THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

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The objective of this article is to clarify the education policies of the allied occupation by reviewing the "Exhibit of Art Work of American School Children" (June 1947, in Tokyo) by the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers, Civil Information and Education Section and Education Division (CIE), General Headquarters, and interested parties in Japan. In the early postwar days, textbooks from the United States were introduced at the "American Textbook Exhibition." For the "Exhibit of Art Work of American School Children" ; however, no clear description remains of the intention and circumstances. The subjects "Zuga" (Drawing) and "Kosaku" (Handicraft) taught at Kokumin Gakko (national school) were integrated to "Zuga-kosaku" (Arts and Handicrafts) after the war. The change in the translation of "Zuga" from "Drawing" to "Arts" indicates the difference in nature. "Zuga-kosaku" was intended as a base for other subjects. What was the role of the "Exhibit of Art Work of American School Children" in determining the nature of "Zuga-kosaku"? Did such an exhibit serve as propaganda about new education? Facts are necessary to answer these questions. Thus, I used articles from the Asahi Shimbun, related articles from magazines, and the CIE Conference Report. I discovered that Helen Heffernan (CIE) and Tokiomi Kaigo (Tokyo Imperial University) executed the initiative. The Central Research Institute of Education (Chuo Kyoiku Kenkyusho) hosted the exhibit and played a primary role in the initiative of Kaigo and the negotiations with Heffernan and Seigo Tanaka. The exhibits were reviewed in educational magazines and held in regional cities. More than 200 smaller exhibits were organized for specialists. The "Exhibit of Art Work of American School Children" had an influence on regulating postwar "Zuga-kosaku". From the facts of the extended duration and the regional exhibits, various people visited, including those in the education of drawing, handicrafts, and visual arts. The representative of CIE provided Mombusho (Ministry of Education) information on arts in US schools, including finger painting. In addition, the Exhibit presented the relationship between the artwork of school children and other subjects, such as social studies. The exhibit as a means of enforcing occupation policies was modeled after the "American Textbook Exhibition." Interestingly, it was supposedly initiated by interested parties in Japan, not by the representative of CIE. The sponsors were organizations with a close relationship to interested parties in Japan, such as the Asahi Shimbun and the Central Research Institute of Education, not CIE. Thus, the "American Textbook Exhibition" indicated the intention of the new education and the "Exhibit of Art Work of American School Children" presented Japanese people the effect of the new education through artwork.

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The history of Irish education provides an interesting case to explore what brings the modern public education system into existence because the national school system of Ireland, which remained largely agricultural in the nineteenth century, was established about forty years earlier than that in England, which was one of the most highly industrialized and urbanized countries. Nevertheless, the historiography of Irish education has been a neglected field in Japan. This paper reviews studies of the history of Irish education, especially those of the national school system of Ireland established in 1831, and examines their explanations about its emergence. The first section gives a short explanation of the national school system and its historical context as an introduction. The second evaluates D. H. Akenson's Ｉrish Education Experiment as an epoch-making work of the history of Irish education, examines its interpretation of the emergence of the national school system, and points out some deficiencies. The third reviews the recent historical studies of the national school system and shows that they can be considered as challenges to Akenson's interpretation. In the last section, some conclusions are drawn.

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