"Her analytical lens, which intersects micro and macro levels, provides a broad, yet nuanced picture of how Japanese education has responded to the increasing diversity and inequality in society". Dr. Misako Nukaga, The University of Tokyo. Review in International Studies in Sociology of Education. DOI: 10.1080/09620214.2021.2006747 " Education and Social Justice in Japan offers fresh insights into an education system that has undergone some significant shifts over the past two decades.
In engaging and accessible language, Kaori Okano illustrates how the system has responded to growing pressure to promote social justice in schools. [.] This book should satisfy readers who focus on Japanese education as well as those interested in topics such as globalisation, social justice, inequality and multicultural education." Dr. Christopher Bjork, Vassar College. Review in Asian Studies Review. DOI: 10.1080/10357823.
2021.1958708 "The author convincingly demonstrates that while recent attempts to reform education may have extended school choice and school autonomy, created alternative ways and opportunities to access higher levels of education, and reduced the achievement gap predetermined by socioeconomic status, they are at the same time failing to significantly reduce inequality in educational opportunities." Dr. Steve R. Entrich, University of Potsdam. Review in International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-021-09926-6 "Okano suggests that difference and diversity have become more valued and accommodated over the last decades, allowing "more students to participate longer in schooling" (175).
However, relatively little has changed in terms of diversifying the content of schooling. Nor have affirmative action programmes found favour. The approach to social justice in Japanese education is still overwhelmingly about seeking to ensure that all children get the same amounts of the same educational content, regardless of their social group. [.] Inevitably, specialists on this inherently controversial field may disagree with some of [Okano''s] analyses or conclusions. However, none will fail to be impressed by the combination of scope, detail, and judiciousness that make [this book] an essential reference on its subject." Dr. Peter Cave, University of Manchester.
Review in Contemporary Japan. DOI: 10.1080/18692729.2021.1999885 "It provides an overview of Japanese education from the early pre-modern era to the current reform initiative in 2019. More importantly, the book adds new perspectives of social justice in education to the current scholarship on Japanese education.[.] The book is very informative, easy to read, and can be assigned to undergraduate courses.
This is a welcome addition to Japanese studies scholarship." Akihiro Ogawa, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Pacific Affairs: Volume 95, No. 3 ''Perhaps the greatest strength of her book, however, lies in how Kaori Okano analyses this range of reforms. She describes them as collectively presenting a ''pragmatic package'' that accommodates demands from four main directions: neoliberals who want greater choice and accountability; neoconservatives who want a return to traditional values; humanists who want more student-centred learning; and social justice advocates who want more attention paid to marginalized groups. Given these competing voices, Okano concludes that the sum of the reforms is actually always likely to be considerably less than the individual parts: ''the basic structure, mechanisms, and content of schooling have not changed radically. developments are best understood as "adjustments" to the existing system and practices'' (11)''. Professor Roger Goodman , University of Oxford, Social Science Japan , 2024, https://doi.org/10.
1093/ssjj/jyae019 The 1999 book by Okano and Tsuchiya soon became a must-read text for anyone interested in Japanese education. There can be no question that Kaori Okano''s new volume will also gain that status. The thorough and well-presented coverage of both national policy and local practice that has taken place over the last two decades makes this essential reading for scholars and students in Japan studies as well as comparative education. Professor Robert Aspinall , Doshisha University, Japan, Journal of Japanese Studies , 48(2), pp.440-445. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1353/jjs.
2022.0049.