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The purpose of this paper is to examine who enters senmon gakko (Japanese vocational schools), how they use this education, and how this usage has changed over time. The senmon gakko has not been fully explored as an object of academic concern, since it possesses an amorphous nature derived from the separation of its legal position (as an institution of post-secondary education) and its practical position (as an institution of higher education). Preceding studies have made conflicting arguments regarding what kind of high school students enter senmon gakko. There have been two different positions. The first is the higher educational model, which sees the senmon gakko as an institution of higher education and presumes that the entrants belong to a similar stratum as their counterparts in university or junior college. The second is the post-secondary educational model, which regards the senmon gakko as an institution of post-secondary education and underlines its uniqueness. Today, the senmon gakko is often discussed in educational policies and academic discussions as if it were one of the institutions of higher education. Historically, however, senmon gakko were set up as less prestigious institutions of post-secondary education, beginning in 1976, and were long disparaged because of this. In other words, the position of the senmon gakko has changed from post-secondary education to higher education, and this change is emphasized in this paper. Some indices indicate that the turning point took place in 1990. In consideration of this, the author established the hypothesis that the change in the position of the senmon gakko reflects alterations in the students. This hypothesis is examined by applying a multinomial logistic regression analysis and other methods to the JGSS data set. The results suggest that the hypothesis is adopted. Until the 1990s, the senmon gakko was the unique route for high school graduates from the self-employed and similar strata to attain blue-collar or lower-level white-collar jobs as an initial career. So it can be said that the senmon gakko provided a relatively profitable path. Since the 1990s, however, with the increase in students from the lower white-collar class, senmon gakko students have become similar to university students in terms of social class. Now they are clearly different from high school graduates in their origins. However, from a comparison of entrance (family background and school records) with exit (initial jobs), the senmon gakko provides a smaller pay-out than it did before the 1990s. These findings demonstrate that the change in the users and usages of senmon gakko show a process through which post-secondary education is reorganized into higher education. The Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS) are designed and carried out at the Institute of Regional Studies at Osaka University of Commerce in collaboration with the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo under the direction of Ichiro TANIOKA, Michio NITTA, Hiroki SATO and Noriko IWAI with Project Manager Minae OSAWA. The project is financially assisted by a Gakujutsu Frontier Grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for the 1999-2003 academic years, and the datasets are compiled and distributed by the SSJ Data Archive, Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan, Institute of Social Science, the University of Tokyo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, like in most countries, the equality of educational opportunities is a crucial issue both in academics and in governmental policy. However, the policy of equality of educational opportunities in Japanese higher education has been weakening. The first aim of this paper is to investigate the background of the policy and to clarify the reasons for its loss of importance. With this aim, the author gives an overview of policy and research works on the equality of higher education opportunities in Japan, in comparison with those overseas. The aim of higher educational policy and planning in post world-war II Japan was to rectify disparities in higher education opportunities between regions and social classes by increasing the supply of institutions providing higher education. However, the policy turned drastically from enlargement to suppression in 1975. The establishment of new universities and departments in the metropolitan area were strictly restricted by the Ministry of Education. This policy aimed to reduce regional inequalities in higher educational opportunities, and was largely successful in doing so. However, the policy concentrated on the regional inequalities, leading to a loss of concern on inequalities among social classes, with the exception of student financial aid programs. Secondly, the results of the Student Life Survey by the Ministry of Education (from 2004 by the Japan Student Service Organization) are often used to demonstrate the equality of higher educational opportunities in Japan. On the contrary, however, some researchers argue that the inequality of higher educational opportunity has been increasing or at least not decreasing, using other survey data. This paper examines the equality of higher educational opportunities using new survey data from 2005. The data show large inequalities in university education opportunities, particularly in private universities. In particular, the participation rate is very low among low-income, low-achievement, female high school graduates. This shows that there are still problems of inequality. Thirdly, this survey shows the existence of debt aversion among parents in the lowest income class and in families with mothers having the lowest education levels. It seems likely that debt aversion leads to serious problems because of the inadequacy of student aid programs, coupled with high tuition fees in Japan. The student financial aid programs of The Japan Student Service Organization, the largest public student program in Japan, gives loans, but not grants, to undergraduates. Some parents and students from lower income tiers may decide not to apply to university to avoid a debt burden. This result implies the need for grants to maintain the accessibility of higher education in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What significance did people give to "entering university from local areas" in Japan in the period following the Second World War? And how have their views changed in the time since? To answer these questions, this paper focuses on the "advanced course" of Tottori prefectural senior-high schools, using the methods of political-sociology. The "advanced course" of Tottori prefectural senior-high schools is sometimes called a "publicly funded cram school." The teachers of the prefectural schools give instruction to students who are preparing for a new chance to enter university after failing the first time. In the period around 1960, there were still no private cram schools in Tottori Pref., but the number of students hoping for a second chance to enter university was rapidly increasing. In response teachers at one prefectural senior-high school began to give them instruction on a volunteer basis, and a few years later, the Board of Education institutionalized it as the "advanced course." This system was spread within the prefecture by the Board. Judging from this analysis, it may be said that the Governor, administrators and teachers recognized the disadvantageous condition of the local prefecture, and devised a policy to train talented youth as a means to overcome the backwardness of their home region. However, a debate on whether the "advanced course" of prefectural senior-high schools should be maintained or not began in Tottori Pref. about 2005. Private cram schools asked for the abolition of the "advanced course," because the social changes since 1990s had hurt their business. As a result, this demand became a focus of public policy in the prefectural assembly. The groups on both sides of the issue disagreed fundamentally on whether the course should be maintained or abolished, but agreed m regarding the "advanced course" as a device for meeting the "needs of individuals." With the massification of university education, the existence of the "external effect" meaning the social profit brought about by higher education, has come into question. In addition, the "needs of society," meaning the survival of the local prefecture, is not recognized within the policy of the modern "non-profit-sharing" model. In comparison with the "supplementary courses" established by PTAs, which perform a similar function in senior high schools of other prefectures, people do not feel a justification to spend public money on Tottori prefecture's "advanced courses." This leads to the hypothesis that the significance of "entrance into university from local areas" changes with the movement in perspective from social profit to personal profit. This means that the circuit between "education" and "society/economy" has been severed. Hence, the nurturing and outflow of talented youth from local prefectures is no longer seen as the main issue. However, local prefectures have been seriously affected by recent changes in both the industrial structure and decentralization. Now is the time to rebuild the tripartite affinity between "education," "society/economy" and "local areas." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yano and Hamanaka have analyzed recent trends in the ratio of advancement to higher education in Japan, and concluded that the increased financial burden on households has been a blocking factor in recent years. They argue that a public policy for reducing the financial burden is needed, and that if such a policy is implemented, it will lead to increased advancement to higher education. As methodology they adopt a time-series multi regression of Japan as a single unit, using several economic variables such as starting salary of high school graduates, household income, unemployment rate and tuition fees. In this paper, the author uses a similar time-series multi regression, but broken down into 47 prefectures, and with the addition of variables describing the educational system such as student capacity in metropolitan areas and in local prefectures. From this analysis, the author finds that economic factors do not have a significant effect on the advancement ratio, and that educational system variables have a greater influence in determining the advancement ratio. In contrast to Yano and Hamanaka, the author argues that the negative attitude toward advancement to higher education in recent years lies not outside of the educational system, but rather inside of the system of higher education. Curricular innovation to provide more relevant content is the key to attracting more students to higher education. In an age where more than 50% of youngsters advance to higher education, enriching teaching content is a more important ask than providing financial support. Researchers on higher education should pay greater attention to the educational system itself rather than factors outside of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]