The purpose of this study was to clarify the transformations of community schools through regulation changes in authorization of school management councils from 2004, at the time of implementation of the community school system, to the present (2020). I aimed to explore the diverse background factors in the introduction of the community school system, focusing on policies as well as on the perceptions of school board members and related personnel before the system was introduced.

 The current community school system or school management council system in Japan was designed with the School Governing Bodies of the United Kingdom as a model. Consequently, school management councils are provided with the function of submitting opinions to the appointer regarding teaching staff appointments. This authority over personnel affairs tended to hamper the establishment of community schools. However, authorization policies became flexible in 2017 under the revised law, enabling school boards to make decisions on authority regarding personnel affairs.

 Therefore, it is thought that the authority to offer opinions regarding personnel appointments is a point at issue affecting the development of the community school system overall. Furthermore, this issue has the key role of justifying the existence of governance.

 This study performed the following process to elucidate alterations after the law revision regarding regulations on authority in the rules of school management councils.

i. 611 cases of introduction rules throughout Japan were collected, followed by analysis of authority regulations status.

ii. Data on appointment opinions in introduction rules were input into a nationwide survey, which was then reanalyzed.

 The results of these analyses suggested the following.

i. The analysis of appointments in introduction rules confirmed that regulations after 2017 showed fewer cases of “presence” of opinions without conditions and more of “presence with conditions” of opinions, such as hearing of opinions by principals in advance, in comparison with those before the revised law.

ii. The analysis of the nationwide survey confirmed significantly that most school boards introducing the system had indicated on the survey in 2015 that they were planning to introduce the system. Other characteristics were that school board members and related personnel frequently discussed topics related to the community school system, and that they tended to have a relatively strong sense of funo-kan (incapability).

 According to the above results, regulations on submitting opinions on personnel decisions were relaxed when the law was revised. These relaxed regulations have been found in school boards which introduced the system after 2017, when the law was revised, as well as in those which had already introduced community schools before 2017 and revised their regulations in accordance with the revisions, weakening the authority on appointments. The point was that the community school system was promoted for wider implementation as the law revision enabled school boards to make decisions on appointment regulations.

 This paper conducts a policy analysis of community-oriented participating reforms in Japan, with a specific focus on the School Management Council system (hereafter SMC). SMC, legislated in 2004, is a statutory framework that enables parents and residents to participate in school management. The government has encouraged local school boards to roll out SMCs to build cooperative relationships among schools, parents, and residents, entitling ‘schools with SMC' to be officially recognised as ‘community schools'. Reflecting on relevant empirical researches, the paper discusses the workings of SMC and issues to be considered.

 The analysis is premised on the assertion that the workings of school level reforms like SMCs are embedded in a wider policy trend, as several initiatives and programs converge at school level to form a ‘policy ensemble'. This paper focuses in particular on the effect of New Public Management on SMCs. New Public Management (hereafter NPM) is an administrative system in which private-sector management methods are transferred to the public sector. While some argue that NPM enables educational innovation through the involvement of diverse actors, recent research has pointed out its more negative aspects. As NPM is necessarily associated with performance management, metrics and targets tend to be given undue importance, undermining professionalism and public schooling.

 The next chapter points out the process of depoliticisation and responsibilisation reinforcing the negative effects of NPM, drawing upon experience in England. Depoliticisation of education involves the discourse of education being reduced to discussion of solutions for achieving predetermined ends, rather than objectives or values. Responsibilisation is a process whereby people and institutions are rendered responsible for tasks which previously would not have been their duties. These processes have appeared in the changing nature of school governance in England, maintaining prescribed targets as unquestionable and incorporating teachers, parents, and residents into hegemonic discourse.

 Next, the paper notes that SMC systems in Japan have also been subject to unfolding depoliticisation and responsibilisation. Under the amended statutory framework enforced in 2017, the function of SMCs is reduced primarily to supporting school management. Without a single mention of democracy, recent policy documents regarding SMCs have exhorted members of the community to cooperate with the school to achieve the school's goals. As schools have been required to operate within governmental parameters more tightly, these responsibilities tend to fall upon the community, holding parents and residents responsible for educational outcomes. This chapter also examines how this trend is associated with the ideological move to familialism which has disseminated the discourse of ‘improper child rearing' and demanded more responsibilised parenting. It concludes that the workings of SMCs have been canalised into a hegemonic incorporation of parents and local residents, taking NPM for granted.

