Author(s) DEEPAK, Datt; ISHII, Hiroshi
Citation 北海道教育大学紀要. 教育科学編, 72(2): 189‑198
Issue Date 2022‑02
URL http://s‑ir.sap.hokkyodai.ac.jp/dspace/handle/123456789/12410
Rights
北海道教育大学紀要（教育科学編）第72巻 第2号 令和4年2月 JournalofHokkaidoUniversityofEducation（Education）Vol.72,No.2 February,2022
ComparativeStudyofMathematicsEducationinFijiandJapan
DEEPAKDattandISHIIHiroshi
DepartmentofMathematicsEducation,HakodateCampus,HokkaidoUniversityofEducation
フィジーと日本の数学教育に関する比較研究
ディーパック ダット・石井 洋
北海道教育大学函館校数学教育研究室
ABSTRACT
This comparative study on mathematics education in Fiji and Japan highlights the similaritiesanddifferencesintheeducationsystemsusedbytheJapaneseGovernment’s MinistryofEducation,Culture,Sports,Science,andTechnology（MEXT）andtheFijian Government’sMinistryofEducation,Heritage,andArts（MEHA）.Thetwocountrieshave seeneducationalexchangesoverthepastcenturies.Despitedifferencesinculture,locality, climate,resources,andtechnology,thereareseveralsimilaritiesbetweenFijiandJapan’s educationsystems.AccordingtotheresultsoftheProgrammeforInternationalStudent Assessment（PISA）between2012to2018,Japanwasrankedamongthetop10countries.
However,therehavebeenconcernsregardingmathematicsachievementsinFiji.Strong tiesbetweentwocountrieswillaidinimprovingmathematicseducationinFiji.Therehave beenmumerousreformsandinitiativesrequiringapedagogicalshifttomorelearner- centeredapproaches.
1．Introduction
1．1．Background
TheMinistryofEducation,HeritageandArts
（MEHA）istheministryinFijiresponsiblefor overseeingthecountry’seducationsystem.The Ministry is tasked with conducting and delivering educational services to all Fijian students. The Ministry has numerous
responsibilities-advising the government, providing administrative and management support, sanctioning policies and acts, and providinglearningresourcessuchastextbooks.
TheMinistryisalsotaskedwithmakingand distributingexternalexamstoschoolsallover the country. Primary and high/secondary educationinFijiiscompulsoryandfreefor8 and5years,respectively.InFiji,multicultural
andmultiracialschoolsareundertheguidance and administration of numerous religious organizations.TheFijianMinistryofEducation subsidizestheeducationalfeesandotherrelated costsandhencemakeseducationaffordablefor everyone.TherearefouruniversitiesinFiji:Fiji National University, Fulton College, The UniversityoftheSouthPacific,andtheUniversity of Fiji. Fiji National University is the main universityandiscomprisedofvariouscolleges, namely the colleges of medicine, business, agriculture, humanities, engineering, Fiji’s NationalProductivityOrganization,andtheFiji Maritime Academy. Fulton College is a Seventh-dayAdventistchurchinstitutebased inNadi.TheUniversityoftheSouthPacificisa regionalPacificuniversity,withitsheadoffice inSuvaandanumberofcampusesinthePacific islands.TheUniversityofFiji,basedinLautoka, wassetupbyareligiousgroup.
Thegovernmentprovidesfreeeducationto primary and secondary school students, including free textbooks and bus fare.
CompulsoryeducationinFijiisasfollows:early childhood （ECE）/kindergarten （1 year）
beginning at age 5 for 1 year, primary for 8 years,andhighschoolfor5years.Thereare 900 early childhood institutes, 737 primary schools,173highschools,17specializedschools, andfouruniversitiesinFiji.Thegovernment owns 13 schools （“Ministry of Education, HeritageandArts:Aboutus-Statistics,”2020）.
Othersareownedbycommunitiesandfaith- based organizations. A subsidized bus fare schemeforprimaryandsecondarystudentsfor thosewhocomefromfamilieswithacombined incomeoflessthan$15,000wasalsorolledout bythegovernmenttoeaseaccesstoschool,and was extended to those traveling by minibus, boats,andcarriers.
