Into the 1980s: the Japanese case

Abstract

In examining prospective educational policies in Japan for the 1980s it is appropriate to review the situation of the past decades. Some ten years ago, at the outset of the 1970s, educational policies were two-fold. On the one hand, Japanese education was still to be expanded, following the expansion policies of the previous decade of the 1960s. On the other hand Japanese education was directed to meeting the problems which had arisen as a result of such a high degree of expansion. During the decade of the 1960s and the early part of the 1970s, Japan achieved high levels of growth and development in many aspects of her national life. In the field of economics it was a period of unprecedented and rapid growth. The gross national product per capita increased fourfold between 1960 and 1970. In education an equally high growth was observed. The public expenditure in education rose from 552,932 million yen in 1960 to 2446,429 million yen in 1970, thus multiplying by 4-5 times. This is not to mention the attendance rate of children of compulsory school age (between 6 and 15 years) which already had reached nearly 100% during the 1950s. Youngsters of 15 years of age going on to high schools increased from 58% in 1960 to 82% in 1970; and young people of 18 years of age entering universities and colleges increased from 10% in 1960 to 24% in 1970. By 1970 more than half of the population had received education up to the upper-secondary level. Thus, Japan had achieved the status not only of an economic power but also an educational power in the world. The prevailing mood regarding education was optimistic. In Japan education had long been considered an effective tool for ensuring both social and individual progress. This longstanding belief was reinforced by the fact that, during the decade of the 1960s, education and the economy had achieved parallel and substantial development. For society at large a high level of educational development was thought to promise high economic growth, which in turn was to support a high national standard of living and welfare. For individuals, education was to promote careers and social status by cultivating and improving abilities, skills and knowledge. It is ironical, however, that in the midst of such unprecedented prosperity in education new problems, which apparently derived from such growth, began to betray this optimism. To be sure there always had been problems in education. In fact, the decade of development in the 1960s was also a period of innovation and reform to cope with various educational problems. As mentioned earlier, the school population was burgeoning at the beginning of the 1970s and required matching expansion in buildings, equipment and teachers. Meanwhile the quality of