抄録
One of the most serious problems of upper secondary schools in Japan is the increase in dropouts. This problem leads us to ask why there are so many students who refuse formal school education and what role the upper secondary schools should play in the growth of students. Today, more than 90 percent of the graduates from lower secondary schools enroll in upper secondary schools. As more and more students are enrolling in upper secondary schools, these students are becoming more and more diversified. The most important principle for school education in Japan is respect for the individuality of the student. To respond to the diversity of ability and aptitude of individual students, reforms have been recommended for the upper secondary educational system. I want to point out that acknowledging the importance of individuality is not sufficient. The reasons are as follows: (1) Teachers, students, and parents tend to concentrate too much on pure knowledge. (2) The students lack the autonomy to consider and choose for themselves the courses or subjects most relevant to their future careers. (3) The existing elective course system might be too rigid. Once students have chosen their curriculum, they are bound by their initial decision. (4) The Japanese educational system channels the students into homogeneous groups aiming at the same goals. As a result of this tracking system, the range of alternatives becomes narrower. To solve these problems I propose the following: (1) To lay the foundation that encourages people to continue learning throughout their lives through a comprehensive education based on general principles, as well as providing diversity within the school curriculum. (2) To promote a variety of educational institutes as alternatives to upper secondary schools and to widen the range of choices available to youths. And to further clarify the goals of upper secondary school education as compared with other educational institutes. (3) To improve education and policies for the personal development of youths, not only through school education, but also through cooperation with other departments of the prefectual administration. And to promote closer relationship between schools, families and the community.
