Episode 14: Looking Back on the Journey over 18 Years of Career Education (January 29, 2017)
Teruyuki Fujita, University of Tsukuba
A 1999 report by the Central Council for Education titled "Improving
the Articulation between Primary and Secondary Education and Higher Education"
used the term "career education" for the first time in an official
governmental document in Japan. It is important to note that the report
made the following remarks in "Chapter 6: The Transition from School
Education to World of Work."
New graduates are increasingly inclined to seek their workstyle as "freeters", and the percentage of high school graduates neither pursuing higher education nor finding employment has reached about 9%. Also, the percentage of new employees leaving the workforce within the first three years has reached about 47% for high school graduates and about 32% for university graduates, according to a survey by the Ministry of Labor. It is difficult to determine how these phenomena should be evaluated because they are deeply related to economic conditions and changes in the labor market, but it is clear that there are issues in the transition from school education to the world of work.
The term "freeter" in the quote above is a coined Japanese word that represents young
people spending their time on part-time, mostly unskilled work. Formulated
with such employment issues among the youth as a backdrop, this report
stated that "it is necessary to implement career education (education
that fosters the ability and attitude to understand one's own personality
and proactively choose a career path, as well as the acquisition of a preferable
view toward work and occupation, and knowledge and skills related to work)
from primary school onward according to the developmental stage to ensure
smooth transitions between schools and those from school education to the
world of work.
Thus, the following "inseparable set of three phrases of career education in the early stage" were formulated: "career education" as "countermeasures against NEETs and freeters," with "fostering preferable view toward work and occupation" as its core.
It is true that at the time, there was a great deal of interest in the
rapid increase in the number of young people known as freeters. Specifically, the number of freeters, 500,000 in 1982, reached over 1.5 million in 1997, and it became a social
problem. In addition, the number of NEETs, which had hovered around 400,000
until the early 1990s, increased rapidly to 480,000 in 1999 and 640,000
in 2002, which also drew attention.
Of course, many of you may remember that the advocacy of career education was not always welcomed by teachers at primary, lower, and upper secondary schools. Many primary and lower secondary school teachers thought, "If you want to address NEETs and freeters, do it in upper secondary school." Moreover, teachers at upper secondary schools didn't necessarily welcome the idea with open arms. Particularly those with many students planning to go on to university said, "Most of our graduates enter universities and then find jobs without any problems. Therefore, we do not need career education." For most of the teachers in schools in Japan, career education appeared as an unnecessary task that they would rather not be involved in.
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Normally, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
(MEXT), upon receiving a report from the Central Council for Education,
respects its proposals and formulates specific measures accordingly. This
had been also true for the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MESC),
the immediate predecessor of MEXT. The report of the Central Council for
Education exerts a crucial influence on education policy in Japan. However,
the promotion measures for career education discussed above in the 1999
report were not promptly implemented. This is because the MESC alone could
not practically respond to the problem of NEETs and freeters. The MESC needed solid cooperation from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) immediately
responsible to employment policies, and the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry (MITI) in charge of promoting small and medium-sized enterprises.
Naturally, the MESC began to work out ways to collaborate with MOL and
MITI. However, it was not easy to realize the collaboration among the three,
due to the major reorganization of the national ministries. In the end,
after the reorganization in 2001, the national "Initiatives for the
Youth toward Independence and Challenges" was announced in June 2003
through the cooperation of the three new ministries: MEXT, the Ministry
of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI), under the leadership of the Cabinet Office.
In 2003, when "The Initiatives for the Youth toward Independence and
Challenges" was announced, the number of freeters reached 2.17 million. With this situation, it should not be surprising
that the Initiative begins with the following statement:
Today, young people are not blessed with opportunities. With high unemployment rates, increasing numbers of NEETs and freeters, and high rates of job turnover, there are hardly any opportunities for them to develop their potential and make the most of it.
If this situation continues, young people will not be able to develop their professional skills in the corporate in-service training programs. Moreover, this will lead to the collapse of our economic foundation, such as a decline in competitiveness and productivity over the medium to long term, and also to the increase of unstable employment, the widening of income disparity, the weakening of the social security system, the increase in social unrest, the further decline in the birthrate, and other serious social problems.
Based on the above recognition, "The Initiatives for the Youth toward Independence and Challenges" emphasizes the importance of "career development and support for employment from the school education to settling in the workplace," and declares that "systematic and structured career education tailored to the developmental stages of children and youths will be promoted throughout the educational activities of schools to foster a better view toward work and occupation. "
The inseparable set of three phrases of career education in the early stage
became evident here again, which put "career education" as "countermeasures
against NEETs and freeters," with "fostering preferable view toward work and occupation"
as its core.
Almost no one denies the shared sense of crisis and discomfort with the
increase in the number of NEETs and freeters as a citizen of Japan, but as a teacher, almost no one has enthusiasm
toward onsite career education practices. Despite its intentions, the Initiatives
may have further reinforced this notion of career education.
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In 2005, there was a shift that drastically changed this perception of career education.
The MEXT allocated 450 million yen per year for the "Promotional Project for Career Education Practices." The core of the Project was the "implementation of work experience programs for five days or more at lower secondary schools," and the initiatives rolled out nationwide over the next four years.
