Science and Technology Education: Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong

Abstract

Education, as a significant social activity, always reflects a society’s orientations, and the emphasis on the development of science and technology in the three societies is also reflected in education. In Japan, the Education Order of 1872, based on Western models, called for the expansion of education for Tthe general public and the introduction on a large scale of the advanced learning and technology of the West. However, the proposed content of education was not effectively implemented due to the limitations of the economic and financial situation of the time (Hiratsuka et al., 1978, p. 3). Technology education was again emphasised at the turn of the twentieth century for industrialisation and for military purposes, but it was not much stressed during the period of American occupation (Nakagawa, 1968, p. 53). However, with the end of the occupation, the need for technology education was widely recognised. The authorities saw that Japan had to survive on industrial development, and consequently the Industrial Education Promotion Law was passed in June 1951. The Law stated clearly the significance of industrial education and vocational education for the development of the country