This paper focuses on the relationship between the spread of Covid-19 and educational inequality, based on the media reports on how minority students’ educational opportunities have changed since the pandemic. Drawing on data from the state of California, USA and England, UK, we find that in both locations, the pandemic has significantly reduced the role of public education as a “great equalizer”, creating a strong sense of crisis in society that educational opportunities and the well-being of minority children are further restricted. School closures and online teaching are not only causing learning loss among children of immigrants, but also negatively affecting their socio-emotional development and parents’ school involvement. These cases suggest that school closures will promote the privatization of education and further limit educational opportunities and well-being for minority children with scarce family resources. We also find a rise in xenophobia and institutional racism in both countries. Against the backdrop of a pandemic, prejudice against racial minorities is increasing, creating a deep divide in each society. Despite these outcomes, we suggest that the pandemic is also an opportunity to reassess the significance of public education and re-examine the problems of existing systems to restore social justice.

This article discusses the educational gap in early childhood education and care (ECEC).First, based on longitudinal studies and Talis Starting Strong Survey (OECD 2019),it was indicated that children with diverse backgrounds and lower socioeconomic status have less accessibility to quality family support and early childhood education and care. In addition, Japanese ECEC teachers are less confident to provide the appropriate educational environment compared to other countries. Second, the challenges to support young children and their families with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds were discussed through a longitudinal case study regarding a program to support transitioning from preprimary to primary education. The program was for Japanese Language Learners (JLL) to obtain more Japanese language skills and become familiar with Japanese school culture to increase their access to resources and their learning opportunities in the local community. While such programs can empower children and families, they can also undermine home languages and cultures, resulting in communication challenges between parents and children which could lead to identity issues. Therefore, it is crucial to devise a combination of support programs from a comprehensive perspective that utilizes a regional network rather than a single institution or project.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the lower enrollment rates in high school and college enrollment among immigrant children as compared to Japanese children. The main academic data used in this paper was collected in the field of sociology of education.

In the first half of the paper, multi-layered inequalities of immigrant children in the Japanese education system are clarified. First, the limitations of Japan’s constitution itself; second, the problem of legal interpretation; and third, the social trend of stratification by parentocracy, whereby the child’s education should conform to the social and financial status of the parents, rather than the child’s own ability.

In the second half, we examine how the educational attainment of immigrant children differs across ethnic groups, specifically among the Vietnamese and the Brazilians, clarifying that the hybrid identity that is said to lead to higher education is acquired in different contexts for different subjects, and the ways in which it is supported may also differ among ethnic groups.

These results make clear that the lack of support for foreigners in the Japanese education system, and that urgent measures are needed to address this issue.

In Japan, children who do not have Japanese citizenship are not subject to compulsory education. I consider this to be discrimination against these children by the country. Japan should respect the human rights of these children and ensure that education is tailored to the characteristics of each child.

Furthermore, I believe that we should promote multicultural education using diversity of children as a resource, and create schools, communities, and a country where the individuality of not only these children but of all children is respected.

This paper proposes that a discussion should be held for this purpose.

The Immigration law was revised in April 2019 to increase the number of non-Japanese workers, and there are now more than 2.9 million non-Japanese residents living in Japan (December 31, 2019). This number is expected to continue to increase. However, according to the current regulations, compulsory education is not mandatory for children of non-Japanese residents. As such, some non-Japanese children living in Japan do not attend school. In addition, the government authorities do not make sufficient effort to understand the gravity of this issue. In fact, according to the current situation, it is not an exaggeration to say that these children have been regarded as “invisible” children in society.

In 2019, a government-led national survey of non-Japanese children’s enrollment status has finally come to fruition. In this paper, a 20 year track record relating to this issue will be introduced. Based on the analysis made by using the above records, solutions to reduce low enrollment rates of non-Japanese students in compulsory education will be proposed.

This paper clarifies the issue of foreign schools being excluded from various health-related systems that apply to schools in general. Specifically, it depicts the process by which officials and supporters of the Kyoto Korean School established and operated its school infirmary through self-help efforts in the absence of the School Health and Safety Act and other laws and regulations that support the right to life, based on information obtained through interviews and fieldwork.

The school infirmary, which has operated with the help of many Japanese citizens, including nurses, former Yogo teachers (school nurses), and supporters of the school, provided a sense of security which had been hard to come by for officials of the Korean schools in Japan. Knowing that injuries and health problems will be dealt with professionally, the infirmary provides an opportunity to learn about human sexuality and health, and a place where teachers can consult. It has also brought about significant developments in education for children with disabilities. However, the operation of the infirmary relies on volunteers, and there are no prospects for its continuous operation.

In order not to let this practice end up as a heartwarming story of cooperation between Japanese and Korean residents in Japan, the legal position of schools for foreigners as “miscellaneous school” should be reviewed and the disparities in health and life security must be eliminated.

The purpose of this study is to reveal how students with foreign backgrounds position themselves when they make a joke utterance in Japanese class. I conducted fieldwork, with voice recording and video recording for this project. The primary data for the analysis is conversation data from the recordings. I applied positioning theory of Davies and Harré(1990) for the analysis to find out students’ positioning based on their Actions/acts, Storyline, and Position. There were three types of positioning on the students’ joke utterance, the positioning that the rights and duties as a student were practiced, the positioning that practiced other’s rights and duties, the positioning that the rights and duties as a friend were practiced. The results indicate that the students with foreign backgrounds try to show their ability in the class, and also take an active part in the class to make it enjoyable. It is considered that the students needed to practice their rights and duties to show their ability in the new society, Japan. It is hoped that this study can contribute to understand students with foreign backgrounds in Japan, and also to make us think what is education that considers the independence of the students.

The purpose of this research is to consider the significance of learning through intercultural exchange from the perspective of “community of practice”. The research target was the intercultural exchange between 20 elementary school students in Cambodia and 60 students in Japan. Asynchronous practices for about 10 months created the third type of practice-based connection, the opening of a periphery, based on the analysis of three dimensions: “mutual engagement”, “joint enterprise”, and “shared repertoire”. Thus, the synchronous practice, the fourth videoconference class of 45 minutes, was analyzed in detail. The data collected consisted of 1) transcripts of the classes, 2) field notes, 3) student reflective writings, and 4) interviews with teachers.

As a result, three aspects were revealed: (1) strong connection in terms of affective communication, which is the basis of verbal communication, (2) presentation of equal power in terms of participation in the class, and (3) the valuable role of playfulness. Although this practice was the third type of practice-based connection, the engagement of Cambodian students played significant roles in creating close relationships among students. In summary, analyzing intercultural exchange from the perspective of “community of practice” may reveal “equal” aspects of relationships among learners who are historically and culturally different.