Abstract
In Japan, decentralized and deregulated education reform began after World War II. The Course of Study (the national curriculum) was issued in 1947 as a guideline for teachers. Since around 1950, however, tension between the Western bloc and the Eastern bloc in the international society grew. This conflict was compared to the relationship between the Ministry of Education and teacher unions in the Japanese context of education. Furthermore, the interregional gaps in student performance increased. Influenced by these matters, the Ministry embarked upon standardization of educational content by claiming that the Course of Study had legal binding force over teachers in 1958. In the 1990s, educational content was deregulated and contents in the Course of Study decreased to implement yutori education. This deregulation was criticized because critics thought that it brought about the decline of student performance. Since around 2004, therefore, restandardization has been implemented by introducing the National Achievement Tests, increasing contents and instructional hours in the Course of Study, and so on. Especially since the late 1990s, policies strengthening principals’ leadership have been implemented. A series of reforms increases principals’ leadership and autonomy in relation to teachers by reducing teachers’ voice in school governance. On the other hand, substantive authority is not devolved to individual schools, and therefore, principals’ autonomy from Boards of Education and the Ministry is not sufficiently realized.
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Notes
- 1.
The national office responsible for education in Japan is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which is abbreviated as MEXT (Monbu-kagaku-sho). Before MEXT was created in 2001 to incorporate the Agency of Technology, it was called the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture abbreviated as MESSC (Monbu-sho). In this chapter, the expression “the Ministry of Education (MOE)” is used for both offices.
- 2.
The National Diet is the Japanese counterpart of the Canadian Federal Parliament.
- 3.
The Liberal and Democratic Parties were merged into the LDP in 1955.
- 4.
This appointment system was abolished in the amendment of the LEA Act put into practice in 2000, influenced by the recommendation report, On Prospects of Local Educational Administration (1998).
- 5.
Entrance examinations were usually held once a year from January to March, depending on prefectures and municipalities, in the form of paper-based testing.
- 6.
The nonparticipating municipality joined in 2009, influenced by the change of Mayor and the consequent change of trustees on the Board of Education.
- 7.
As part of the NPM reform, since 2000, the requirements to become principals have been buffered and principals no longer need teaching certificates. This reform has resulted in many principals without teacher certificates.
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Hirata, J. (2012). Standardization, Deregulation, and School Administration Reform in Japan. In: Volante, L. (eds) School Leadership in the Context of Standards-Based Reform. Studies in Educational Leadership, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4095-2_8
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