There are, hypothetically, four approaches to the above-mentioned theme. These are; 1. Research on the political history of trends in the revision of the Fundamental Law of Education. This kind of research aims to explain the characteristics and circumstances of each argument concerned with the revision of the Law, which began with "The Educational Declaration" of 1949. 2. Research which regards the Fundamental Law on Education and each of its provisions as the basis for evaluating or as the norm of the post-war history of education. So, for example, this research would investigate the degree to which the equality of opportunity principle (Article 3), or coeducation (Article 5) have been achieved. 3. Research involving the interpretation of the Fundamental Law of Education. The results of this research become the basis of specific demands or educational movements aimed at putting pressure on the government and administration, and often, as a result of lawsuits and judicial judgments are taken into the law as judicial precedents. Examples are studies of the history of policy/administration or of the social history of the law in connection with educational movements. 4. Investigation of the objective base (political, economic and social conditions) underlying the formation of educational policy, and research into the role and function of the Fundamental Law on Education at a turning point in educational policy. Although it looks that these four have historically formed some kind of structure while being related mutually, I think that the fourth research method should be considered to be the most important in the study of the political history of education.

View full abstract

What are Educational Lawsuits? In Japan, Educational Lawsuits can be defined in many ways. In the broadest sense, they are the lawsuits which are brought on by conflicts in the educational system. In the narrowest sense, they represent the arenas in which important legal principles of education are argued out before the courts. The development of Educational Lawsuits in Japan after the Second World War In the strict sense of the term, Educational Lawsuits in Japan started in the late 1950s, when Japan's educational policies turned rapidly in the direction of disregarding the spirit of the Fundamental Law of Education (FLE). As a typical example, the paper adduces the complete revision of the Law on Local Boards of Education in 1956. This was the cause of many conflicts in Japanese education. Two examples of these conflicts are that over the credit system for teachers and that over the national test for pupils in lower secondary schools all over Japan. The Japan Teachers Union (JTU), fought vehemently against these policies. The Public Prosecutor's Office charged teachers with violation of the Law on Local Government Employees. In rebuttal of this charge, the teachers pleaded that their actions were legal in the light of the Constitution of Japan and the FLE. In ways such as these, the FLE became the subject of legal arguments in the courts, resulting in a gradual deepening of the interpretation of the FLE. The final result was the decision handed down by the grand bench of the Supreme Court of Japan on May 21st 1976.

View full abstract

In this paper, the Fundamental Law of Education is examined in terms of its relationship to a number of contemporary educational policy issues. The following five themes have been selected for detailed examination. (1) Change in the recognition of the relationship between education and society, in terms of planning educational policy issues. (2) The transformation of "nation-building education" into "citizen-building education". (3) Revision and development of the principle of Equal Opportunity in Education. (4) Expanded deregulation in the area of the rules and formalities governing the establishment of educational institutions. (5) Changes in the role and the system of educational administration.

View full abstract

On the basis of the debate about the proposals for revision of the Fundamental Law of Education presented by the Central Council for Education at the end of February, this paper aims to clarify the contemporary meaning of the Fundamental Law of Education from the perspective of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Within the context of integration of on the one hand, the postwar Constitution of Japan and the Fundamental Law of Education, and on the other hand, the incorporation into domestic legislation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the theme itself can be essentially defined as the basic issue of pursuing, in a unified sense, the legal debate over the amalgam represented in the formulation "Constitution - Fundamental Law of Education - Convention on the Rights of the Child". However, within this very broad framework, this paper limits itself to concentrating, in terms of the relationship with reform of the Fundamental Law of Education, on two aspects, firstly, on a legal case-study approach to the "revision" debate from the standpoint of a country that has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and secondly, on an attempt to clarify the prospects of a citizen-focused, practical study, because the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an issue that closely concerns the people, parallel to, but differentiated from, the "revision" debate dimension. With regard to the former aspect, on the question of trends in the "revision" debate, the paper clarifies 1) the inadequacy of reasons for "reform" and the weakness of the basis for "revision" in terms of educational policy; 2) the illegality and unconstitutionality of the content of "revision"; and 3) the unreasonableness of "revision" procedures. With regard to the latter aspect, basing its stance on the reality of the fact that Government attempts to make the debate into a "citizens' debate" were a complete failure, the paper examines, from the perspective of educational law and sociology, the reaction of citizens to the "revision" problem, the low level of reaction and debate from the educational world, including practicing teachers, and the generally low level of interest in society in general and in the educational world. In particular, the paper shows the prospects for the formation of "community education councils" as a practical way of "breathing life into the Fundamental Law of Education from the grassroots", while deepening the significance of educational participatory methods as a legal principle within the context of the current legal system in terms of development of the "Constitution - Fundamental Law of Education - Convention on the Rights of the Child" amalgam.

