Textbook - Kyokasho

Japanese: 教科書 - きょうかしょ

Generally speaking, it refers to books that are educational materials edited into an appropriate format for teaching and learning activities, i.e., textbooks used in schools. According to the "Temporary Measures Law Concerning the Publication of Textbooks," it is defined as "books for children or students used for teaching purposes as the main teaching materials for subjects organized and arranged in accordance with the curriculum of elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, and equivalent schools, which have been approved by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology or which are copyrighted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology" (Article 2, Paragraph 1).

[Mitsuhiko Asakura and Shuichi Miyazaki]

history

The origins of textbooks in Japan can be traced back to ancient times. The first textbooks are said to be classics such as Buddhist and Confucian scriptures and sutras, Japanese literature and waka poetry, and historical works, but the most well-known are the oraimono, which were widely used from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. Oraimono were originally models for letter writing, but their content subsequently changed with changes in society, and they were divided into didactic, industrial, and geographical texts, and were used primarily in terakoya schools. A representative example of this is the Teikininourai.

Japan's modern school education system began with the promulgation of the "School System" in 1872 (Meiji 5), and the textbook system during this "School System" period was one in which textbooks were freely published and freely selected. For this reason, there was a wide variety of textbooks during this period. Along with the traditional textbooks mentioned above, translations of Western textbooks and educational books introducing Western culture and science were widely used as textbooks. In addition to these textbooks, wall charts were treated as being of the same rank as textbooks and were the main teaching material for introductory elementary school students.

During the "Gakusei" period, the Ministry of Education and normal schools also edited and published textbooks, but they did not suppress or control private textbooks. However, in 1880, the Ministry of Education established a textbook investigation office within the Regional Education Bureau to investigate the suitability of textbooks in each prefecture and issue a list of textbooks, including those that were banned. The background to this movement is closely related to the Meiji government's suppression of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement at the time and its educational policies that strongly promoted Confucian moral education as a measure to indoctrinate the people. The following year, in 1881, a system of submission was introduced that required each prefecture to report the textbooks used in elementary schools to the Ministry of Education each time. Then, in 1883, the system of submission was changed to an approval system, and not only elementary school textbooks but also textbooks for public junior high schools and normal schools became approval systems, and the control of textbooks tended to become stronger.

In 1886, the certification system was started based on the "Elementary School Act" and "Middle School Act" enacted by Mori Arinori, the first Minister of Education. The "Textbook Certification Ordinance" was then enacted, and the textbook certification system for elementary schools, middle schools, and normal schools was established. However, this certification ordinance was abolished soon after it came into force, and in 1887 the "Textbook Certification Regulations" were enacted. These certification regulations became the basic regulations for textbook certification thereafter.

Textbooks for elementary schools were selected by a prefecture-level elementary school book review committee, which would review them and then the governor would make the decision on their adoption based on the committee's report. Rules for the review were established and amendments were made to prevent impropriety in the review and selection of textbooks, but improprieties in textbook selection did not disappear. Then, in 1902, a large-scale bribery scandal occurred in relation to textbook selection. This is known as the Textbook Scandal. This case affected one prefecture, three metropolitan areas, and 35 prefectures, and around 200 people were arrested, including governors, school inspectors, principals, teachers, and people involved with textbook companies. As a result, the major textbooks of the time were penalized and could not be adopted, leaving a textbook vacuum. This incident was the decisive turning point for the introduction of the national textbook system.

The national system was established by the "Revision of the Elementary School Act" in 1903, and came into effect the following year in 1904. The national textbooks were subsequently revised several times, and in 1941 (Showa 16), when elementary schools were reorganized into national schools, new textbooks with a wartime theme were compiled for each subject. The certification system for textbooks for the old middle schools had been largely maintained, but this also shifted to a national system with the "Revision of the Middle School Act" in 1943.

After the Second World War, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ) issued a directive in October 1945 entitled "Administrative Policies for the Japanese Education System" which prohibited the spread of militarism and extreme nationalistic ideas, particularly in primary education. In December of the same year, directives on State Shinto and Shrine Shinto, as well as directives on the suspension of ethics, Japanese history and geography, led to the deletion of all matters relating to Shinto doctrine from all textbooks and teacher's guides in use, and the suspension of classes in ethics, Japanese history and geography in all schools. Furthermore, textbooks and teacher's guides for these subjects were recalled, and plans were ordered for the compilation of new textbooks and teacher's guides to replace them.

