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Japan Upper-Secondary School
Even though upper-secondary school is not compulsory in
Japan,
94 percent of all lower-secondary school graduates entered
uppersecondary schools in 1989. Private upper-secondary schools
account
for about 24 percent of all upper-secondary schools, and
neither
public nor private schools are free. The Ministry of
Education
estimated that annual family expenses for the education of
a child
in a public upper-secondary school were about ¥300,000
(US$2,142)
in both 1986 and 1987 and that private upper-secondary
schools were
about twice as expensive.
All upper-secondary schools, public and private, are
informally
ranked, based on their success in placing graduates in
freshman
classes of the most prestigious universities. In the
1980s, private
upper-secondary schools occupied the highest levels of
this
hierarchy, and there was substantial pressure to do well
in the
examinations that determined the upper-secondary school a
child
entered. Admission also depends on the scholastic record
and
performance evaluation from lower-secondary school, but
the
examination results largely determine school entrance.
Students are
closely counseled in lower-secondary school, so that they
will be
relatively assured of a place in the schools to which they
apply.
The most common type of upper-secondary schools has a
fulltime , general program that offered academic courses for
students
preparing for higher education and also technical and
vocational
courses for students expecting to find employment after
graduation.
More than 70 percent of upper-secondary school students
were
enrolled in the general academic program in the late
1980s. A small
number of schools offer part-time or evening courses or
correspondence education.
The first-year programs for students in both academic
and
commercial courses are similar. They include basic
academic
courses, such as Japanese language, English, mathematics,
and
science. In upper-secondary school, differences in ability
are
first publicly acknowledged, and course content and course
selection are far more individualized in the second year.
However,
there is a core of academic material throughout all
programs.
Vocational-technical programs includes several hundred
specialized courses, such as information processing,
navigation,
fish farming, business English, and ceramics. Business and
industrial courses are the most popular, accounting for 72
percent
of all students in full-time vocational programs in 1989.
The upper-secondary curriculum also underwent thorough
revision; in 1989 a new Course of Study for
Upper-Secondary Schools
was announced that was to be phased in beginning with the
tenth
grade in 1994, followed by the eleventh grade in 1995 and
the
twelfth grade in 1996. Among noteworthy changes is the
requirement
that both male and female students take a course in home
economics.
The government is concerned with instilling in all
students an
awareness of the importance of family life, the various
roles and
responsibilities of family members, the concept of
cooperation
within the family, and the role of the family in society.
The
family continues to be an extremely important part of the
social
infrastructure, and the ministry clearly is interested in
maintaining family stability within a changing society.
Another
change of note was the division of the old social studies
course
into history, geography, and civics courses.
Most upper-secondary teachers are university graduates.
Uppersecondary schools are organized into departments, and
teachers
specialize in their major fields although they teach a
variety of
courses within their disciplines. Although women compose
about 20
percent of the teaching force, only 2.5 percent of
principals are
women.
Teaching depends largely on the lecture system, with
the main
goal of covering the very demanding curriculum in the time
allotted. Approach and subject coverage tends to be
uniform, at
least in the public schools. As in lower-secondary school,
the
teachers, not the students, move from room to room after
each
fifty-minute class period.
Upper-secondary students are subject to a great deal of
supervision by school authorities and school rules even
outside of
school. Students' behavior and some activities are
regulated by
school codes that are known and obeyed by most children.
School
regulations often set curfews and govern dress codes,
hairstyles,
student employment, and even leisure activities. The
school
frequently is responsible for student discipline when a
student ran
afoul of the regulations or, occasionally, of the law.
Delinquency generally, and school violence in
particular, are
troubling to Japanese authorities. Violations by
upper-secondary
school students include smoking and some substance abuse
(predominantly of amphetamines). Use of drugs, although
not a
serious problem by international standards, is of concern
to the
police and civil authorities
(see Public Order and Internal Security
, ch. 8). Bullying and the drop-out rate are also
subjects
of attention. Upper-secondary students drop out at a rate
of
between 2.0 and 2.5 percent per year. The graduation rates
for
upper-secondary schools stood at 87.5 percent in 1987.
Discrimination in education is prohibited, but the
hisabetsu
buraku discriminated communities, a group of people
racially
and culturally Japanese who have been discriminated
against
historically, are still disadvantaged in education to some
degree
(see Minorities
, ch. 2). Their relatively poor educational
attainment through the upper-secondary level in the 1960s
was said
to have been largely corrected by the 1980s, but reliable
evidence
is lacking.
There are some private schools for the children of the
foreign
community in Japan, and there are some Korean schools for
children
of Japan's Korean minority population, many of whom are
secondgeneration or third-generation residents in Japan.
Graduates of
Korean schools face some discrimination, particularly in
entering
higher education. Observers estimated that 75 percent of
Korean
children were attending Japanese schools in the early
1980s.
Training of handicapped students, particularly at the
uppersecondary level, emphasizes vocational education to enable
students
to be as independent as possible within society.
Vocational
training varies considerably depending on the student's
handicap,
but the options are limited for some. It is clear that the
government is aware of the necessity of broadening the
range of
possibilities for these students. Advancement to higher
education
is also a goal of the government, and it struggles to have
institutions of higher learning accept more handicapped
students.
Upper-secondary school students returning to Japan
after living
overseas present another problem. The ministry was trying
to get
upper-secondary schools to accept these students more
readily and
in the late 1980s had decided to allow credit for one
uppersecondary school year spent abroad.
Upper-secondary school graduates choosing to enter the
labor
force are supported by a very effective system of job
placement,
which, combined with favorable economic conditions, keeps
the
unemployment rate among new graduates quite low
(see The Structure of Japan's Labor Market
, ch. 4). For those students going
on to
college, the final phases of school life becomes
increasingly
dedicated to preparing for examinations, particularly in
some of
the elite private schools. About 31 percent of
upper-secondary
graduates advance to some form of higher education
directly after
graduation.
After-school clubs provide an important upper-secondary
school
activity. Sports, recreational reading, and watching
television are
popular daily leisure activities, but schoolwork and other
studies
remain the focus of the daily lives of most children. The
college
entrance examinations greatly influence school life and
study
habits, not only for college-bound students but also
indirectly for
all; the prospect of the examinations often imparts a
seriousness
to the tone of school life at the upper-secondary level.
Data as of January 1994
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