Cross-Bordering Dynamics in Education and Lifelong Learning

A Perspective from Non-Formal Education

Hideki Maruyama

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781000763706
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Adult Education

Education as a concept has long been taken for granted. Most people immediately think of schools and colleges, of classes and exams. This volume aims to highlight non-formal education (NFE) in its various forms across different historical and cultural contexts. Contributors draw upon their experience as educators and researchers in comparative education and sociology to elucidate, compare, and critique NFE in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the USA.

By mapping out NFE's forms, functions, and dynamics, this volume gives us the opportunity to reflect on the myriad iterations of education to challenge preconceived limitations in the field of education research. Only by expanding the focus beyond that of traditional schooling arrangements can we work towards a more sustainable future and improved lifelong learning.

This book will appeal to researchers interested in non-formal education and comparative education.

Part I
Dynamics of non-formal education

1
Boundaries and dimensions of NFE with strong formal school system in Japan

Hideki Maruyama

Introduction

Education is always one of the hottest social topics in Japan, and it mostly refers to the school system that developed human resources for Japanese modernization and the country’s economic growth. Parents want their children to go to better schools so that they can find better jobs. Businesses expect schools to produce highly skilled but amenable corporate workers. The government responds to the expectations of the parents and corporations. This is done with the implicit objective of nation-building. Domestic media focuses on good educational conditions and publishes rankings of schools based on examination scores and whether the graduates were able to successfully find high-income occupations. The research discourse in the field of educational research mainly focuses on the studies of the national system and its issues. In Japan, the school system is regarded as very important because children spend a lot of time doing school activities in comparison to children from other countries.¹

Even before its modernization, Japan had a good track record in terms of literacy dissemination at the local level.² The well-organized school education system promoted economic growth during the Meiji period.³ Modernization resulted in losing certain aspects of culture and values, especially in terms of regional distinction. Over the years, globalization enforced even more standardization throughout the country. School education not only emphasizes standard modern knowledge and skills; it also excludes deviant values to maximize efficiency.

However, does standard school education prepare students for tomorrow? The pressure for equity and improving the quality of education are central issues in any discussions on school reform in Japan. The objective of standard school education is to ensure equal opportunity. It is a formality that the government adheres to, but in actual practice this mission is not something that is easily achieved. With a focus on high equity and quality, recent discussions on various education opportunities have considered the rights to education for all, including out-of-school youth and adults. However, six years of discussion resulted in providing them with more but limited opportunities.

This chapter examines the diversity of the boundaries and dimensions between formal education and non-formal education (NFE) in Japan. The focus will begin with children’s education. It will start with an introduction of the formal education system and cover the existing alternative spaces for dropouts. The formal system is categorized as belonging mainly to Quadrant II, but Japanese schools have educational extracurricular activities that belong to Quadrant I because the students can join the clubs of their choice. The alternative channels of schooling belong to Quadrant IV because of the variety of venues as well as the background of students.

Figure 1.1 Four Quadrants for Formal and Non-Formal Education

Source: Maruyama and Ohta (2013, p. 41)

The focus then moves to adult learners. Japanese education law has ensured individual activities in official facilities, referred to as social education, for more than 70 years. Evening classes organized by unauthorized grassroots organizations for lower secondary schools, with a teaching-learning style similar to a normal formal school, will be categorized as belonging to Quadrant III. The final section will be a discussion on the new historical law concerning rights to education in Japan, which grassroots organizations campaigned for successfully. This is of special interest, as the establishment of this law may result in some of the alternative schools moving from Quadrant IV to I and some of the evening classes moving from Quadrant III to II.

1 The Japanese education system for the youth

1.1 NFE in formal schooling

School education has been highlighted as the central pillar of education in Japan’s modernization process and has always been funded by the central government to support Japan’s development plans. Japanese schools successfully produced qualified labor, especially during the period of rapid economic growth from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. While the schools were successful in this sense, they were beleaguered by problems such as bullying and student violence against teachers. Recent discussions related to lifelong learning are focused on recurrent education and skills training to be competitive globally, but these have rarely been included in discussions regarding the right to education and social inclusion of both native and non-Japanese individuals.

The Constitution of Japan and the Fundamental Law of Education stipulate that all people are obligated to receive an ordinary education.⁴ School Education Law Article 1 specifies that schools for formal education include kindergarten, elementary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools, special-needs schools, universities, and higher professional schools. Ordinary education refers to education provided at Article 1 Schools, as defined by the law. There are approximately 20,000 elementary schools, 10,000 lower secondary schools, 5,000 upper secondary schools, and 800 universities. The elementary school establishment standard⁵ and the lower secondary school establishment standard⁶ stipulate the minimum specific standards for establishing these types of schools, such as class organization, number of teachers, facilities, and equipment. According to the Enforcement Regulations for School Education Law,⁷ it is stipulated that what is taught in schools must conform to the curriculum guidelines. These conditions are very rigid and ensure that children will receive the same education across the country.

Compared to other countries, Japanese formal schools have some NFE incorporated into their curriculum. Blackwood (2016) notes that extracurricular clubs in Japanese high schools are educational. In his study, students were interviewed and observed. These extracurricular sports and clubs engaged in other activities are official activities within the Japanese school education system and help raise the non-cognitive competency⁸ of students as well as increase their emotional attachment to the group they belong to. His study recorded comments from students explaining how they developed social skills and self-esteem.

