Value Creation and Value-Creating Education in the Work of Daisaku Ikeda, Josei Toda, and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi

Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944) are Japanese educators, Buddhist activists, and the progenitors of the global Soka movement for peace, culture, and education. As such, their perspectives and practices shape curriculum in multilingual, multicultural, and multiracial contexts around the world. While each has established his own unique ideas and contributions to curriculum, together they share important commitments and perspectives, introduced by Makiguchi and developed successively by Toda and Ikeda, that have had a remarkable impact on human being and becoming. Arguably the most important among these is the principle of value creation, or “sōka,” and its implications for value-creating approaches to education and the actualization of a meaningful, contributive, and genuinely happy life. Makiguchi was an elementary school teacher and principal who introduced his theory of value and value-creating pedagogy in the 1930 work Sōka kyōikugaku taikei, or The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy. Drawing on decades of his own classroom practice, Makiguchi distinguished truth, or facticity, from value, seeking to clarify the psychological processes of cognition and evaluation. While objective truth matters, he argued, it is not in and of itself the source of value or meaning in our lives. Rather, value is derived from the subjective and contingent meaning we create from that truth. Thus, Makiguchi maintained that creating value in terms of beauty, gain, and good—that is, value that serves oneself and others—is the means of cultivating happiness. Toda was a close colleague of Makiguchi and applied value-creating approaches to great success in his Jishu Gakkan, a tutorial school he founded. If Makiguchi introduced and practiced value-creating approaches at an individual level, and Toda applied them institution-wide, then Ikeda, who was Toda’s direct disciple, must be recognized for distilling them into their crystalline essence, expanding this essence globally, and memorializing it as the foundational ethos and namesake of the Soka schools and universities he founded. Moreover, whereas Makiguchi theorized value creation as a pedagogical concept and, with Toda, broadened it to include the realm of Buddhist humanism, Ikeda has continued and expanded upon these, also characterizing value creation as an ontological orientation for all people in all aspects of life, from children to senior citizens and from civil society to professionals and activists in areas ranging from peace, culture, and human rights to biospheric sustainability and social movements. In all this, value creation and value-creating approaches constitute a curriculum of content, context, engagement, agency, hope, and becoming for oneself and others.

From Buddha to Tagore and Gandhi: Value-Creating Curricula in India

It is common practice to use theoretical frameworks developed in the West for education worldwide, but important contributions come as well from non-Western education perspectives that shed light on the emergence of ideas within given regional diasporas. Value creation serves as a valuable lens through which to examine the ideas and relevance of three thinkers from the Indian subcontinent—the Buddha (6th or 5th century bce), Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), and Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). The term “value creation” encompasses a Japanese approach to curriculum (based on the work of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, 1871–1944) that is founded on an interdependent view of life and aimed at developing learners’ capacity to enhance their own existence and contribute to the well-being of others. Using value creation as a lens to examine the contributions of the Buddha, Tagore, and Gandhi can allow for a discourse on the indigenous nature of their respective ideas that are rooted in Eastern philosophies based on similar interdependent worldviews. The emergence of alternative curricular in the Indian diaspora that are based on such interdependent worldviews, offer an integrated approach to education. A value-creating framework can be useful to examine the Indian educational scene and the many attempts that have been made for the individual learner to be the focus of education.

The Role of Value Creating Education and Ubuntu Philosophy in Fostering Humanism in Africa

Soka (value creating) education is a Japanese concept propounded by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and further developed by Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda. This educational philosophy aims to foster individuals who can find meaning in their lives and contribute to the well-being of others to better society. Ubuntu, an African philosophy, espouses togetherness and collectivism. Like value creating education, Ubuntu promotes working for the good of all not solely the individual. Examining these two philosophies, this paper explored their role in promoting humanism. Focusing on the education system in Kenya, this paper investigated how the institutionalization of both philosophies can foster global citizens and realize a more humane Kenya. Furthermore, this paper illustrated the importance of educators as agents of change, aiding students to become global citizens who work towards building a more humanistic society. This paper concluded that integrating both value creating education and Ubuntu in the education system can serve as a tool to nurture individuals who will not only improve their quality of life but also contribute positively to promote a more just and prosperous world.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and School Leadership in Action

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944) was a geographer, elementary school teacher and principal, and educational reformer, who was active in the early-to-mid 1900s in Japan. As a school leader and scholar-practitioner guided by a passion for supporting teachers and improving education for the happiness of children, Makiguchi scrutinized pedagogy as a science and proposed a number of reforms of the Japanese education system, key elements of which, he believed, were failing teachers and students alike. His proposals included, among many: the establishment of standards of competency expected of school principals as well as a system of examination to uphold these standards; the abolition of a government-led school inspection system that pressured and restricted teachers from freely conducting teaching activities; and the establishment of an “education research institute” and an organization for the training of teachers. The growing number of modern educational scholars and practitioners paying attention to Makiguchi’s work and philosophy find his ideas not only valid and applicable to education in the 21st century but also remarkably innovative and insightful. His proposal for school leadership was still but a voice in the wilderness in the 1930s. It was also a bold and audacious attempt for him, especially at the time of the militarist regime. Makiguchi is often compared with his contemporary John Dewey (1859–1952). Evidently, Makiguchi and Dewey were both visionaries, passionate school leaders, and fearless reformers. Bearing this in mind, Makiguchi deserves much more attention than he has received thus far—at least as much as Dewey, if we are to balance the historical account of progressive education as a transnational phenomenon.

