Policy and Reform In Public Schools During the Occupation of Japan

Abstract

The present study deals with the educational reforms set into place by the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP) from 1945 to 1952. Through the review of several issues within Occupation era educational reform, the research deals with how SCAP's policies directly affected the lives of students. The study of this topic is valuable to the areas of Japanese history as well as educational policy studies and comparative/international education studies. From researching SCAP policies that affected primary school students, the effect that the rapid reforms of the Occupation had on typical Japanese youth can easily be seen. Methods for exploration include an analysis of the school lunch program implemented by SCAP. Also researched are reforms by SCAP to eliminate the presence of religious practices in the schools and the curriculum. The study also covers the problem of providing adequate school facilities to children during the Occupation. A description of physical education reform illustrates the Occupation's decision to ban the martial arts of judō and kendō from schools due to its wartime connection with militarism. This topic is extremely important to demonstrate how much of an affect reconstructing an entire education system has on the lives of typical students.