachers.
Nonetheless, inside of each person an
elastic spirit of learning and caring is
fulfilled. Dialogic communication generates
high quality of learning. Each people has
each face. Individuality stands, but even
commonality sounds with a harmony.
Hamanogo School (4) Policies
The followings are main policies.
① School reform starts and progresses
from within. But without support from
outside, it can’t be continued.
② School reform is a hard work of
“long revolution”. We must think
revolutionarily, but change evolutionally.
③ Energy for reform generates not from
conformity, but from diversity. Learning
community should be a community not like
as coral, but like as orchestra.
Vision as the First Priority
The main purpose of renovation at Hamanogo
School is to guarantee and realize human right of
learning of all the members. No child is alienated
from learning. No child escapes from learning.
At the starting point of renovation, the school
contained more than 20 school refusals and nearly
100 at risk students who were not able to sit their
chairs to learn. Just 6 months later, all the school
refusals disappeared and all the at risk students
became sincerely involved in learning.
The school is a miracle place where every child
and every teacher can find his/her best way of
learning.
Less is More. Simple is Better.
School is a place for learning together.
According to this simple doctrine, activities
of children are simplified. There is no time
for school assembly, principal’s talk, extra
curriculum and other rituals.
Time allotment is also simplified. Two
lessons of 95 minutes are allotted in the
morning, which enable children to pursue
high quality of learning, and for teachers to
develop project-oriented curriculum.
Small is Sensible.
Hamanogo School is a large school, about
800 students and 40 teachers.
The school is divided into 6 small “mini
schools”. Teachers of a “mini school” share
responsibility beyond walls of classrooms.
Activities of teachers are also simplified,
centering on collegiality. The simplified
organization enable teachers to cooperate
each other and concentrate on their
professional work.
Case Conference
School in-house workshop is placed as a
core of school management. It is regularly
composed of 1 hour classroom observation
and 2 hour case discussion. The school
sets more than 100 times of such case
conferences in a year.
Central focus of the case conference is not
teaching skills but lived experience of
learning. The main purpose of it is not
searching for “one best method” but
becoming more sensible and responsible
to learning of children.
“Learning Participation” by Parents
Parents are actively involved in
school renovation. The school
provides ample opportunity for
parents to cooperate with teachers.
The “Learning Participation” they call
is a strong vehicle to construct
learning community and solidarity
among parents. Currently, about 80%
of parents join in various enterprise
collaborated with teachers.
Case II: Gakuyo Junior Secondary
School
Gakuyo School in Fuji City is the first pilot
school of learning community in secondary
education. The renovation started in 2001,
by introducing the “Hamanogo Style”.
For the previous 10 years, the school had
been a well known school pinched with low
achievement, vandalism, school refusal,
and serious troubles with parents. It ranked
at the worst position in any criterion among
18 junior secondary schools in the city, so
that most teachers did not stay at the
school more than 2 years.
Starting Point
In April 2001, the principal and I
presented a vision for renovation. But,
most teachers were skeptical and
even critical to our proposal. They
despaired not only students but also
parents and even colleagues.
Students and parents too. Their
reactions were reasonable, because
they did their best and were defeated
for many years.
The First Step for Renovation
I proposed the following strategies as the
first step of renovation.
① Every classroom lesson should include
three aspects of learning, such as “activity”,
“collaboration by small groups” and
“reflection”.
② Reduce teacher’s tension and listen
student’s voice
③ Case conferences by all the teachers
should be arranged beyond “subject
Balkanization” at least 40 times per year.
Miracle but True Story
One year later, when all the teachers
changed desk arrangement for students to
collaborate with, there was no student who
escaped from learning. Every student was
sincerely involved in learning. Amazing!
No vandalism, no arrested student and no
problem behavior at school and 80% of
school refusals disappeared (from 36 to 6).
Two years later, the school obtained topposition of achievement test among 18
schools in the city. It is a miracle.
Grassroots Movement
The success of Gakuyo School as
“learning community” was rapidly well
known to teachers nationwide. More
than 5 thousands teachers visited the
school for the past 3 years. Now,
about one thousand schools are
challenging to build “leaning
community” adopting the “Gakuyo
Style”.
Reflection and Implications
The pilot school is efficacious to
demonstrate actual fact of vision and
philosophy of school renovation.
Action research is profitable to refine the
process of school renovation.
Under decentralization, new type of
network among city boards of education
should be wired.
School renovation should not be regarded
as a partial one but as a whole. It is not a
short-term challenge but a long revolution.
Development of Discourse
Community of Teachers
Renovation process is remarked as the
following stages in practical discourse
shared by teachers
① The first stage: “How to teach math?”
② The second stage: “How to teach children
to learn math?”
③ The third stage: “How to teach children to
learn doing math?”
④ The fourth stage: “How to learn to teach
children to learn doing math?”.
Grassroots beyond Sea
Grassroots movement of school as
learning community has been
enthusiastically advocated among social
democrat educationists not only in Japan
but also in Asian countries, such as Korea,
China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Research Institute of Learning Community
was established in Korea (2002), in China
(2006). Asian meeting about school as
learning community will be held at Seoul in
this autum.
Conclusion: Silent Revolution
Reflecting personal experience of school
renovation, I remind that school reform is a
silent revolution. Hindered behind noisy
voices of mass hysteria about “educational
crisis” and neo-liberal policies, grassroots
movement of school as learning community
penetrates as silent revolution.
I believe that only this silent revolution can
open an avenue for future education,
because it is rooted in silent voices for
happiness of teachers and children. This is
the reason why so many teachers are
hopefully involved in this movement.
The End
Thank you for your attention.