Hokkaido University Faculty of Education/Graduate School
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School Education

History of School Education

Research Subjects

Historical studies on school education policies, educational practices, related cultures in modern times

Research Group Overview

Education today is characterized by schooling: almost all children over a certain age receive a certain amount of education at school for a certain period of time. In present-day Japan, it is quite difficult to talk about our upbringing without mentioning the school we attended – even for those who did not go to school. Moreover, we have unconsciously developed a pattern of thinking that considers children’s educational/everyday life problems in relation to their relationship with school. For example, truancy becomes a problem if we consider it natural for children over a certain age to go to school. Since we are surrounded by conventional wisdom (assumptions never questioned) and live within a related framework of thinking, it is not easy to liberate ourselves from it. This research group is engaged in research and education to clarify the present situation and get to the bottom of problems to envision a brighter future.

Staff

Professor    KONDO, Kenichiro

The government of Japan established by the Meiji Restoration (i.e., restoration of imperial rule) abolished the Ryukyu Kingdom and established Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. As part of its rule in Okinawa, the government established schools for local children. I have worked to identify the following historical facts to clarify what school and education meant for Okinawan people in modern times: (1) how the lives of Okinawans changed as schools were established and became popular and (2) what exactly was taught in those schools.
For more than 10 years, I have tried to deepen these research interests by focusing on language education. Speaking Okinawan was associated with patriotism, labor and other political/economic viewpoints at varying degrees depending on the era. Those who spoke Okinawan were corrected to speak the standard Japanese language. A case in point in Okinawa was the use of a “dialect tag (hogen fuda).” In schools, students caught speaking the local language were forced to wear the tag around their necks as punishment. We should note that despite this punishment, children still tried to continue using the local language, and that local adults ridiculed children who spoke the standard Japanese language. In this way, I have conducted surveys and research on the history of language education in modern and present-day Okinawa with a focus on the dialect tag and on the teachers and the organizations through which they engaged in educational activities.
Through my research, I have found that historical records were destroyed by fire in the Battle of Okinawa. Therefore, I also work to reproduce such records through collection and organization of related materials regarding the history of education in modern and present-day Okinawa. Based on my historical interest in teachers and their organizations in Okinawa, I also conduct surveys and research on teacher training at Hokkaido University (HU) and teach related courses in collaboration with researchers at HU and elsewhere.

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