Student loans in Japan: Current problems and possible solutions

The Japanese higher education sector has seen increases in tuition with stagnant household incomes in a society where family support for university students has been the norm. Student loans from the government have grown rapidly to sustain the gradual increase in university enrolments. These time-based repayment loans (TBRLs) have created financial hardship for increasing numbers of loan recipients and their families. There is some evidence that prospective students from low-income households are forgoing a university education to avoid student loan debt. The Japanese government has introduced some measures including grants and a partial income-contingent loan (ICL) scheme to help alleviate these problems.While the ICL scheme is a positive development, this paper shows that it requires further refinement and broader coverage if it is to adequately address the challenges facing higher education financing in Japan. We show that an affordable and universal ICL system could be introduced in Japan that avoids problems with the current partial income-contingent loan scheme and would help alleviate access issues for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Importantly, the unique features of the Japanese labor market have to be carefully considered, especially the large gender wage gap for married women. By introducing dynamics into modeling graduate earnings and using carefully selected parameters, we show that it is possible to have a universal ICL which achieves a balance between access and affordable repayment with minimal long-run costs to taxpayers.     

生源地信用助学贷款的SWOT分析及其对策

生源地信用助学贷款是资助贫困大学生的新举措。运用SWOT分析方法,能够全面地分析生源地信用助学贷款的优劣势和外部的机遇威胁,进而有针对性地提出了相应的发展对策。基于以上的分析,文章提出：因地制宜,利用灵活性是发挥生源地信用助学贷款优势的关键点;国家的支持是生源地信用助学贷款发展的基础。     

试析国家助学贷款制度的实施困境

国家助学贷款是政府针对普通高校家庭经济困难学生,利用金融手段对其进行资助的一种制度安排。国家助学贷款前期制度设计存在缺陷,一度产生实施困境,其实质在于国家助学贷款制度目标与政策工具之间存在矛盾。消解助学贷款制度实施困境的基本经验包括：优化后续配套政策运行措施,鼓励政策性银行经办贷款业务,健全贷款风险共担机制。     

Examining the potential impact of full tuition fees on mature part-time students in English higher education

This paper examines current part-time mature learners’ views on the potential impact upon future students as full fees are introduced from 2012. It investigates the problems which part-time mature learners may face with the advent of student loans and subsequent debt, given that they are usually combining complex lives with their studies, with less time to repay any loan in their working lifetime. Despite government rhetoric about the need to increase participants from these groups, most advice and guidance has focused on the traditional full-time market, with little being done to investigate the views of part-time mature learners or to provide appropriate support for them from 2012 onwards.

The views have been gathered through focus group discussions with students in a traditional English university and four of its further education partner colleges via online forums. Resultant data have been analysed to look at emerging themes, which can be summarised as: relief that the respondents had avoided the new fee regime; lack of understanding about current funding; fear that their families would suffer and taking a loan would somehow be a ‘selfish’ strategy; fear that graduate employment would still elude them; fear that their age would mean that they would never be able to repay the debt; a perception that the new regime would generate ‘extra’ money for universities which would be reflected in increased contact hours and wariness about the generous repayment terms currently offered because a change of government could signal new policies and processes.     

What College Students Wish They Could Tell Their Parents

To understand the problems college students have with their parents, 71 undergraduates were asked to assess their parents' expectations of them, their expectation of their parents, and the quality of their family communication. The author found that 49% of the surveyed college students felt their parents' expectations of them were too high and 10% felt their parents had too low an expectation of them. Actualy student comments and viewpoints regarding their parents are presented, along with follow-up questions to help parents assess their expectations of their college-age children.     

Exploring the views of parents of high ability children living in relative poverty

Background: This study is located in the general context of recent research on family life in England, ‘gifted and talented’ education policy and the significance of parental engagement. There is strong evidence that parental involvement has a significant and positive effect on children’s development and achievement. Although a great deal of work has been done on identifying general patterns of good practice, there is a gap in the literature regarding the support needs of parents of gifted and talented children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Purpose: The aim of this UK-based study was to explore what support such parents had received and what support they felt they needed to better promote their children’s development and achievement.

Sample: An opportunity sample of 21 parents with youngsters aged 14–16 identified as ‘gifted and talented’ by their schools, as part of UK government policy, took part in the study. The students attended a university-based intervention programme, which was designed to raise the students’ aspirations and achievement. The students were from schools within areas of relative social deprivation and, most qualified for free school meals.

Design and Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out to capture the authentic voice of the parents. Data was analysed using both pre-determined and emerging codes.

Results: Sixteen of 21 of the parents had good, supportive relationships with their children and 15 of 21 had high aspirations for them. However, 18 of 21 of the parents felt unable to engage with their child’s learning in the home. They also felt inadequate in their knowledge and experience to help their children with subject choices and advise on matters relating to Higher Education. Parents did not perceive their wider family or the wider community as supportive, nor did they expect them to be. Peer groups were seen as threats to their children’s well-being and advancement. Schools were highly rated for relationships but offered no specific support to these parents.

