Is Japanese education the “exception”?: examining the situated articulation of neo-liberalism through the analysis of policy keywords

This article builds on the author's earlier work, published in Vol. 28 No. 1 of this journal, that critiqued the Orientalist legacy in Anglo-American discussions of Japanese education. One of the manifestations of this legacy is the prevailing view among the Anglo-American observers of Japanese education that Japanese education is the “exception” to the recent global restructuring movement. This article problematizes this view by exposing a similar but differently articulated structural change in Japanese education over the past three decades. Drawing on cultural studies and critical discourse analysis, the author focuses on the two policy keywords that the Ministry of Education has consistently used by for the past three decades: kosei (individuality) and yutori (low pressure). Tracing the complex histories of articulation and rearticulation of these policy keywords, the author demonstrates how the keywords, which had been associated with progressive political struggles against the Ministry's central control of public education, were mobilized to reconstitute people's common sense about education and thus to naturalize the radical systemic change towards the neo-liberal, post-welfare settlement. In conclusion, the author discusses the implication of the study to the field of comparative and international education, calling for a more critical, reflexive engagement with the field's preoccupation with “national differences”.     

Structural changes in higher education systems in Western Europe

This article gives an overview and analysis of structural changes of higher education systems in Western Europe, and how the various countries have changed their systems over the last four decades. Emphasis is placed on the development of a non‐university higher education sector in most countries. The question to be discussed is the extent to which the various countries converge to a common structural model for the organization of higher education – either a binary system which is the most common model today, or a unified but hierarchical system as in the United Kingdom.     

World-class higher education and the emerging Chinese model of the university

China??s recent quest to develop world-class universities is a significant phenomenon within the worldwide transformation of tertiary education. Taking a cultural approach and drawing on empirical findings, this article investigates the emerging Chinese model of the university, considering its key features and contributions to global communities. First, examining the rhetoric about world-class universities in varied societal contexts, it explores the institutional initiatives and government agendas involved in China??s drive for global status. Then, using case studies of three universities moving toward mass higher education and world-class status, it shows the role played by their individual institutional initiative. It next describes key features of the emerging Chinese model of the university, including the core values of self-mastery and intellectual freedom, to show how it differs from the dominant Anglo-Saxon and American models but shares some features with the continental European and Japanese models of the university. The final section considers policy implications of the emerging Chinese model, its potential lessons for reform and practice, and its role in fostering vibrant democracies and global dialogue among civilizations in the future.     

The cultural politics of borrowing: Japan,Britain, and the narrative of educational crisis

In the recent debate over education reform, Japanese conservative politicians and intellectuals have selectively appropriated a particular crisis‐and‐success narrative of British education reform to de‐territorialize contentious policy changes. They assert that Britain achieved successful education reform by transforming the very same teaching practices and legal framework that currently afflict Japanese education. In so doing, the Japanese conservatives have legitimized the fundamental ‘reform’ of post‐war Japanese education through the combination of nationalistic and quasi‐market interventions in education. Drawing on a wide range of literature (literature on educational borrowing, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies), this article illuminates how the Japanese conservatives have appropriated external references to ‘British education reform’ to reconstitute the people’s common sense about the current state and the future course of Japanese education. In addition, we use this Japanese case study to advance the re‐conceptualization of the politics of educational borrowing from the perspective of non‐western ‘others.’     

The development of secondary education in Japan after World War II

The basic pattern of contemporary secondary education in Japan was laid down in the years immediately after the Second World War. Secondary education is divided into a lower and an upper stage. The main characteristic of the lower stage is the combination of compulsory subjects and elective subjects. This article shows how the attempt to organise upper secondary education along American lines with comprehensive high schools controlled by elected school boards has given way to a structure more in keeping with Japanese needs. However, co-education in upper secondary schools has taken firm root in Japan. The article concludes with a list of major policy issues in Japanese secondary education today.     

Reflecting globalization effects on local policy: higher education reform in Taiwan

Recent comparative education policy studies show that even though there seems to be similar patterns and trends in higher education reforms in East Asian societies, the recently initiated higher education reforms have had very diverse agendas. Thus, the considerable convergence of policy rhetoric and general policy objectives may not satisfactorily explain the complicated processes of changes and the dynamic interactions between global, regional and local forces that shape education policy-making in individual countries. This article discusses globalization effects on national policy, with particular reference to how the higher education sector in Taiwan has transformed itself under the global tide of marketization and decentralization. There are a lot of changes similar to both higher education in Taiwan and that of elsewhere, which suggests that Taiwan's higher education has been affected by the trends of globalization. But before we jump to this conclusion, maybe we should also bear in mind an alternative hypothesis that local factors are crucial and determining factors for change. The core of the article is to examine the ways and strategies the Taiwan Government has adopted to reform its higher education systems in response to the changing local socio-economic political context and regional-global environments, with a particular focus on provision, regulation and financing.     

