Valuing Knowledge More Than Proficiency: The Higher Journalism Education In Japan

Culture embodies the overall characteristics of a nation, which can be reflected in the ideological norms and patterns. Culture restrains educational processes and at the same time the differences in education mirror the different cultural backgrounds and traditions. Based on the compatibility and duality of culture, the domestic and overseas tension is formed between the Japanese traditional culture, German rational culture, American pragmatic culture. In the dynamic balance, there have been existing plenty of contradictions and conflicts between the different educational ideas with Japanese paying special attention on traditions and American and German on journalism. According to the principle of cultural proximity and the culture being stable and unique, Japan takes German higher educational idea as its model, following the ideas of journalism as adopted in German classic universities. As one of the basic category in educational philosophy, the higher ideas in journalism education have the functions of presenting and illustrating the basic issues in this flied. With Max Weber's theory of ideal types, this study demonstrates that the core concept of higher journalism ideas in Japan is valuing knowledge more than proficiency.Tracking down the time when Tokyo university was created and gained its independent disciplinary in Japan, it was shown that the department of journalism aimed at academic study, inheriting German journalism theories and making it clear that the idea of valuing knowledge more than proficiency. As one of the higher journalism institutions with the longest history, Sophia University set up its goal to cultivate talents in journalism, but the ideas of valuing knowledge more than proficiency resulted in paying no attention to the courses in the curriculum system to improve the professional abilities. Another typical example of Japanese ideology of valuing knowledge more than proficiency in higher journalism education is the historical development of the journalism department in Doshisha University. It was born out of American pragmatic journalism ideas, but the scholars in this field has been sticking to the academic values, adopting philosophical perspectives on journalism, critically analyzing the media in reality, emphasizing the media taking its social responsibility, and having no change in the principle of academic freedom. Overall, the higher journalism education in Japan is the education that only remains level of pre-higher education, which can be qualified by the basic vocational skills such as editing and commenting.As the quick development in information technology, the journalism has been more and more involved in the relative disciplinaries such as massive broadcasting, social information. Thus, academic study in journalism loses its core. Along with this, the journalism scholars in institutions have more and more realized that the academic study on speech in journalism is gradually weakened, which is brought about by journalism being expanded into massive broadcasting and social information and by the increased utilitarian cooperation. Whereas the universities labeled massive broadcasting, social information, and media as their main interests all aim at improving the basic qualities of the citizens. It can be told that the expanded field of journalism lay a foundation for implementing the general education to improve the citizen's qualities by way of media; however, the problem arises when journalism, involved in broadcasting, massive broadcasting, and social information, applying its basic theories to solve the un-technological issues. All of the above indicate the tendency of journalism in Japan toward a basic position.Educational ideas can only be fully implemented when appropriate educational system is constructed in the concrete educational processes. Located in Tokyo, the journalism department in the literature institute, Doshisha University, was founded in 1948 and changed its name as the department of media in 2005. This department always examines the nature of media in philosophical perspectives, prioritizing academic study, cultivating the citizens with media qualities, extending the critical tradition of media, and supervising the media fulfilling its social responsibility. Based on all of these, this department has its uniqueness in its curriculum, teaching contents and methods, the faculty, and its equipment. This is a case study taking the media department in Doshisha University in Japan, giving an close account of how the higher journalism educational system is characterized as valuing knowledge more than proficiency.The journalism scholars in Japan may be able to face the tendency of journalism bearing more of the media quality, but strongly resist the pragmatic train skilled imported into universities in that they consider the media qualities of citizens may further promote journalism education to have the critical function and at the same time inherit the traditional values in journalism ideas. Even under the collaboration of university and business, the universities insist on attach great importance to journalism theories and journalism ethics. Though sponsored by media entrepreneurs, the universities still value academic freedom. As a matter of fact, what the higher journalism education in Japan is pursuing is exactly what Abraham.Flexenr advocated: form a relation with the society; meanwhile insisting on the academic ideology. The compromise as the academic value reflects the concept of valuing knowledge more than proficiency as its extension existing in information age.It is true that there is no vocational training in Japan higher journalism education, which the context for old opinion"the journalism in Japan is not advanced". In that case what is supporting the journalism industry in Japan? It can broadly understood that the training in industries and the higher journalism education dually co-exist, which consists of the mature journalism system. Global age means an age of multi-cultures; therefore, there should be multi-perspectives to evaluating all types of journalism systems. Only the appropriately localized system is the most advanced and efficient. The typicality of the higher journalism education in Japan lies in its suiting to Japanese cultural tastes. It is the product of Japanese culture and the idea of valuing knowledge more than proficiency will remain.