Makarenko in Japan – reception and implementation of Makarenko’s idea in a capitalist society

Abstract

In 1988 UNESCO ranked Anton Semenovich Makarenko (1888–1939) as one of the top four educators who determined the world’s pedagogical thinking in the 20th century. This is not only because his idea of Collective Education was the official educational theory of the socialist countries, but also because numerous educators in non-socialist countries were inspired by his idea. According to Toshihiko FUJII (1934–2008), an educational scientist and Makarenko researcher, Japan is one of the capitalist countries which were strongly influenced by Makarenko’s ideas (Fujii 1988). Makarenko’s works were first translated into Japanese after WWII. In the post-war period, Japan went through a democratization process while under the U.S. occupation. In this context, the Japanese Communist Party was legalized, the labor movement strengthened, and ideas of New Education (such as Dewey) as well as Soviet educational science were (re-)introduced. Japanese teachers who had lost trust in the previous militaristic and ultra-nationalistic education, yet were also not satisfied with the American style of education, became enthusiastic about Makarenko’s pedagogy.