In addition, instructions were given to delete any sections related to the war from other textbooks as well, and students were instructed to cover them up with ink, resulting in the use of so-called "blacked-out textbooks."

In 1947, the "School Education Law" was promulgated along with the "Fundamental Law of Education," and a new 6-3 school system was established. With this, the national system was abolished, and a certification system was established in which textbook editing was carried out by private companies. In the same year, the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) issued "Course of Study (Draft)" for each subject, and it was expected that each school would independently create its own curriculum using these as a reference. Although the aim was to realize the democratization of education, the certification system was not implemented immediately from 1947, and the Ministry of Education proceeded with editing textbooks based on the course of study until the system was established. After that, in 1948, the "Textbook Certification Regulations" and the "Temporary Measures Law for the Publication of Textbooks" were promulgated, and the "Textbook Certification Standards" were established the following year in 1949.

The Textbook Certification Regulations stipulate that the standards for certification must be "in accordance with the spirit of the Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law, and suitable for use as a textbook," that certification must be carried out by the Minister of Education (now the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) based on the report of the Textbook Certification Committee (later renamed the Textbook Certification Research Council), that the certification process must be completed in three stages: manuscript review, proofread review, and sample copy review, and stipulate other matters regarding application procedures and revisions. In addition, the Temporary Measures Act on the Publication of Textbooks stipulates the significance of textbooks, publication of textbooks, textbook exhibitions, adjustment of supply and demand for textbooks, and list prices. As the certification system was established in this way, the publication of textbooks written by the Ministry of Education was halted, and from 1949 new certified textbooks were used and rapidly spread.

[Mitsuhiko Asakura and Shuichi Miyazaki]

Changes in the textbook system after World War II

The textbook system was established based on the certification system implemented as part of the education reform after the Second World War, and continues to exist to this day, but during this time many problems have arisen with the certified textbooks. In particular, social studies textbooks became a political issue.

In 1955, the Democratic Party of Japan (as it was then called) published "The Delightful Textbook Problem," which criticized the content of social studies textbooks as "biased education," and it became a political issue. In this situation, in 1956, the Ministry of Education submitted a textbook bill to the Diet with the aim of strengthening the certification system. This bill was withdrawn without being debated, but efforts were subsequently made to improve and strengthen the system by increasing the number of certification investigators and appointing full-time textbook inspectors, and the certification system essentially became stricter. In particular, the Ministry of Education's certification inspectors were increasingly making stronger suggestions for revisions to manuscripts submitted for certification, making it more difficult to pass the certification process.

In 1958, the Enforcement Regulations of the School Education Law were revised, clarifying the legal binding power of the Course of Study. The new Course of Study for elementary and junior high schools announced the following year, 1959, was no longer a "trial draft" but was positioned as the standard for the educational curriculum. The contents of authorized textbooks were to be edited based on the Course of Study, so the goals and contents of the Course of Study were directly reflected in authorized textbooks. From the 1961 academic year when the new Course of Study was implemented, the timing of authorization, which had been left to the discretion of textbook publishers, was regulated, and the year of publication of textbooks that were to be accepted for authorization after 1961 was set as 1965 for elementary school textbooks. Due to this regulation, publishers of elementary school textbooks could not revise or publish new textbooks until 1965. Furthermore, publishers were in principle limited to one type of textbook, and the variety of textbooks was greatly reduced.

The free provision of textbooks to elementary and junior high schools was implemented through the "Law Concerning Free Textbooks for Compulsory Education Schools" of 1962 and the "Law Concerning Free Measures for Textbooks for Compulsory Education Schools" of 1963. As a result, the scope of free provision was expanded according to annual plans from 1963, and free provision was realized for all grades in elementary schools in 1966 and in junior high schools in 1969, a system that continues to this day.

The Free Textbooks Act also provides for the adoption and publication of textbooks, clarifying the authority and duties of the Board of Education regarding textbook adoption. Previously, textbooks were selected by teachers at the school level, but now it has been changed to a wide-area adoption method in which textbooks to be used are decided by city, county, or a combination of these regions. However, in the case of non-public national and private elementary and junior high schools, and in the case of high schools where education is not compulsory, textbook adoption will continue to be on a school-by-school basis as before. In addition, the Enforcement Order of this Act stipulates that the same textbooks will be used for three years once they have been adopted, and applications for certification will also be made every three years.

