## Four Basic Policy Directions of the Educational Administration

In order to rebuild education based on the principles of the revised Basic Act on Education, the government sets directions in each life stage, and systematically organizes specific measures as well as achievement targets and indicators.

## Developing social competencies for survival:

Active abilities for independence and collaboration in a diversified and rapidly changing society

Setting conditions to ensure educational achievements

## Developing human resources for a brighter future:

Human resources to initiate and create changes and new values through leadership in various fields in society

Increasing diverse experiences and opportunities for friendly competition with each other to develop creativity, challenging spirits, leadership, Japanese identity, language and communication skills

Establishing environments to enhance excellent abilities and various personality

## Building safety nets for learning:

A wide range of learning opportunities accessible to everyone

Provision of safe and secure educational and research environments, as well as learning opportunities such as reducing the burden of educational cost

## Building bonds and establishing vibrant communities:

A virtuous circle where society nurtures people, and people create society

Enhancing society-wide educational abilities such as forming social systems and networks to gather various people and collaborate with each other through learning

Establishing environments for social participation in people’s own initiative and supporting each other

## (Common principles)

☑ Respect for diversity in education

☑ Vertical connections according to life stages

Horizontal cooperation and collaboration throughout society

Collaboration between the national and local governments for revitalization of the educational sector

## (Methods of educational investment)

Considering the various current issues in education, the future directions of investments in education focus on improvements in the following three areas mainly:

• Establishing environments for high quality education, such as collaborative and interactive learning

• Reducing the burden of educational cost on household budgets

• Establishing safe and secure educational and research environments (such as strengthening the earthquake resistance of school facilities).

Rebuilding education is one of the high priority political issues, and it is required materializing high quality education that surpasses levels in the major European countries and the United States. Therefore, in the Second Plan, we need to ensure indispensable educational investments by securing financial resources for necessary budgets to attain the Achievement Targets and implement the Basic Measures mentioned in Part 2 of the Plan, referring to the situations of educational investments such as public expenditures in OECD members and other countries.

## (Scenario to prevent crises)

● Encouraging self-fulfillment, increasing in the number of active social players, and reducing disparities (to maximize individuals’ abilities for a society of lifelong engagement with the participation of all citizens including youths, women, seniors and persons with disabilities).

To improve social productivity (including innovations for globalization)

To establish human bonds(to build social capital)

## ▶ Each citizen will regain pride and confidence, and a wide range of the population will be able to appreciate their own achievements

## Critical situations in our country

## Linked to each other

## Rapidly declining birthrate and aging population

· A decrease in the productive age population (In 2060, Japan’s total population will have decreased to 90 million by a decrease of 30 percent from 2010, 40 percent of which will be people aged over 65)

• Reducing economic scale and tax revenues, and increasing social security expenditure

## Declining social vitality

## Advancing globalization

• Mobilization of human, commercial, economic and information resources

• Full blown a knowledge-based society

• Escalating international competition triggered by the rise of developing countries

• Deindustrialization caused by corporations moving their production bases abroad

## The danger of a declining Japan’s international profile

Changing the employment environment

• Changing Japanese traditional work system including the lifetime employment and seniority system

• Declining of the traditional corporate function of nurturing human resources through in-house education and training

Rising unemployment and fluctuating hiring rate

## Changing local communities and family structures

• Weakening of the safety net mechanism supported by human bonds and connections within local communities

• Diversified values and lifestyles

## I ncreasing isolation of individuals and weakening normative consciousness

• Widening economic disparity → Educational inequality → Reproducing and immobilizing educational inequality (between or among generations)

## Reproducing and immobilizing disparities

【Japan's Various Strengths】

Lower individual motivation and less social stability

## On the other hand…

## Global challenges

• We are facing numerous global issues including environmental, food and energy problems, as well as ethnic conflict and religious disputes. In the process of resolving these issues, we must depart from the conventional pursuit of material affluence and strive to build a sustainable society.

● Rich and diversified culture and art, as well as superior sensitivity

● Science technology and basic manufacturing technologies

● The population’s diligence, cooperation and consideration

● High-level of basic knowledge and skills

● Strong human bonds

## 【Lessons from the Earthquake】(insights into ways to overcome the crises)

The ability to grasp a situation accurately, to think and act proactivity, and to not give up

To restore and build a future-oriented society with innovation

Improving the educational environment for acquisition of necessary knowledge and skills in a safe atmosphere

Importance of connections among people, communities and countries, as well as coexistence with nature

## 【Evaluation of the First Basic Plan】

The accomplishment of the “Educational Vision for the Next 10 Years” in the First Basic Plan is in progress. In spite of various efforts, there remain challenges including motivation for learning, learning hours, the number of low academic performers, coping with globalization, young people who are not interested in studying or working abroad, and fostering normative consciousness and sociality.

• On the other hand, new methods for solving problems through community collaboration, and new issues such as educational inequality have emerged.

## The causes of these issues are:

· lack of attitudes for drawing out various individual abilities;

· a tight situation to create smoother pathways and linkages among schools or between school education and social life;

· insufficient PDCA cycle.

## Future Directions in Society

We build a lifelong learning society to achieve the three principles of independence, collaboration, and creativity

## Creativity

A lifelong learning society that

enables the further creation of

new values through indepen-

dence and collaboration

## I ndependence Collaboration

A lifelong learning society in which every person can develop his/her personal characteristics and

abilities to actively explore and realize a fulfilling life

A lifelong learning society with mutual support,

mutual enhancement and social participation

achieved by respecting

personal and social

diversity, and maximizing each person’s strengths