著者

沖津,由紀

出版者

日本教育社会学会

雑誌

教育社会学研究

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, 1994-06-10

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This paper considers three concerns: (1) examination of the interaction between intellectual educational practices and other ideal and cultural aspects of schools; (2) examination of the effects of intellectual curricula on Jukentaisei (entrance examination system) in Japanese society ; and (3) verification of the theoretical proposition that the Japanese educational system is autonomous with regard to its intellectual curricula. Based on these considerations, this paper investigates quantitative and qualitative changes of mathematics curricula for elementary and secondary schools prescribed in courses of studies. The findings are that: 1) the mathematical items apparently have reduced in number, but 2) the examination of the appearance, disappearance, and the allocation in school years of each item reveals that the mathematical curriculum has a tendency to stabilize at advanced levels, and 3) the examination of contents of items also reveals that while practical items disappear, numerical and algebraic items are introduced in earlier school years, and that the curriculum has a tendency to keep advanced levels. These tendencies indicate the 'Institutionalization of Curriculum'. The word 'Institution' means social patterns reproduced routinely with some features such as values that are taken for granted, standardized actions, and relative fixity. This implies that: (1) although the introduction of 'Yutori (latitude)' and 'Kosei (individuality)' into schools is advocated in Japan, the intellectual curriculum follows its own process of 'Institutionalization'. This increases conflicts and gaps between the intellectual educational practices and schools' apparent ideals and objectives; (2) because of 'Institutionalization', curriculum contents as the object of competition are more and more taken for granted and children are required to expend more effort to master them. Consequently more and more people are subject to Jukentaisei and the closed competitive order permeates Japanese society. (3) The 'Institutionalization of Curriculum' is a typical example of the autonomy of the educational system. This implies that the educational system tends to close itself off without reflecting its accountability to wider society. It will be one of the main themes for sociology of education to recognize the theory of this tendency and to consider its consequences.