Education in Japan is governed by MEXT andthecurrentsystemstartedafterWorldWar II when it began its 6-3-3-4 arrangement
（Nuffic,2020）.IntheOECD’sProgrammefor International Student Assessment （PISA）
aimedatfifteen-year-olds,Japanesestudents recordedhighlevelsofachievement,particularly in mathematics and science. Educational activitiesoutsideofschoolarealsoabundant, and programs leading to advanced education havebeenimplemented.
Enrollmentsinhighschools,thesecond-half ofsecondaryeducation,havereachedover90%, andenrollmentsincollegearealsoover50%.
Admissiontohighschoolsandcollegesismainly throughentranceexams,heldfromJanuaryto March.ThelevelofeducationinJapanishigh, evenbyworldstandards（Cave,2001,p.173）.
1．2．Research Question
What are the similarities and differences betweenFijiandJapanintermsoftheschool system, educational issues, the mathematics curriculum,andmathematicstextbooks?
1．3．Objective of the Research
Thepurposeofthisresearchistocompare theeducationalsystemsinFijiandJapan.This study will explore the similarities and differencesbetweentheeducationalsystemsin thetwocountriesintermsoftheschoolsystem, educationalissues,themathematicscurriculum, andmathematicstextbooks.
2．Methodology
Methods of data collection are closely associated with the research methodology
（Denscombe,2014）.Sevenmethodswereused tocollect,interpret,andanalyzethedataand
Comparative Study of Mathematics Education in Fiji and Japan
informationforthisresearch.Themethodsare asfollows:
・lReading collecting/interpreting/analyzing datafromtheinternet,books,andjournals.
・Lectures （Fig. 1） led by Professor Hiroshi Ishiianddiscussionsduringclasshelpedto gainknowledgeabouttheJapaneseeducation system.
・Preparingpresentationsforseminars（Fig.2）
helpedtoestablishmostofthepointsthatwill bediscussedinthisresearch.
・Watching videos about Japanese teaching methodsandcarryingoutlessonobservations.
・ObservingmathematicslessonsinHakodate Elementary School and carrying out lesson
observations.
・A questionnaire comprising of open-ended questions（Johnson&Christensen,2012）was designed to gather data to send to three Fijianteacherswhoarecurrentlyteachingin Japan.
・InterviewingaseniorFijianteacherwhohad taught for 28 years in Fiji and has been teachingintheTochigiPrefectureforthelast 10 years because the ultimate goal is to understandindividualexperiences,withthe belief that reality is subjective and constructedbytheindividual（Lather,2006）.
3．Issues to Be Discussed.
3．1．School System in Japan and Fiji TheFijianeducationsystemstartedin1835 whenmissionariesstartedinformaleducationto teachpeopletoreadtheBible.Theeducation departmentwasestablishedin1916,105years ago. The formal name for our Ministry of EducationistheMEHA.Ontheotherhand,the Japaneseeducationsystemstartedduringthe Edoperiodwheninformaleducationwasabout teachinglifeskills.TheMinistryofEducation wasestablishedin1871,anditsformalnameis theMinistryofEducation,ScienceandCulture.
FormaleducationinFijistartsatkindergarten levelatage5,anditlastsfor1year,whereasin Japan,theagerequirementforentryis3years, anditisa3-yearprogram.Primaryschoolin FijiandJapanbeginsatage6.Primaryschool in Fiji lasts for 8 years （ages 6-13 years）, whereas in Japan, it is 6 years （ages 6-12 years）.HighorsecondaryschoolinFijilastsfor 5years（ages14-18years）;whereasinJapan, therearetwohighschoollevels-lowerhighfor 3yearsandupperhighfor3years-following the6-3-3-4educationsystem.
Fig. 1 LectureTopics
Fig. 2 SeminarPresentation
Thetertiaryeducationsysteminbothcountries canbeseeninthetablebelow:
Table. 1 Yearsofeducationattertiary
TheacademiccalendarinFijiandJapanis dividedintothreeterms.InFiji,itstartsand finishesinthesameyear,whereasinJapan,the academicyearfinishesinthefollowingcalendar year. The first term in Fiji begins in mid- Januaryfor14weeks,thesecondtermstarts after2weeksfor14weeks,andthefinalthird termis13weeks.Theacademicyearfinishesat theendofNovemberforaneight-weekholiday.