 The last section examines how to fully utilise SMCs' potential, proposing counterhegemonic actions by SMCs in relation to both depoliticisation and responsibilisation in order to ameliorate the negative effects of the NPM system.

 Focusing on the concept of Gemeinschaft in German New Education, this paper strives to elucidate the development of the principle and practice of Gemeinschaft mainly in the Landerziehungsheim movement, thereby presenting aspects of the origin and historical development of “school as community.”

 At the turn of the 20^th century, the word Gemeinschaft was beginning to develop into a significant concept used for relativization and review of the rapid modernization of German society. Ferdinand Tönnies established the paired concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft as important sociological and philosophical terminology. In his main work Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (1887), using the paired concepts, he classified communal life into two categories. He also applied the paired concepts to the course of history to find patterns regarding the historical change in social structure from Gemeinschaft (medieval period) to Gesellschaft (modern period).

 The paired concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft served as an important framework for considering education. By the 1920s the framework considering Gemeinschaft as an alternative to overcome Gesellschaft and leading education to Gemeinschaft became a key to German New Education, overcoming the political differences between right and left. Of particular note was the Landerziehungsheim movement, in which the principle of Gemeinschaft drew much attention from a wide variety of perspectives of each school, with efforts made to put the principle into practice.

 Hermann Lietz's Deutsches Landerziehungsheim introduced a family system where each teacher and his or her students formed a quasi-family and lived together in a dormitory. Paul Geheeb's Odenwaldschule fully applied the concept of coeducation, and students from a wide variety of social classes and countries engaged in even more democratic class management based on the principles of “freedom” and “responsibility.” At Bernhard Uffrecht's Freie Schul- und Werkgemeinschaft Letzlingen, students took responsibility for duties within the school, enabling a more autonomous style of school management. Although all these schools were underpinned by Gemeinschaft as their important principle, how it was put into practice varied from one to another.

 In 1933, the Nazi regime was established, requiring German schools to serve Volksgemeinschaft. In this trend, the schools sharing the philosophy of Landerziehungsheim responded variously to the Nazi regime, in three general categories. First, Deutsches Landerziehungsheim actively supported the Nazi regime, enabling the school to survive almost as it was without changing its educational program or organizational format. Second, Freie Schul- und Werkgemeinschaft Letzlingen was closed, with its survival denied largely due to its left-wing characteristics. Finally, Odenwaldschule was allowed to survive by considerably changing their educational programs and organizational format.

 After the Second World War, Odenwaldschule, located in then-West Germany, was restored under the new director Minna Specht while regaining its pre-war traditions. Avoiding isolation of the school as a community, Specht attached great importance to the school's social significance. It thus presented a comprehensive school model for public educational institutes in postwar West Germany.

 Schools in Japan are characterized as communities. In recent years, however, the theory of ‘unregulated small schools,’ which aims to liberalize and streamline education, has been gaining momentum. In this paper, using the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's ‘Classroom of the Future’ proposal as a case study, I will clarify the basic idea of the ‘unregulated small school’ theory and summarize the related controversial issues. I will then examine how the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the need for social distancing, affects the connections and communal aspect of Japanese schools, and address the perspective of reconstructing Japanese schools as communities.

 The ‘Classroom of the Future’ proposal, utilizing educational technology developed by private companies, addresses the STEAM approach to learning, making learning more independent and adaptive for each individual, in an interchange between the processes of knowing and creating. It also advocates reviewing the current system of the uniform completion of a standard number of class hours in the classroom and introducing the merit promotion system. There is also an emphasis on creating seamless schools through partnership with society.

