Gerald K. LeTendre

Teacher Quality, Opportunity Gap, and National Achievement in 46 Countries

The 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data from 46 countries showed that, although the national level of teacher quality in the United States was similar to the international average, the opportunity gap in students’ access to qualified teachers between students of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) was among the largest in the world. Cross-national analyses revealed that the countries with better teacher quality produced higher mathematics achievement. However, larger opportunity gaps in access to qualified teachers did not predict larger achievement gaps between high-SES and low-SES students cross-nationally. These analyses provide empirical, cross-national evidence of the importance of investing in teacher quality for improving national achievement. National policies and practices related to improving teacher quality appear to be a promising area for future research to identify how other countries have achieved both excellence and equity in student achievement.

Student Victimization: National and School System Effects on School Violence in 37 Nations:

School violence is a problem in many nations, and rates of school violence in the United States are not among the highest in the world. The authors utilize a section of the TIMSS survey data to (a) explore the amount of school violence among the 37 nations in the study; (b) ascertain whether the traditional national-level predictors of crimes and delinquency explain cross-national variation in school violence; and (c) test whether factors related to the educational system are associated with levels of school violence cross-nationally. The results show that national patterns of school violence are not strongly related to general patterns of violence or lack of social integration in society. However, national systems of education that produce greater achievement differences between high-achieving and low-achieving students tend to record more violence. The authors suggest further studies and testing of one possible remedy for school violence: equalizing the quality of education that all students receive.

What Is Tracking? Cultural Expectations in the United States, Germany, and Japan

On the basis of the TIMSS Case Study Project data collected in the United States, Japan, and Germany in 1994–1995, this article examines the phenomenon of tracking as part of curricular differentiation and student placement practices in public K–12 school systems. The authors document clear national differences in differentiation and placement measures and summarize the history of conflict over those measures. Analysis of respondent perceptions and beliefs about differentiation and placement (what people think “tracking” is) shows that nation-specific values and attitudes (i.e., cultures) determine which forms of curricular differentiation are legitimated and which contested. Dominant cultural beliefs about what students are capable of and the role that schools should play in educating them create different points of conflict over tracking.

Teachers’ Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan

Policy debates in the U.S. are increasingly informed by use of internationally generated, comparative data. Many arguments revolve around whether or not such comparison makes “cultural sense” or whether specific educational activities that appear successful in one nation are “culturally appropriate” in another. These arguments clash with the work of anthropologists and sociologists who demonstrate that global cultural dynamics influence national patterns of schooling around the world. Using both the survey and case study data from the Third International Math-Science Study (TIMSS), we examine the working conditions and beliefs of teachers in Japan, Germany, and the U.S. in order to assess the relative merits of competing theoretical perspectives. We find some differences in how teachers’ work is organized, but similarities in teachers’ belief patterns. We find that core teaching practices and teacher beliefs show little national variation, but that other aspects of teachers’ work (e.g., non-instructional duties) do show variation. We show that models of national cultures of learning or “national teaching scripts” may overemphasize cultural differences and underestimate the impact of institutional isomorphism in schooling. We argue that rather than change values, educational policy will be best served by identifying specific features of teacher work and analyzing how to improve these working conditions.

The Problem of Japan: Qualitative Studies and International Educational Comparisons

I find my new interpreter fully charged with the new ideas. He thinks enthusiastically the same as I do on my pet projects, viz—to make a National text-book on chemistry, to advocate the education of women, to abolish the drinking of sake, the wearing of swords, the promiscuous bathing of the sexes. . . . I feel grateful that I have already accomplished so much, and that my right-hand-men, my tongues in this land, are such congenial and aspiring men. It only makes me more earnest, more intent on forgetting the magnitude of the work, the difficulties, as well as overlooking the dirt, the foulness and the vile side of the Japanese question.

Learning to be adolescent : growing up in U.S. and Japanese middle schools

The organization of middle schools and the practices of middle school teachers in Japan and the United States differ dramatically Gerald K. LeTendre demonstrates in this compelling comparative study. Based on his long-term observations in Japanese and American schools and on analyses of curricula and classroom practices, the author describes what teachers, administrators, and counselors in each country believe about adolescent development. He explores how these beliefs are put into practice and how they affect adolescent development.In both nations, LeTendre observes, school personnel are extremely concerned with volition: the developing willpower of young adolescents. But while both Americans and Japanese believe that nurturing a young persons ability to use his or her will is crucial, they take very different approaches to dealing with expressions of will. LeTendre also finds conflicting expectations and theories about adolescent development within each system, and he investigates how these can lead to confusion and contradictory rules.

Teaching and learning in Japan: Introduction: Japanese theories of learning

We see teaching and learning more clearly today, not just in Japan, but in all advanced societies. Learning is a major component of the intellectual consciousness of our day; we understand learning as something that occurs not just in schools and among children, but throughout society and throughout life. It is central to organizational change, social order, economic competition, and a host of other social processes. Viewed inclusively, the world of learning is rich in practices and understandings that vary in historical time, cultural space, and institutional context. The range of “things” to be learned is enormous – facts, endurance, maturity, peace of mind, empathy, physical coordination, judgment, persistence, morality, faith, concentration, trust, and so on. How these things are taught differs greatly from society to society and reflects basic understandings about such matters as human nature and the nature of knowledge. Our growing awareness of the importance of teaching and learning allows us to see not only how ubiquitous these processes are, but also how varied and interconnected. Most research on learning focuses on distinguishing the psychological factors and processes performed by individuals in relation to specific tasks. Our formal theories of learning and teaching derive largely from the Anglo-American tradition of educational psychology. We are finding that the often reified Western theories that have dominated our perceptions and research seriously hinder our ability to perceive the numerous uncodified worlds of teaching and learning that abound in each society.

Response to K. Anderson-Levitt’s Rejoinder

Anderson-Levitt raises several useful issues about our recent article on global versus national cultures, institutionalization, and comparative analysis of teaching in three nations.--In this response, we clarify some of our arguments and illustrate some of our differences in emphasis from Anderson-Levitt.

Merit or Family Background? Problems in Research Policy Initiatives in Japan

In reviewing educational trends in Japan during the post-World War II era, the authors found that current national data sets do not contain questions about family background or rank of school attended that are detailed enough to permit a significant analysis of the impact of family background on educational attainment. Given Japan’s stature in the current community of nations, the continued government aversion to collecting family income or educational background data, along with precise data on rank of school attended and/or types of cram school, appears negligent. The authors discuss both cultural and political reasons that may create a reluctance to collect such data.

Promoting and sustaining a quality teacher workforce

Teacher effectiveness and teacher quality have become the focus of intense international attention and concern. Around the world, governments are modifying existing certification requirements or implementing value-added modeling in order to qualify teachers without planning for the long-term consequences of these actions. The book brings together scholars from multi-disciplinary and international backgrounds to address two critical areas: (1) what existing cross-national measures of teacher effectiveness and teacher quality are most promising, and how can these be aligned to maximize their research potential; and (2) what core constructs of teacher quality or effectiveness are missing, and how can cross-national research help identify these. Identifying both what is used and what is missing in the international and comparative analysis and reform of teacher quality is key to informing evidence-based educational policy formation around teacher quality.