The French Model
In its attempt to unify the structure of education in Japan, the Meiji government was strongly drawn to the system utilized in France. The French model was the most systematized and institutionalized in the West, which made it easy to implement.[1] It also featured a high degree of central control, which allowed the Meiji government to retain control of the education system moving forward and easily implement a top-down system of reform.[2]
[1] Michio Nagai, Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture, ed. Donald Shively (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971), Journal Storage edition, 38.
[2] Pittau, Political Thought, 26.
[1] Michio Nagai, Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture, ed. Donald Shively (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971), Journal Storage edition, 38.
[2] Pittau, Political Thought, 26.