The purpose of this paper is to clarify the development of the theory of integrated teaching by Teinosuke Hatano, who was a professor at Tokyo Higher Normal School in the 1900s. Hatano studied abroad in Germany from 1892 to 1896 and has been regarded as a representative figure who introduced Wilhelm Rein’s pedagogy of the Herbart school to Japan. Rein was a professor at the University of Jena and has been known as a pedagogue who proposed the five-step teaching method and concentration (for example, the central integration table).

In the 1880s, prior to studying in Germany, Hatano placed primary emphasis on encouraging the spontaneous development of children’s “mental power” based on developmentalist teaching methods, and the discussion of the educational content to be taught was only secondary.

In the 1900s, when Hatano was active as a pedagogue after returning to Japan, was a time when professors were calling for integrationism in teaching. At that time, with the spread of the modern school education system in full swing, the harmful effects of uniformly teaching too much knowledge were pointed out, and integrationism in teaching was being viewed as a strategy to overcome this problem.

Among previous studies on integrationism in teaching, Kanjiro Higuchi’s book “Integrationism New Teaching Method” (Doubunkan, 1899) has been highly praised as being activism and child centered. It has been especially valued as a pioneer of Taisho liberal education that Higuchi practiced an active excursion to Mt. Asuka with second-grade children.

However, Hatano’s integrated teaching theory, which he had learned under Rein in Germany, is based on the teacher’s systematic planning of the interrelationship of the existing educational content in advance, without relying on activities such as excursions. Hatano also insisted that based on these interrelationships of the educational content, children’s character has been developed. It was made clear that Hatano’s theory of integrated teaching was meant to emphasize the importance of connecting with the educational content. Contrary to the claims made before studying in Germany, it was proposed that teachers need to systematically plan the interrelationships of the educational content in advance.

It is also clear that Hatano placed emphasis on how to connect existing teaching materials under the Elementary School Education Guidelines (Shougakkou-kyousokutaikou; 1891), rather than using central integrated tables that explore the best way to classify subjects (for example, emotional education, department of history and humanities, department of natural sciences, etc.) in the entire curriculum as was explored by Rein.

In Japan, school libraries are generally regarded as facilities that support student learning and foster information literacy. However, at one time, school libraries influenced educational content and curricula, rather than learning methods. From the post-World War II period through the 1950s, researchers and teachers who endorsed school libraries proposed a new subject called “library education” and developed a corresponding curriculum incorporating educational objectives and content specific to Japan at that time. The subject area differed from that of information literacy. However, recent studies have only considered library education as a learning method that uses books and school libraries to foster information literacy. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of library education in Japan in the early postwar years. Specifically, the following issues were addressed: (1) what people expected from library education at that time and (2) the diversity and commonality of the library education curriculum created by each school.

In Chapter 1, we examine researchers’ and teachers’ discourses on library education. We focus mainly on the discourse of Ichiro Sakamoto, who was involved in the development of the library education curriculum at Setagaya Elementary School. In previous studies, this school was positioned as an early library education model. Although Sakamoto consulted the educational contents of “Use of books and libraries” in America, unique educational contents were included in library education in Japan. Examples include teaching moral attitudes and the history and social significance of libraries. We confirmed that researchers and public librarians expect library education to enlighten students by teaching them the significance of public libraries and fostering good users of public libraries in the future.

Chapter 2 reviews the library education curricula developed by each school. In addition, we examine critiques of these curricula. In the 1950s, while a handbook written by the Ministry of Education made recommendations for library education, each school autonomously developed its own library education curriculum to address the actual conditions of their school. Therefore, diversity was observed in the scope, sequence, and position of library education in school curricula. Despite the diversity of the curriculum, commonalities were observed in the sequence from school libraries to public libraries.

The study findings imply that the discipline of library education was intended to develop Japanese society by nurturing good users of public libraries. Public librarians expected that library education would be taught; thus, library education was one aspect of early postwar school education that attempted to directly meet society’s expectations. The research results represent a further step toward developing a historical study of school curricula in the early postwar years.

In the “Courses of Study (Tentative Draft) General Edition” of 1947, the curriculum prepared by the Ministry of Education was limited to the scope of subject matter. However, as the educational reforms of the Occupation period progressed, extra-curricular activities that had been positioned outside the curriculum were incorporated into it, and the scope of the curriculum was expanded to include both subjects and “special-curricular activities” (curricularized extra-curricular activities). This view of curriculum has been carried over to today’s curriculum administration in Japan.