Conclusions: We conclude that although parental involvement is acknowledged in defining children’s life chances, parents in our sample, nonetheless, seemed to be being forced to ‘go it alone’. Within the limitations imposed by our small sample, we raise questions about the implications of the study.     

农村特殊儿童随班就读支持系统的调查研究

目的:了解农村地区特殊儿童随班就读的政府支持、社区支持、家庭支持、学校支持以及随班就读学生自我支持等5大支持系统的现状及存在的问题,探讨解决问题的对策。方法:使用自编的问卷对某县教师、普通学生及其家长、随班就读学生及其家长等5种人群进行测试。结果:家庭与学校支持系统比较完善,政府经费支持力度较好,社区支持力度不够,随班就读学生自我预期不佳。结论:政府支持需要加大宣传力度,学校支持系统中的资源教室和资源教师提升的空间较大,社区支持需加强。     

国家助学贷款实施情况分析研究

国家助学贷款制度是现行资助经济困难学生政策体系的重大举措，为家庭贫困的大学生继续求学带来了新的希望和机遇。只要在实施助学贷款的整个过程中，正确履行职责和义务，这一支持教育的重大举措一定能发挥应有的功能和作用。     

Aspects of Fiscal Federalism in Higher Education Cost Sharing in Latvia

This case study explores devolution of low-income student subsidies, via the national student loans program, from the central to local governments in Latvia by means of decentralizing political and financial responsibility to provide public assistance to low-income students in obtaining funds for higher education. It describes municipal engagement in providing primary loan guarantees and in assuming full risk for low-income student loans. This article argues that although there are venues for local governments to support low-income students' access to higher education, the central government should sponsor this policy politically as well as financially.     

The condition of poverty: a case study of low socioeconomic status on Chinese students’ National College Entrance Exam and college enrolment

The condition of poverty is pervasive worldwide and is multifaceted in its ability to have a deleterious generational impact. Although China has greatly reduced the proportion of people living in abject poverty over the past three decades, there are still millions of families living in extreme poverty. This study investigated the influences of families’ socioeconomic status on students’ educational achievement in China with regard to the National College Entrance Exam (NCEE) scores and subsequent college enrolment. We interviewed 132 recent high school graduates from schools in six urban cities from low-socio-economic status (SES) homes. The findings revealed that school climate (general school quality, student-teacher interactions, and peer pressure) and home environment (parental support, student-parent relationship, and family size) negatively impacted their educational achievement. Students were cognisant that the schools they attended did not have the same high reputation as schools attended by their more affluent peers and felt that their teachers openly discriminated against them. Additionally, their parents did not have the time or financial resources to help them advance educationally. We propose the low-SES Educational Achievement Framework to illustrate the phenomenon of environmental conditions that may influence the low-SES students’ NCEE scores and ultimately result in low college enrollment rates in China.     

河北省农村低龄寄宿教育的现状与策略

河北省农村低龄寄宿教育解决了生源不足的问题,促进了儿童社会化,减轻了家长的负担并培养了学生的自主性。同时寄宿教育也存在着不利因素,诸如亲情缺失,环境适应不良,刺激单调,家校教育脱节等。为此,各级政府要在政策和经费上予以倾斜,构建家校共育体系,家长要重视对孩子的亲情关照,学校要加强校本课程的开发,充实学生生活。     

论农民工随迁子女义务教育经费的承担主体——以“两免一补”政策的实施为例

随着国家“两免一补”政策在农村的全面实施，城市也开始对本地义务教育阶段学生实行“两免一补”政策。但是，进城农民工随迁子女却未能纳入“两免一补”政策的享受范围。免费义务教育是公民的基本权利，政府有义务为所有义务教育阶段的公民提供平等的教育机会和条件。由于现行义务教育投入管理体制的不完善，义务教育法也没有明确规定流动人口子女义务教育经费的承担主体，大多数农民工随迁子女被排斥在城市公办学校和享受“两免一补”政策的范围之外。建立由中央政府、流入地政府和流出地政府三方按比例共同分担机制。将农民工随迁子女纳入“两免一补”政策的享受范围，是保障农民工子女教育平等权的重要前提。     

从高校与学生间的法律关系看对学生的资助政策

为帮助家庭经济困难的大学生完成学业,国家先后出台了有关补助减免学费以及一系列奖学金、贷学金制度。但这些法律和政策还不完善,应加强对学生的诚信教育和自立教育,增加勤工助学岗位以及实行生源地贷款政策,争取社会力量对贫困生进行资助等。     

Fostering partnerships with families: academic service-learning in the Little Village