However,inJapan,thefirsttermbeginsinthe firstweekofAprilandfinishesinmid-July,the second term begins in early September after the summer holiday and finishes around the 25th of December and schools close for the winterholiday.Term3beginsinearlyJanuary andfinishesinlateMarch.
ThesubjectstaughtinFijiatprimaryschool are as follows: English, Social Sciences, Mathematics,BasicScience,PhysicalEducation, Music,ArtandCraft（PEMAC）HealthyLiving, Languages（Hindi,Fijian,Urdu,andRotuman）, ExtraCurricular/Clubs（Scouts,Gardening,Girl Guidesetc.）,MoralEducation,andGardening.
The subjects taught in Japan at primary schoolareasfollows:Japanese,SocialStudies, Mathematics, Science, Life Environmental Studies,Music,ManualArt,PhysicalEducation, Moral Education, Foreign Languages, Home Economics, Special Activities, and General
Learning.
Fig. 3 Schoolingyears
Englishisthemediumofcommunicationexcept for language classes（“Ministry of Education, HeritageandArts:Aboutus,”2020）,whereasin Japan,Japanese（Nihongo,Hiragana,Katakana and Kanji） is the medium of communication
（“MinistryofEducation,Culture,Sports,Science, andTechnology:Education-Overview,”2021）.
3．2．Issues in Education
3．2．1 Medium of Communication
Since English is not the mother tongue of students in Fiji, it is difficult to teach other subjects in English and the language at the same time. Students in lower grades find it difficulttounderstandconceptstaughttothem in English as some are still struggling to understand the language, and it becomes a burdentolearnadifferentsubjectinEnglish.
On the other hand, in Japan, all subjects are taught in Nihongo, so it is very easy for studentstounderstandwhatisbeingtaught.
Students understand more when things are
Comparative Study of Mathematics Education in Fiji and Japan
taughtintheirmothertongue.Theteachingof Englishisnowoneofthemajorfocalpointsin theJapaneseeducationsystemsothatstudents arewellequippedfortheglobalworldrather thanconfiningthemtoJapanonly（Stevenson, 1991,p.116）.
ComparedwiththeJapaneseeducationsystem, Ibelieveitisbettertoteachchildrenintheir mothertongueratherthanusingEnglishasa medium of communication（Benson, C., 2005）.
Yadav, M.K. （2014） also states that students understand better when they learn in their mothertongue.SincestudentsinFijianschools are multilingual, it would be difficult to implementsuchanidea.Ifitwasimplemented, it would mean segregating Indo Fijian and Fijian, which could then highlight the differencesbetweenthetwogroupsofpeoplein thecountry.
3．2．2 Examination
InFiji,examinationsareveryimportantfrom primaryschoolthroughtohighschool.However, inJapan,theyarenotgiventhatmuchimportance.
StudentsinFijidointernalexaminationsevery yearbeginninginYear1.Therearefiveexternal examinationsforstudentsinFijiinYears6,8, 10, 12, and 13. Year 13 external examination resultsareusedforstudentstogetaplacement atuniversity.Evenifstudentsfail,theyadvance tothenextgradeinbothprimaryschooland highschool.Incomparison,studentsinJapando an entrance examination from various universitiestoobtainaplacement.Studentsfind itdifficultandcanbecomefrustratedbecause theyhavenotyetexperiencedamajorexamin school.
TheJapaneseeducationsystemshouldhave major external examinations for students so thattheycangetafeelforexaminationswhile
in school, as Yildirim （2007） and Johnson, &
Johnson1996）havehighlightedthatonlyhaving entranceexaminationslateroninschoolputs students under a lot of stress and can cause depression.Theseexamsshouldnotbeusedto eliminate students but instead should allow themtogainconfidenceandexperiencewhen participatinginmajorexaminations.
3．2．3 Bullying in Schools
Thealarmingrateatwhichcasesofschool bullying have increased is a concern in both countries. In Fiji, MEHA has organized awareness regarding this issue and set up schoolcounselorsforstudentswhoarebullied andalsotheculprits.Therearealsodistrictand national counselors who deal with cases of nationalconcern.Ifbullyingisnotstopped,the students who are bullied will not feel like comingtoschoolandthiscouldleadtohigher rates of school drop-outs. Even the Japanese Education Ministry is working hard to put a stop to school bullies. There are rules and policiessetuptodealwiththisissue.Ibelieve thesethingscouldbeeliminatedfromtheschool system if we educate about values in daily school life. We have implemented values educationinourschoolsandhaveseenpositive changesinthebehaviorofstudents.
