Abstract
The most recent reform of boards of education has shown three features of current education in Japan; firstly, the tendency of dependence on the power of the state regarding education; secondly, the difficulty of responsibility of education; finally, the limit of simply reflecting public opinion for education. We have to deepen our understanding for the significances of the spirits of idealism for the system of boards of education. In this ideal, that system must have its own terrain separated from general politics and can serve people as a practical sphere for their educational decision-making which will be appropriate and suitable for the future generations. It is one of the most important theoretical challenges to clarify and enrich the concept of politics of education. According to it, we can not only judge whether public opinion is reflected in education or not, but also grasp and describe the spatial dynamics of consciousness and action of people for educational decision-making. It can also be pointed out as an important practical challenge that each regional public sphere for politics of education should be cultivated through our new system of boards of education in Japan.
