Homogeneity and diversity: comparing Japanese and American perspectives on harmony and disagreement

Abstract

My article aims to develop a relational, pluralistic political theory that moves beyond standard theories of liberal democracy, and to consider how such a theory translates into our public school settings. I use a narrative style argument to share stories that focus on homogeneity and diversity from my visit to a Japanese elementary school, as I consider, drawing on the work of Chantal Mouffe, the important role harmony and disagreement, and a tension between homogeneity and diversity, play in encouraging citizens to contribute to their school and their larger communities in a democracy-always-in-the-making. I argue that there is much we can learn from Japanese educational practices.

Keywords:

• Japenese education
• American education
• harmony
• disagreement
• democratic theory
• Chantal Mouffe

Notes

Notes

1. There are exceptions to this overall equality that can be found by looking at the history of minority students' education in Japan, such as Koreans, who are not granted citizenship even today, as well as the Buraku children, who are treated as ‘outcastes.’ See: Okano and Tsuchiya's (1999) Education in contemporary Japan: Inequality and diversity and Schoolland's (1990) Shogun's ghost.

2. There are controversies surrounding the centralized Japanese curriculum that are not addressed in their classrooms as well, such as their censored history books and lack of discussion of their role in World War II and their aggressions against Korea and China leading up to WWII. Japan does not acknowledge these aggressions in their history books, which causes bad feelings amongst citizens in their neighboring countries still today. Also, Japanese teachers at the secondary school level certainly feel pressure to help their students do well on the entrance exams that determine to which high school and college their students are accepted.

3. This is my next project.

4. This chapter re-works elements from chapters 1 and 5 of Thayer-Bacon (2008), Beyond liberal democracy in schools: The power of pluralism. New York: Teachers College Press.