The weakening role of education studies and the re-traditionalisation of Swedish teacher education

Research suggests that certain common policy presuppositions can be identified regarding teacher education programmes in advanced knowledge-based economies, most notably?the relationship between formal education (schooling) and economic production, and the role of teacher education in respect to this relationship. This article draws on the work of Basil Bernstein to engage theoretically and critique the nature of that evolving policy relationship within the context of Sweden. While the article concentrates on developments in one country, however, it is contended that the findings are symptomatic of a wider European or even global trend in which the scientific foundation of teacher education is under threat.     

Rethinking the mission of internationalization of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region

This article adopts the critical theory approach to reflect and analyse the impacts of globalization on the internationalization process of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region. It argues that globalization forces many of the higher education institutions in the region to follow global practices and ideologies of the Anglo-American paradigm without developing their own unique systems and honouring the rich cultures of their own countries. While higher education institutions are indulging in internationalization in terms of marketization and economic pragmatism, they have to ask themselves, ‘What is missing in the process of internationalization?’ This article argues that internationalization of higher education contributes to building more than economically competitive and politically powerful states. It represents a commitment to the development of an internationalized curriculum where the pursuit of global citizenship, human harmony and a climate of global peace is of paramount importance.     

An Investigation of Japanese and American Early Care and Education

Staff interviews and classroom observations based on predetermined observation criteria and open-ended questions were conducted at early care and education programs in Kakunodate, Akita, Japan; Tazawako, Akita, Japan; Butte, Montana; and Missoula, Montana. Differences in curriculum, classroom structure and educational strategies were found. For example, group instruction was more prevalent in Japan and individual instruction was more common in the United States. Physical environments reflected these differences; Japanese schools had gymnasiums, swimming pools, pianos and televisions for large group activities and American schools had learning centers and computers for individual and small group activities. American teachers reported developing curriculum and activities based on individual child development and Japanese teachers reported developing curriculum based on promoting community and regard for others. Further study of Japanese early care and education is suggested to assist American educators in partnering with Japanese and Japanese-American families in providing more culturally relevant curriculum.     

Variations on democratic education divergent patterns in Japan and America

A comparison between democratic education in Japan and America illustrates the divergent patterns in the interpretation of this concept which developed after the end of World War II. In accordance with the American ideal of ‘grassroots democracy’, the American school board system was introduced into Japan in order to transfer control of education from the central government to locally-elected bodies. However, by the end of the American Occupation, the school boards had become the center of a nationwide struggle between left and right ideological forces for the control of schools. From 1956 onward, major revisions were carried out by the Japanese Government whereby local control of education was taken over centrally by the Ministry of Education, who introduced a standardized curriculum and a list of ‘approved’ textbooks. The rationale behind the Japanese reforms of the American pattern derives from their interpretation of the constitutional provision that ‘all people shall have the right to receive an equal education’. Significantly, American courts have increasingly tended to follow the Japanese understanding in recent years. There are multiple paths to democratic education.     

Changing professional discourses in teacher education policy back towards a training paradigm: a comparative study

Modern definitions of professions connect professional knowledge to scientific studies and higher education. In the present article we examine the changing nature of this relationship in initial teacher education in two European countries: Sweden and England. The article is based on policy analyses from recent decades of teacher education reforms. The findings suggest a policy convergence through a shared policy return that has moved teacher education back toward a teacher training paradigm.     

Massification of higher education,graduate employment and social mobility in the Greater China region

Globalisation and the evolution of the knowledge-based economy have caused dramatic worldwide changes in the character and functions of education, particularly higher education. In the search for global competitiveness, many emerging economies have begun to expand their higher education systems, which has significantly affected the relationship between higher education and graduate employment. Recently, international comparative studies have suggested that increasing enrolment in higher education does not always promote upward social mobility, and can intensify inequality in education. This article critically examines the impact of the expansion of higher education in East Asia on graduate employment and social mobility in the context of an increasingly globalising economy and changing labour market needs. The article discusses emerging trends in the Greater China region, with a particular focus on Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei, and argues that the massification of higher education has not necessarily led to more occupational opportunities for youth or opportunities for upward social movement, particularly since the significant changes in the global labour market after the 2008 global financial crisis. On the contrary, the intensification of ‘positional competition’ among college graduates seems to reflect growing social inequality.     

The global–local interface in multicultural education policies in Japan

This paper examines interactions between the global and the local in the context of Japanese mainstream schooling, by focusing on the development of local government policies to manage diversity in schools. This paper reveals how local governments developed education policies in interaction with grassroots professional groups, activists and schools, and by selectively incorporating national policies. These local policies are multicultural education policies but differ in two significant ways. The first is their predominant concern with human rights education, leaving celebration of cultural diversity as a marginal consideration, and the other is the official use of the term ‘foreigners’ in the title of these policies; both of which reflect the pre‐existing local context. The paper demonstrates that new immigrants do not unilaterally impact on supposedly ethnically homogeneous Japanese classrooms, but that the pre‐existing local contexts (national, local and institutional) have mediated global forces in effecting changes.     