Along with the implementation of these free textbook measures, textbook screening became stricter. In particular, many social studies textbooks for secondary education were found to have failed the screening process. In this context, in 1965, Ienaga Saburo (1913-2002), then professor at Tokyo University of Education, filed a lawsuit claiming that the textbook screening system was unconstitutional after his own high school Japanese history textbook was rejected. This case is generally known as the "Ienaga Textbook Trial," and it was a trial over the textbook screening system that lasted for 32 years until it was concluded by the Supreme Court in 1997 (Heisei 9).

The Course of Study, which is the standard for textbook content, was revised approximately every 10 years, for elementary schools in 1968 and junior high schools in 1969. In 1977, the Course of Study for elementary and junior high schools was announced, aiming for "leisure and fulfillment," and was implemented in elementary schools from the 1980 academic year and junior high schools from the 1981 academic year. At the same time, the Textbook Certification Regulations were completely revised in 1977, bringing about major changes to the previous textbook certification system. With this revision, certification was divided into two types: "new certification," in which major rewrites or completely new manuscripts were reviewed, and "revised certification," in which the number of revised pages was less than a quarter of the total, and rejections were limited to new certification. The new certification regulations also stipulated a three-stage review of the manuscript, the internal review copy, and the sample copy, and stipulated procedures such as the submission of opinions regarding revisions, advance notice of the reasons for rejection, hearing of rebuttals, and reapplication.

The publication of "Questionable Junior High School Textbooks" (by Fukuda Nobuyuki, Morimoto Masaaki, and Takihara Toshihiko) in 1981 led to criticism of textbooks by some education politicians targeting the civics section of junior high school social studies. In the following year, 1982, it was revealed that during the screening process for Japanese history textbooks for high schools, Japan had changed its "invasion" of Asian countries before World War II to "advancement," leading to criticism from Asian countries against the descriptions in Japanese textbooks and the screening process, which developed into a diplomatic issue. Later that same year, China also protested against the descriptions in Japanese history textbooks of "advancement into China" and the "Nanking Massacre," forcing revisions to be made. With the rapid progress of internationalization, there was a demand for more accurate and appropriate descriptions in textbooks in order to further promote friendship between Japan and other countries around the world, especially Asian countries.

[Mitsuhiko Asakura and Shuichi Miyazaki]

Reforming the textbook system

The Provisional Council for Education (Rinkyo-in) was established in 1984 as an advisory body directly under the Prime Minister with the purpose of fundamentally reviewing the post-World War II school education system. Between 1985 and 1987, the Provisional Council for Education issued four reports outlining the principles of education reform. The third and fourth reports among these recommendations proposed "reform of the textbook system," and the textbook system was revised based on these recommendations.

The Fourth Report (1987) stated the following about reform of the textbook system:

(1) As the basic direction of textbook system reform, we will review the nature of textbooks and the way they are used, from the perspective of promoting education that respects individuality, and place particular emphasis on their role as learning materials for children and students.

(2) Improve the writing and editing of textbooks and establish a research and development system.

(3) As part of the new examination system, we will reform the examination system by reviewing, prioritizing and simplifying examination standards, reviewing screening procedures, simplifying the examination process (integrating the current three-stage examination process using the manuscript, internal review, and sample copies into one), reviewing the systems and structures of the Textbook Examination Research Council and textbook inspectors, etc., making public the outline of the examination process and the reasons for pass/fail decisions in an appropriate manner, and lengthening the examination cycle.

(4) Regarding the selection and supply of textbooks, we will make further improvements, such as publicizing the selection organization and procedures, as well as the reasons for selection, and make the textbook supply system more open.

(5) Regarding the system of free provision of textbooks at the compulsory education level, we will continue to consider it in relation to changes in society and the economy, public awareness and views on education, and trends in the overall state of primary and secondary education, including the nature of textbooks. For the time being, however, we will continue the system of free provision of textbooks at the compulsory education level.

(6) Regarding the textbook system, we will continue to conduct research and studies on the future of this textbook system, with a view to producing better textbooks, including the long-term possibility of abolishing certification and moving to a system of free publication and free selection.

The reform of the textbook system is being pushed forward in line with the recommendations of the Provisional Council on Education. In 1988, the Textbook Certification Research Council published "The Outline of Improvements to the Certification System (Progress of Deliberations)," and based on this, on April 4, 1989, the Textbook Certification Rules and Standards were completely revised.