I believe this Project truly was "satisfactory" to primary school teachers who had a firm belief that it was too early to take measures against NEETs and freeters at their schools. The same applies to general upper secondary school teachers who thought that there was no need for career education for their college-bound students, and also to teachers at vocational upper secondary schools proud of the fact that they already had long been involved in such educational activities.
Of course, it is the lower secondary school teachers who have lost their "refuge" here. For them, career education no longer has any other choice but to do it. At the same time, however, the Project also allowed for the distorted view that "after all, we should just implement work experience programs for a few days, instead of the enigmatic career education!"
But why did the MEXT change the direction of the policy from "implementation throughout the entire educational activities from primary schools onward according to the developmental stage" to "focusing on work experience programs in lower secondary schools"?
Of course, there is a reason for this.
At the time, many teachers were uncomfortable with the new term "career
education," and many were reluctant to put it into practice. The MEXT,
however, desperately needed a catalyst to get the ball rolling. While the
rapid increase in the number of NEETs and freeters was the national issue, the MEXT had to avoid falling behind in its response
measures. Also, at this critical juncture, it is unacceptable that the
first initiative to promote career education should fail.
The MEXT then paid attention to the work experience programs implemented in Hyogo Prefecture. Since 1998, the Hyogo Prefecture Board of Education has offered five consecutive days of work experience programs for all eighth-graders in the prefecture, and this continues to date. According to the outcome analysis report published in 2008, the concrete results of the work experience programs include an increase in the school attendance rate of students who have not been participating in classes, improvement in students' self-esteem and self-confidence, smoother relationships with other students, and a deepened understanding of the importance of learning and the world of work.
The MEXT, in implementing its first measures to boost career education, would not have overlooked such successful precedents. Thus, work experience programs in lower secondary schools were strongly expanded nationwide as the first phase of career education promotion.
Naturally, there were concerns that such measures would give rise to the
misconception that "career education is something that takes place
in lower secondary schools," and there was even a danger that it would
lead to the perversion that "in effect, it refers to work experience
programs." Yet, at the time, the government had no choice but to move
forward with the "countermeasures against NEETs and freeters." The misconceptions and misunderstandings that arose from this were
to be corrected by the second and third rounds of policies to enhance career
education.
However, due to the change of the ruling party in 2009 and the subsequent
"the Review and Prioritization of Government Programs," the budget
allocated to the successor measures for career education promotion was
severely limited. As a result, the image created by the movement to promote
work experience programs, funded by lavish budgets, has yet to be eradicated.
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Now, let's recap all I have talked about so far with an imaginary boy,
"Career-kun." He was born in 1999 in the MEXT building. (BTW,
"kun" is a Japanese suffix commonly added after a man's name as a friendly
gesture.)
Career education is a countermeasure against NEETs and freeters, and its main focus is to develop preferable views toward work and occupation. These are the features of career education from the time Career-kun was just born until he was around 4 to 5 years old. It's not unusual for an 18-year-old young man to be embarrassed when someone keeps saying, "You used to do this and that when you were in kindergarten."
Career education essentially refers to work experience programs in lower secondary schools. This was a particularly noticeable characteristic of Career-kun from the time he started primary school until about the 4th grade or so. Someone may say, "You were such and such in primary school, weren’t you?", but, Career-kun has changed through various experiences in lower and upper secondary school, so it is not necessarily the case that the impressions of his primary school days remain with him.
The report "The State of Career Education and Vocational Education at Schools in Coming Years" compiled by the Central Council for Education in January 2011 stated that "the understanding of the necessity and significance of career education is expanding in school education, and the results of its implementation are gradually advancing. On the other hand, the report also noted that "the way teachers perceive career education and the contents and level of their practices vary widely…. One of the reasons for this situation is that the process of changes in the core of career education has not been fully acknowledged."
In other words, the report says, "Career-kun has grown up. Take a
good look at what he has become!"
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As for the development of career education upon the release of the 2011
report, that is, the growth of Career-kun in and beyond the lower secondary
school, it would be better for you to see the following concise document
than my ramblings: Guidance and Counseling Research Center (2011) New Direction
of Career Education, Creating Career Education, National Institute for Educational Policy Research, 14-15, https://www.nier.go.jp/shido/centerhp/pdf/Creating_Career_Education.pdf
In another episode, I probably will talk about the "Basic and General
Competencies" described in the above document, i.e. the generic/transformative
competencies that are expected to be fostered through career education
in Japan today for the students to thrive in and shape their future. But
for now, I'll leave it all to the booklet above.
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Even today, when I am invited to an in-service teacher training session on career education, the following or similar statement in the opening remarks by the organizer sometimes echo through the hall.
Recently, the necessity of career education is growing stronger, as young people are more inclined to become freeters and the number of youths not in employment or in education, known as NEETs, is rapidly increasing.
Listening to such greetings from backstage, I feel the urge to shout, "No!
There is no increase in the number of youths inclined to become freeters. The number has been declining for almost 15 years!" I'm an adult
now, so I don't actually shout it, nor do I mention it during the training
session, as you can imagine. But I do think it's sad. The 18-year-old Career-kun
himself might be tempted to say, "Please give me a break" when
he is introduced only to episodes from his kindergarten days.
(Translated and uploaded on September 24, 2021)
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