 Based on a mechanical view of learning that transforms knowledge into information and thinking into skills, ‘unregulated small schools’ encourage the substitution of knowledge acquisition with ICT and cram schools, and that of inquiry-based and project-based learning with privately provided social education programs. This risks rendering the teaching profession hollow through this mechanistic allocation. Therefore we need to reaffirm the meaning of teachers’ work in its integration learning, connection and caring, which is possible only through living with children in the school setting.

 In order to avoid widening the learning gap, we must seek education for individuality (qualitative and horizontal differences) rather than individualized education (quantitative and vertical differences). We must also look at the effects of the construction of collegiality on the part of teachers and the connections between classmates (school social capital) on the individualization of children's learning in order to produce outcomes. The merit promotion system is to be understood in the context of securing the right to learn rather than meritocratic and individualistic liberalization, while ensuring that all children's learning outcomes are guaranteed. Elsewhere, it is important to pay attention to the meaning of schools as living communities, and to make use of the essence of the social promotion system, which guarantees learning and growth, including non-cognitive skills and character, over a long period of time.

 With regard to the classroom system, ideally classroom structure should be more flexible in order to become more singularization-oriented and more inclusive, as well as forming sustained vertical groups in extra-curricular activities and other activities. Public discussion with others and learning about personally relevant issues can be used to promote ‘cooperative intellectual education’ that contributes to the self-formation of understanding, perspective, and positions, and ‘singularization of character education’ that encourages mutual respect between differing individuals. Here publicness, reason, and diversity must be emphasized, as opposed to collective conformism and the self-reliant spiritualism dependent on individual efforts.

 This paper aims to clarify the characteristics and problems associated with citizenship education within the “School as Community” concept, focusing on the theoretical relationship between “community” and “projects.” It also proposes principles to help to overcome these problems. This approach provides a reconstruction of the “School as Community” principle in citizenship education.

 Joel Westheimer, a specialist in social studies and citizenship education, conceives citizenship education as an integration of John Dewey's concept of the “community” with William H. Kilpatrick's notion of the “project.” According to Westheimer, the first step is to determine the goals of citizenship education in each community and school. On that basis, learners become involved in their communities while still attending school. To address more pressing social problems, learners must become engaged in citizen projects via purposing and executing. This approach can be called “community-based citizenship projects.”

 Citizenship education, which connects communities with projects in this way, has been implemented in several actual cases with a certain level of success. However, there have also been problems with this approach. One criticism is that conservatism and exclusivity, which stem from community traditions, language, history, and similar characteristics, can obstruct the free engagement of school students in project activities.

 Maxine Greene, a philosopher of education, differs from Westheimer in emphasizing project engagement over community involvement. Referring to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Greene argues that individuals discover their own essence by living through existence, and defines a “project” as an act through which an individual makes a choice about how to live. According to Greene, prior to engaging with the community, individuals must experience “co-existence” through joint participation in “existential projects.” This opens up public spaces and serves as the basis for community building. The citizenship perspective, which enables individuals to take responsibility for their communities, becomes clear only after this process of “co-existence.” In Greene's conception, this type of thinking helps to avoid the constraints of community. This approach can be called “developing citizens through project-based community-building.”

 Ultimately, this serves as an alternative proposal for citizenship education within the “School as Community” concept, reversing the relationship between “community” and “project” found in studies of “community-based citizenship projects.” This paper proposes a reconstruction of this approach: “developing citizens through project-based community building.” The sought-for community is one in which commonality is always open to differences and plurality. This is an “expanding community,” both multifaceted and inclusive. This paper clarifies how citizenship education, with the school serving as this kind of community, can overcome many of the issues and problems discussed in “School as Community” studies.

 The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors leading to the formation of teachers' “professional communities” based on the formation process, and thereby to present a new perspective in order to grasp the formation of these communities.

 First, this paper draws on the findings of previous research to make the point that the “professional community” of teachers is not a place or a group, but rather a “context” for school reform in which teacher learning occurs, with teacher interaction at its core.

 Next, this paper focuses on a junior high school micro-community, presenting the process of the transformation of X Junior High School from a community of teachers to a “professional community.” By presenting the process of constructing personal networks with others who contribute to teachers' learning, it reveals the reality of the formation of teachers' “professional communities”. At the same time, it also reveals the reality of the “professional community” for individuals, as teachers' engagement with others in the community away from their workplace contributes to their learning.

