A Historical Review of Research on Educational Competition for Entrance Examinations in Japan

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  • 受験競争をめぐる研究の系譜・死角・展望 --戦後日本の教育社会学史を読みなおす--
  • ジュケン キョウソウ オ メグル ケンキュウ ノ ケイフ ・ シカク ・ テンボウ : センゴ ニホン ノ キョウイク シャカイガクシ オ ヨミナオス

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Abstract

This paper traces the trajectory of research regarding educational competition for entrance examinationswithin the field of sociology of education in Japan and opens new perspectives for future research byhighlighting previously neglected viewpoints. Intense competition for entrance examinations has beenregarded as a social problem in Japan. Competition for examinations was recognized to be provoked byeducational credentialism (gakureki-shugi) and has also been identified as a cause of various problemsamong children in schools. Ironically, this recognition led to a scarcity of research focusing directly oncompetition for examinations itself. We highlight the arguments of two researchers who distancedthemselves from such trends and dealt directly with examination competition as a social phenomenon, i.e., Yoshiaki Yamamura and Yo Takeuchi. Their insights held the potential to reframe the debates aroundcompetition for examinations, but since the turn of the century, the landscape of discourse in sociology ofeducation has shifted, pushing the issues of competition for examinations to the background. We arguefor the contemporary relevance of studying competition for examinations as a sociological researchsubject by presenting the perspective of the marketization of education by the educational business sector.

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