Tokyo

Learning shortfall: children's test scores in Singapore, Taiwan and Korea are surpassing those in Japan. Credit: CORBIS

Alarmed by declining student interest in science and the superior test scores of some of its neighbours in east Asia, Japan is planning to reform the way science is taught in its schools.

“In the past we focused on making sure that everyone was getting a standard education,” says a government official involved in the reforms. “Now we want to focus on enhancing the respective talents of each student.”

The plan will start next year with the establishment of 20 'super-science high schools', each of which will receive special funding to buy equipment and hire teaching assistance from university researchers. The schools will also form 'science clubs' and confer with the universities on teaching methods and curriculum content. In addition, the plan will provide small grants for equipment to 1,500 other schools.

Yozo Shimomura, an Earth sciences teacher at Shinagawa Etoile Girls' High School in Tokyo, says he hopes that the plan will help to encourage independent thought among students. But critics have expressed concern that overworked teachers in Japan's large classrooms need far more help than the package of measures is likely to offer.

Standardized tests of 13–14-year-olds indicate that children in Singapore, Taiwan and Korea are doing better than those in Japan. And surveys conducted at the same time as the tests found that the number of Japanese students who enjoy science or would like to make a career out of it is among the lowest in the countries tested.

Japan's newly formed Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is seeking ¥9 billion (US$75 million) in its budget request for the reforms.