子どもの学習権と「選択の自由」(教育の機会均等と学校選択,I 論説)

抄録

Theory on 'Free to educate' is the most remarkable issue in the discussion of the Ad Hoc Council on Education. But this idea is not clear so much, because it is explained with the realistic level. In this paper, we try to recognize 'Freedom of schooling' with the idealistic level, and make clear this idea in the relation to the whole structure of the rights to education through the study on the voucher plans and the alternative schools. In our country, the theories on the rights to education, not only the nations' right to educate but also the peoples' right to learn, are based on the fiction of the 'trust' of the parents' right to educate. We can find some clues in the theory on 'Feedom of schooling' to cut off the fiction and give a fair status to the 'parents' right to educate' which lies most closely to the 'childrens' right to learn. The 'parents' right to educate' is restricted to their own children. And it will be exercised as the 'right to choose', the 'right to claim' and the 'right to refuse'. Especialy, the 'right to choose' has a significant value, because it decides when and to which school they send their own children. It is not the number of the schools, but the number of the minischools prepared within a school that guarantees the 'right to choose the school' practically. The 'right to choose the teacher' will be solved by the reform of the school organization as team teaching, open school and others. Milton Freedman brought up at first the 'right to choose the school' as a practical problem. Freedmans' proposal, 'unrestricted voucher plan', is criticized in some respects, but we can find many suggestions from his proposal. If we have the 'right to choose the school' in theory, we can not exercise this right without any schools to be choosen. Then, the importance of 'alternative' is closed up. Types of the alternative schools are various, and Alum Rock Plan, a famous practice of the voucher plan, had ten types of the minischools. To have various alternative schools, we must establish the independence of the school by drastic deregulation. 'Free to choose' may prove its true value when 'Freedom of schooling' precedes. Foundamentary, the roles of the state and local government are to secure the minimum standards for the equal educational opportunity and they are not allowed to enlarge this standards arbitralily. Schools also must listen to the pupils' and parents' voices and make more efforts for the school improvement.