 In the discussion, this paper shows the following four factors that lead to the formation of the ‘professional community’ of teachers.

1) Networks that work directly with teachers' learning and their initiation

 The openness that existed among teachers has been transformed by one teacher's new practice to function as a network that works directly for teachers' learning.

2) Quality of relationships with others as a foundation to support teacher learning

 The quality of relationships with others, such as a sense of security and trust, is important as a foundation for teacher learning.

3) Communicative learning to establish teacher learning

 Acquiring an interpretive view of the practices of others is necessary to accomplish learning.

4) Connecting with the heterogeneous

 Transformation through synergistic renewal of the community culture is needed, through the incorporation of heterogeneity and the transformative development of the individual teachers who make up the community.

 Finally, this paper proposes the following four points as new perspectives on the formation of teachers' “professional communities.” The first is that the professional community of teachers is not a “place” or a “group” but a boundary-crossing and fluid network with others that contributes to teachers' learning. The second perspective is that the quality of the relationship between the teachers' “professional community” and others should be considered analytically in its context as a network with others. The third point is the perspective on the interaction between teachers not only as instantaneous and individual-to-individual, but also as possible interactions between individuals and communities over time. The fourth perspective is on the actions of others that contribute to teachers' learning not only in terms of their direct contributions thereto, but also in terms of their contributions to the environment that supports teachers' learning.

 Theories of the “School Community” or “Learning Community” arose from new educational movements about one hundred years ago, and rose to prominence in the 1990s. Even now this reformation of school education continues, but issues considered problematic include the preestablished harmony of the relation between school and community, and dismissive views of the exclusiveness of the community. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine the metaphors of the school community in Japan.

 The Learning Community advocated by Manabu Sato in Japan since the 1990s is a form of Benedict Anderson's “imagined community” (1983). The Learning Community is represented by metaphors including “orchestra,” “small community,” and “house.” It serves as a “market” for exchange in which each person has their place to be, with the school as the “medium” of the exchange and a center at the hub of the “network.” It has been shown that teachers in the Learning Community are the “mediators” of the exchange, improving lessons through an abundance of “autonomy,” “collegiality,” and “solidarity.” Every student and every teacher can feel at home in the Learning Community, a secure safe place for themselves.

 Are these metaphors for the school community successful in reformation of the modern school image? The “Learning Community” can at least reorganize the modern school image. The metaphor of the “orchestra” allows the “sameness” based on community of modern schools to be discarded, while that of the “secure safe place” does likewise with the “corporate” character which pursues exclusivity caused by the sameness, and “collegiality” and the “cooperative learning” mitigate individualistic competence.

 However, the problems of identity and exclusivity have not been absolutely resolved, as the “Learning Community” identifies its oriented community as an “imaginary one,” and teachers narrate the local traditions or history with nostalgia related to their collegiality.

 The numerous metaphors emphasized by the ethics of care there also seem to be contributing. A relationship of mutual listening is the basis for that between the caring one and the cared-for one. It is also the starting point for learning in community where the members can cross borders. The “Learning Community” aims to heal the wounds of conflict and debate so that the relationship of listening each other is re-interwined to new one while replacing “group” with “relationships” and “discrimination” with “difference” within the caring relationship.

 Based on the above, the theory of the “Learning Community” cannot entirely do away with the problems of identity and exclusivity. However, learning is induced in schools when the ethics of care replaces the group with relationships, and discrimination with difference.

 This paper examines community learning in the modern age, using the idea of reconsidering “collective learning” in social education. In order to overcome the current challenges of community learning, I consider “collectivity that redefines the values embedded in everyday life.” Through the examination of two examples of learning about the community in daily life, I examine the possibility of cooperation as an educational condition for rearranging daily consciousness and value standards.

 First of all, this paper regards the community as a place of conflict between governance and self-government. At the same time, community learning reflects the conflict of values and reshapes the senses of values held by people and their community. This recognition is based on historical research on the relationship between prewar social policies and social education.

