Genuine worldwide movements for social change are rare in human history. Even more rare is the phenomenon of a worldwide movement for social change through art, with teaching artists at the forefront. This article presents the evolution of such a movement now, in the global blossoming of "El Sistema," a program that seeks to change the…

The evaluation of government-financed research has become increasingly important in the last few decades in terms of increasing the quality of, and payoff from, the research that is done, reducing the cost of doing it, and lending public credibility to the manner in which research is funded. But there are very large differences throughout the…

Assesses the status and direction of Japan's approach to schooling. Questions the emphasis placed on rote learning and on attainment of high scores. Outlines potential themes and problems to examine for reforming Japanese schools. (ML)

The latest important event in the history of educational testing in Japan was the establishment of the National Center for University Entrance Examination (NCUEE) in 1977. The entrance examination system consists of two stages. The first stage exam is the Joint Achievement Test (JAT) which is jointly administered by national and local public…

Although Japanese society has long valued and practiced lifelong learning, it has not yet been successful in building an ethic that prizes learning, teaches creativity, and includes everyone. Bureaucratic and legal mechanisms undertaken in Japan to promote lifelong learning have included the establishment of Lifelong Learning Councils, a system…

A comparison of the vocational education and training (VET) offered in Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United States revealed that programs in all three nations emphasized the following aims: competence at work, commitment of all to achieve excellence, and capacity to contribute to change. Organizations in all three nations were…