View full abstract

The "three education laws", enacted in Korea on December 13, 1997, consisted mainly of the "Basic Law of Education", the "Elementary and Secondary Education Law", and the "Higher Education Law", and constituted a full-scale revision of the 1949 Education Law of Korea, which had been the foundation of Korean education up to that time. The characteristics of the three laws are: 1) They mark a radical change from an education system based on a single law to a tripartite system and aim at conformity with the reforms carried out in the education system. 2) They mark a change from a school-centered view of education to a much broader perspective of education which includes social education and lifelong education. 3) By such means as providing a specification of what is meant by "learners", they clearly set out a learner-centered educational perspective within the framework of educational law. It is reasonable to presume that these new educational laws will have a strong influence on Korean education in the future, but this paper also suggests that given the fact that recent currents of neo- liberalism are also reflected in the laws, there is a need to get to grips with problems such as cooperation, coexistence and peace, that rest on the foundation of a more global, future-oriented perspective. In addition, there is a need for more detailed examination of the content of the laws and for public debate, including such issues as justice in education, legal stability and relevance.

View full abstract

In recent years in China, legal reform procedures have been promoted at a very rapid rate with a view to achieving a "constitutional state". Focusing primarily on the "Education Law of the People's Republic of China", promulgated and enacted in 1995, this paper sets out the history of education policies as well as of the relevant laws and regulations. While pursuing the legal enactment process, the paper also aims, through an analysis of the content of the laws and regulations, to introduce the characteristics of the legal structure of education in China and to clarify both the present position and problem areas in respect of educational laws and regulations in China

View full abstract

Except at the beginning of the first period of the Mitterrand administration in the early 1980s, the policy fundamentally adopted in France has been neo-liberal in nature. However, French neo-liberalism has not necessarily aimed at radical diversification of the educational system as has happened in Japan. In France, it is possible to see neo-liberalism as an aspect of the safety-net policy that makes provision for those at the bottom of the barrel. It is also possible to identify patriotic trends accompanying neo-liberalism within the framework of citizenship education. The Constitution of October 4, 1956 prescribes that "The French people solemnly proclaim their attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789 confirmed and complemented by the Preamble to the Constitution of 1946". In the French Constitution, this is the only prescription related to education. Article 34 in the Constitution of 1958 states that legal statutes shall determine the fundamental principles of education. However, simultaneously, Article 38 authorizes the Government to take legislative measures by means of ordinances by referring to enabling Acts. The Fundamental Law of Education was authorized by the enabling Act, Law No.99-1071 of December 16, 1999, and promulgated by means of Ordinance No.2000-549 on June 15, 2000.

View full abstract

The aim of this report is to define and clarify the principles of the Federal Law on Education, which is the basic law in the field of education in the Russian Federation, focusing particularly on the power held by the state in the education system. The education policy in the RF is rooted in the proposals made in the context of the Perestroika reforms that were promoted over a wide area under the leadership of Mikhail. Gorbachev, the former chief secretary of the USSR Communist Party. The main framework of the anticipated goals of this policy is clearly set out in the Federal Law on Education established in July 1992. The Federal Law on Education repudiates the former system of education based on communist ideology, and envisages the construction of a new education system that is able to respond to the diverse needs of individuals and is based on a new concept of a state fashioned in accordance with the Western ideals of constitional government and a democratic society. An examination of the Federal Law on Education reveals the following significant principles: (1) the constitutional foundation of educational administration, (2) the unified nature of the education system on a federal level, (3) the democratic character of education, (4) the guarantee of a right to education, (5) state control over the results of educational study.

View full abstract

There is no clear-cut legal stipulation obliging the U.S. federal government to give financial support to compulsory education at state government and school district level. In practice, however, the government has been providing help in the form of multifaceted grants. This situation gained prominence from the 1960s in the context of the civil rights movement actively promoted by minorities at this time. The motivation for increasing educational finance had been based on the concept of "equality", and was endorsed by the Democratic Party. But then this concept began to change. The Reagan Administration changed the emphasis from "equality" to "excellence", and at the same time, the federal education budget was cut. The next Administration, under George Bush (the 41st President), reacting to dissatisfaction with the concept of "excellence", introduced the concept of "choice," and interest began to focus more on students' achievements. This interest at the federal level in students' achievements led to a national ability testing program under the Clinton Administration. This meant both the Republicans and the Democrats came to share a common policy with students' academic ability. The federal government's interest in student academic ability became more apparent with the birth of the Administration of George W Bush (the 43rd President). This Administration has emphasized the concept of "accountability." While there was an expectation of more federal spending on education, more was also expected from students in terms of higher achievement levels.