3．2．4 Absenteeism
Ithasalsobeennotedthatinbothcountries, absenteeismisamajorissue.Therearevarious reasons for the issues, depending on the country.Forexample,inJapan,theeducation systemisinacriticalcondition.Forexample,a 2019surveybyMEXTfoundthat110,000junior highschoolstudentsweredefinedasabsentees.
Thereasonsthatthestudentsinquestioncited mostcommonlyfornotattendingschoolorfor
avoidingregularclasseswere“aversiontothe atmosphere of the class as a whole” （44%）,
“worriesaboutschoolstudies”（36%）,“problems with friends” （29%）, “worries about relations with teachers” （23%）, “experiences of being bullied”（21%）,and“inabilitytoadapttoschool rules and regulations” （21%）. In Fiji, the problemsaredifferent,suchasparentscannot affordbooks,clothes,etc.,sickness,andtruancy.
3．3．Mathematics Curriculum
3．3．1 The Three Levels of Curriculum TheintendedcurriculuminJapanisprepared at national level in alignment with national policy. The curriculum is different in both countriesdependingontheyearandlevel.Not alloftheintendedcurriculumcanbecovered byteachersbecauseofashortageoftimeoran inability to teach the topics. Since the implementedcurriculumisnotcovereddueto various reasons, students do not attain the intendedoutcomesasperMEXT’srequirements.
InFiji,thesyllabusispreparedbyMEHAin consultationwithexpertsindifferentsubjects.It islaterprovidedtoschoolsforimplementation.
TeachersmakeayearlyplancalledanUOW/
SOW/LTP.Likewiseinourcountry,someofthe intended curriculum is not implemented for reasonssuchasashortageofteachingtimedue tofactorslikeschoolclosuresbecauseofnatural disastersandCOVID-19,orattimesbecauseof a shortage of teachers. So, in Fiji, since the intended curriculum is not covered due to various factors, students do not master their learningasperMEHA’srequirements.
3．3．2 Curriculum Revision and the Learning Pyramid
ThelastrevisionofthecurriculuminFijiwas donein2015whereasinJapan,itwasin2020.
ThelasttimeitwasreviewedinFijiisnotsame as it was done in Japan, the later one has a recentreviewthanFiji;andalsotheperiodby whichthereviewtakesplaceisalsonotsame compared to Japan. Reviews are done in consultationwithofficialsfromtheministries, JICA, NZAID, AUSAID, and other delegates frominternationalagencies.Asshownbythis learningpyramid（Fig4）,studentslearnmore throughteachingothers.Thisisthesameinour countryaswehavestudentsingroupsandthey teacheachotherintheirgroups.Morelearning istakingplacethroughpeerteaching（Prakash, H.2019）.
Fig. 4 LearningPyramid
3．3．3 Curriculum Management
In Japan, teachers work in collaboration to createlessonsintheirdifferentsubjects.Also, teachersworkwiththecommunitytoimprove schooleducation.WealsodothatinFiji,aswe believe that all stakeholders such as parents, MEHA,schoolcommittees,andotherrelevant stakeholders are important components in curriculum management. Likewise in Fiji, teachersworktogethertomakeUOW/SOW/
LTP align with the syllabus provided. They latermakeworkbooks,exampapers,andother resourcesandsharetheseona“FijiTeachers”
Facebookplatform.
The “Systematic and Abstract” concept to categorizethecharacteristicsofthemathematics
Comparative Study of Mathematics Education in Fiji and Japan
curriculumisusedinJapan.Thisalsohasan characteristicofthecurriculumdifficultylevel increaseseachyear.Thesamemethodisused in Fiji. Each year, the difficulty level also increases,forexample,inYear1,numbersupto 100aretaught（1-3digitnumbers）,butasthe levelincreases,thedifficultyincreasesto4-7 digitnumbers（Prakash,H.,2019）.
3．3．4 Curriculum Content for Primary School The strands taught in Fiji and Japan at different age levels are also different. The strandstaughtinJapan（Fig.5）atvariousage levelsareasfollows:
・Grades 1, 2 & 3-Numbers and calculation, Figures,Measurement,andUtilizationofData.