1.2 Alternative schools

In addition to these Article 1 Schools, there are many different types of unauthorized educational provisions similar to schools, such as alternative free schools in various locations for children not attending normal schools. The Waldorf School and Sudbury School, support schools, and foreign or international schools are examples of alternative schools. Although many of them provide educational contents that are similar to ordinary education, they are not regarded as formally authorized schools because they have their own diploma and curriculum policies, educational philosophy and methods, and a medium of instruction⁹ different from Article 1 Schools. The number of alternative schools began to increase gradually in the middle of the 1960s in Japan, but they were regarded as institutions that provided complementary learning to school education until the 1980s.

The importance of private educational services was acknowledged by the Lifelong Learning Council Report in 1999, and its social significance was recognized (Kikuchi and Nagata, 1999, p. 189) as the number of children not attending schools increased rapidly in the 1990s. Some alternative schools established private schools after the Structural Reform Special Zone System¹⁰ was implemented in 2002, but only a few of them have been approved as regular formal schools to date. Ito (2016) explains that alternative schools in Japan are socially expected to receive students who need more emotional support than regular formal schools can offer. Teachers, parents, and society have a perception that these children are truants. The alternative schools provide learning opportunities for them in an environment where there is more mutual empathy between students, a trusting relationship between teachers and students, and the school itself has a high sense of autonomy. All of the alternative schools are not classified as regular schools by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). The assumption in Japanese society is that all children must go to formal schools, and their parents have a duty to send them to these schools.

Foreign schools are facilities that generally provide education for non-Japanese children in Japan. Some are approved by the government of their national origin, while others are completely independent. Except for a few Article 1 Schools, most foreign schools are categorized as a miscellaneous school, as defined by School Education Law Article 134, or a quasi-incorporated educational institution, as defined by the Private School Act Article 64. The Investigation Commission on Approval and Other Matters for the Establishment of Miscellaneous Schools and the Incorporation of Quasi-Educational Institutes by the MEXT promoted the approval of these schools and institutes in March 2012 in response to the forecast that the number of miscellaneous schools and incorporation of quasi-educational institutes would increase. These miscellaneous schools are not regarded as key providers of compulsory education at the elementary and lower secondary levels in Japan because Japanese compulsory education is designed and implemented for Japanese children.

2 Adult education

2.1 Social education system

In addition to the strong formal school system, some attention has been paid to out-of-school education in Japan. It is referred to as social education and includes all educational activities stipulated by the Social Education Law. The original Fundamental Law of Education enacted in 1947 (Law No. 25, Article 7) is the foundation for all education laws in Japan. It defines social education as education implemented to meet the demands of individuals and society. The current law was enacted in 2006 (Law No. 120, Article 12). The Social Education Law was first enacted in 1949 when more than 10,000 Kominkan or Citizen’s Halls were established as social education facilities. Kominkan was regarded as a symbol of the new age for those who were looking for a direction in their lives after World War II.¹¹

Social education is promoted by the central government and local public agencies. According to the Social Education Law, which defines the responsibilities of the central and local governments, social education is defined as a systematic educational activity. This includes physical education and recreation and is primarily for young people and adults after school or after graduation. Educational activities are conducted in accordance with the School Education Law of 1949 (Law No.207, Article 2). During this early period, women’s empowerment was one of the popular activities at the Kominkan. In addition, there were courses on how to improve the quality of your life, how to live a healthier life, tips for income generation, and some recreational activities. The management of the Kominkan was entrusted to the community, and the doors were open to all, regardless of age, gender, profession, or any other differences. Religious, political, and any activities for profit were prohibited.

Because of this legislation, many educational activities were conducted at official facilities and institutes financed by local governments. The community learning center, public library, various museums, and youth centers are some outstanding examples of these. From 1984 to 1987, the National Council on Educational Reform, which reports directly to the Prime Minister as an advisory body, adheres to three principles: 1) the principle of respect for the individual, 2) transition to a lifelong learning system, and 3) response to internationalization and information society. In 1988, the MEXT restructured the Social Education Bureau and created the Lifelong Learning Bureau. The current situation regarding social education facilities are shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 The Numbers of Social Education Facilities in 2015

Many external influences have changed social education. This is because society has changed dramatically since the 1940s. Sato (2016) points out that the scope of social education widened in the 1970s in Japan following Paul Lengrand’s advocacy of lifelong education through UNESCO’s International Committee for the Advancement of Adult Education in 1965, and social education began to include learning activities organized in accordance with the learner’s age as well as those pursued by individuals on a personal basis. The Kominkan is now required to respond to lifestyle and community issues such as concerns about the environment, welfare, health care, peace, and human rights, and it also provides projects for children and youth who were not avid users of the Kominkan previously. In the aftermath of the devastating 2011 earthquake, the awareness of the importance of Kominkan-centered local networks (Sato, 2016, pp. 164–165) were underlined. In addition to Kominkan networks, Maruyama (2018a) illustrated the potential of civil movements for learning after the earthquake, when people lost access to the media and viewed the information sent by the government and media with mistrust due to the unprecedented crisis surrounding a nuclear facilities. People started to access foreign media and shared updated or live data sources. Okano (2016) also explains that non-formal education, such as intentional teaching and learning activities that occur outside of formal schooling, has increased rapidly in the past two decades because of social change. Japan’s formal education system was one of the many top-down initiatives that the national government pursued in order to build a modern nation-state.

2.2 Evening classes

Social education is officially organized and implemented by local governments, and various learning activities are delivered to its citizens based on...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Series editor’s note
• Introduction: dynamics and analysis from non-formal education
• PART I Dynamics of non-formal education
• PART II Width and depth of non-formal education
• Index