Japan: Educationally Relevant Generalizations and Inherent Research Biases.

This paper notes the proliferation of literature about the characteristics of Japanese education and culture. Generalizations ranging from reports of remarkable progress in subject disciplines to praise of Japanese technology, social and individual behavior, and systematic accomplishments have been cited. It is contended in this study that some of the research on education in Japan has been of dubious quality, and that there is considerable risk in making or adopting generalizable statements from the literature. Quoting specific studies, the paper highlights the following biases characteristic of research on Japan and its educational system; (1) biases due to one-sided presentations eliminating conflicting evidence; (2) biases resulting from the use of tertiary citations based on secondary citations and their relationship to unverified primary sources or citations (unverified facts); (3) biases due to methodological error and the scholarship of understanding, reporting, and interpreting; (4) the Japanophile bias; and (5) biases due to "Halo Effect" (allowing an overall impression to influence analysis of specific behaviors) and to the inherent logical argument. These biases challenge the validity of some of the information in the extant literature. (SY)