How to Develop True Care: Three Interviews with Nel Noddings

In these three interviews conducted in 2011, 2012 and 2016 and then translated for Japanese language publications, Nel Noddings discusses care ethics, today’s educational practices vis-à-vis her recent books, as well as how she and her husband Jim raised their ten children. The first two interviews appeared in Seikyo Shimbun, the daily newspaper for Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist lay organization based on the practice and study of Nichiren (1222-1282). The third interview appeared in Ushio, a monthly magazine aimed at a general audience. Providing a backdrop for the interviews is common ground found in the work of education philosophers John Dewey (1859-1952) and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944). In 1930, Makiguchi founded Soka Gakkai’s forerunner, Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, comprised of teachers and educators actively promoting education reform in Japan as advocated in Makiguchi’s The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy (1930).

Exploring InTASC Standards and Principals from the Perspectives of Soka (Value-Creating) Education

Value-creating education, developed by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944), Josei Toda (1900-1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (1928-present), is a relatively new educational philosophy based on compassion and love for humanity. Originating in Japan, this philosophy has gradually gained international attention through scholarly research, particularly in the United States (Sherman, 2016). In this paper, we discuss how value-creating education can maximize the use of the U.S. national teacher education standards, InTASC, across four categories: the learner and learning, content knowledge, instructional practice, and professional responsibility. By using value-creating education, we hope to cultivate teachers whose role is not merely to deliver knowledge but to nurture the next generation who will uphold the dignity of each individual’s life.

"CLIMATE CHANGE" TO CHANGE THE WORLD, "HUMAN REVOLUTION" TO CHANGE THE FUTURE: THE IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL CITIZENS BASED ON "HUMAN REVOLUTION"

On March 11, 2011 the largest earthquake to hit Japan occurred. This magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami and killed 2,563 people. It led to the nuclear disaster at nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It was classified as a level 7 event - the same as Chernobyl. In our area we also have nuclear power plants and we are expected to have an earthquake which is estimated to be much larger than the one encountered on March of 2011. Through funding of 30 billion Yen we are building a 13m high seawall stretching 17.5km from the Tenryu estuary to Lake Hamana which is an enclosed coastal sea. In cooperation with our citizens we are planting trees on its slopes to help protect the natural landscape and to keep to a minimum any damage from the next tsunami. Risk management at a global scale due to Climate Change is very important concern involving our children's future and happiness. Global-warming prevention education is crucial for the survival of mankind. This is because there is a possibility of falling into a huge crisis that we cannot get out of. I would like to introduce my practical environmental education for the past 25 years at a technical high school and also introduce the ideas of two great Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Daisaku Ikeda. Furthermore, I would like to refer to the importance of global citizens through education for global warming prevention which is based on the way of thinking of Dr. Ikeda which is called "Human Revolution".

"CLIMATE CHANGE" TO CHANGE THE WORLD, "HUMAN REVOLUTION" TO CHANGE THE FUTURE: THE IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL CITIZENS BASED ON "HUMAN REVOLUTION"

On March 11, 2011 the largest earthquake to hit Japan occurred. This magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami and killed 2,563 people. It led to the nuclear disaster at nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It was classified as a level 7 event - the same as Chernobyl. In our area we also have nuclear power plants and we are expected to have an earthquake which is estimated to be much larger than the one encountered on March of 2011. Through funding of 30 billion Yen we are building a 13m high seawall stretching 17.5km from the Tenryu estuary to Lake Hamana which is an enclosed coastal sea. In cooperation with our citizens we are planting trees on its slopes to help protect the natural landscape and to keep to a minimum any damage from the next tsunami. Risk management at a global scale due to Climate Change is very important concern involving our children's future and happiness. Global-warming prevention education is crucial for the survival of mankind. This is because there is a possibility of falling into a huge crisis that we cannot get out of. I would like to introduce my practical environmental education for the past 25 years at a technical high school and also introduce the ideas of two great Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Daisaku Ikeda. Furthermore, I would like to refer to the importance of global citizens through education for global warming prevention which is based on the way of thinking of Dr. Ikeda which is called "Human Revolution".