2015 Volume 82 Issue 4 Pages 558-570
In this paper, the publicness of the state educational system is to be considered focusing on the social phenomenon of parental school choice. How many people currently choose schools in contemporary Japan and what sorts of action are they trying to take for their children? On the other hand, under what conditions are those who don’t choose schools, especially those who are called “minorities,” situated? These questions are to be examined based on empirical data.
Firstly, the historical transition from “meritocracy” to “parentocracy” in advanced countries is considered in order to understand the social context in which contemporary Japanese society is located. There, education as private goods is emphasized as a means for people to lead a more prosperous life, rather than education as public goods, which means a common value basis for people.
Secondly, the widening educational achievement gap of children is investigated to understand the hardship with which state schools in Japan are faced at the moment. The achievement gaps between schools located in prosperous areas and those located in poor areas have been rapidly expanding.
Thirdly, the issue of parental school choice is examined in two aspects. One is the choice of private primary and secondary schools and the other is the school choice system within a given region. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, many people have been choosing private schools for several decades, but the trend has been expanding to other areas. Also, a school choice system among state schools has existed in certain regions since 2000.
Fourthly, the educational situation of minority people such as children in poverty, “newcomer” children and children with handicaps is reported.
It can be summarized that the existence of the people who choose schools has become obvious in contemporary Japan. At the same time, neo-liberal educational reforms have been launching without a break in these two decades, seeming to erode the essential components of the state educational system in Japan. An open and common state educational system in a new age should be reconstructed which doesn’t favor a particular social class or a social group.