View full abstract

There has been a worldwide growth of interest in the application of large-scale scientific survey research techniques to the study of issues related to improving the quality of education. Many developed countries are now applying these techniques in the form of systematic studies of the conditions of schooling and of student achievement levels. In developing countries, there have been increased efforts to identify ways in which educational planners in Ministries of Education can learn to conduct these kinds of policy research studies. In order to respond to the needs in this area, the International Institute for Educational Planning of UNESCO has been working closely with a number of Ministries in the Southern Africa sub-region to implement long-term strategies for building up the capacity of educational planning units to monitor the quality of their education systems, and to use this information to make informed policy decisions. This paper illustrates the innovative and effective approaches that have been adopted by these initiatives, and suggests that the approaches used could be transferred to educational development and capacity-building projects in other regions of the world.

View full abstract

The principal objective of this paper is to present a policy analysis of the process of drafting information education policy in Japan since 1985. Hitherto, the concept of educational policy formation has normally been understood in terms of a process based on a demand for human resources from the side of industry. While keeping in mind the need for a reconsideration of this way of understanding policy, the paper will aim mainly to verify, on the basis of various kinds of policy documents, reports issued by government-related commissions, etc, in what way the human resource demand from the industrial sector directed at information education policies since the 1960s has influenced the process of formulating educational policy. At the same time, in the area of the conceptual determination of educational policy, while tracing the theoretical genealogy of preceding research, the paper will also refer to the distinctive characteristics of the process of determining educational policy. In addition, with regard to the "Electronic State" concept, which has been presented as state policy in recent years, by verifying the special characteristics and the future image of this concept, the paper also provides an examination of the present state of the relationship between the concept and education policies. On the basis of the above considerations, by examining, from an information society theory approach, the characteristics and developing trends of the information society as it currently takes shape, the paper also considers, on the basis of the progress of the information society date and the accompanying image of the state, what precisely is comprised in the ability that information technology requires.

View full abstract

The background to this paper can be found in the importance attached to the study of 'contemporary issues' in the Report issued in 1992 by the Lifelong Learning Council of the Ministry of Education on the subject of "Policies for the promotion of lifelong learning in response to future social trends". The issues include social problems concerned with the environment, a gender-equal society, media literacy, social welfare and so on. Focusing particularly on the study of a "gender-equal society", this paper deals with efforts to get to grips with contemporary issues at global, national, and local community level. At the global level, international women's conferences sponsored by the United Nations are an important factor. At the national level, the Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society, 1999, and the Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims of 2001 are of critical importance. At the local community level, many study programs about gender equality are provided at various lifelong learning facilities. In the context of examining what kind of learning programs are created for this kind of study, the paper takes as a central concept that of "people as reflective learners"; inherent in this concept is the possibility of transforming a given society into a more democratic society, and the paper looks at citizen-planned lectures led by citizens with a highly developed sense of problem awareness. Trends of this kind also permeate the critical pedagogy of H. Giroux and the post-modernist feminist pedagogy of E. Tisdell. As they argue, adult learners in the capacity of "reflective learners" can often transform their own cognitive perspective and identity within a framework of deepening their own study of contemporary issues. At this stage, people, acting as a social human agency, can lobby the United Nations, national and local agencies, using formal procedures and non-formal bodies such as NGOs or NPOs. The paper discusses the extent to which, by adopting a critical posture toward existing society, a more democratic society can be constructed.

View full abstract

Since the 1990s, teacher education reform has been accorded an important position in China. Relevant laws and policies have signaled a dramatic change in the idea of teacher education; the professional character of teaching has been clarified, and a number of policies have been presented aiming at the continuous development and growth of teachers. These policies have become the foundation of teacher education development and the raising of educational standards among the Chinese people. However, many problems and contradictions have also emerged. This paper focuses on the changes in teacher education policy that have accompanied the changes in Chinese society generally since the 1990s. Analyzing the trends and characteristics of education reform, the author clarifies the issues involved and at the same time, outlines some reform proposals for teacher education in China in the future.

View full abstract