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Is An Alternative Concept of Learning Driving East Asian Academic Achievement? Comparisons of PISA Performance with Implications for Policy Reforms

Research Project

Project/Area Number 17K14019
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Sociology of education
Research InstitutionKyoto University

Principal Investigator

Rappleye Jeremy  京都大学, 教育学研究科, 准教授 (00742321)

Project Period (FY) 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Keywordseducational achievement / PISA / ontology / learning / East Asian education / high performance / self / education achievement / Taiwan / Japanese education / East Asian model / pedagogy / culture / education / concept of learning / East Asia / policy
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This three year project sought to understand the underlying basis for East Asia's superior cognitive performance in international large-scale student learning assessments, in particular PISA. Since the 1960s when Japan first started participating in the IEA studies, then again in the new PISA exams, Japan and East Asia have consistently scored among the highest. Nevertheless, there has been a dearth of rigorous analysis of why this is the case. That is, most of the time this performance is understood as a result of Exam Hell, high levels of private tutoring, stress inducing competition, etc. During this three year project, I was able to eliminate most of the negative factors (stereotypes), calling attention to alternative approaches to learning (including underlying epistemic and ontological beliefs). Based on this it was found that curriculum, classroom practices, and even various aspects of policy reflect this alternative system. This cautions against hasty reforms.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

The academic significance of this project are multiple. First and foremost, it provides a new perspective on student achievement in East Asia, especially Japan. By extension this challenges the normal portray of Japan as in deficit, instead arguing the case for difference and mutual learning.

Report

(4 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (27 results)

All 2020 2019 2018 2017 Other

All Int'l Joint Research (4 results) Journal Article (15 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 10 results,  Peer Reviewed: 10 results,  Open Access: 9 results) Presentation (6 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Invited: 2 results) Book (2 results)

  • [Int'l Joint Research] Arizona State University(米国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Oxford University(英国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] East China Normal University/Education University of Hong Kong(中国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Arizona State University/Advanced Studies in Global Education(米国)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] Is Shadow Education the Drive of East Asia's High Performance on Comparative Learning Assessments?2020

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye Jeremy & Komatsu Hikaru
    • Journal Title

      Education Policy Analysis Archives

      Volume: 28 Pages: 3-24

    • DOI

      10.14507/epaa.28.4990

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Reimagining Modern Education: Contributions from Japanese Philosophy and Practice?2020

    • Author(s)
      Komatsu, H., and Rappleye, J.
    • Journal Title

      East China Normal Review of Education

      Volume: 3(1) Issue: 1 Pages: 20-45

    • DOI

      10.1177/2096531120905197

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Beyond the Western Horizon in Educational Research: Toward a Deeper Dialogue About Our Interdependent Futures2020

    • Author(s)
      Silova, I., Rappleye, J., You Yun
    • Journal Title

      East China Normal Review of Education

      Volume: 3(1) Issue: 1 Pages: 3-19

    • DOI

      10.1177/2096531120905195

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] ‘Better Policies for Better Lives’?: constructive critique of the OECD’s (mis)measure of student well-being2019

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye, J., K. Hikaru, K. Krys, Y. Uchida, and H. Markus
    • Journal Title

      Journal of Education Policy

      Volume: N/A Issue: 2 Pages: 258-282

    • DOI

      10.1080/02680939.2019.1576923

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Is knowledge capital theory degenerate? PIAAC, PISA, and economic growth2019

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye Jeremy、Komatsu Hikaru
    • Journal Title

      Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

      Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Pages: 1-19

    • DOI

      10.1080/03057925.2019.1612233

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Comparative education as cultural critique2019

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye Jeremy
    • Journal Title

      Comparative Education

      Volume: 56 Issue: 1 Pages: 39-56

    • DOI

      10.1080/03050068.2019.1701247

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Refuting the OECD-World Bank development narrative: was East Asia's 'Economic Miracle' primarily driven by education quality and cognitive skills?2019

    • Author(s)
      Hikaru Komatsu, Jeremy Rappleye
    • Journal Title

      Globalisation, Societies, and Education

      Volume: 1111 Issue: 2 Pages: 1-25

    • DOI

      10.1080/14767724.2019.1577718

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Stereotypes as Anglo-American exam ritual? Comparisons of students’ exam anxiety in East Asia, America, Australia, and the United Kingdom2018

