Globalizing the Social Problems Classroom: Japan and the United States Education Systems

This resource was originally published in TRAILS, which is an online database of peer-reviewed teaching resources supported by the American Sociological Association.

By using visual aids such as films, photographs, or both, this assignment helps students to conduct cross-cultural analysis between Japan and the United States about issues of education. There are four purposes of this activity:

  1. Expand the discussion of social problems to a global level
  2. Examine how school funding is unequally distributed in the American education system
  3. Examine how Japan tries to equalize school funding
  4. Discuss potential solutions to equalize school funding in the United States
Globalizing the Social Problems ClassroomDownload