Equality of Educational Opportunity: Inequality in Japanese Education

This chapter considers the extent to which the adoption of active learning might exacerbate disparities in educational achievement along class lines. The Ministry of Education constructed the new course of study to better prepare children for the new knowledge society, but also made explicit reference to the need for the new curriculum to better provide ‘equal opportunities’ of education. The new course of study resulted in reinvigorated core subjects, active learning, and key competencies for the twenty-first century. Whilst many scholars welcomed the ideals underpinning active learning, the revision has raised questions over whether it is conceivable to require all students, without support from outside the school, to gain proficiency with both the knowledge required by the course of study and the competencies for applying knowledge that are now required. This chapter examines the increased weight placed on active learning from a sociological perspective, to question whether the new curriculum is likely to achieve the aim of equal opportunities of education. Recent sociological theories of class and education have found that, whether or not ‘accumulated knowledge’ is important, ‘learning motivation’, the willingness and acceptance of study as a worthwhile pursuit, is constructed more consistently in the home environment, varies by class, and predicts attainment. This is discussed in the context of specific changes promoted under the banner of active learning and the Ministry’s slow recognition of disparities along class lines. Ultimately, for the new course of study to live up to expectations, it needs to provide a quality education to all children equally, by avoiding the creation of, or at least mitigating, social stratification along class lines.