ABSTRACT
Japanese science education is more successful than its American counterpart in terms of both quantity and quality of science education for all students. An interesting irony in the comparison of Japanese and American science education is that since World War II, Japanese education has been based upon the American model. The science curriculum, under the guidance of science curriculum specialist Vivian Edmiston Todd, stressed observation, experimentation, and the development of positive feelings for science over the learning of specific facts. Primary school science, with its emphasis on observation and experimentation, contrasts sharply with education in later years. The science content in junior high school is heavy, consisting of two areas, one in physics and chemistry and the other in biology and earth science. The success of Japanese science education is due to general characteristics of the society and the educational system, as well as to specific features of science education.
