Reconstruction of the System Guaranteeing Opportunities for General Education through the Separation of 'Enrollment' and '(Physical) Attendance'

Regarding the faults of the Japanese compulsory enrollment system, premised on attendance at a specific school, a forward-looking view must be taken on the guarantee of opportunities for general education via non-physical attendance (online attendance) in which physical attendance is not the default. At this time, municipal Boards of Education are called on to "promote the guarantee of diverse opportunities for general education" and "form public school networks," while prefectures must establish new councils and comprehensive support centers for a continuous guarantee during the school age across a broad area in cooperation with municipalities. [This article was translated by Nadezhda Murray. This article was originally published, in Japanese, in "Kyoikugaku Kenkyu" ("The Japanese Journal of Educational Research"), Vol. 88, No.4, 2021.]