The Mysterious Nature of Student Diversification Theory

Its Development and Function in Reform Discourse on Higher Education since the 1990s

Abstract

　 The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of the ambiguous term “diversification of students” in the context of university education reform. With that aim in mind, I distinguish contemporary student diversity theory from the traditional student culture theory which is depressed by the deterioration of the quality of students. Next, by investigating the reform discourse of policy documents such as the Ministry of Education White Paper and the report by the University Council, I trace the trends in the development of the concept “diversification of students”. Specifically, I identify the following characteristics: (1) Reference to “diversification of students” starts with the University Council’s report of May 1991, but it was still not firmly established in the first half of the 1990s. (2) It was repeatedly used as the basis of various organizational reforms that were sought from 1995 to 2000, and became established as a keyword in the context of reform discourse. (3) Since 2001, on “diversification of students”, the White Paper descriptions become simple, but on the other hand, the descriptions of the University Council’s report become emphatic and persistent. As a hypothesis explaining that, I point out that the outcomes of reform become visible and a reform-oriented group of researchers strengthens influence.