Building a learning society with lifelong learning for all is the trend of education reform and development in the world today. In its report "Embracing a Culture of Lifelong Learning", UNESCO sets out a vision for a lifelong learning society by 2050. Japan is one of the first countries in the world to develop lifelong learning, and as the aging population is becoming more serious, Japan has entered the so-called "100-year era", and the need for lifelong learning has increased significantly. To this end, Japan is taking various measures to promote lifelong learning with the goal of "creating an environment for lifelong learning."
**Provide legal and institutional safeguards
In 1990, Japan promulgated the "Lifelong Learning Promotion Act", which stipulates the purpose, promotion measures, basic concept and judgment criteria of lifelong learning, and intends to establish a legal system to promote lifelong learning. In 2006, Japan** wrote lifelong learning into the new version of the "Basic Law on Education", making lifelong learning the basic concept of education, and its attention has been increased, and it has become an important content of the "Basic Plan for Education Revitalization" implemented in Japan since 2008. Japan's Fourth Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education, announced in 2023, proposes to accelerate the creation of a lifelong learning society through various measures, including improving the learning environment, providing diverse learning opportunities, and improving the evaluation and application of learning outcomes.
In recent years, Japan has begun to organize some "liaison meetings" and gradually formed a multi-departmental collaborative promotion mechanism. For example, in December 2021, Japan established the "Education Future Creation Conference" with the main purpose of "nurturing human resources who will be responsible for the future of the country," in an attempt to increase the diversity and flexibility of the connection between education and society, so that everyone can continue to learn and re-learn. In its proposals, the conference set forth the goal of building a "lifelong learning society and a lifelong ability development society (all-generation learning society)" and pointed out that efforts should be made to improve the environment for "return to education" (where adults return to school or educational institutions to study). In addition, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have held liaison meetings with relevant ministries and agencies on the promotion of "return education" since 2021 to consult and coordinate on how to further cooperate closely and effectively promote "return education".
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is promoting it in all directions
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is the administrative agency that directly manages education, science and technology, and academia in Japan, and has taken a number of initiatives to improve the environment for lifelong learning. For example, we have implemented a university "return education" promotion program aimed at finding employment and changing careers at universities and vocational schools, as well as a "comprehensive promotion project for 'return to education' in vocational schools," a "vocational practice ability development program," and a "career development promotion program." At the same time, timely release of educational information for social personnel. In 2020, Japan officially launched a portal to support the learning of social workers**, providing courses and lectures for social workers and creating an easy-to-learn environment.
Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology also provides learning opportunities through a variety of channels and formats. The specific contents include: institutionalizing full-time universities, full-time junior colleges, and full-time disciplines for social workers; Leveraging the role of radio and television universities to provide a wide range of university education opportunities through radio, television and the Internet; In libraries, museums, lifelong learning centers and other social education places, through lectures and other forms, to provide various learning opportunities for the public; Strengthen cooperation with social educational institutions and public welfare organizations, and support the work of non-governmental educational organizations.
In addition, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan is focusing on strengthening the evaluation and application of lifelong learning outcomes to help learners enrich their careers. In August 2019, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology revised the Regulations for the Implementation of the School Education Act to award credits and provide training certificates for courses related to "return education". In recent years, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has implemented the "High School Graduation Proficiency Certification Examination" for high school students who have not yet graduated, such as dropping out of school, and those who pass the examination are deemed to have the same level of academic qualifications as high school graduates. At the same time, we promote academic certification and degree awarding for university and graduate students who have not completed formal courses.
Establish a lifelong learning system based on local resources
Most of Japan's prefectures and even municipalities have set up departments such as the Lifelong Learning Division and the Lifelong Learning Promotion Center, which aim to improve the learning environment, provide learning opportunities, and promote cooperation and cooperation, and give full play to the power of leading institutions, civil society organizations, and the general public to build a lifelong learning system with local characteristics.
The Lifelong Learning Division regularly formulates specific plans or plans for the promotion of lifelong learning in the region. For example, Osaka City, one of the first cities in Japan to develop a learning city, launched the first "Osaka Plan for Lifelong Learning" in 1992. In 2022, the fourth "Osaka Plan for Lifelong Learning" proposes to build a continuous learning society in which everyone can actively participate in the creation of a continuous learning society in which diverse citizens support and live together in a city where diverse citizens support and live together.
The Center for the Promotion of Lifelong Learning uses the resources available in the local area to disseminate information such as lectures and learning venues in a timely manner to expand learning opportunities for citizens. For example, Hachioji City, Tokyo, takes advantage of the large number of universities in the region to give public lectures and organize cultural and sports activities, and actively plays the role of universities in cultivating human resources and developing academic and cultural culture. The city of Ninza established the "Shinza Citizen University" to provide learning resources for citizens. At the same time, the city is trying to cooperate with primary and secondary schools to use school facilities to create special learning activities such as culture and sports.
Universities play a role as primary facilitators
As the most important resource provider and learning place, universities are the most important contributors to the promotion of lifelong learning for all, and play an irreplaceable role in building a learning society.
Universities provide a variety of learning opportunities through the establishment of lifelong learning centers or colleges, public lectures, and recognition of learning outcomes. For example, the Open College of Waseda University offers more than 1,900 lectures in a variety of disciplines each year in the spring, summer, fall, and winter semesters. Meiji University's lifelong learning base, Meiji University Free Gakuen, offers a variety of courses centered on "Liberal Arts and Culture" and "Business Planning", with about 160,000 students attended the course. Meiji University has also launched the Women's Smart Career Program, a short-term intensive study program for six months, to help women return to work and extend their careers. Resources such as the university's library are also conducive to the development of reading activities. For example, Gakushuin University holds a university library seminar every spring and fall, where experts give keynote speeches and exhibit materials related to the symposium in the library.
Nihon universities also conduct theoretical and practical research on lifelong learning. For example, Osaka University has established the Graduate School of Lifelong Education and Sociology of Education, which conducts research and theoretical analysis on lifelong learning and proposes policies. At the University of Tsukuba, the Department of Lifelong Learning and Social Education is engaged in historical and comparative research on social education and lifelong learning beyond school education.
Lifelong education should maximize the development of each person's abilities and realize the true value of life. Under this goal, in recent years, Japan**, schools, and social organizations have taken various measures to promote lifelong learning for all. As of October 2021, there were 496 lifelong learning centers in Japan, but due to the pandemic, the number of people using them has dropped significantly. According to the results of a 2022 survey conducted by the Cabinet Office on lifelong learning, there are still 24 people who do not study more than one day per month in a year3%, of which 45 were deemed unnecessary5%；The number of people who have not participated in "return education" after entering society and do not want to participate in it in the future has risen to 464%。It can be seen that the construction of a learning society not only needs the policy guidance and support of the first department, but also needs to mobilize the active participation of the general public. How to improve everyone's learning initiative and boost the social atmosphere of loving learning is a long-term problem faced by Japan.
Liu Shuliang is a researcher at the Northeast Asia Regional Cooperation Research Center of Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, and Zhang Nan is an associate professor at the School of Foreign Chinese Languages, Tianjin Normal University
China Education Daily, January 11, 2024, page 9
Author: Liu Shuliang Zhang Nan.