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The Consequences of Changing Education Policies on Social Inequality: The Case of Japan

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Integration and Inequality in Educational Institutions

Abstract

This chapter begins by illustrating the changes in Japan’s education policy. First, it describes how compulsory education has changed since 1997 due to the impact of PISA, a study that has been conducted by the OECD and is a form of global governance. Second, we provide the empirical context to aid the understanding of how changing education policy leads to a socalled “twisted understanding”—a confusion between academic achievement and global competencies. Third, through use of the social systems theory developed by Niklas Luhmann, the chapter explains the concept of “twisted understanding” as a form of global governance. Finally, we explain an emerging new form of social inequality as a consequence of changing education policies.

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Correspondence to Masashi Urabe .

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Urabe, M., Ono, A., Acosta, S.A. (2013). The Consequences of Changing Education Policies on Social Inequality: The Case of Japan. In: Windzio, M. (eds) Integration and Inequality in Educational Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6119-3_7

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