Abstract
This paper considers, in a fundamental way, the compulsory education system and discusses the neo-liberal education reforms from a critical perspective. The purpose of this study is to find the general principles of schools and education systems in a welfare state as responding to neo-liberal policies. This paper is organized as follows;
Firstly, through a study of the work of Teruhisa HORIO about the concepts of compulsory education and parents’ responsibility for their children to attend the school, I show that the participation of parents and students in school management is the most acceptable system as a matter of logic. Secondly, I outline the characteristics of the ‘ schoolizaion movement (Gakko Zukuri)’ in Japan after World War II. Its character is the practical pursuit of the participation of parents and students in a school against the state-control policy in Japanese educational administration. Thirdly, I find the integrated relationship between today’ s educational policies and the neo-liberal reform policies of current government.
