This volume examines the lives of young adolescents in Japanese middle schools, focusing on the dynamics of school, family, and social life, and explores the change from child to adolescent that takes place in the middle school years.

This volume examines the lives of young adolescents in Japanese middle schools, focusing on the dynamics of school, family, and social life, and explores the change from child to adolescent that takes place in the middle school years.
The book discusses several themes which play a major role in how Japanese adolescents deal with school, academic pressure, social maturation, social hierarchy, personality development, and the development of gender identity.
Students of varying economic, family, and social backgrounds tell their stories. In describing and analyzing the lives of middle school students, Drs LeTendre and Fukuzawa offer the reader a new perspective on Japanese education and society that demonstrates the successes and problems faced by Japanese students, parents, and teachers.