Abstract
This paper examines the characteristics of Japanese night junior high schools from 1947
to 1955 from the perspective of “challenges” by students and prospective students. The basic
perspective of this paper is the social change of post-colonialism. We grasped the reality
of students’ silent “challenges” against the contradictions and limitations of compulsory
education under the Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education. Specifically, we
examined the characteristics of social change theory behind the 1） school-age students who
wished to transfer from daytime junior high school to night junior high school, 2） schoolage
students who refused or were absent for a long time who were recruited by teachers,
3） students over-school age, 4） applicants from outside the school district, 5） schoolage
students who “hate school” , 6） the causes of economic poverty among students, and
7） foreign students. The causes and background of the various “challenges” of students
at that time were: first, post-war compulsory education already included meritocracy,
managerialism, and selection and exclusion by teachers, causing serious suffering to the
students. Second, economic poverty and disparity inequality inevitably created by the
modernization and capital accumulation of Japan under the Cold War and dependence on
the United States. Some teachers at night schools partially and piecemeal re-examined their
views of compulsory education by accepting a diverse range of students in various conflicts.
However, many teachers adhered to modernist social perceptions and compulsory education
views, and did not correctly understand the causes of students’ difficulties. In that sense, the
various “challenges” of night junior high school students and prospective students during
this period did not lead to a fundamental reconsideration of teachers’ view of compulsory
education.
