일본 지방교육행정 개혁과 시사점 - 교육위원회제도를 중심으로 -

Abstract

After World War II, Japan enacted Education Commission Act in 1948 to increase citizen’s control and decentralization over educational administration. It was the first educational reform in Japan. In 1956, the second reform abolished Education Commission Act and enacted Local Educational Administrative law when the problems in direct election of Board of Education and administrative efficiency of relationship between the head of local governments and the education committee arose. Local Educational Administrative Law changed the direct election of the Board of Education to appointment system by the local heads under consensus of local council. For the head of the Board of Education, senior superintendent office approved a nominee recommended from the committee member. The second reform served to secure political neutrality and security of educational administration, and was for harmony with the general administration. It also strengthened national responsibility through organization of educational administrative systems across nation, prefecture and town. The third reform held by the Japanese government in 1999 began from Decentralization Law 2000. 4. 1. It formed decentralization and deregulation of educational administration. Main points of the reform were abolishing appointment system of the head of Board of Education and softening the government role. The reform included regulation over relationship in counselling, assistance and guide between educational administrative departments. It also covered regulations over the departments’ rights to conduct supervision, claim corrective action, determine rules in school management, stimulate Education Committee, and expend school’s discretions. During the Forth reform in local educational administration, the Board of Education lost belief from society due to their concealment and lack of awareness in the school’s problems such as bullying incident like ijime and incompleteness of compulsory courses. The prolonged Local Administrative Law which was amended in December 2006 emphasized division of works between nation and local self-government and completion of national responsibility. In other words, this new amendment differed from decentralization of educational administration in the third reform. The revised Local Education Administrative Law in May 2007 included clarification in responsibility system of Board of Education, increasing a substantiality in Education Committee system, commencement of decentralization in education, and completion of nation’s responsibility in the national education. Moreover, there has been partial amendment in the law in 2014. Local Education Administrative Law underwent several revision. It was a process of building a centralized bureaucratic system from Ministry of Education to Prefecture Board of Education(Superintendent) to Municipality of Education(Superintendent) and finally to Principal. After World War II, GHQ demanded thorough democratic improvement in Japan’s politic, economy, administration, and society. It enacted Education Commission Act to decentralize educational administration and establish civilian participation in the administration. Nevertheless, Japanese Ministry of Education survived in reforms after the World War II had been enacting laws and reforming systems by employing administrative guidance which is a characteristic of Japanese administrative in order to strengthen their rights in Japanese educational administration. In short words, the Japanese local educational administrative reform was a building of educational administrative system in which Ministry of Education’s expanded and strengthened their position. This reforming process lost the beginning schemes mentioned in Education Commission Act proposed by GHQ. Today, Japanese administrative spheres are under Abe’s Neoliberalism and Neo-nationalism, and its educational administration region as well won’t be free from the Abe’s. To conclude, Japan’s educational administration suggest a point from the reviving of spirit and purpose of Education Commission Act in the beginning.