Lifelong Learning The Theory And Practice

At the end of twentieth century,our nation proposed the strategy of revitalizing China through science and education and the objective of building a learning society. Japan used its rich human resources to compensate for its lack of natural resources; caught up and leapt into the front ranks of the world by learning from the developed nations. So, researching on the experience of Japan's building of life-long learning society is of great referential value for China's development of its rich human resources. This essay aims to clear up the following aspects between 1965 and 2000.At the mid-1960s, adult educational world proposed the theories of life-long education, learning society. Japan soon introduced this new concept and began to discuss and research on it. The rapid development of internationalization and informatization makes people follow the trend of times only by means of continuous study. Since 1970s, all levels of society began to appeal for educational reform because of their own problems. Nakasone Cabinet began to reform education comprehensively. It established temporary educational council to lay down working regulations and procedures. The final agreements were reached by full debate and communication among different opinions. The educational reform propelling curriculum published in September 1987 established the basic educational reform guideline of valuing individual characteristic and building life-long learning society. Life-long learning society refers to the society where human can start learning activity, develop his potential ability and gain full development according to his own wish and ability whenever and wherever all over his life.In order to promote life-long learning career, administratively the Ministry of Education established life-long learning bureau. 14 Provincial Departments in the cabinet began the relevant careers. They established a series of laws and regulation such as Act of Revitalizing Life-long Learning. Todōfuken and shichōson all made plans for life-long learning, had career learning promoting meeting and held life-long learning festivals to create heavy studying atmosphere. In the aspect of school education, elementary education adopted the system of 5-day a week to lighten students' burden, increased teenagers extracurricular and life-experiencing activities and opened school facilities. Senior high school adopted credit system to broaden students' selection option. The university promoted undergraduate education and postgraduate education by breaking the limit of candidates' age and education background, offering more public lectures and night classes, teaching by correspondence, television, and Internet, setting up many kinds of graduate schools, expanding the intramural, extramural and international cooperation. The Japanese society was also keen on the social education and the intramural network construction by adding more facilities of library, museum, gym and setting up career learning center in the community, etc.The content of life-long learning varies from vocational training to cultural breeding such as literature and arts, philosophy and religion, folk and regional culture, interests and hobbies, environmental protection and so on. It comes in different forms, mainly in group learning, with folk and regional learning in the active side. Ever since the 1970s, Akidaken(秋田県) in the northeast region had incorporated the life-long education in its local economic and social integrated schemes and promoted life-long education autonomously. Regional autonomous boroughs combined life-long learning with its local natural environment, historical culture, industrious economy and city building, which had improved local people's inner qualities, promoted the harmony among its local residents and stimulated local prosperity. There are cultural centers, folk groups, volunteer activities and open universities found by entrepreneurs. Life-long learning focuses on adults and the old. Quite different from the Europe and America, Japan's life-long learning is mainly about interests nurturing. Social education which developed after the Second World War became dominant in life-long learning education. It bases on the conscious initiatives of its people by establishing encouraging policies, providing learning opportunities and information, training bellwether in each field, establishing assessment system for learning outcomes, creating opportunities for applying learning outcomes and so on. In this way, the administrative authority guides and supports its national learning career.The characteristics of Japan's building of life-long learning society are as follows: It is driven by tracking the advanced and reacting to changes, facing the future to solve its own problems. It follows the pattern of close cooperation between official and folk level. Its study contents are in the pursuit of interest, sports and health rather than economic purpose. It sticks to the objective but changes its means appropriately.