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye Jeremy、Komatsu Hikaru
    • Journal Title

      Oxford Review of Education

      Volume: 44 Issue: 6 Pages: 730-754

    • DOI

      10.1080/03054985.2018.1444598

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report 2017 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] In Favor of Japanese-ness: Future Directions for Educational Research2018

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye
    • Journal Title

      Educational Studies in Japan: International Yearbook

      Volume: 12 Pages: 9-21

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Is Exam Hell the cause of high academic achievement in East Asia? The case of Japan and the case for transcending stereotypes2018

    • Author(s)
      Hikaru Komatsu, Jeremy Rappleye
    • Journal Title

      British Education Research Journal

      Volume: 44 Issue: 5 Pages: 802-826

    • DOI

      10.1002/berj.3468

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] PISA for Development: how the OECD and World Bank shaped education governance post-20152018

    • Author(s)
      Euan Auld, Jeremy Rappleye, Paul Morris
    • Journal Title

      Comparative Education

      Volume: 54 Issue: 2 Pages: 1-25

    • DOI

      10.1080/03050068.2018.1538635

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] A new global policy regime founded on invalid statistics? Hanushek, Woessmann, PISA, and economic growth2017

    • Author(s)
      Komatsu Hikaru、Rappleye Jeremy
    • Journal Title

      Comparative Education

      Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Pages: 166-191

    • DOI

      10.1080/03050068.2017.1300008

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] How to make Lesson Study work in America and worldwide: A Japanese perspective on the onto-cultural basis of (teacher) education2017

    • Author(s)
      Rappleye Jeremy、Komatsu Hikaru
    • Journal Title

      Research in Comparative and International Education

      Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Pages: 398-430

    • DOI

      10.1177/1745499917740656

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] A PISA Paradox? An Alternative Theory of Learning as a Possible Solution for Variations in PISA Scores2017

    • Author(s)
      Komatsu Hikaru、Rappleye Jeremy
    • Journal Title

      Comparative Education Review

      Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Pages: 269-297

    • DOI

      10.1086/690809

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] Did the shift to computer-based testing in PISA 2015 affect reading scores? A View from East Asia2017

    • Author(s)
      Komatsu Hikaru、Rappleye Jeremy
    • Journal Title

      Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

      Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Pages: 616-623

    • DOI

      10.1080/03057925.2017.1309864

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Researching Educational Outcomes: Cultures and Comparisons2019

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye, Hikaru Komatsu
    • Organizer
      GLOBAL EDUCATION GOVERNANCE AND LARGE SCALE ASSESSMENTS: THEORY, RESEARCH, POLICY
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Will SDG4 Achieve Environmental Sustainability?2018

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye, Hikaru Komatsu
    • Organizer
      Innovations in Global Learning Metrics: a focused debate among users, producers and researchers
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Happiness, Self, Pedagogy: constructive critique of the OECD’s Happy Schools2017

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye, Hikaru Komatsu, and Uchida Yukiko
    • Organizer
      Comparative and International Education Society (Mexico City)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] When the purported link between cognitive skills and economic growth no longer legitimize a global learning metrics2017

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye and Hikaru Komatsu
    • Organizer
      Comparative and International Education Society (Mexico City)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Remembering 1956: Genealogies forgotten or forever foregone?2017

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye
    • Organizer
      Comparative and International Education Society (Mexico City)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Commentator on UNESCO's "Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century"2017

    • Author(s)
      Jeremy Rappleye
    • Organizer
      Comparative Education Society of Asia (Siem Reap)
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Book] Education, Equality and Meritocracy in a Global Age: The Japanese Approach2020

    • Author(s)
      Kariya Takehiko & Rappleye Jeremy
    • Total Pages
      240
    • Publisher
      Teachers College Press
    • ISBN
      9780807764091
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] High School for All in East Asia: Comparing Experiences2018

    • Author(s)
      Shinichi Aizawa, Mei Kagawa, Jeremy Rappleye
    • Total Pages
      278
    • Publisher
      Routledge
    • ISBN
      9781138068650
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2017-04-28   Modified: 2022-02-21  

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