ABSTRACT
In Japanese primary schools, learning takes place through both academic and non-academic activities (Lewis, 1995). Teachers attach great importance not only to subject lessons, but also to the activities that take place outside lessons, ranging from everyday matters such as serving lunch and cleaning the classroom, to major events such as sports days and graduation ceremonies. Considerable trouble is taken to try to achieve the aim of a cohesive class group whose members help, support, and feel for one another. As part of this process, children learn implicit understandings of selfhood – what kind of person they are expected to be. While there were variations in the ideals of moral and personal development that teachers at the schools studied embraced, as well as the approaches they used, these remained variations within the common basic paradigm of the class group as a cohesive community.
