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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION,SCIENCE AND CULTURE 1989 > PART1 Chapter1 �1 2

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PART 1 lssues and Perspectives of Elementaryand Secondary Education
Chapter 1. Changing Society and Improving the Quality of Education
�1. Progress of Elementary and Secondary Education
2. Expansion of Access to Education


The new educational system had to begin under very difficult conditions and without enough preparation. However, as regards compulsory education, by the middle of the 1950's, the new system was settled and nation-wide access to education was secured at acceptable level. The scale of upper secondary education also expanded rapidly during the period from the mid l950's to the mid 197O's.

The process of the post-war expansion of educational opportunities will be described below, paying primary attention to the relevant national policies.

(1) Policies for Establishing the 6-3 Compulsory Education System

Until the latter half of the 1950's, priority was given to policies for establishing the 6-3 compulsory education system which would provide the foundation for school education.

During the post-war years, securing salaries for teachers was one of the most important problems. Salaries for teachers, deteriorated by the sharp post-war inflation, were one of the big burdens on the local government financing. Imbalances in the level of salaries for teachers were extreme between different prefectures.

With this situation worsening, a movement asking for national government financing of teachers' salaries was activated, and in 1952, the Law Concerning the National Treasury's Share of Compulsory Education Expenses was enacted. Through this law, a system for the national treasury to bear a part of the expenses of compulsory education, which had been suspended for some time, was revived. Thus one half of teachers' salaries and partial costs of teaching materials came to be paid by the national treasury.

Necessitated by post-war circumstances, fixed numbers of educational personnel were often reduced. It happened partly because the local government treasuries were in dire circumstances, and partly because there was no law stipulating national standards concerning class size and fixed numbers of educational personnel.

Therefore, in 1958, the Law Concerning Class-size and the Standard of Fixed Number of Educational Personnel in Public Compulsory Education Schools (hereafter referred to as the Compulsory Education Standard Law) was enacted in order to legally stipulate standards for class size and fixed numbers of educational personnel in schools of compulsory education. Based on this law, class size of elementary and lower secondary schools was standardized at fifty pupils per classroom, and plans to solve the problem of crammed classrooms were systematically implemented.

Financial difficulties in the construction of school buildings were serious, due to the extension of the length of compulsory education without any carefully thought out plan for school buildings construction. In particular, lower secondary schools under the new school system had to suffer a serious shortage of facilities, because there had been no equivalents of lower secondary schools under the old system. Not infrequently unusual classes had to be held: "Classes in the Open Air" and "Double Shift Classes." Although the government tried to appropriate funds for building school facilities, the situation was unstable at best in the financially restricted post-war situation.

After such a difficult period, beginning in 1953, a series of laws authorizing the national treasury to subsidize the cost of educational facilities were enacted and necessary resources came to be appropriated. In 1958, the foundation of current practices was established when various systems of the national treasury to fund educational facilities were brought together by the enactment of the Law Concerning the National Treasury's Share of Compulsory School Construction. Since then, the provision of public school facilities has been carried out systematically thanks to this support system of the national treasury.

In order to guarantee the post-war ideal or equal opportunities for education and to enrich the 6-3 compulsory education system, other measures were also taken after the recovery of independence, such as financial assistance for pupils from poor families to attend school, provisions to promote education in isolated areas and measures to encourage mentally and physically handicapped children to attend school.

Chart 1-1-3 Trends in Enrollments


(2) Rapid Growth of the Economy and Upper Secondary School Education

After post-war economic rehabilitation, the Japanese economy experienced very rapid growth. Within the context of such economic growth, Japanese education grew rapidly in size and accomplished a new development. The expansion of the scale of upper secondary school education was particularly noticeable.

Upper secondary schools under the new system were created in 1948, to provide those who completed compulsory education with wider opportunities of upper secondary education. Majority of them grew out of secondary schools of the old system, and were developed under the principles guided by the Civil Information and Education Section of the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. These principles were school district system, coeducation and comprehensive school. The school district system and the comprehensive school system were enforced in some areas without considering actual situations, which proved inappropriate, and confusion was evident. Rigid application of these principles, therefore, was gradually amended after the recovery of independence, in order to better meet local needs.

