Education, Equality, and Meritocracy in a Global Age

Takehiko Kariya is Professor in the Sociology of Japanese Society at University of Oxford. Jeremy Rappleye is an associate professor at Kyoto University.

• Contents (Tentative)1. Introduction: Rethinking Education and Equality in an Era of InequalityToward a Global Meritocracy? A Brief History of an IdealA Meritocratic Utopia? The Importance of Japan in the DiscussionPurpose and Aims of the BookOutline of Chapters2. The Japanese Story: Topography of Confrontation, Roots of the ProblemThe Story Begins: Why 1958?Why the Late 50s?The Meaning of 'Reverse Course'The Great 6-3 ExperimentExcavating the Problem: Descending Beyond Left/Right Confrontation3. The Traumatic Prewar Legacy and the Roots of the American ModelPrewar Allocation of Education Resources How to Solve the ProblemAmerican Roots: the Scientific-Management RevolutionIndividualization of Learning and the Logic of Educational Finance4. Drafting the Postwar BlueprintBeginning Again PostwarPostwar DemandsWorld of Standard Means: the Japanese Approach to Equality5. The Unknown Revolution: "Surface Equality"Educational Finance Trends and Interregional InequalitiesThe Silent Revolution': Homogenization of Educational Provision"Surface Equality": Towards Greater Homogenization6. The Ambivalence of StandardizationNational Survey of Academic Achievement: A ReanalysisConnections to AchievementSurface Equality and Ambivalence: Homeroom, Collective Order, and Exam Competition7. The Whereabouts of "Surface Equality" TodayDismantling the World of Standardization? Policy Reforms 1995–2010The Silent Growth of InequalitiesThe Ease of Understanding the Object of Critique Inflected Perspectives: The Optical Illusion of Individuality and Individualism8. Conclusion: Drawing the Implications for a Global AgeJapan in the Global Conversation: Still the Meritocracy Frontier?Revisiting Michael Young's DystopiaEducation and Equality 30 Years after Neoliberalism ReferencesIndexAbout the Authors

“Kariya and Rappleye aim to reassess educational equality in Japan and to contribute to global debates by their re-evaluation of the significance of the Japanese case. Their book contains fascinating revelations that should prompt careful thought about forms of equality and the mechanisms behind them. It also makes a provocative assessment of educational reforms in contemporary Japan, which raises many questions.”—The Journal of Japanese Studies