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Gakureki Shakai

About 2 pages (521 words)

Gakureki Shakai

Gakureki is the Japanese word for an individual's educational record or history, and gakureki shakai describes the characteristics of Japanese society that make such a record crucial to a student's future social status. With the rapid expansion of enrollment in senior high schools and universities between the early 1960s and the late 1970s, not only the level of education obtained but also the rank or status of a person's alma mater became a major factor in determining his or her initial labor-market position.

The Japanese education system is generally considered meritocratic and egalitarian because of the open competition of the entrance exams. However, empirical studies show a consistent link between parents' educational or social status and the level of schooling attained by their offspring. Nevertheless, the Japanese educational selection system is widely regarded as legitimate among students and parents despite the severe academic competition.

Three characteristics of Japanese culture and society may explain this enduring legitimacy. First, no overt link exists between middle-class values and the knowledge tested on entrance exams. Unlike many European nations, which emphasized elite forms of social capital in schools and in interviews for job entry, Japan has historically emphasized Japanese national culture. This continued in modern education. Second, most Japanese do not believe in innate differences in either intelligence or ability. Most people view success as the product of individual effort. This belief is reinforced by the fact that students who do not study hard risk failure in the intense competition for high school or university entrance, even if they are gifted with academic ability. Third, education in high schools and universities and the transition to the job market revolve around competition. Students are faced with the constant possibility of losing or winning, and the status of past winners in future competitions is ambiguous, promoting a cycle of status anxiety and increased aspirations.

In the mid-1980s, concerns about intense academic competition and an eruption of school problems, including bullying, violence, and students refusing to go to school, engendered support for a series of educational reforms focused on individual differences, freedom in education, and creativity. Multiple selection criteria for admission to high schools and universities, including interviews and evaluations of extracurricular activities, were introduced in the 1990s. However, these reforms were implemented without parallel changes in the job market, thereby increasing the popularity of juku (cram schools) and private schools that fuel competition. In addition, some argue that the introduction of the new criteria in the selection system creates inequality between students from different social classes, as disadvantaged students will have fewer opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and may experience discrimination during interviews. Gakureki shakai will continue to flourish, even after a series of educational reforms to suppress competition, as long as no dramatic changes occur in the job market and in its legitimacy among participants.