What is “Doutoku no Jyugyou?” (Moral/Values/Character Education)

I believe that “Doutoku no Jyugyou” (Moral/Values/Character Education) is one of the unique subjects taught at Japanese elementary schools. You might think that “Moral/Values/Character education” is not a study subject, as it should be based on culture, and life experiences. Or that morals should be taught by family members.

In an article about this subject, Hideki Maruyama mentions about the goal of moral education in Japan, and that it “is to cultivate student’s morality, including moral mentality, judgment, engagement, and attitude, by all the education activities in school” (Maruyama 4)

When I was in elementary school, I had “Doutoku no Jyugyou” and I really enjoyed it. It was sometimes quite tricky to understand exactly what my teacher was trying to teach us. She usually chose a story from a textbook which related to morals, values and character building. After my teacher read the story, she would always say this, “There is no right, or wrong answer so don’t be shy. Please share your thoughts or ideas.” One of the teaching materials now used is a “kokoro no note” which means “note book of the heart”. It is similar to a journal or diary.

I have an interesting story to share with you that illustrates what my teacher was saying. A few weeks ago, two young girls were talking about their moral, values and character education class, behind me. One girl was complaining about her teacher. She said, “My teacher said there is no right or wrong answer in moral, values, character building class. But when I said something about the topic, my teacher said that my answer was not the best choice.”

The other girl agreed with her, and said, “That’s so true! Morals, values, character education class can be so confusing!” I laughed because it reminded me of myself when I was in the very same class, all those years ago. Now I understood why my teacher said, “There is no right, or wrong answer and the answer can be unique and individual.” Also, as an educator, I can relate to the teacher of the two girls whose conversation I listened to. It’s not easy for young students to understand morals, values, or character education, when they are quite young.

Moral, values, and character education is taught not only in school but also learned in the home, community, and in our daily life. As my teacher in elementary school said, there is no right or wrong answer, however young children need to have experiences in their daily life in order to fully understand this subject 

When I was writing this article, I was thinking of how our circle time sometimes relates to this subject matter. In Petals Class, we often talk about how and why we take care of family, friends, animals, earth, things, and community. And we do this through showing love and kindness, honesty, respect, and more. Having this kind of discussion in our circle time helps the children reflect and think about things.

I wonder if there are different ways of teaching a morals, values and character education class. Perhaps the way people are taught can differ depending on the country or culture that you come from. I’m interested in knowing how people practice moral, values and character education in the home and in their communities

If you are happy to share with me your experience or learning moment, I’d like to know!

What is the importance of moral, values and character education teaching to you?

What is your understanding of moral, values and character education?

Do you think that moral, values and character education truly reflects the reality of life?

Submitted by:

Sayaka Michigoe

Submitted on March 4. 2022

Reference:

Hideki Maruyama, “Moral Education in Japan” 2013 https://www.nier.go.jp/English/educationjapan/pdf/201303MED.pdf