We examine the mortality effects of a 1947 school reform in Japan, which extended compulsory schooling from primary to secondary school by as much as 3 years. The abolition of secondary school fees also indicates that those affected by the reform likely came from disadvantaged families who could have benefited the most from schooling. Even in this…

Regarding the faults of the Japanese compulsory enrollment system, premised on attendance at a specific school, a forward-looking view must be taken on the guarantee of opportunities for general education via non-physical attendance (online attendance) in which physical attendance is not the default. At this time, municipal Boards of Education are…

As public education faces multiple issues, including the surfacing of children's struggles in society and the formation of capabilities suited to the times, free schools are tasked with expectations for their role as a supplement to public education, leading to a change in the onetime structure of opposition. However, attention must be paid to the…

The purpose of this article is to provide a new understanding of the essence of inclusive educational spaces as a pedagogical phenomenon that presents different scientific approaches to the concept of educational space, and the importance of interpersonal interactions in educational spaces, and also presents the authors' interpretations of their…

This paper evaluates the educational systems of Japan and Bangladesh. The educational systems of both countries intend to provide quality education to their students. The Japanese educational system is inclined toward global trends, striving to produce citizens who are aware of current changes around the world. The Bangladeshi system, under the…

This paper examines variations and shifts of emphasis in the 'internationalising education' discourse and practice, and attempts to identify patterns in these variations. By examining two sectors, compulsory education and universities, it identifies four main strands of discourse: (1) international (understanding) education ("kokusai rikai…

Japanese compulsory education is considered as relatively egalitarian since poorer regions receive more funding from the central government, which standardizes the quality of education nationwide. Nevertheless, the literature indicates socioeconomic status-based achievement and educational attainment gaps. As parts of explanations of these gaps,…

This article aims to describe post-war continuity and change in disaster education in Japan. Preparedness for natural disasters has been a continuous agenda in Japan for geographical and meteorological reasons, and disaster education has been practised in both formal and informal settings. Post-war disaster management and education have taken a…

This paper sets out the main findings of the International Instructional Systems Study (IISS), conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and funded by the Center on International Education Benchmarking (CIEB). The study examined the instructional systems and intended curricula of six "high performing" countries and two US states. The…

The conditions required for a reform of the educational finance system as the foundation of compulsory education are 1) devolution to schools and introduction of national standards in order to deal with "individual equality" while compensating for the insufficiency of "aspectual equality," and 2) dealing with educational needs…

Sociologists in education have pointed out disparities associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in the Japanese compulsory education system that was once regarded as egalitarian. In addition to disparities between individual students, prior studies have empirically shown SES-based disparities among schools on important indicators such as…

Japanese compulsory education had been praised because of its equality around the early 80s. However, since the third wave-educational reform that began in the 1980s and still persists, it has been pointed out that there are disparities between schools in terms of students' socioeconomic background and academic performance. Although there have…

In the present study I describe the 150-year history of school-based English language assessment in Japan. The history is divided into four major periods according to the purposes of English language education set by the government in the different periods: (1) 1860 to 1945, when English was first introduced and taught in schools mainly for elite…

Current Educational Reform in Japan is oddly captured with confused conceptions of "compulsory education." The Ministry of Education blankets such connotations of it, as a national budget system, mandated school curriculum, responsible partnership of school with community and accountabilities of local school board, in defense of vested…

Presents abstracts of articles about laws on compulsory education in China; legislation affecting handicapped students in Czechoslovakia; laws on comprehensive schools in Finland; educational research on secondary education in Hungary; and reports of the Japanese National Council of Educational Reform. (CLB)