著者

桑原 真木子

出版者

日本教育社会学会

雑誌

教育社会学研究 (ISSN:03873145)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.76, pp.265-285, 2005-05-30 (Released:2011-03-18)

参考文献数

8

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This paper examines the changing relationship between postwar eugenics and education/pedagogy, with a focus on the late 1940s through the 1950s in Japan.First, the paper explores how the postwar eugenics developed and how pedagogy responded to its development, examining the discourses of sterilization of “mentally retarded children.” Second, it explores the type of pedagogical that emerged as a result of the newly established relationship between eugenics and pedagogy, through an examination of the journal Jido Shinri (Child Study) and the special education of Yasumasa Miki.The following conclusions are drawn: First, the importance of the environment and happiness of the “mentally retarded” became a powerful reason legitimizing the practice of sterilization. Second, there emerged a chain of ideas that asserted that it was better for the “mentally retarded” to not be born because, as a result of their lack of ability, they would bring unhappiness both to their families and to themselves. This new logic is described as “meritocracy that threatens the existence of individuals.” Third, the paper characterizes the pedagogical logic of meritocracy as follows:(1) individuality, personality, and ability are equated, (2) the development of individuality/personality/ability is the foremost criteria for a child's happiness, (3) child's individuality/personality/ ability has to match the demands of society, (4) the development of a child's ability is determined as an interactive result of heredity and the environment, (5) the role of education/pedagogy resides in the manipulation of the environment, and (6) slogans such as “postwar democracy” and “human dignity” justify the association of these ideas.Finally, the resonance between pedagogical ideas and eugenics is pointed out, and the notion of “meritocracy that threatens the existence of individuals” is criticized as the most serious problem of postwar education.