Logic in Introducing Vocational Guidance to School in the 1920s : Vocational Guidance as a Social and Educational Policy

The purpose of this study is to examine what kind of logic justified the significance and the necessity of vocational guidance for school education, and to clarify the circumstances of introduction of vocational guidance which was of a different nature from the past school education contents, by analyzing articles in education journals in the 1920s. Section 1 argues that it is necessary to examine the tacit assumption that schools have to participate directly in transition to work and to clarify the process of construction of the relation between school and work, by the historical perspective. It then points out that the relation is not inevitable and argues about the significance of focusing on the introduction of vocational guidance to schools, which is the beginning of the relation between general education and transition to work in Japan. Section 2 clarifies that the main current of the articles about vocational guidance in the early 1920s was the presentation of foreign affairs by the social education people. It then points out that vocational guidance became necessary for the labor policy after that, and examines the social and labor situation in the 1920s as the background. Moreover, it refers to the reason why senders of discourses insisted that vocational guidance must be enforced in school education. Section 3 considers how the relation between education and work was stated, analyzing the discourses on vocational guidance by the social policy people. The findings are as follows: (1) The introduction of vocational guidance to school was related with a fundamental controversy on "what is true education", therefore, some people who were on the outside of social policy opposed its introduction, (2) The introduction of vocational guidance to school was supported by the assertion of "Practical Education" and the view of "work for work's sake". As a result, the concept of vocational guidance became extended, adopting the theory of "Rosaku-Kyoiku", (3) The main senders of such discourses on vocational guidance were the people concerned with the Ministry of Interior. The fact implies that they appealed to the Ministry of Education, which was passive in introducing vocational guidance to schools. Section 4 examines the reason why the Ministry of Education decided to introduce vocational guidance to schools, analyzing the instruction No.20 of "Affair with regard to respecting individuality of children and vocational guidance" and the relevant documents. The Ministry of Education introduced vocational guidance to cope with the problem of the future course after graduation including advancing to a higher school, because it was necessary to deal with the opposition to the introduction of vocational guidance and with the "hard to enter junior high schools" problem which was regarded as more serious. Section 5 summarizes the points of this paper and makes a comprehensive examination. In conclusion, it argues, hypothetically, about the later situation which was made by the difference of views of vocational guidance between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education.