Regarding the certification rules, the previous distinction between "new certification" and "revised certification" was abolished, and in connection with this, the certification cycle was extended from three years to four years. Regarding the screening of books applied for certification, if there are objectively obvious errors, typos, or omissions above a certain level, they will be required to be resubmitted before being reviewed by the Textbook Certification Research Council (Certification Council). In addition, the three-stage screening process of the manuscript, the internal review copy, and the sample copy was unified. Regarding the pass/fail of the certification review, the previous conditional pass system was abolished, and for those that meet a certain level, the decision on pass/fail will be reserved and a "screening opinion" will be notified in advance, and after any necessary corrections are made, the Council will review the textbooks again to determine whether they pass or fail. After the certification review is completed, the Minister of Education can make the applied books public and recommend corrections to certified textbooks.

The examination standards are divided into "conditions common to all subjects" and "conditions specific to each subject," and the basic condition that they must conform to the educational objectives and policies of the Fundamental Law of Education and the educational objectives and goals of each school as stipulated in the School Education Act is now stipulated in the "General Provisions." Compliance with the objectives and content of the Course of Study has been strengthened, and the "handling of content" of the Course of Study has been incorporated as a new standard. Other changes include abolishing standards for format and editing techniques, leaving it up to the creativity and ingenuity of writers and editors.

The policy of prioritizing and simplifying textbook certification under the new system was further promoted, and in November 1998 the Textbook Certification Research Council compiled a recommendation on "improving textbooks in response to the implementation of the new educational curriculum" and submitted it to the Minister of Education. In response to the new educational curriculum based on the new Course of Study that will be implemented in elementary and junior high schools from the 2002 academic year, and in high schools from the 2003 academic year, the recommendation proposed various measures to improve the certification standards for creating textbooks and the certification procedures. The recommendation stated:
(1) What is required of future textbooks?
(2) Improving textbooks to accommodate the implementation of the new curriculum,
(3) In relation to improving textbooks,
The report is made up of three parts. In regards to the screening process, the report recommends abolishing the screening process for clerical errors, typos, and omissions, making the notification of screening opinions into written form, and relaxing the requirements for making minor corrections to approved textbooks.

The adoption was summarized as follows:

(1) Regarding the adoption of textbooks for public elementary and junior high schools, the prefectural board of education sets up adoption districts for cities, counties, or city-county combinations (as of 1999, there are 478 adoption districts nationwide).

(2) Prefectural boards of education are obligated to conduct thorough research and studies on the textbooks to be adopted and to provide guidance, advice and assistance to municipal boards of education. In doing so, the prefectural boards of education must hear the opinion of the Textbook Selection Council.

(3) The city, town, and village boards of education concerned will set up "adoption district councils" for each adoption district and, under the guidance, advice, and assistance of the prefectural board of education, will conduct their own research and studies to decide on one textbook for each subject.

(4) Once a textbook is adopted, it will be valid for four years.

The "Report on the Method of Textbook Adoption" (March 1990), compiled by the Ministry of Education's Research and Study Collaborators' Conference on the Method of Textbook Adoption, recommended that (1) parent representatives be involved in the participation of parent representatives in the prefectural textbook selection councils and adoption district councils involved in creating the adoption criteria and selection materials, (2) the expansion and improvement of the format and duration of textbook exhibitions, and (3) the publicizing and publication of the adoption results and reasons for adoption, as well as fair and equitable adoption, and recommended that the Deregulation Subcommittee Report (1996) of the Administrative Reform Committee also recommended that "in the future, consideration should be given to realizing adoption on a school-by-school basis," and that "for the time being... efforts should be made to reduce the size of adoption districts and to devise and improve adoption methods."

Regarding the publication of textbooks, apart from high schools, the above-mentioned "Free Measures Law" requires a designation system for compulsory education schools, and textbooks may only be published by schools that have been designated by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. One organization that publishes these textbooks is the Textbook Association.

Textbook publishers are obligated to supply textbooks to each school, and to fulfill this obligation, each publisher has established the National Textbook Supply Association, an incorporated association that represents textbook suppliers, such as authorized supply offices and distributor supply offices located throughout the country.

[Mitsuhiko Asakura and Shuichi Miyazaki]

Foreign textbook systems

Textbook systems in various foreign countries vary, reflecting the circumstances of each country, but generally speaking, China, India, Mexico, etc. have nationally designated systems, Japan, Germany, Spain, Israel, etc. have certification systems, France and Canada have certification systems, and the UK, Australia, Denmark, etc. have free systems. In many countries around the world, textbooks for compulsory education are provided free of charge, which can be divided into free loan systems and free provision systems. Looking at the cases of major countries, they are as follows: