The "Comparative Examination" in the early Meiji-era primary Schools

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 09610304
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educaion
• Research Institution: National Institute for Educational Policy Research
• Principal Investigator: HASHIMOTO Akihiko National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Research Department for Policy and Evaluation, Senior researcher, 教育政策評価研究部, 総括研究官 (80189480)
• Project Period (FY): 1997 – 1999
• Keywords: Comparative Examination / Meiji-era / primary schools

Research Abstract

In this research, I have put focus on the compaFative examination in early Meiji era (approx.1 868-1881) primary schools. Those comparative examination would test children who were selected from individual schools, and compete with their scores. The result of the examination would me rely end to prises for the good achievers, but schools and pupils were very hardly encouraged by these examinations.
Mostly, Japanese modern education systems are thought to be a kind of a copy or mosaic-patchwo rk of western educational systems. But what interesting of this examination is that it emerged outside of the foFmal educational system. For instance, there were no reference of these kind of eraminations in 'O~kusei ; f'he Educational Code of 1872"., This study investigates the origin of these examination. As a result, I have found out that these examinations are, in some points, very similar to examinations existed in the Edo era ; the premodern ages of Japan. They are a kind of mixtures of elements from the Edo examination and Western examinations.