学校選択によるコミュニティ構築論の再検討 : M・A・レイウィッドとC・W・コップを中心として(II 研究報告)

抄録

One of the main issues of school choice systems has been how to understand the logic of market working in the opportunity of choice. People advocating school choice, however, have aimed to integrate racial groups, to encourage ownership of schools, and to build local or professional community. We can find two orientations in these aims, building community based on sameness and creating society involving different races. Realizing these two orientations requires us to coordinate two logics of recognizing commonality and of controlling people so as not to withdraw from larger society into their community. In order to understand the way to coordinate such activities, this paper analyzes the arguments of Mary A. Raywid and Clifford W. Cobb, because they advocate building community through school choice. This analysis can clarify the conflict points of political thoughts in the United States that lie behind their arguments. In Raywid's argument, there are five characteristics : (1) criticizing the voucher system, (2) regarding diversity among schools as important, (3) recognizing schools based on some types of sameness, (4) advocating Public School Choice, which means the system of dividing power among the people involved in education, and (5) taking the role of school boards seriously. Her logic of recognizing commonality is the following : in order to meet the demands of diverse students, we need a school community consisting of students having the same educational needs, and of parents and teachers having the same educational philosophy. She takes seriously the system of dividing power, and the role of school boards setting the standards between diversity and sameness in school choice. This is her way to control people so as they will not withdraw from larger society. On the other hand, there are four characteristics in Cobb's argument : (1) being skeptical about professionalism in education, (2) regarding the needs of racial minorities as important, (3) supporting a voucher system, and (4) having the ideal of a pluralistic integrated society. His logic of recognizing commonality is the following : we should give racial minorities the power to build their own community, because they need it as a right in their life. He thinks people can learn the habits of commitment to larger society in their community, and advocates realizing social integration among racial communities through a voucher system. His conception does not involve the logic of controlling people from withdrawing from society. The differences of their conceptions depend on how to understand the relation between the tradition of community, and the dialogical ability by which people can communicate with others belonging to different communities. This also shows the difference of their background thoughts. That is, one is liberalism, regarded as Raywid's standpoint, which understands tradition as a set of resources to create dialogical ability, and entrust their reasonable usage to professionals in education. The other is communitarianism, regarded as Cobb's standpoint, which understands that tradition contains the opportunity to create dialogical ability in itself. This difference reflects today's conflict in political thought in the U.S., but we can recognize that their conceptions can be from the same standpoint under specific conditions.