During the late 1950's and the early l96O's, while the relevant school age population increased remarkably, their advancement rate to upper secondary school also increased even more rapidly. This was encouraged by the national and prefectural governments which cooperated to appropriate necessary treasuries for expanding educational opportunities in order to meet the strong desire for upper secondary education among people at large. Following the enactment of the Compulsory Education Standard Law, the Law Concerning the Planned Establishment of, and the Standard of Fixed Number of Educational Personnel in Public Upper Secondary Schools (the Upper Secondary School Standard Law) was enacted in 1961, for the purpose of accommodating the rapidly increasing number of entrants into upper secondary schools.

Upper secondary education of this country continued to expand quantitatively, and by the middle of the 1970's more than 90 percent of the age cohort came to be enrolled in upper secondary schools. Accordingly types of students enrolled in upper secondary schools became diversified. In recent years various new attempts have been made to give guidance commensurate with the abilities and aptitudes of students by introducing varieties of courses and expanding the range of alternatives in elective courses.

Chart 1-1-4 Trends in the Percentage of the Age Group of 6 to 14 Years Old Enrolled in Compulsory Education

In addition to full-time courses, part-time and correspondence courses were set up in order to ensure the opportunities primarily for working youth and adults to participate in upper secondary school education.

Enrollment in part-time courses reached its peak in 1952 at 570,000, constituting 23% of all the students. Since then, with the increase of enrollment in full-time courses, enrollment in part-time courses has been declining, and yet about 150,000 students were enrolled as of 1988. The content of correspondence courses gradually improved after the end of World War 2. By the mid-1950's, graduation by correspondence education alone became possible. Furthermore, TV and Radio courses were made available, thus making the curriculum requirements more flexible for correspondence students. In 1961, an independent status was granted to the correspondence courses.

In order to promote these courses, the Law for Promotion of Upper Secondary Part-time and Correspondence Education was enacted in 1953 which was followed by measures to provide government subsidy for offering evening meals to students and for paying additional remuneration to part-time course teachers.

Vocational education at upper secondary schools was inactive at the start of the new system, because the introduction of the school district system and the comprehensive school system made it difficult to set up specifically vocationally oriented upper secondary schools. In 1951, however, the Vocational Education Promotion Law was enacted and laid the basis for the development of vocational education after World War 2.

From the latter half of the 1950's when enrollment of upper secondary school students rapidly increased, in response to the demands for the promotion of science and technology and the cultivation of middle level industrial workers, positiv e actions to establish and expand industrial upper secondary schools were undertaken. Also, being stimulated by the enactment of the Agricultural Basic Law, actions to expand and improve agricultural upper secondary schools were undertaken, with the aim of training self-employed farmers. Positive financial assistance from the national treasury was awarded to these programs. The diversification of vocational education was advanced and numerous vocational courses were developed from the latter half of the 1960's with the expansion of upper secondary school education and in consideration of social needs.

The proportion of those who are enrolled in vocational courses has gradually been declining since the mid-1960's, partly due to the propensity of students and parents to favor general course of study. The share of students in vocational courses had been at the level of 40% during the post-war years, but it has been at the level of 25% in recent years.

Chart 1-1-5 Trends in the Enrollments in and the Advancement Rate to Upper Secondary Schools

Chart 1-1-6 Trends in Percentage Distribution or Upper Secondary School Students by Type of Education


(3) Expansion and Improvement of Special Education and Kindergarten Education
1) Expansion and Improvement of Special Education

Special consideration is needed for those who are handicapped either mentally or physically. In accordance with the degree of mental or physical handicap and the levels of development, a relevant educational environment and appropriate education ought to be provided.

The enactment of the School Education Law in 1947 set forth a special education system, consisting of schools and classes of special education. The elementary and lower secondary departments of schools for the blind and of those for the deaf were made compulsory in stages with the advancement of their students since 1948. Educational opportunities have thus been secured for those who are mentally or physically handicapped on an equal footing with regular pupils.

In 1954, the Law for Encouragement of Special School Attendance was enacted. The law formed a basis to provide financial assistance to lessen the economic burden of parents (guardians) who send their children to these schools, and thus contribute to the improvement of school attendance by handicapped pupils. Although schools for the otherwise handicapped, unlike those for the blind and for the deaf, were not brought into the compulsory education system at the outset, the enactment of the Law Governing Special Measures for Construction of Public Schools for the Otherwise Severely Physically and Mentally Handicapped in 1956 opened a route to financial assistance from the national treasury to cover the cost of facilities, salaries of educational personnel, expenses for teaching materials, etc. The elementary and lower secondary departments of schools for the otherwise handicapped were included in. compulsory education in 1979 after years of promoting their improvement.