This article analyzes the process of discussions regarding extra-curricular activities between the Ministry of Education and the GHQ/SCAP CIE Education Division in occupied Japan. The analysis is based on documents such as SCAP internal weekly reports and conference reports contained in the GHQ/SCAP documents in the collection of the Constitutional Archives, National Diet Library, Japan. This study considers the historical nature of the process of the establishment of special-curricular activities in Japan.

As a result, the following was shown. First, it was shown that the curricularization of extra-curricular activities in Japan was developed during the writing of “Administration of Upper and Lower Secondary Schools” which was published in the 1950 by the Ministry of Education as a guide to secondary school education. The guide’s writing process spanned from the summer of 1947 to the summer of 1948. During the writing process, “visiting experts” on school administration, including Burt Johnson, a lecturer of Teachers College, Columbia University, visited Japan from the U.S. to provided guidance and advice. Following their visit, SCAP and the Japanese writing committee, composed of bureaucrats and school principals, worked closely together on revising the guide. It was concluded that the theory of special-curricular activities in Japan was established as part of the school administration theory, not as a curriculum theory.

Secondly, it was shown that this process was a “Japanization” of the extracurricular activity theory that was mainly formed in the United States during the 1920s. This was achieved by recontextualizing and modifying it to suit the realities of the Occupation period. In this “Japanization,” efforts, on the one hand, in order to facilitate the introduction of the American extra-curricular activity theory into Japan, to make the content of special-curricular activities more concrete and to place the installation of special-curricular activities as a consequence of the history of extra-curricular activities in Japan. On the other hand, considering the educational situation in Japan, modifications were made to reposition the results of the American extracurricular activities theory as a theory of school administration. Specifically, it was shown that a logic of dual control over student agency and the scope of activities had formed: not only educational control of student activities as part of the means of citizenship education, but also administrative control by incorporating them into the school administration system.

The concept of “Curriculum Management” gained prominence in Japanese academia following the 1998 revision of the Course of Study and received significant emphasis in the 2017 revision. Despite this, its practical implementation has often been met with skepticism by educators, who view it as a mandatory but superficial task. This perception raises questions regarding the genuine integration of curriculum management within schools.

This study addresses these concerns by developing and analyzing a curriculum aimed at professional teachers enrolled in a graduate school of teacher education. The objective of the curriculum was to enhance the participants’ understanding and appreciation of curriculum management, thereby fostering a deeper conceptual comprehension, increasing their motivation, and raising their awareness. Our research sought to evaluate the current state of curriculum management understanding among teachers, assess how this understanding evolved through our specialized curriculum, and identify design principles that could effectively invigorate curriculum management practices.

Incorporating Tetsuo Hori’s “one-page portfolio analysis” for reflection, our 15-lesson course engaged students in critical thinking through “essential questions” and “self-evaluation.” Through this methodology, we sought to verify the “learned curriculum” of the students.

Analysis of 154 student portfolio entries over three years revealed an initial limited understanding that significantly transformed as the course progressed. Methodologies included a quantitative assessment of responses, instructor evaluations, detailed textual analysis, and text mining to elucidate the changes in the structures of participants’ comprehension and their reflective insights into personal growth.

Findings indicated substantial deepening in participants’ understanding of curriculum management, marked shifts in perspective and emotional engagement, and a notable increase in motivation. Importantly, evidence of behavioral change was observed, with some participants implementing new strategies in their teaching and management contexts. Key to these transformations was linking curriculum management to student learning; recognizing that actors in curriculum management can extend beyond teachers to encompass community agencies or administrators of educational boards; and the anticipating enhanced student engagement. The curriculum we implemented showcased practical examples and theoretical model analysis, and exemplified effective curriculum design and management practices to serve as a model for teachers.

This study provides valuable insights into curriculum design strategies effectively promoting understanding, perspective shifts, and practical applications of curriculum management. Although focused on a long-term curriculum, which may limit the direct applicability to short-duration teacher-training programs, the findings offer foundational knowledge that is beneficial across educational contexts. Limitations include potential self-reported data bias and a lack of long-term impact analysis and comparative evaluation with similar programs at other institutions.