a. The Standardization of Middle Schools

In Article 4 of the 1879 Education Order, middle schools were described as places of instruction for the higher level of general education. This same stipulation was also contained in the 1880 Education Order without any amendment - though in the latter document there was the addition of provisions for the establishment of agricultural, commercial and technical schools. According to the 1880 Order, middle schools were to be established by each prefecture taking into account local conditions and specialized schools and various vocational schools were also to be set up by each prefecture.

As the provisions for middle schools in the 1880 Education Order were quite brief, the Department of Education issued General Guidelines for the Course of Study for Middle Schools in July, 1881. According to these Guidelines, the middle school had two aims. The first was to provide training appropriate for careers that would be filled by the upper and middle classes and the second was to prepare students for higher education. This dual role of the middle schools would in time become a serious problem for middle level education.

The organization of the niiddle schools called for two levels of courses. The primary course lasted for four years and the higher for two. Either of these might be shortened or lengthened by one year. Entrance was to be available to those who completed the intermediate course of the elementary school. Subjects for the primary course of the middle school included morals, Japanese and Chinese classics, English, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, geography, history, physiology, zoology, botany, physics, chemistry, economics, bookkeeping, calligraphy, drawing, singing and physical education. The higher course of the middle school offered morals, Japanese and Chinese classics, English, bookkeeping, drawing, singing, physical education, trigonometry, mineralogy (kinseki), the laws and orders of Japan, physics and chemistry. A minimum of 32 weeks of instruction per year was required. The number of instructional hours per week for each subject was also standardized. In January, 1884, General Regulations for Middle Schools (Chugakko Tsusoku) were issued stressing especially the need for these schools to concern themselves with the moral development of their students.

In 1880 there were only 188 middle schools (one government, 137 local public and fifty private) and the total number of students enrolled was 12,256; due to the strict enforcement of the standard outlined in Article 4 of the 1879 Education Order, some 630 private schools had lost their former middle school status, and become "miscellaneous schools." By 1885 there was a further decline to 106 schools (104 local public and two private) with 14,084 students. The model school at that time was government Osaka Middle School, restructured in December, 1880, from former Osaka Specialized School (until 1879, Osaka School of English mentioned earlier). This School was reorganized into the Branch School of the University (Daigaku Bunko) in July, 1885.

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