ABSTRACT

Strong family-teacher partnerships increase family engagement, promoting positive outcomes for children. Early childhood educators need knowledge, skills, and dispositions for establishing strong, meaningful partnerships with diverse families. This research investigated the impact of academic service-learning (ASL) on undergraduate students’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions for partnering with culturally and linguistically diverse families to promote young children’s early academic learning. Participants included nine undergraduates in an early childhood teacher preparation course, ten culturally and linguistically diverse families, and thirteen 2- to 5-year-old children. In this mixed-methods study, written student ASL reflections, pre- and post-ASL student surveys, and parent evaluations were analyzed. Three themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Students entered the ASL experience with excitement and a mostly positive approach; (2) Early to mid-semester, students articulated a high degree of nervousness and discomfort as well as challenges to partnership-building, yet also noted family interest and engagement; and (3) Mid- to late semester, most students expressed their growing confidence in their own skills for relating to diverse families, and identified family strengths. Our findings support ASL as an effective teacher-preparation pedagogy to help students build family-teacher partnerships.     

高等学校国家助学贷款中的诚信问题分析

高等学校国家助学贷款是我国政府利用金融手段完善普通高校资助政策体系、加大对普通高校经济困难学生资助力度所采取的一项重大措施。由于国家助学贷款实行的是无担保、靠信用维持的这一特征,从而产生了高等学校国家助学贷款中的诚信困境问题。从非担保机制条件下的国家助学贷款存在先天缺陷、部分大学生的信用意识还不强、个人信用制度不完善、大学生的偿还能力无法真正保证等四个方面对国家助学贷款中诚信困境的原因进行了分析,明确指出反对将助学贷款中的大学生诚信问题妖魔化。另外,还对国家助学贷款信用行为的实现及高等学校在国家助学贷款信用行为实现过程中的主要职能等问题进行了分析与探讨。     

转型与创新：拉脱维亚大学生资助政策及其启示

拉脱维亚自1991年开始了大学生资助政策的转型,之后经历1997年和1999年两次改革,形成了"学费贷款"和"生活贷款"两种贷款形式,基本保障了大学生的学习和生活所需。另外,拉脱维亚还通过税收减免和住宿补贴等方式,进一步完善了大学生资助政策,取得了较好的成效。这些对我国的大学生资助政策的制定和健全都有一定启示意义。     

助学贷款制度与贫困生资助体系研究

高校贫困生不断增加的状况,要求进一步完善助学贷款制度和贫困生资助体系。国家助学贷款作为助学的主渠道,具有自身特点,但在制度上仍存在缺陷,必须完善相关制度设计,使其更符合我国国情。同时,要构建政府、高校、银行、社会资助贫困生的立体体系,发挥助学贷款和高校资助体系的良好效用。     

Preservice teachers’ preparedness to serve different family compositions

ABSTRACT

This study explored preservice teachers’ (PSTs) perceived competencies and weaknesses in regard to working with a diverse range of students’ families, as well as what contributes to their level of preparedness to serve different family types. A sample of 25 Elementary Education PSTs completed surveys and participated in interviews related to their family-related coursework and experiences, memories of home-school connections, and future plans to connect with students’ families. Numeric frequencies of responses showed that PSTs felt the most prepared to serve traditional (‘nuclear’) families and the least prepared to serve divorced, single and same-sex parents. A thematic analysis revealed a contrast between participants who simply desired to serve and those who felt ready to serve different family types. Participants also rejected the notion of a ‘normal’ family, while simultaneously using heteronormative language when discussing different family types. The article offers implications for teacher educators.     

美国和加拿大学生贷款减免政策对中国的启示

学生贷款减免政策是学生贷款方案重要组成部分,这项政策通过减轻学生的债务负担促进高等教育入学,还能解决国家的劳动力需求紧缺问题。在借鉴国外学生贷款减免经验基础上,调查分析了我国国家助学贷款借款者对减免的认同和喜好程度,最后从借款学生的入学、读书和就业不同时期,提出完善我国国家助学贷款减免的相关政策建议。     

An Analysis of First Experience Students' Financial Awareness and Attitude to Debt in a Post-1992 UK University

While students have always found balancing their finances difficult, the current generation are faced with unprecedented debt burdens during and on completion of their studies. Student debt is now an expected outcome of attending university and, apart from the negative consequences it may have on participation in higher education, it may have a detrimental impact on the academic performance and psychological well‐being of students as they strive to fund their education and reduce their debt through part‐time working patterns. However, student debt can be managed better if students possess adequate personal financial awareness, have a responsible attitude to debt and are able to budget carefully. This study attempts to measure the personal financial awareness, attitude to debt and budgeting capabilities of 149 first‐year business school undergraduates using a specially developed test. The mean test score of 34 per cent on the financial awareness section indicates significant gaps in their personal financial knowledge and it appears that they are entering a critical stage of their lives ill‐equipped to cope with the severe cash restrictions they will encounter. This study is a valuable starting point in understanding the financial challenges faced by students in higher education in the UK and highlights how academic institutions can provide support to increase the financial awareness of students so that they can manage better their personal finances while at university.