On The Research Of The New Educational Movement In Japan(1912-1941)

In the late 19 th century and early 20 th century,influenced by multiple factors such as the European New Education Movement,the American Progressive Education Movement,the domestic Movement for Civic Rights and Freedom,and the education situation at that time,Japan launched the New Education Movement cored by “freedom” and “democracy”.With the movement sprouted in the late Meiji period and declined in the early Showa period,both the claims of the New Education Theory and most practices of new schools appeared in the Taisho period which is between the two periods above,so this movement is also called “the Taisho New Education Movement” or “the Taisho Free Education Movement”.This New Education Movement,which mainly protests the educational theories and teaching methodologies cored by teacher,classroom,and textbooks which are claimed by the Herbartian School,advocates liberalism educational thought,as well as insists on the children-centered education theoretical reform and teaching methodological reform.During the late MeiJi Period to the early Taisho Period,the social changes and transitions in Japan posed new requirements to its education.Meanwhile,many serious problems emerged along with the formation of the Nationalistic Education System after Meiji restoration,such as excessive centralizing powers in management system,over uniformity in educational system,and being too harsh in examination rules and regulations.Meanwhile,with the increasing communication between Japan and European countries on education,some educationalists,represented by Kanjiro Higuchi,Tomeri Tanimoto,Tetsuji Nishiyama,Haruji Nakamura and Tsunero Imai who were exposed to the European New Education ideas and thoughts,strongly called for reforms on the existing education in Japan with practices in the establishment of modern schools,which indicates the beginning of the Japanese New Education Movement.In the early period of the Japanese New Education Movement,the spread of new educational thoughts and the practices of new education were provided with comparatively permissive environment because the Japanese state power were simultaneously seeking a new way for education reform and development.During this period,a large number of new educationalists like Gentaro Tanahashi,Tsunesaburo Makiguchi,Masataro Sawayanagi,Takeji Kinoshita,Heji Oikawa appeared,who devoted themselves to the spread of new thoughts and proposed new theories such as the Theory of Manual Training,the Theory of Value-Creating,the Method of Gesamtunterricht,and the Theory of Dynamic Education,which are fully Japanese featured.Under the guidance of the new thoughts and theories,some new educational practitioners carried out the new educational reform in the public primary schools and the affiliated primary schools of normal schools and set up new private primary schools.From 1912 to 1920,16 Japanese schools in 13 prefectures carried out school-wide new education reform and the Japanese New Education Movement was developing rapidly.In 1921,the Eight Major Educational Ideas were proposed at the Research Conference of Educational Academia held by the Japanese Academic Association in Tokyo,and then the Japanese New Education Movement reached its climax.During this period,Japan's new education theory,represented by the the Eight Major Educational Ideas,was formed.The new-style schools continuously deepened their reforms and practices of new education.Meanwhile,there emerged newly-built primary schools,such as the Jidonomura Primary School in Ikebukuro and the Myojo Schools.From 1921 to the beginning of 1924,more than 230 schools throughout Japan devoted themselves to the new education reforms in different forms and scales.However,with the increasing development and expansion of the New Education Movement,Japan's state power and the Militarism felt threatened by the “freedom” and “democracy” advocated by the New Education Movement,who began to suppress it with madness.The Japanese New Education Movement began to decline from prosperity.Although faced with the frenzied suppression from Japan's state power and militarist forces,new education advocates,headed by Entaro Noguchi,continued to promote the development of the Japanese New Education Movement by creating “the New Education Association of Japan” and conducting a series of activities,which did bring short-term “revival” to it.However,it's difficult to change its historical fate.In 1941,the New Education Association of Japan dissolved due to various external and internal reasons,and the Japanese New Education Movement announced its withdrawal from the stage of history.The Japanese New Education Movement is an important reform in Japanese modern education history,which,on the basis of learning from the new education experience in Europe and America and the social situation of Japan at that time,put forwards Japanized new education ideas and practiced them in many ways.This movement has made great historical contributions although it only lasts for more than 30 years,including enriching Japanese modern education theories,promoting the reforms of traditional teaching methods in Japan,as well as cultivating a group of excellent teachers and students.Meanwhile,The ideas of “freedom” and “democarcy” advocated by the movement also influence the social reforms in Japan,education development in China at that time,and post-war Japanese education reform.However,because of the specific historical period,this movement also has many shortcomings due to the limitation of the times and the limitation of class.This dissertation,through the analysis of the historical contributions and limitations of the Japanese New Education Movement,intends to enlighten the deep influence of this movement on the education development in Japan as well as in the whole world.