Exploring School-Choice Factors from Japanese Students’ Perspectives: A Case Study of a Korean Foreign School

<p>As people increasingly make diverse choices regarding education, the phenomenon of Japanese students attending gaikokujin-gakkou—non-Japanese schools—has emerged recently. This study aims to reveal the reasons for these choices and the difficulties children face because of these decisions. Specifically, this paper examines the case of nine Japanese students attending a new Korean school—“T-school.”</p><p>Students who have difficulty in public schools select T-school as a place that enables them to pursue “international” subjects and make a fresh start. In addition, students choose this school based on its accessibility to all regardless of ethnic or socioeconomic background and community factors such as commuting distance or favorable relationships between T-school and the local community. These results show that gaikokujin-gakkou can play important roles which have not been fully grasped in previous research: providing more diverse students who have had difficulties in public schools with a new place, guaranteeing their right to an education and meeting their diverse educational needs.</p><p>Conversely, this study also clarifies the difficult experiences experienced due to such educational choices such as strained relations with Japanese public schools wherein students must be enrolled to obtain an official junior high school equivalent diploma (T-school and most other gaikokujin-gakkous are not officially recognized in Japan)，restricted high school options, and struggle over students’ sense of belonging. To solve these problems, it is necessary to elucidate and promote an understanding of the reality of various students who have been excluded in previous research. Research such as this will contribute to the accumulation of evidence to legitimately evaluate the role of gaikokujin-gakkou and critically highlight the rigidity and exclusivity of the current Japanese public education system.</p>