[in Japanese]

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The focus of the educational reformation in the 1990s was on improvements in "connectivity" between school and work. The introduction of integrated courses into the high schools system was one feature of this reformation. However, this reformation did not include a careful examination of the existing diversity of educational functions at high schools, particularly vocational high schools. This is a demonstrative study of how far the guidance function of the school to work transition achieved its aims. It is based on data drawn from a survey of the respective courses taken by graduates from general high schools and vocational high schools and on their subsequent career building. The thesis also examines how the integration of learning by means of a "combination of general and vocational subjects", a defining characteristic of curricula at vocational high schools, had reference to the various functions concerning the courses. The findings were contrary to the conventional view of a hierarchy based on academic achievement which was common in the high economic growth period. The study confirmed the preeminence of technical high schools over general high schools in professional skill acquisition, knowledge and academic ability building and smooth school-to-work transition. This is due to the unique preparation for higher education offered by such schools. Graduates from technical high schools are more eagerly sought by companies than those from general high schools. As they settle themselves in their jobs, they remain longer than their counterparts and manage their tasks better in the transition period. They also master skills required in their companies more quickly than their counterparts. This suggests that graduates from technical high schools display a higher trainability for vocational skills than their counterparts in areas of ability unlike those evaluated by high school entrance exams. The major difference in curricula between technical and general high schools is that the former contain elements of vocational training and/or the integration of learning. These elements appear to have a significant effect on the guidance function.

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Japanese Technological colleges (Kosen) are educational institutions which provide continuing courses consisting of 3-year senior high school (secondary) education followed by short-term (2-year) higher education (junior college level). In this paper, we have clarified the evaluation by the labor market of vocational and technical education, by comparing the job treatment of graduates from Kosen with that of persons with other educational backgrounds. We obtained the following findings. (1) When educational background is considered by dividing it into educational background (vertical) (=number of years of education) and educational background (horizontal) (=specialization of studies), each portion affects different areas. Educational background (vertical) affects wages, etc., although in this aspect, the position of graduates from Kosen was lower than that of university graduates. No decline of position for the graduates from Kosen was observed in the aspect of the content of jobs controlled by educational background (horizontal). (2) Even at present, Kosen graduates are highly evaluated in their typical places of employment. Regarding Kosen graduates, the job treatments of some Kosen graduates who found employment in large corporations in manufacturing industry and obtained technical positions (as engineers) remained stable, but those of Kosen graduates who found employment in domains other than the technical field, were lower. (3) Comparing the starting salaries of Kosen graduates with those of university graduates shows the position of technological graduates to be relatively lower than that of university graduates. In other words, the difference between the starting salaries for Kosen graduates and those for university graduates has gradually increased, and the difference between the starting salaries for Kosen graduates and those for high school graduates has been reduced. Starting salaries for junior college graduates were slightly lower than those for technical college graduates. We can say that Kosen graduates have gradually become "inexpensive talented people with high-level expertise identical to that of university graduates." This is a continuing long-term trend. (4) The reason for this can be explained from the viewpoint of occupational relevance. By providing technical education to Kosen graduates at same level as that for university graduates, the "job expertise" regulated by only the academic background (horizontal) of Kosen graduates, was handled as being at the same level as that of university graduates. Therefore, for example, the wages of Kosen graduates working in non-technical occupations were held down to levels lower than those for Kosen graduates in professional or technical occupations. (5) In conventional studies, job contents were summarized and differences of wages due to differences of educational background were analyzed. However, this study shows the possibility that if a worker can make effective on-the-job use of technical education in the labor market, this will create wage differences in future.

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In order to efficiently cook in high volumes, it is indispensable to understand the flow of work, material and time, and to grasp the organization of the process as a whole. Therefore, it is common practice to carry out training using a "work-in-process table", Which is an objective formulation of the accumulated experience of the veteran chef. However, the necessity of the work-in-process table has not been very much recognized in the education field. Therefore, the work-in-process table is not often effectively used, and it would be difficult to assert that its potential has often been realized. Therefore, we carried out training that intentionally gave priority to the acquisition of the ability to set up work using the work-in-process table for cooking in high volumes. We then examined the results. The results clarified the following. 1. The trainees learned to accurately predict labor and material flow as well as time flow. As a result, the quality of the work-in-process tables that they made improved. 2. The trainees were able to grasp the flow of the whole cooking process. 3. The trainees gained the skill of making operational procedures that took the labor, material, and time flows into account. As a result, they were able to design and plan high-volume cooking. From these results, it will be possible to verify the usefulness and effectiveness of training that uses the work-in-process table.

