2006 年日本正式實施新教育基本法，但最近在進行學校教育與社 會教育改革時仍面臨許多困難。根據修正後的教育法，政府根據國家 課程標準舉行國家考試，以「教育績效責任」之名試圖改變公立學校 教育系統。然而，與歐美相較，日本對於標準取向教育之批評明顯少 許多。 公立學校的教育問題多發生在國小高年級與國中階段，介於 10-15 歲的青春期學生。過去的20 年間，日本處在所謂的「第三代教 育改革時代」，忙於處理大部分發生在10 至15 歲學生的拒絕上學、 校園霸凌、少年犯罪以及OECD/PISA 2003 及2006 測驗成績不如預 期表現。 因此，2008 年政府修訂了國家教程、國家課程標準，以有效提升 「生活熱忱」的思考能力。新教育法關注公共教育，所以，課程標準 在小學課程中強調義務教育、道德教育、語言活動、數學教育、科學 教育、傳統文化教育、體驗活動以及外語活動。 除此之外，精熟基本而重要的知識和技能、增加每周教學時數、 提高學習動機以及建立學習習慣都是重點項目，這些有利於達到提升 思考能力之目標。但國中學生處於人生的交叉路口且面臨相當大的壓 力，中央教育委員會並沒有對國中教育有更深入、透徹的探討。

In recent times, the Japanese government has faced difficulties in reforming school and social education despite the amendment of the Fundamental Law of Education 2006. With the revision of the main laws of education, the government has been transforming the public education system in terms of “educational accountability” by establishing a national test related to national curriculum standards. However, in Japan, there has been much less criticism of standard-oriented education than there has been in the U.S. or Europe. Interestingly enough, the educational problems in public schools are almost all found at the upper grades of elementary school and all grades of junior high school with young adolescent students aged 10-15. In the past two decades, Japan has been in the midst of a so-called “Age of the 3rd Educational Reform.” We have been coping with school refusal, bullying, and delinquency, along with lower than expected student scores on OECD/PISA 2003 and 2006, which mostly occur among students of the age range mentioned above. Therefore, in 2008, the government revised the National Course of Study, the national curriculum standards, in order to raise thinking abilities effectively as the core of the “Zest for Living” campaign. Under the new laws concerning public education, the revised curriculum standards stressed compulsory education, moral education, language activities, mathematics and science education, traditional culture education, experiential activities, and foreign language activities in the elementary curriculum. In addition, mastering basic knowledge and skills, increasing the number of hours of instruction per week, enhancing learning motivation, and establishing learning habits are all emphasized. All of these should help reach the final objective of improving thinking abilities. However, the Central Council for Education has not discussed our middle level education in any thorough way, though junior high school students are standing at the crossroads of their lives and suffer considerable stress.