Abstract
This paper examines the long-term consequences of elementary school curricula on the formation of social preferences. The estimation results, using Japanese data, show that the hidden (non-academic) curriculum at public elementary schools varies widely by region and is associated with preference formation. Specifically, people who have experienced participatory and cooperative learning practices are more likely to be altruistic, cooperative with others, reciprocal, and have national pride. In contrast, education emphasizing anti-competitive practices is negatively associated with these attributes. Such contrasts can also be seen in other preferences regarding government policies and the market economy. The findings imply that elementary school education, as a place for early socialization, plays an important role in the formation of life-long social preferences.
Highlights
School education is receiving increased attention as a place of socialization
The hidden curriculum we explore includes a variety of educational content/practices: we examine educational content related to politics, economy, ethics, character and peace as well as learning practices such as participatory and non-competitive learning
This paper examined the role of elementary school education in the formation of social preferences
Summary
School education is receiving increased attention as a place of socialization. In school, people learn not just cognitive skills, but non-cognitive ones as well, through the formation of preferences, beliefs, and norms. As reviewed, several studies have focused on the qualitative aspect of education, and demonstrated that specific educational content/practices have an influence on the formation of preferences and beliefs. It is likely that the subject matter in a curriculum is designed to be complementary to and implemented simultaneously with other educational content If this is the case, focusing exclusively on specific educational content with non-experimental data may confound the influence of other similar content. This study is the first to comprehensively examine the long-term influences of multiple educational content/practices on the formation of several social and economic preferences. 2 we review the literature on the impact of school education on preference formation and describe educational content/practices in Japan. The findings imply that elementary school education, as a place for early socialization, plays an important role in the formation of life-long social preferences.
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