Abstract:

Remedial education in the context of higher education is known as developmental education or basic skills education in the United States. It is commonly offered for students who have fallen behind the targets which can happen if their education was disrupted by social issues, family problems or missed schooling.

In Japan, remedial education is currently a hot issue widely discussed in higher education. However, the definition of the term ‘remedial education’ differs from other countries. In many countries, remedial education is available in order to help students cope successfully with the pressures of the heavy work load expected on higher education courses. Students need some support to fight back mentally against these study pressures. This is one of main assignments of remedial education elsewhere.

However in Japan it seems there are some differences between what is understood by remedial education elsewhere, and what is thought to be required in the context of Japanese university education, where the goal is to help students make the adjustments required to cope successfully with the new demands facing them.

Traditionally, many students in Japan attended preparatory schools after graduating from high school in order to prepare themselves for the university entrance examinations. However, training students to pass examinations may not have prepared them particularly well for university education. And with falling rolls, many students now have little difficulty in securing a university place directly from high school. It is, therefore, all the more important for universities to design programmes to help new students make the transition from high school education to the very different style of self-motivated study required at the university.

In this paper, I will compare the Japanese concept of remedial education with that in Europe and North America. Some students are offered places several months before their university courses begins. For these we offer preparatory coursework to help prepare them for the university before they arrive. In their first year we offer ‘remedial’ classes to the freshmen as part of the mandatory curriculum which are designed to help them make the best use of the new study opportunities provided.

Keywords:

Remedial education, curriculum design.