July 27th, 2011
In April 2011, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education issued its “Educational Curriculum for Pre-school Kids”, aiming to facilitate young kids’ physical and intellectual abilities.
Nowadays, Japanese young kids are said to be lacking a basic lifestyle, self-discipline, and conformity. “First Grade Problems”, where some first grade pupils cannot follow their teachers and so the class becomes uncontrollable for the teachers, is one of the biggest issues for Japan’s primary schools.
Because of these circumstances, nurseries and kindergartens are expected to raise the quality of their educational product so that kids are easily accepted at the primary schools. With this goal in mind, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education started to work out a guide line that helps teachers or parents to raise their young kids’ physical and intellectual abilities.
The “Educational Curriculum for Pre-School Kids” contains the following:
- Activities which kids ages 0-5 should experience
- A normal development procedure for 0-5 years kids
- How to organize nursing or preschool curriculums
- Examples of nursing or preschool curriculums
- Connection with early stage primary school education
This program is expected to help raise the quality of education at nurseries and kindergartens, as well as act as a guideline for teachers and parents.
Traditionally, guiding parents in raising kids was the responsibility of grandparents and the local communities. Nowadays, however, the trends in society and weakening functions of local communities do not provide the traditional support for young parents. Some people might regard this new curriculum as too meddling, but providing support and practical information are definitely needed by parents in this country.
Tomoya Suzuki