A comparative study of classroom teaching in Korea and Japan: a case study on reforming schools into learning communities

Abstract

Some schools and teachers in Korea and Japan have begun practicing classroom-based reform according to similar visions of a learning community. The purpose of this study was to investigate reform efforts made by teachers in Korea and Japan toward turning classrooms into learning communities. Two elementary schools, School K in Korea and School T in Japan, were selected as major school sites. Research data was collected from two classrooms in each school through teacher interview and classroom observation. The results of our study showed that efforts made by teachers from the two countries, though aimed at similar goals to create learning communities and change classroom practices, produced different results. Teachers from both countries displayed differences in their views or attitudes toward the learning materials and the ways in which they build relationships with their students. These differences seemed to be derived from the different social and cultural contexts of the teachers in the two countries.