Paper short abstract:

This presentation states that choosing schools with unique characteristics can allow students to pursue alternative ways of thinking and behaving. Even if they proceed to mainstream universities, their ways of interpreting the world are heavily influenced by their experiences in high school.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation investigates students’ individual aspirations and hopes for the future in an alternative Japanese high school in order to understand the intersectionality of education, family, and students’ aspirations in the uncertain environment of contemporary Japan. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at the school in 2016 and 2019, interviews with alumni, and analysis of educational magazines that came out in 1973–2000 and were partly edited by the school’s founder, I will analyze the students’ and parents’ survival strategies when they refuse to be part of the Japanese mainstream education.

School F was built about 30 years ago. Although it is officially endorsed by the Japanese government as a regular school, it offers a unique pedagogy and culture that contrast with those of mainstream Japanese high schools. School F has stuck to its policy of not conducting tests and has instead focused on nurturing the students’ internal motivation to learn. This provided a strong antithesis to the school culture of the 1980s, which offered control-oriented education (kanri kyôiku).

Analyzing alternative schools also means how students and parents navigate their paths when they refuse mainstream Japanese education. While some students choose progressive schools, in many cases, it is after they fail to be part of mainstream schools due to school refusal (tôkô kyohi) or bullying. However, even if people started to distrust mainstream Japanese education, many still cling to the norms of going to a good school to secure their future. But the decreasing number of younger people and the diversification of entrance examinations, such as the recommendation system or the admission office system, gave alternative opportunities to enter university for those who do not receive training for the traditional entrance examination. Under this circumstance, more diverse students have chances to go to reputable universities. Choosing schools with unique characteristics can allow students to pursue alternative ways of thinking and behaving. Even if they follow the path of those who graduated from mainstream schools, such as going to university, their ways of interpreting the world are heavily influenced by their experiences in high school.