 In addition, this paper discusses the theory of “collective learning” in social education as a starting point for considering the possibility that community learning goes beyond the conflict of values. In particular, I pay attention to the discussion between Sadahiko Fujioka and Koya Kitada on the reconsideration of “collective learning.” They argue that “collective learning” is not only about sharing experiences, but also about bringing about awareness of the totality of scientific perception and existence, as well as awareness of new rights through the sharing of reality-based learning. Elsewhere, this paper emphasizes that in the context of late modernity, the individualization of society has become widespread, which necessitates dependence on new standardization. Therefore, it is important to see value conflicts not only in response to regional issues and cultural choices, but also in everyday life. However, these daily value conflicts are now difficult to recognize. Based on the idea that community learning requires a sense of community that addresses these difficulties, I examined examples of learning from two communities.

 The first is an example of community learning in a reclaimed urban area through the “Jimoto-gaku” (local studies) approach. This area is called “a place with nothing” in a different meaning from many rural villages and depopulated areas, but there has been progress in recovering the self as an actor in daily life by re-creating the standard of values in the perspective on daily life and the area. The second example is community learning about forgotten folklore in a culturally abundant area. We focused on the process by which a woman from Tokyo involved in childcare learned about local traditions from someone engaged in passing them on. In contrast to modern school learning, she learned this tradition over time, not in writing, but through the deepening of one-to-one personal and responsive relationships.

 These are two examples of collective learning integrated with everyday life. However, as learning deepened, it also drew closer to the dynamics behind the regional value conflicts. Finally, this paper argues that community learning could create communities that lead to new value and go beyond the modern problem of surpassing the pervasive standardization of value consciousness.

 This paper addresses three questions about local education (“Kyodo Kyoiku”) in Kagoshima Prefecture in the 1980s, where various controversies arose over the concept, as follows: (1) What characteristics were included in the idea of local education, and what kinds of educational policies were adopted? (2) What were the ideological arguments involved? (3) What was the experience of local education at the practical level? Although there are studies on local education in Japan, little attention has been paid to the era of the 1980s. Answers to these questions have been found by referring to documents published by educational administrations in Kagoshima and by the Kagoshima Prefectural Faculty and Staff Union. Interviews were also conducted with teachers in Kagoshima schools to understand the practice of local education.

 It was found that in Kagoshima Prefecture, “Kyodo” (local community/region) had been a prime concern for educational administrations since Kaname Kamada was elected governor in 1977. In the 1980s, local education became the foundation of educational policy throughout the prefecture. Official records show that local education was organized by referring to the historical tradition of “Goju Kyoiku” (“education in community”), an ideology borrowed from the Satsuma domain. In school education, local education was developed in “Yutori” (“time for relaxation”), which was introduced with the revision of the Courses of Study in 1977, and in each subject.

 It has been documented that the Kagoshima Prefectural Faculty and Staff Union criticized this series of changes in policy. The issues they raised were (1) top-down managerial character, (2) uncritical acceptance of tradition, and (3) connections to nationalism. However, at the practical level, the teachers of the Union did not reject the idea of local education. Practices of local education were organized at the community level by utilizing the system, based on the ingenuity of teachers in each region. Thus, the confrontational structure was unclear at the practical level. In this way, local education acquired multifaceted values which went unrebutted and continued to dominate till later times.

 By positioning the case of local education in Kagoshima Prefecture in the 1980s within the larger history of Japanese education, this paper explores the controversies about the ideologies guiding local education. These controversies preceded the later debate over the relationship among local education, patriotism and nationalism.

 The purpose of this paper is to clarify the theory of habit in Yujiro Motora (1858-1912), who became a Tokyo Imperial University professor after receiving a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University in 1888. He constructed the theories of ethics and moral education with his study on psychology centered on the concept of habit. In the history of psychology, he is considered the first person to introduce psychophysics/positive (experimental) psychology to modern Japan. However, his theory of habit has not been examined. Therefore, this paper considers his theory of habit through examination of his theories on: psychophysics/psychology, ethics, and moral education (shushin-kyouiku).

