成人の通学行動の社会的諸要因に関する実証的研究

－通学人口率の都道府県差の分析をもとに－

抄録

  In the case of adults who arbitrarily participate in education, an inequality with regard to the participation in education has been observed. This is one of the obstacles that prevent the realization of a lifelong learning society in Japan. In this concern, this paper aims to clarify the change in the difference of adult participation in education and the social factors that determine it from the past to present. As a method, I analyzed the adult schooling rates in all 47 prefectures, using the data of 1985, 1995, and 2005.

  The findings are as follows: (1) regional differences in the rate of adult schooling have increased. (2) The relationship between the adult schooling rate and the socio-economic indexes of each prefecture is becoming clearer. (3) The factors that determine the adult schooling rate strongly differ according to age groups. Among young people (30~44 years), the adult schooling rate is based on the number of educational institutions such as colleges; among middle-aged people (45~59 years), the prefectural income; and among older people (over 60 years), the high education qualification. On the basis of these findings, I discuss proposals for policy-making to facilitate the equality of adult participation in education.