Cite this article: Lee, Y.-L., Yang, S.-W., & Yang, Y.-M. (2025). Analysis of the Systematic Structure and Practical Approach to Japan’s 2017 Curriculum Guidelines. Bulletin of Educational Research, 71(3), 37-81. https://doi.org/10.6910/BER.202509/SP_71(3).0002
This study explores the systematic and practical approaches of Japan’s 2017 curriculum guidelines– that is, how the main revision concepts, key framework, instructional and learning strategies, and assessment criteria were formulated based on educational goals and curriculum objectives. It also examines the supportive measures for implementation, including digital infrastructure and content, and the promotion of a national achievement test to assess curriculum implementation and provide a basis for future revision. The findings can serve as a reference for the ongoing improvement of Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education, particularly regarding the structure of its General Guidelines and the practice of curriculum implementation.
This study adopts the theories of “systematicity” of curriculum guidelines as its core conceptual framework to examine the systematic structure and practical approach to Japan’s curriculum guidelines. It also analyzes the concrete guidelines and strategies at the practical implementation level of the curriculum. By reflecting on and evaluating the deficiencies in Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education, the study concludes with relevant recommendations to serve as a reference for future curriculum revisions and deliberations by domestic stakeholders.
This study adopts a document analysis approach. It begins by examining the issues present in the Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education. It then draws on the planning and implementation experience of Japan’s 2017 national curriculum guidelines to explore how Japan, through the systematic structure of its curriculum framework, clearly defines the revision philosophy, core competencies, and curriculum implementation principles. The study further analyzes how Japan specifies students’ learning methods and teachers’ teaching approaches, key points and lesson allocations for subject revisions, learning outcomes assessment, as well as the systematic continuity and alignment across K-12 subjects. Additionally, it investigates how Japan places the curriculum at the center while integrating supporting policies such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, digital content and software, and national academic assessments, thereby realizing the core value of curriculum systematicity in practice.
Japan’s curriculum guidelines not only demonstrate systematicity in their structure and effective functional integration but also exhibit characteristics of optimization through data utilization, achieving a high level of alignment between policy and practice. First, the framework of Japan’s curriculum guidelines encompasses an understanding of future societal needs, curriculum design, subject objectives and content, teaching methods, and assessment strategies. Second, the guidelines connect policies, curricula, learning and teaching, assessment, and in-service teacher training. They leverage digital infrastructure and the GIGA (Global and Innovation Gateway for All) school concept to integrate curriculum objectives, learning content, classroom learning approaches, teaching methods, and instructional materials around the core competencies (qualifications and abilities). This ensures the practical effectiveness of the curriculum implementation. Lastly, to ensure the effectiveness of curriculum implementation, nationwide academic performance assessments are used to analyze students’ learning methods, teachers’ instructional approaches, and the relationship between digital infrastructure, digital content, and software in fostering core competencies. Based on these analyses, strategies related to the curriculum are continuously adjusted, refined, and organically integrated to enhance overall measures and ensure continual improvement.
Drawing on Japan’s experience, it is recommended that Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education revisions strengthen the overall coherence of the structural framework, including explicitly articulating the societal development context and the role of school education. Centered on core competencies, the curriculum should establish clear connections among educational and curriculum objectives, learning and teaching methods, assessment strategies, teacher training, digital infrastructure, digital content, and software. This unified direction for learning, teaching, and assessment would ensure the effective implementation of the curriculum guidelines. Additionally, a data-driven improvement mechanism should be established. By utilizing results from nationwide assessments and curriculum implementation surveys, the effectiveness of student core competencies, learning and teaching methods, and the application of digital resources can be evaluated. These results should then inform feedback for curriculum guidelines and strategies, ensuring that the curriculum remains current and that associated measures are organically integrated for continual improvement.
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