On The Characteristics Of The Japanese Short-term Study

Junior college, which formed in the Democratic Education Reform after the World War II,is now an important component in the higher education system of Japan. As a special vocational institution, it has made tremendous contributions to the popularization of higher education in Japan. In the process of its development, Junior college reflected tenacious vitality and formed unique running features. This study begins with the history of junior college, which includes background, development, current situation and reform. And then thoroughly studies the running features from three dimensions, they are school running system, teachers and students, education and instruction.The study on school running system is divided into three aspects, which are main-body of school running, source of funds and management. The junior colleges in Japan can be classified into state junior college, public junior college and state junior college by different running bodies. Of all these three kinds, the private junior college takes up a large proportion both in the number of students and in the number of schools. The source of funds for these different junior colleges also varies. The state and public junior colleges mainly depend on financial allocations of government. The source of funds for the private junior college is partly from corporation's fundraising and also from financial aids of government. In the aspect of management system, all the junior colleges put vertical management into practice. The professoriate has supreme power in decision-making in both state and public junior colleges, while the council makes decisions in private junior colleges. The study on the feature of teachers and students includes teaching faculty, teacher recruitment and student structure. The teaching faculty is highly educated. It is equipped according to the number of students. The standards of teacher recruitment in junior colleges are very strict. A large number of students are from the nearby districts, among which female students take up a large proportion. The study on the feature of education and instruction has three parts too, which are pattern of organizing teaching, curriculum setting and ways of evaluation. A various pattern of organizing teaching can be found in junior colleges, which pay much attention to the practice ability of all the students. Two kinds of curriculum in junior colleges aim at training the female into good mother and devoted wife. Evaluation is a good way of ensure quality. The junior colleges in Japan must conduct a self assessment as well as evaluation from others.At the end of the paper, some suggestions are proposed in order to improve the higher education in our country.