 This paper consists of the following sections:

1. Introduction

2. Definition of the concept of habit as ethics

3. Structure of the theory habit in psychophysics/psychology and ethics

4. Structure of the theory of habit in moral education (shushin-kyouiku)

5. Conclusion

 The first section of this paper presents the fundamental framework of the previous studies ethics education and moral education in modern Japan, and the issues addressed in this paper.

 The second section reveals the definition and concept of habit as ethics through Motora's paper “Is ethics science or philosophy ? ” (1890). In this paper, he raises two points. One is that ethics is quite different from morals, which have an aspect of introduction. The other is that ethics is the formation of habit through experience.

 The third section considers the structure of the theory of habit in psychophysics / psychology and ethics. Motora raises a critical question on the antinomy of consciousness and unconsciousness in actions. His answer that ethics not only has norms, as in the Categorical imperative of Kant, but forms the ethical subject through experience and selection. Namely, ethics functions to create individual ethical norms, based on the Categorical Imperative as a form of absolute norms, in addition to experience and selection. Here, his theory is characterized by its base in empirical science through the positive psychology of Wilhelm Wundt.

 The forth section describes the structure of the theory of habit in moral education (shushin-kyouiku). At the time, it seemed that moral education served to form the people of the nation through indoctrinating them with national morality. Motora was against this. The objective of his theory of moral education, based on Darwin's theory of evolution in ethics, was self-formation through individual experience and selection.

 The fifth section, as the conclusion of this paper, describes its findings. In brief, the formation of the modern nation included the potential for ethical and moral education (shushin-kyouiku) centerd on habit as self-formation through individual experience and selection.

 German-born psychoanalyst Erich Fromm (1900-1980), who worked mainly in the U.S., criticized the forcible indoctrination of authoritarian religion. However, at the same time he tried to help his clients achieve an attitude that could be called religious in the humanistic sense. In this sense, his psychoanalytic theory has educational implications. This paper explains the structure of Fromm's discussion of religion in his psychoanalytic theory, and presents a critical viewpoint on contemporary Japanese education based on Fromm's theory.

 To this end, this study focuses on Fromm's theory of religion in his psychoanalytic theory as found in his Psychoanalysis and Religion. First, the paper outlines Fromm's theory of religion, namely, the functional definition of “religion,” “humanistic religion,” and “authoritarian religion,” in comparison with Freud's understanding of religion. Then the paper examines Fromm's idea of the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, neither irreconcilable nor conciliatory.

 Second, this paper reviews previous studies discussing and lauding Fromm's ideas of the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, finding that these studies have already criticized because of their conciliatory stance on the relationship. Subsequently, the paper shows that most Fromm-related studies in education overlook the theory of religion and conciliate his psychoanalytic and religious theories. The paper also addresses a study that does not conciliate the relationship but overlooks the importance of Fromm's theory of religion, focusing only on the logic of Freudian psychoanalytic theory.

 Third, this paper confirms how Fromm's “revised” psychoanalytic theory grasps the position of “religion” in its theory, and clarifies the point that Fromm regards “religion” as a product of human need springing from human beings' existential dichotomy. Therefore, Fromm's psychoanalysis is a theory that continues to face the problems of “religion” and of how to identify “religion.”

 Fourth, this paper considers how Fromm's psychoanalytic theory distinguishes the nature of “religion” from the perspective of whether the domain is humanistic or authoritarian. The paper then demonstrates that this distinction is governed by the role of “awareness” in his psychoanalytic process, which Fromm refers to as a search for the truth: a step in the direction of undeception (de-deception [Ent-täuschung]). Then the paper shows that his psychoanalytic theory is an educational theory that discovers the truth while becoming aware of the unconscious and aims at attaining religious experience. Finally, the paper reveals that discussing Fromm's psychoanalytic theory while focusing on his theory of religion has its own educational implications.

