The Japanese High School: Silence and Resistance [Paperback]

For large numbers of school students in Japan school has become a battle field. Recent violent events in schools, together with increasing drop-out rates and bullying are undermining stereotypes about the effectiveness of the Japanese education system. This incisive and original book looks at Japanese high school from a student perspective and contextualises this educational turmoil within the broader picture of Japans troubled economic and political life.This book describes the Japanese high school as experiencd by the students themselves: a perspective which has largely been ignored until now.'I recommend this book for reading by everyone who hopes to understand what Japan will be capable of achieving through its education system in the 21st century.' - Katalin Ferber, Shizuoka University of Art and Culture

'This is a book I have been waiting for - as a teacher as well as a scholar - for a long time.' - Japanese Studies, Vol 20, No.1, 2000Shoko Yoneyama is Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia.Introduction 1. Japanese Students in Crisis 2. Methodology and Comparative Problems Part 1. Control: The Structure of Silence 3. Student-Teacher Relationship: The Alienation Paradigm 4. Discipline and Punish 5. School Rules: The Web of Regimentation 6. Study: Competition and Meaninglessness Part 2. Responses: Conformity and Resistance 7. Ijime The Price of Super Conformity 8. Tokokyohi Burnout and Resistance Conclusion Bibliography IndexUS? 1999 Shoko Yoneyama