A Course of Study has been set up for special education schools. giving special consideration to their specific objectives. Apart from the measures mentioned above, attempts have been made to improve these special schools, by furnishing them with special provisions for class size, educational personnel, facilities and other educational conditions.

Chart 1-1-7 Trends in the Number of Special Education Schools and Their Enrollments


2) Expansion and Improvement of Kindergartens

According to the School Education Law of 1947, kindergartens are defined as schools for children who are not younger than 3 years old and have not reached the elementary school age. They aim at nurturing children and encouraging development of their mind and body by providing them with an appropriate environment.

Standards for the content of kindergarten education were illustrated by the publication of "Guidelines-A Handbook of Pre-school Education" in 1948. These standards were revised in 1956 in the form of the Course of Study for Kindergarten. Further revisions were made in 1964 and 1989, with a view to improving the content and method of pre-school education.

The Educational Personnel Certification Law, enacted in 1949, amended the title of kindergarten teachers from "nurse" (Hobo) to the same title for the teachers of elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools as "teachers" (Kyoyu) and "assistant teachers" (Jo Kyoyu). The requirements for obtaining a teaching certificate for kindergarten were also made equal to those for other schools, in order that its qualification is defined more clearly.

The Standards for the Establishment of Kindergarten were set up in 1956 as those for class size, facilities and equipment in establishing a kindergarten, in order to improve the facilities and equipment to a satisfactory level. Then, since 1964, two series of the Promotional Plan of Kindergarten Education were implemented, which advanced the establishment of kindergartens with the objective that all 4-and 5-year-olds who wish to attend kindergartens could do so by the year 1982.

Since 1972, a kindergarten education subsidy was established by virtue of which entrance and tuition fees might be reduced and parents (guardians) who send their children to kindergartens could be eased of their financial burden. This system is aimed at the popularization and improvement of kindergarten education.

Chart 1-1-8 Enrollment Rate for Pre-school Education(1987, 5 years old population)


(4) From Quantitative Growth to Qualitative Development

From the mid 1950's through the early 1960's, measures to improve educational conditions were taken, and elementary and secondary education achieved a remarkable quantitative growth. Equality of educational opportunities had thus advanced greatly.

While quantitative growth continued on the one hand, varieties of problems in terms of quality of school education became apparent. In addition, social changes during the twenty years after the end of World War 2 were most noteworthy, particularly in terms of the rapid growth of the economy and the advancement of science and technology. School education had to take new measures to deal with these issues.

The period from the mid 1960's to the mid l970's was a decade when much discussion took place on the future vision of school education with these factors in mind.

In 1967, the Central Council for Education was asked by the Minister of Education, Science and Culture for advice on "basic policies concerning comprehensive expansion and improvement of school education in the future". The Council deliberated over four years and submitted a report in 1971. This report raised the following three points as the key issues of elementary and secondary education reform : namely (l) careful selection of the content of education and appropriate instruction responding to the level of development and the character of individuals,(2) the promotion of long-range and well-planned educational policies, and (3) the promotion of drastic and comprehensive policies for securing excellent teachers.On the assumption of these issues as premises, the report recommended a basic framework for elementary and secondary education reform, which included the development of a school system responding to development process of children, the improvement of curricula reflecting the characteristics of school levels, the improvement of methods of education reflecting the characteristics of individuals, a positive expansion and improvement of special education, the implementation of policies for the training and securing of teachers and for the improvement of their status, and measures to promote research in educational reform. The so-called 1971 Report had become the guidelines for reforms during the 197O's ; policies then implemented included the revision of curriculum, the making of schools for the otherwise handicapped part of compulsory education, the improvement of fixed numbers of educational personnel, and the improvement of salaries for teachers.

In the mid 1970's, Japan was hit hard by the first "oil shock", and economic growth was forced to slow down. However, remarkable changes in social and economic conditions continued, which included software-oriented industrial structure, infomation oriented society, internationalization, maturing society and lifelong learning society. Japan's education was thus pressed for further changes, and invited the reform debate of the early 1980's.


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