The Effects of Peer Pressure in the Japanese Elementary School Classroom

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The Effects of Peer Pressure in the Japanese
Elementary School Classroom
Can we import it? Do we want it?

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Problem

• Concern over students lacking a sense of
  classroom community.
• Emphasis on individual achievement over
  cooperation.
• Students constantly transferring in and out.
• Forward deployed parents cause insecurities in
  students
• Many incidences of fighting and bullying.

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America Japan

• Collectivism is the Key
• No success individually
• GT and LD programs discouraged

• Focus on individualism
• Competition encouraged
• Differences sought and accentuated

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Purpose /Rationale

• Japan has been able to retain much of its
  Confucian ideals of suppressing the
  individualistic and promoting the collective
  mentality. This effects education and social
  tendencies.
• Japanese students tend to be proficient in many
  areas we seek to improve in American students.
• I propose that portions of the social environment
  found in a Japanese classroom, if somehow adapted
  to work in an American setting, may be beneficial
  to students.

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Research

• Limited information in Journals directly related
  to adopting practices.
• Much information on differences and comparative
  studies.
• Use of teacher interviews, and school
  observations in both the Japanese and American
  settings.

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Creation of Action Plan

• Many Japanese practices incompatible in American
  classroom due to social/legal concerns.
• Positive and negative aspects of individualism
  and collectivism in the classroom.
• Possible to implement an American
  cooperation/community building method
• Tribes method implemented in a 4th grd.class,
  with multiple bullying and respect problems

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The Guinea Pigs
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Observations

• Students, despite history, take to community
  building instruction.
• Teacher utilizes rules in classroom and
  playground
• Tolerance of individuals with differences noted
• School wide initiative needed to see sustained
  progress across settings and over time.
• Limitations apparent

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Mata Ne
RLB