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The purpose of this paper is to characterize curricula of the new comprehensive courses at upper secondary schools through analysis of agriculture subjects learned. The curricula of three new comprehensive courses which have been renovated from agriculture courses in 1995-1996 were investigated as the cases of studies. On the elective system for compulsory subjects directed by course of study for upper secondary schools, there were various cases, i. e. on one case, students freely chose elective subjects during three years and on another case, subjects which students compulsorily study were decided by teachers' side. On setting up the groups of comprehensive elective subjects, it was affected by the vocational course before the new comprehensive course. Two upper secondary schools, however, added the new subject groups composed by vocational subjects. There were two typical standpoints to interpret the meaning of the grouping of comprehensive elective subject. One is the case of emphasizing optional system as the indicator for studying elective subjects. The other case was the way that class members consisted with members learning one grouping of comprehensive elective subjects. On the case of this system, students decided the elective subjects as soon as they were admitted to the comprehensive course. This system is slightly like a course system as before. The opportunity for learning agriculture subjects extended on account of the system that students took a unit beyond learning year. Furthermore, the way of continuous subjects over two years is an effective method of learning subjects prescribed by the grouping of comprehensive elective subjects. There were various ways of learning optional subjects based on curricula at the new comprehensive courses.

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The Course of Study for Lower Secondary School was revised in 1998, and in Industrial Arts and Homemaking, "Areas" which means clusters of objective of education were changed into two larger packages named "Technology and Making" and "Information and Computer". On the other hand, the concept of "Areas" was not examined in former studies, and researches into packages of learning points in technology education is rare. Such situation was caused by empiricism education argument in technology education. So in this paper, we understand packages of learning points as "units of teaching materials". We took the concept of "Units" which is used in pedagogy and investigsted the nature of them. As a result, we considered "Units" as concluded thinking activities of students, and organically constructed teaching materials. And we can show the grounds of argument for units of teaching materials as follows. (1) When we adopt the opinion that the source of teaching materials of technology education is in real world, (2) The character of units of teaching materials is adequate in the appropriate relation with the aim of education to make students understand the world of technology and work. (3) Analysis of real world of technology and work clarifies the logic that a "unit" is equal to a systematic unit of teaching materials.

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In the history of Japanese technology education, it is said that the proposal "About Vocational Study or Homemaking in the Lower Secondary School" of the National Vocational Council (1953) ("the first proposal") pointed out cleary a new direction of this subject. The first proposal confirmed that Vocational Study or Homemaking shouid be an integral part of the general education program of lower secondary school, and the aims and the contents of this subject should be the very essence of technology. And in 1954, the council proposed "About the Contents of Vocational Study or Homemaking in the Lower Secondary School" ("the second proposal"). The second proposal stated that this proposal was based on the aim of the first proposal. But some people say the second proposal was based on a aim of first proposal and some don't. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the process that the second proposal was formed. I chiefly analyzed the proceedings on the meeting that the second proposal was formed and materials that were distributed to the participants of the meeting. The resuluts are as follows; The discussion for the second proposal was begun with the offering of Kiyoshi SUGIE. In 1953, March 9, Kiyoshi offered to organize the sectional meeting (the second stage) on the National Vocational Council. He expected that the sectional meeting would make the plans in the subject, which was based on the first proposal, and reexamine the character of the subject. In 1953, July 23, on the first meeting, Tadashi HASEGAWA explained the aim of the first proposal and distributed a material for the election of the contents in Vocational Study or Homemaking in the Lower Secondary School, especially for the fields of manufacturing. The member of the meeting asked questions about the first proposal. But the sectional meeting passed a long time for the discuss about the aim of the first proposal, and made a plan for the subject. Finally, the meeting did not reexamine about the character of the subject.

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The special course of drawing and manual training of Tokyo Higher Normal School carried out the important roles in supplying the manual training teachers for Japanese normal schools. More than the half of it's graduates worked at normal schools and taught manual training there. But the number of the graduates who worked at middle schools and taught drawing and practical work, had increased after 1914. These effects mean that the function of the special course of drawing and manual training of Tokyo Higher Normal School transformed from teacher training for manual training to teacher training for middle schools.

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