・Grades 4, 5 & 6-Numbers and calculation, Figures,ChangeandRelation,andUtilization ofData.
・JuniorHigh-Numbersandexpression,Figures, Function,andUtilizationofData.
StrandstaughtinFiji（Fig.6）atvariousage levelsareasfollows:
・Year 1 & 2-Number, Measurement, Shape andSpace,Patterns,andChanceandData.
・Years3&4-NumbersandNumeration,Algebra, Measurement,Geometry,andChanceandData.
・Year7&8-NumbersandNumeration,Algebra, Measurement,Geometry,andChanceandData.
Fig. 6 MathematicsCurriculuminFiji
3．3．5 Similarities and Differences in Curriculum Content
Someofthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthe curriculum content （strands） of the two countriesarelistedbelow.
Table. 2 Similaritiesanddifferences Similarities Differences Someofthecontent
thatissimilarinboth curriculums is as follows:
Numbers Measurement Data
Someofthedifferencesin the content of both the curriculumsareasfollows:
A.Fiji Numeration Shapes Space Algebra Geometry Chance Pattern B.Japan Calculation Figures
ChangeandRelation UtilizationofData
3．4．Mathematics Textbooks
All textbooks in Fiji are prepared by the Curriculum Development Unit （CDU） of the MinistryofEducation（MEHA）.Thesearedone Fig. 5 MathematicsCurriculuminJapan
in consultation with mathematics teachers in Fiji,CDUmathematicsstaff,andJICA/AusAid and NZ Aid curriculum advisors. The last curriculumreviewwascarriedoutin2015along with revised versions of the textbooks.
Textbooksaretobeusedonlyasresource,i.e., teachersshouldnotteacheverythingexactlyas in the textbooks, but they should teach the syllabi.TheEducationalResourceCenter（ERC）
thenpublishesthebooksanddistributesthem toallschoolsinFiji.Thesametextbookisused throughout Fiji. Every year, textbooks are issued to students, and teachers ensure that studentskeepthebooksingoodconditionso that they can be used by the next batch of
students.Theclassteacherssendarequestto theHeadofSchoolforthenumberofbooksto berequestedfromtheERC.Thetextbooksare distributed by strand and topics/sub-topics.
Eachsub-topichasitsspecificnotes,examples, and activities. The textbook is written in English.Teachersusethequestionsfromthe book as classroom activities and homework.
Usually,outoftenquestions,sixwillbeusedas classroomactivitiesandfourashomework.
On the contrary, textbooks in Japan are written and published by private companies.
The textbooks vary throughout the country.
Differentprefectureshavedifferentpublishers andthetextbooksalsodifferaspertheyear/
Table. 3 Year6MathematicsTextbookinFijiandJapan
Comparative Study of Mathematics Education in Fiji and Japan
grade.Textbooksaregiventostudentsintheir respective schools and are aligned to the nationalcurriculumsetbyMEXT.Thedifferent publishers design their own books and seek approvalforthemtobeusedinschools.Once approvalisgiventoaparticulartextbook,itis thenpublishedandgoestoprint.Thepublisher thensellsthebookstodifferentschoolsasper their requests. The publisher retains the copyright for that particular textbook. There are two textbooks, whereas in Fiji, all the content is in one book. The textbooks are distributedbytopic.Therearenotes,examples, and activities on each topic. The textbook is writteninNihongo,whichmakesiteasierfor thelearnerstounderstand.Teacherscanuse activities from the textbooks and also make theirownactivities.
4．Conclusion
This comparative study on mathematics education in Fiji and Japan has shown similarities and differences in the education systembetweenthetwocountries.Oneofthe similaritiesisthatbothcountrieshavechanged their curriculum and designed strategies to improvetheteachingofmathematics.Another similarity is that in both countries, student- centeredlearningispromoted.
On the other hand, there are a lot of differencesbetweentheeducationsystems.The schoolsystemissetupindifferentways:6-3-3- 4and8-5.Thecurriculumisdifferentinterms ofthestrandsthataretaughtduringdifferent years.Thewaytextbooksarepublishedisalso different. However, the education system in Japanisseenasoneofthebestintheworld, henceinFiji,weshouldre-alignourstrategies and pedagogies to enhance the education
systeminthecountry.
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（ディーパック ダット 教員研修留学生）
（石井 洋 函館校准教授）