 Hu Shih (1891-1962) is one of the key founders of new culture movement in modern China. One of his papers,“Wenxue gailiang chuyi (文學改良芻議),” contributed significantly to the reform of Chinese literature. In this paper, he advocated the adoption of vernacular Chinese as the new literary language. Previous studies have mainly focused on his contribution to literature reform. However, few studies have examined his impact on the reform of Chinese language education.

 This paper aims to fill the lacuna of scholarship on this topic and examine how Hu Shih contributed to the formation of new curriculum standards for Chinese language education. For this purpose, the author analyzes his statements concerning the reform of Chinese language education.

 In the late Qing period, many intellectuals felt that it was necessary for the National Language to be established. The language unification movement was launched in response to this need. At the core of this movement were those who had returned to China after studying or seeking asylum in Japan. In the Republic of China, these flagbearers of the language unification movement joined the council affiliated with the Ministry of Education. Hu Shih's article “Wenxue gailiang chuyi” played a significant role in the onset of literature reform. After studying in the United States, he proposed the thesis “Guoyu de wenxue, wenxue de guoyu (國語的文學・文學的國語)” in his paper “Jianshe de wenxue geming lun (建設的文學革命論).” His new theory of Chinese literature united the language unification movement and literature reform. At the same time, he argued for the necessity of school textbooks written in the National Language and new curriculum standards for Chinese language education. His new theory was well received by both the academia and the Ministry of Education, and the latter formulated Chinese language education policies at an accelerated pace.

 This paper picks up and analyzes Hu Shih's statements relevant to Chinese language education. The analysis of this paper reveals two important facts about Hu Shih's impact on the reform of Chinese language education.

 1) Hu Shih's paper “Jianshe de wenxue geming lun” was an attempt to unify the language unification movement and literature reform. This paper also set the stage for the development of his thought on Chinese language education.

 2) Hu Shih was one of the core policymakers for education reform during the May Fourth period. He was deeply involved in formulating new curriculum standards for Chinese language education.

 Research related to childhood poverty and social exclusion/inclusion has opened up the argument of equity in education. Previous studies have shown the difficulties experienced by children whose families are socio-economically disadvantaged, and have explored ways to support them. However, these studies do not consider the peer relationships of these children. This research states a new dimension of social exclusion/inclusion, addressing the limitations of the previous studies.

 The main focus of this article is three years in the school life of Aya, a female junior high school student. She had a difficult familial background, including domestic violence, and lack of care and educational support. This paper uses the term ‘shindoi katei’, which literally means ‘difficult household’, to represent her familial situation. This research uses the data gained from a three-year participant observation at a public junior high school in Japan.

 Analysis of the data shows that Aya's familial difficulties impeded her adequate participation in school life and that she was considered undeserving by her classmates. However, she tried to overcome her situation by confessing her difficult familial background. Thereafter, her friends tried to support her and her situation improved. None the less, Aya's friends eventually developed an attitude of antipathy toward her. In particular, peers who worked hard to support her came to blame her harshly. The ‘reaction of favor’ explains this antipathy toward Aya. The favor of friends enabled support for Aya and understanding of her difficult family situation, but it implicitly contained expectations that Aya's behavior at school would change. Aya's friends felt that she should work hard to change herself because they were working hard to support her. Therefore, in the short term, the favor of friends functioned as a support to enhance Aya's school experience, while in the long run it triggered antipathy toward Aya when her friends judged that she was not making adequate efforts.

 Japanese school culture, which is group-oriented and values collectivism, is one of the factors in this ‘reaction of favor.’ Because of her familial dysfunction, Aya could not act in accordance with these values, which caused her peers to blame her. Moreover, the situation worsened when the students entered their final year of junior high school. Students in this grade cannot slack off because they are under the pressure of high school entrance exams, and they expend great effort on the final events of their junior high school life. This school culture influenced Aya's relationships with her peers when she was unable to follow their lead in this context.

 This article shows that inclusive practice in school could easily become assimilation if we do not adequately consider the school experiences of students from shindoi katei. To avoid assimilation, the majority, here Aya's friends, would also have needed to change. However, it is difficult to arrive at a compromise between the change needed on the part of the majority and Japanese school culture. We must urgently consider ways of school inclusion with full attention to students' peer relationships.