Adult education and indigenous peoples in Latin America

This article describes the educational situation of indigenous peoples in Latin America, and in particular their scant participation in adult education activities. It analyses the historical, structural and institutional barriers to their greater involvement in adult education. The article proposes to look at indigenous demands on education as a potential way out of educational stagnation of indigenous adults, which is one of the challenges clearly formulated by UNESCO member states during CONFINTEA VI as a priority to be faced. The article concludes arguing the case for intercultural education, not only among indigenous peoples, but for the whole of the population, to be a guiding philosophy for education in general and adult education in particular in Latin American countries. It emphasises the fact that this cannot be achieved without the active participation of indigenous peoples themselves.     

The impact of education reform on the quality assurance system in Japan

International assessment studies have shown since decades that Japanese students score highly on math and science tests. As a consequence, many scholars, education policy officials and journalists outside Japan share the opinion that quality of education is ensured and turn to the Japanese educational system to identify educational effectiveness enhancing factors. Simultaneously, a sense of educational crisis exists within Japan, which resulted into numerous education reforms. In this paper, we describe how quality in education has been ensured in Japan, what changes in the assurance of quality are brought forth by the most recent wave of reform measures as well as the reaction of scholars toward these measures.     

Structural adjustment and education: Adapting to a growing global market

Structural adjustment effects on education have largely been viewed as policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This view overlooks the larger process of structural adjustment in a rapidly growing global economy. This article seeks to locate the structural adjustment implication for education within a global framework. Education's systemic dependence and system influence are identified. Specific educational effects of structural adjustment are discussed, addressing both short-term implications and long-term responses. Educational policy implications and research trends are addressed in the light of the evolving world system of education.     

Learning for democracy: The politics and practice of citizenship education

It is now two decades since the Advisory Group on Citizenship, commissioned by the newly elected Labour government, recommended the introduction of statutory citizenship education. On the twentieth anniversary of the eponymously named ‘Crick Report’, this article presents the findings of a rigorous mixed‐methods study of citizenship educators in the UK. This research suggests that teachers continue to lack a shared understanding of citizenship, conceptually and pedagogically, and also reveals an emphasis amongst teachers upon individualistic notions of good citizenship that are reflective of national, and increasingly global, political discourse. The findings are analysed using a new conceptual framework—the declarative–procedural paradigm—which is developed here to understand the relationship between political and normatively driven visions of democratic citizenship and classroom pedagogy. In doing so the article adds, theoretically and substantively, to the specific research pool of citizenship studies and broader debates about political disengagement.     

Religious studies,religious education and the aims of education

This article interacts with a recent article by Denise Cush and Catherine Robinson in which they call for a new dialogue between religious studies in universities and religious education, and identify a number of developments in religious studies that have implications for the practice of religious education in schools. Cush and Robinson are representative of an influential body of opinion among religious educators that looks to religious studies for inspiration. It is argued that they, along with others, fail to appreciate the difference between the aims of religious studies and those of religious education and that this unrecognised difference leads them both to engage uncritically and superficially with the history of post-confessional religious education and to fail to recognise that the roots of some of the weaknesses in contemporary religious education can be traced to the influence of religious studies over it. Showing that religious education has (and is required to have) a different set of aims from religious studies (though some aims may be held in common) alerts us to its distinctive nature, and this in turn facilitates a clearer understanding of its role in schools, which can serve both to direct and to evaluate educational outcomes.     

Thematic reflections on higher education

A global paradigm shift is taking place at the beginning of the Twenty‐First Century, which is resulting in massive changes in the frames of reference about the ways of life, work, and society and how they are viewed and organized. This shift is essentially a sweeping set of worldwide changes in the public domain which challenges the prevailing orthodoxies of Western society; specifically, questioning the nature of truth and knowledge. These changes have been described by the use of such terms as post‐industrialism, post‐liberalism, and postmodernity. This changing social world is characterized by economic flexibility, technological complexity, cultural and religious diversity, moral and scientific uncertainty, and national insecurity. The “postmodern” condition, therefore, has implications for the nature and professionalism of teaching. The work of teachers is already changing, owing to the dramatic changes in the world in which they work. This article attempts to identify the impact of postmodernism on the concept and practice of teaching, especially in higher education.     

International demand for American higher education: An extension

This article reports the estimated effects of a country's population and income on its citizens' demand for American higher education. Data are from 1978, 1982, and 1987. With the behavioral variables, the model includes binary variables for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Asian countries. Population significantly affects demand, but the effect is not proportional: A 10% increase in population causes demand for American higher education to rise by about 2%. The impact of income is similar; for this variable, the estimated elasticity is about 0.1. Together, these findings suggest that countries meet the majority of any change in their citizens' demand with domestic supply. For 1978 and 1982, OPEC provided considerably more students than other countries, other things being equal. By 1987. This difference had vanished. At the same time, Asian countries were providing more students than other countries, other things being equal, and the difference increased monotonically through time.