Despair and Hope in Discussions about Universities Which Will Never Recognize the Diversification of Students

Abstract

　 It has been seven years since I presented the concept of “a marginal university,” as a viewpoint on the basis of which to discuss a fundamental change in higher education. In the meantime, I have unexpectedly received various opinions from a diverse group of people. What left a strong impression on me is that there was a considerable gap in their ideas about “the basis of recognition frameworks.” This gap prevented productive discussions from developing. In this study, I will again present my own ideas on educational content which I would hope to see conveyed to a greater number of diversified “non-elite university students”, while keeping the above point in mind. Next, I will consider the difficulties involved in discussion and implementation of this theme among faculty members. Moreover, in consideration of the present situation and future development of higher education policy, I will describe my despair and faint hope regarding a discussion about universities which will never recognize that students are becoming diversified.