1. History and Present of Evening Junior High Schools (Yakan Chugaku) in Postwar Japan: Focusing on Learning to Liberate Marginalized People in Osaka
- Author
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Eguchi, Satoshi and Lee, Sunji
- Abstract
This paper examines the significance and potential of educational practices of evening junior high schools (yakan chugaku). After World War II, evening junior high schools were established for children who could not attend daytime junior high schools, and later those who had not completed compulsory education beyond school age began to study there. After the Act on Securing Educational Opportunities Equivalent to Ordinary Education at the Stage of Compulsory Education was enacted in 2016, new evening junior high schools have gradually begun to be established. This paper provides an overview of the history and present of evening junior high schools and then discusses the case of Osaka Prefecture, where the most advanced emancipatory educational practices, so-called "liberation education (kaiho kyoiku)," have taken place since the 1970s. It focuses on the practice of Kim Hyangdoja, a second generation Zainichi Korean who teaches at an evening junior high school in Higashi-Osaka City. She and her colleagues have sought a way for marginalized people, especially first-generation Zainichi Korean women, to become aware of their historical and social position. We considered the significance of her practice, "Writing my history with photos," similar to Paulo Freire's literacy education. We clarified that this practice is not only for making personal history, but is also an arena for expressing the identities of different social groups.
- Published
- 2023