Transformations in Japanese education policy for quality management

Abstract

The pursuit of heightened educational quality and equalized educational opportunities in the Japanese public school system is now losing its functional integrity. The new educational policy from the 1990’s onwards, was meant to focus on the divisional roles to be taken on by the private and public schools in trying to limit the public schools’ role to offer educational opportunities only to the general students. Behind this policy, there lies a rapid spread of despair towards the public school system based on the opinion that high quality education cannot be obtained by public schools, which base their philosophy on providing equal but uniform education. In a realistic sense, the new educational policy perhaps indicates Japan’s recognition of the present ‘at risk’ educational situation. Yet unfortunately, this shift in direction will concurrently signify the inevitable all-out dismantling of what Japan has prided as the pre-eminent feature of its school education system. This issue of improving quality standards in public schools certainly requires a divergent approach. It should be undertaken through individualized reform, school by school.